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“The bedrooms would look nice with a simple pattern. I could go through my sample books and give you a selection to choose from. It really depends on what you want,” I tell her, smiling. For a moment, I forgot how touchy-feely with Kellen she’d been earlier. “Just wondering, what made you come back to Hershey, Charlene?”
She gives me a long look, and I find it difficult to read her expression. I’m not sure if she is uncomfortable or annoyed, but she definitely isn’t happy that I asked the question. Yet she pastes on a dry smirk and leans back into her chair. She takes a long sip of her tea before pulling in a deep breath.
“It’s a long story,” she breathes. “I went through a rough patch, let’s call it. And moving back here feels like coming home to everything I knew and loved most. To familiarity and folks who meant something to me a while back. I’m rekindling old friendships while meeting new friends, too. I’m hoping you’ll be one such new friend, Avery.”
I don’t know why I feel so unsettled by her words other than the fact that she was overly familiar with my boyfriend earlier. Shaking the thoughts away, I decide to play certain cards close to my chest and put on a friendly smile instead. It’s a good gig, no matter who this lady is. And the better I get to know her, the more I’ll understand her dynamic with Kellan.
“I think we’ll get along just fine,” I finally say. “I’d be happy to work on this project with you if you’ll have me.”
“Oh, I’ll definitely have you,” she laughs lightly, reminding me of when I saw her touching Kellan’s chest. “How soon can you start? And what do you need from me?”
“A down payment, first of all. I’ll send a contract over by email before the day’s end,” I reply. “We can then go over each room and make a list of materials for every stage of the process, so we can agree on a budget aside from my fees. And as soon as we’re in sync with everything, I can get started the very next day. I’ve already got a good working relationship with the local suppliers.”
“That sounds wonderful!” Charlene exclaims.
Just then the front door opens. “Charlie, I’m home!” a man calls out.
“Come on, let me introduce you to Toby—my assistant and close friend. You’ll be liaising with him on the details for this. I’ll sign whatever you need me to sign, but he’ll be the one paying on my behalf, checking in with you, and assisting with whatever you need.”
“That sounds reasonable.” I chuckle softly as we get up.
In walks Toby, a tall man with brown eyes and short, brown hair styled in a military cut with a deep lateral fade. He smiles, but only with his mouth, and it’s borderline creepy despite the warmth of his voice as he reaches out a hand for me to shake. “Hey, there. You must be Avery.”
“And you must be Toby.”
“That I most certainly am.”
“I was just telling Avery how glad I am that we’ll be working together on this house, and that you’ll be the one liaising with her on everything,” Charlene tells her assistant.
Toby nods in agreement, then looks at me again. I take a moment to measure him from head to toe—he’s as tall as Kellan and clad in black, army-style pants and a sweater, a thick winter jacket over top. He doesn’t strike me as the preppy personal assistant type. If anything, he’s muscular, gruff-looking and broad-shouldered enough to intimidate purely by presence. He lacks the finesse and gentleness one would actually prefer in their front-of-house staff. Yet he’s going to be my point of contact going forward. I’ve had weirder clients.
4
Kellan
The timing of Charlene’s return could not have been worse.
I got a text from her parole officer mere minutes before the guys and I met with Avery and found out she’s pregnant, I knew our troubles would be far from over. I wanted nothing more than peace and love by Avery’s side. The four of us and her sweet little girls. The six of us. Well, now seven. It sounded too good to be true.
“She wasn’t supposed to get out this early,” Fallon mutters as the waitress brings our coffees over. Luke wanted us to meet here, in North Platte, rather than back at the mansion where Avery might overhear. I still feel guilty, though, especially after everything we’ve been through with her. “What the hell happened, Kellan?”
“I have no idea how the parole board reached this decision,” I reply, shaking my head slowly.
Luke adds sugar to his latte, a frown etched deep into his features. “She took a plea deal for twenty years. This doesn’tmake any sense. How did she only serve five out of twenty?”
“It was probably good behavior,” I say.
“And a fat cat lawyer with the right strings to pull,” Luke adds.
Fallon is seething, and I can certainly understand why. “What are we going to do? The fact that she’s out would’ve been manageable. But I hear she’s moving back to Hershey; her parents had a house there.”
“Which means she will be coming around, one way or another,” Luke sighs.
“Let’s cross that bridge when we get there,” I say.
“How about we cross it now?” Fallon shoots back, giving me a dark glare. “Kellan, Avery is already suspecting that there’s something wrong. She almost left once, and the three of us aren’t handling the situation very well. We should tell her about Charlene.”
I shake my head. “No way. No. Avery is still reeling after what happened with Daniel. She’s got the girls going through trauma counseling, for God’s sake.”
