“Trust me, Maine has Fairee fans, too.”
Nick had no idea what she was talking about. “What do fairies have to do with it?”
“No, like when fandoms combine a couple’s names. Faith and Reese? Fairee. And trust me, their fans are everywhere.” She sighed. “Maybe I should dye my hair.”
“No.” The word came out with more force than he intended, and his cheeks warmed when she gave him a questioning look. He wasn’t about to confess to being low-key obsessed with the color of her hair, and he also hated the idea of her dying it because of some mouthy jerks on the internet. “That stuff stains bathroom fixtures. Especially older ones.”
“Okay.”
“As for these Fairee people, they can stand in the street and carry on as much as they want, but they can’t come on this property. This is Helen’s home and you’re her granddaughter. That makes it your home, too, and nobody’s driving you out of here.”
Her smile was shaky, and Nick watched the tears gather in her eyes. She was going to cry again.
He grabbed the box of tissues off the table, intending to toss it to her. But it would have bounced off the blankets, so he had to hold it while she disentangled herself as tears ran unchecked down her cheeks.
“If you keep crying, people are going to think I’m being mean to you,” he said, using a deliberately grumbly voice to make her smile.
Thankfully, it worked and she was smiling as she dried her face. “You’re not mean. Grumpy? Yes. But not mean.”
Again with the grumpy thing. “How about I give you a hand and we can at least bring in what you need for now.”
Maybe he’d get lucky and Lucy had some sweatshirts buried in her car. Once she’d unpacked them, he’d be free to take his favorite hoodie back without feeling guilty.
“I have a big weekender bag on the back seat that’s packed with the important stuff,” she said as she pushed herself to her feet. “And I have one box of important stuff I need to bring in. But a lot of it can stay in the car so we’re not tripping over it, and I’ll go through it a bit at a time.”
“Whatever works for you,” he said, gesturing for her to lead the way. “But I really think you should take the bedroom.”
“I appreciate the chivalry, but honestly, I’m a side sleeper anyway. I’ll have an easier time on the couch. And you have to get up and go to work all day. I insist.”
“If you change your mind at some point, let me know.”
“I will, though I won’t. Trust me, you’ll barely know I’m here.”
Of course, he wasn’t even a little bit surprised when, twenty minutes later, he could barely walk through the living room because there was “oh, just one thing” in each box or bag that Lucy needed.
This was going to be fun.
Chapter Four
Free: Trash bag full of pre-wrecked play clothes for boys, sizes 2T to six, passed down through all three of my boys. If you know them, you know why it’s a whole bag for free.
First comment: Can you post photos of each individual item?
—Wayward Harbor Online Community Group
“So what’s this we hear about you having breakfast at Pete’s with a woman nobody’s ever seen before?”
Nick glared at his brother before closing the door of his truck with a little more force than necessary. Gray could have waited until he was in the house, at least. But all three of his brothers had beat him to the jobsite, and they were standing around waiting for gossip instead of getting to work. And of course it was Gray who’d jumped right into a conversation they knew Nick wouldn’t welcome.
Four years younger than Nick, Gray had been pushing his older brother’s buttons since he was a toddler. Two years after Gray, Beck was born. He was the quietest and most thoughtful of them, though he could push buttons, too, if the mood struck him. And a year after him was Theo, who was barely restrained chaos. They’d all gotten their dad’s dark hair and dark eyes, and they could easily be picked out of a crowd as brothers. When it came to personality, though, the differences were obvious.
Nick wanted to work more than he wanted to explain Lucy to his brothers. “You know how it is at Pete’s. There’s always someone to talk to and nobody eats alone.”
Theo laughed. “Sure. I mean, she got out of your truck and then got back into your truck. Oh, and you went grocery shopping together, but okay.”
As a rule, Nick loved Wayward Harbor. But there were times, like when the gossip kicked into high gear, that he wouldn’t mind seeing the community in his rearview mirror. He’d much rather work than talk, but he also didn’t want his brothers’ imaginations running away with them. They were going to have way too much fun with his situation as it was, but at least they wouldn’t think he wasdatingher.
“Lucy Macauley is Helen’s granddaughter,” he said brusquely. “She didn’t know Helen was traveling and showed up at the cottage Saturday night.”
