15. He Found Her

15

HE FOUND HER

T he following Saturday, Jarrett picked Andi up at her house. Unless the island was invaded by zombies, he was going to damn well have the night off.

Last Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, he'd been at Andi's. They were cleaning up dinner when he got a call that there was a disturbance on the ferry between passengers coming from Boston. Because it was between the island and Boston, it was state police. And since the ferry was heading to the island, it was on him.

He wasn't there long. Got the statements, did some searches, found nothing concreteandleft. But it was close to eight and no reason to go back to Andi's then.

He could have. He knew that. But she had to get up early the next day and there was no use running there for an hour when she needed the sleep.

Saturday was a late day for her and she was tired. He could hear it in her voice. Sunday, they did make plans and went to Boston on the ferry and he showed her around some.

During the week, they were both slammed but found time to have lunch one day and dinner the next.

His body was on fire and he wasn't sure the last time he'd dated someone this long before he hit the sheets.

Then he had to remind himself it'd only been five weeks since she'd fallen down the slope and he found her.

Close to a month of dating but not like it was daily that they saw each other.

Today he was taking her to his house since she'd asked to see it.

"Hi," she said, jumping in his SUV before he could even get out.

"Hey," he said. "You're chipper today."

"I'm thrilled to have a light day," she said. "And to spend it with you."

"Did you schedule it light on purpose?" he asked.

It was two and she'd gotten home a little after one.

"I had two appointments this morning and the one for the afternooncanceledon me earlier in the week and rescheduled for next Saturday."

"That stinks that people do that," he said. "Do you know why?"

She turned and looked at him while he pulled out of her driveway.

"No. Most people schedule on my app and I just get a notification of it and approve it. They can text or call me if they need more time than something listed or give notes of things they want done and I can adjust my calendar. But once this client canceled, I went in and blocked the afternoon off so no one else filled the slot."

"Oh," he said. "I had no idea it worked that way."

Guess he should. He wasn't ready for another cut yet but would be soon. He hadn't figured that out. If Amanda would be upset or not if he went back to Andi. Or if Andi would be.

Who the hell thought getting a haircut would be this stressful of a thing?

"Technology does make things easier. When I had my accident, Amanda was able to sign into my account and get the information to contact people. That is what happened there. People still do call the salon asking to set up appointments, and since I'm new, they will refer clients to me and my profile on the website."

He nodded his head and drove home. It was less than ten minutes away and only because they were hitting lights.

"My brother put in an offer on this house," he said, pointing it out.

"That's great," she said. "Did you know he was going to? There is no for sale sign out front."

"Last week at Thanksgiving they talked about it and were going to get an appointment to check it out. The sellers weren't around because of the holiday and didn't want anyone in it, so they didn't get a chance to look at it until two days ago. They put an offer in and are still in negotiations."

"It looks to be big," she said.

"It is. Right now, Mac's house, which he owned before he met Sidney, is too small. He has three bedrooms and one full bath upstairs. The bedrooms aren't that big either and with twinsandSidney needing an office, it's not enough."

"I've noticed that a lot of the older homes on the island are either smallcottage-styleones or big old massive places. It's like there is noin between."

"I think years ago that was the case. People had vacation homes on the island and weren't looking for a ton of space for that. Those who lived here did build bigger homes.There are newer homes goingup a lotorhomes being rehabbed. I live in one of the older sections. It's funny, but my house is a decent size. I'd say average but more than enough space for me. It needed work like a lot of houses do if you can afford to buy."

"The houses are pricy," she said. "Even rent is."

He wondered how she was able to afford it alone but didn't ask. It wasn't his business and he had no idea if she was getting money from what happened in her past.

"Many have roommates around here," he said. "Did Amanda tell you how she came to this island and met her best friends?"

Andi laughed and got out of his SUV. "She did. She said she rented afour-bedroomhome and then subleased the rooms and met Sidney and Kayla that way."

"Yep, the Bond men are irresistible."

"I'm beginning to see that," she said, laughing.

"You can say it," he said. "I'm being cocky."

"You are, but I like it. I like a lot about you."

"Good," he said. "The feeling is mutual."

"Oh, you like a lot about yourself too?"

Andi wasdefinitelymore outgoing and open today than she'd been in a while.

"I think I like myself about as much as the average person does," he said. "I meant that the feeling is mutual in that I like a lot about you too."

"Even though you'd like to know more?" she asked.

They hadn't brought up her past again. He tried not to. He didn't want to get frustrated over it.

He believed when they talked about things she liked to do, that she was completely honest. He also believed that her stories about her childhood were the truth too.

What her name was in the past,that wasup for debate.

She never agreed or disagreed when it came up. She just didn't answer or said she couldn't say things.

"I would," he said. "But I'm going to trust you'll tell me what you can when you can."

"Thanks for that," she said.

He took his keys outandunlocked the front door and let her in. "It's nothing fancy," he said. "I'm kind of simple."

"And clean. I swear I can see my reflection on thefloors. Did you wax them before I got here?"

He felt some heat creep up his face. "Not today. I did it yesterday. But I do it a few times a year. It keeps the marks off of them and dirt from building up. It's easier to sweep too. I spent a lot of hours sanding them down and refinishing them."

She put her hand on his arm. "Hey. I'm just picking on you. But you are neat. Damn. I thought I was a clean person but nothing like this."

"Alex is a slob. I had to share a room with him growing up. It was horrible."

"That makes more sense," she said. "So you were countering that."

"I guess," he said.

She took her jacket off and handed it over. "You want my shoes off, huh?"

She kicked them off and was grinning while she said it. He did the same. "Sure," he said. He wouldn't have asked her to do it, but always took his off. He tried to do it at her house too, but she always told him it was okay.

"It's fine," she said. "Lots of people want that. Especially in the winter months. No one wants dirt and mud tracked in. I've got carpet so that is worse."

"Which is why I offer to take mine off," he said.

"When it gets messy outside, you can."

Which meant that she was thinking of them having somewhat of a future.

"I will," he said. "I'll show you around down here. It's not open as much as a lot of houses, but I'm okay with it being cut up."

"I think open is great, but having separation is nice too," she said. "It keeps noise levels down. Your living room is a decent size though."

"It is."

"I can tell what chair you favor."

She was laughing as she walked over and sat in his recliner. He'd bought new furniture when he moved in but only sat in that leather chair.

"It's comfortable," he said. "Hit the remote."

She did and her feet went up and her smile grew. "It is."

She pushed it back down and stood up. "Kitchen this way," he said, moving past a dining room that had a table in it he never used. He had to put something in there, as it was the only place to eat that wasn't the living room. It's not like he didn't have company at times. Usually family, sometimes women.

"This is pretty," she said.

"Pretty?" he asked.

The cabinets were dark wood. He'd stained them darker than they were because the color before had an orange hue to it that didn't go with the dark wood floors when he was finished changing the stain there. Though he had tile in the kitchen, he went with a lighter tan, long wide plank that resembled wood.

"Sorry," she said. "It's very moody and masculine."

"That's better," he said, nudging her with his elbow.

He wouldn't say he spent a ton of time picking things out. He wasn't that fussy. Some of it had to do with what was in stock and priced right for his budget, but theendresults did come together with the white granite that had flecks of brown in it to go with the floors and cabinets. His backsplash was a simple subway tile of another shade of brown he pulled out of the counters too.

"It's a good size for a galley kitchen," she said.

"Works for me. Lots of counter space. I can see into the backyard when I'm washing dishes. Not a lot of yard, but it's private."

"It's bigger than any kitchen I had and is modern. I think it's perfect."

"I've got a bath here," he said, opening a door. "I put the shower stall in and though it's small, it's nice to have another full bath in the house. And a den back here."

"You turned it into an office," she said.

"Yeah. It could be a small guest bedroom on the first floor. When I bought the house it was set that way. An older woman lived here and only used the first floor. I think she went upstairs a few times a week to bathe, but otherwise stayed down here."

They moved to the stairs that were in the back of the house and went up them.

Andi popped her head into two spare rooms. "You haven't done much in here, have you?"

"No," he said. "I don't like the carpet, but when I was finishing the floors downstairs I realized that there wasn't hardwood under these. I put hardwood in my room, but that is it. It's not like I've got guests to worry about."

"Since those two rooms are empty, I'd say no," she said.

"No reason to," he said. "Some of it is time. Somewasmoney. I mean more time than anything. I put a lot of money in right away to get in here. Time too. Then slowed down some."

He wanted to build his savings back up, and to him, he had the important things done. Even the spare room downstairs only got a coat of paint and the floors were redone. He kept it simple and had very little decor around.

"Time isn't something we've got on our side," she said.

"No," he said. "I thought we could talk about that."

"I think we should," she said. She moved over and popped her head into his room. "But you did this room and it looks nice."

He glanced at hisking sizedbed in the center of the gray room. He'd painted a lot of things gray because it went with everything. It was light enough to be close to white.

He had a dresser on one wall with his TV on it and two floating shelves he built on both sides of the bed to hold a lamp and his remote and phone at night. There just wasn't enough room for more furniture without it feeling crowded.

Under his bed was his safe that held his guns. That wasn't seen though as many women he'd been with in the past were always nervous about it.

"One of the first things I did up here," he said.

She didn't step in, just looked around, then moved back and looked at his bathroom across the hall.

"Now this is big. I love the tub."

"I was on the fence about keeping it, but it felt right."

It's not like he used the claw-foot tub, but it was in great shape. He kept the white-and-black-checker floors after he scrubbed the shit out of them. Replaced the vanity and replaced the tiles in the shower stall with simple white.

Good enough for him, but he was glad she liked it.

"I bet it feels wonderful to soak in that."

"I wouldn't know," he said.

"Now that is a crime," she said.

"Maybe I'll give it a try sometime."

He was smirking at her. "I wouldn't mind it," she said, trailing her fingers along his jaw.

Guess she put him in his place.