Sam made her way down the hall and switched on the light in the living room. Again, a coat of fresh cream-colored paint covered the walls. Sam shook her head in disbelief. Finally, she reached theend of the hall and entered the kitchen. She flicked on the light and looked around in awe. It too was painted, this time a light butter yellow. Sam was confused. She hadn’t even gotten around to picking out paint colors, but this looked beautiful. Sam felt the hot prick of tears at the corners of her eyes. This is what she had always wanted to do for her mom but had never made the time for. It pained her that it took her death to make it happen.
“Who did this?” Sam whispered to herself. Just then, her eyes were drawn to an empty four-pack holder of Ommegang Witte sitting on the counter. Sam reached for the note taped to the side of the box and immediately recognized Alex’s girlish scrawl:
Welcome home. Beer is in the fridge, along with some dinner. I thought you might be hungry. There’s enough for two. If you’d like to share it, please give me a call. If you don’t, I get it.—A.
Sam folded the note and looked around the room. Somehow, in the few days she was gone, Alex had come in and painted half the house. Her eyes took in the kitchen, and she smiled—the yellow was perfect against the white cabinets. The light cream color Alex had chosen for the entryway and the living room was relatively innocuous, but compared to what had been on the walls previously, it made the small room appear much brighter and larger than it was. She couldn’t believe what a difference the paint made. She also couldn’t believe how quickly Alex had gotten it done. It had taken her two days to paint the small bedroom down the hall, and that was with Jordan’s “help.”
Sam shook her head again in disbelief and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was only a little after seven. She pulled out her phone. Alex answered on the third ring.
“What did you do?” Sam said by way of greeting.
“I take it you made it home?” Sam could hear the smile in Alex’s voice.
“Yes.” Sam smiled back. “I made it home to a completely repainted house.”
“Not completely,” Alex answered. “We still have to do the bedrooms on the top floor. But we ran out of time.”
“We?” Sam was confused.
“I had a little help,” Alex admitted. “Jordan, of course, though he supervised more than he helped.”
Sam let out a laugh. “That sounds about right.”
“Brad Thorne reached out to me after Easton’s and asked if there was anything he could do to help with the house,” Alex explained. “He knew you wouldn’t take him up on his offer, so he asked me instead. I told him you were trying to get up the energy to paint. He and three of his friends showed up Monday morning ready to go.”
“Brad helped you?” Sam was almost speechless.
“Mm-hmm.” Sam could hear Alex smiling again. “Turns out he’s an independent contractor. He did most of the work.”
“I can’t believe it.” Tears sprang to Sam’s eyes. Brad Thorne and three of his friends had helped Alex and Jordan paint her mother’s house. Sam was beyond touched. “I have to do something to thank him.”
“That’s not why he did it,” Alex was quick to point out.
“I know, but still.”
“Sam,” Alex’s tone was gentle. “He just wanted to help. We all do. Let us.”
Sam sat silently with a tightness in her chest. She was still figuring out what to do with the new knowledge that the people of Hicksville still cared about her.
“Sam?” Alex’s voice pulled her back to the present.
“So, about that beer in the fridge…” Sam let her voice trail off.
“Is that an invitation?” Alex teased. Again, Sam could hear her smiling through the phone.
“The door will be unlocked.” As she said it, Sam briefly wondered what she was doing. “I’ve been traveling all day and need a shower. Come on in when you get here.”
Sam set the phone on the counter and looked at it for a long minute. It was just dinner with a friend, right? Nothing to see here.
Sam let the hot water pour down her shoulders while she tried to collect her thoughts. It was nearly eight p.m. and Alex was on her way. The image of Alex from Saturday that had been living rent-free in her mind flashed again. Soft, beautiful Alex, the blue sweater that hugged her curves and brought out the color of her eyes. Alex with her single-dimple smile and exceptionally kissable lips. Alex, who had been continually checking her out, her eyes frequently returning to Sam’s mouth. If that night had gone in a different direction…Sam groaned and forced the memory from her brain. She was sticking to the decision she had made in Boston. Her time in Hicksville was temporary. What she and Alex had was in the past, and it needed to stay there.
She toweled off and dressed in sweatpants and a tank top, pulling on a light-gray hooded sweatshirt. She brushed her hair but left it loose to air dry. After looking in the mirror, she debated whether to try to conceal the circles under her eyes. But she had never been a makeup person and had no reason to start now. It was only Alex. Alex had seen her in every state imaginable. Sam blushed at the memory of a few in particular. Thankfully, the sound of the front door opening interrupted her memories. She heard the door close and then Alex’s voice calling out.
“Sam?” Alex’s voice sounded tentative and uncertain. “Are you here?”
“Just a minute!” Sam called back. She caught her reflection in the mirror one last time. With a deep breath that did nothing to steady her racing heart, she pulled open the door. She entered the kitchen and found Alex pulling out two beers from the fridge.
“You’re up for a beer, aren’t you?” Alex held up one of the bottles.
