He looked concerned. “I can’t afford my own room.”
“Don’t worry about that,” she said. “My wife and I talked about it, and we’re giving you the student special.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s free rent for the next few months, to give you time to graduate and find a job. After that, we can negotiate your rent.”
Now he seemed stunned. “But you don’t know me at all. Why would you do that?”
“Because you’re a friend of Hal’s, and Hal is a member of our family. Each of us has needed a little help at some point in ourlives, and now it’s our turn to pay it forward. Later on, when you’re in a position to help someone else, I hope you’ll do the same.”
“I will, for sure.” He grabbed her in a hug and murmured, “Thank you so much, JoJo. This means everything to me.” There were tears in his eyes when he followed me upstairs.
“This is your room. I’m right there, and the room next to mine belongs to a sweet couple named Lark and Dylan,” I said, as I pointed to the doors around the second-floor landing. “My friend Vee has the fourth bedroom, and that’s the bathroom we all share.”
“Where do our landladies live?”
“JoJo and Yolanda’s bedroom is on the ground floor. Yolanda is a nurse, and she’s at work right now. You’ll get to meet her and everyone else later tonight.”
Kit’s bedroom was on the small side, and the furniture had seen better days, but he looked around like he was in awe. “It’s so nice,” he whispered. “I can’t believe all of this is mine.”
I put down the bag I’d been carrying for him and said, “I see JoJo left some bed linens for you. If there’s anything else you need, just let me know. I’ll let you get settled, and if you want to have dinner with me, come downstairs at seven.”
He looked a little lost as he turned to me and asked, “Are you going to be in your room? You know, in case I have any questions.”
“Actually, I think I’m going to sit in the backyard for a while. If you want to join me after you unpack, go downstairs and follow the hallway to the back of the house. You’ll see the door to the yard once you’re in the kitchen.”
“Okay. Thanks, Hal.”
I dropped my messenger bag in my room before heading downstairs. About two minutes after I took a seat at the firepit in the backyard, Logan stepped out the back door of his house.He was carrying two travel mugs and some sort of bundle, which turned out to be a manufactured fireplace log.
He handed me both mugs and said, “Hold my coffee while I act super butch and start a fire.”
That was hilarious, because all it involved was pulling a lighter from his pocket and holding it to the wrapper the log came in. I told him, “You’re so outdoorsy,” as the wrapper caught fire.
“I know. I hope you’re impressed.”
“Oh, I am.” He sat down beside me, and I handed him one of the mugs and said, “Thanks for the coffee and the log.”
“There’s a sentence I don’t hear every day, and you’re welcome. I saw you sitting back here, so I came to check on you. It must have been an odd day, between trying to acclimate back to reality and getting a brand-new literal roommate.” He’d messaged me earlier that afternoon, and I’d told him about Kit.
“The new guy’s been downgraded from roommate to housemate. Embry made it official—he’s staying with Bryson, so he gave up his room for Kit.”
“I knew Embry and Bryson were going to end up as a real couple, despite the fake marriage.”
“Me, too. There was always something between them, even when we thought Bryson was straight.”
Logan took a sip of coffee before saying, “I guess I thought it would take them longer to figure it out, though.”
“Well, when it’s right, it’s right. And really, what’s standing in their way? Nothing. They’re even already living under the same roof.” I muttered, “Must be nice,” which made Logan turn sideways in his chair, so he could look at me.
“I knew it!”
“Knew what?”
“That you’re pining for Ryder. When I picked you up at the airport yesterday, you tried to act like you were fine. But you were just doing that Hal thing, weren’t you?”
I frowned and asked, “What Hal thing?”
