Page 18 of Falling Together

“That’s smaller than my high school.”

“It’ll just mean you can meet more people here.”

“In the middle of the summer?”

He rolls his eyes at me before going back to his phone.

This is what I was worried about. Moving to a new place in the middle of summer isn’t going to give him a chance to make friends. Being a broody teenager is hard enough as it is, and even worse when you have nothing to keep you busy.

“Maybe you can join one of the baseball teams here. I’m sure there are things you can do to make some friends.”

“Whatever, Dad,” he grumbles.

Was I this much of a pain to my parents when I was his age? My only focus when I was that old was baseball. That and getting a girlfriend.

Although, the girlfriend part bit me in the ass. I really should have dated around before settling down with Kari. Maybe we wouldn’t have had a bitter divorce and a kid that is disinterested in most things.

“Here we are.”

I pull into the driveway of a small, dark-gray house. A wraparound porch lines the front, leading to the back of the house.

Luke grabs his backpack and the keys from the cupholder and heads inside. I follow behind him, anxious to get his opinion on this place.

“Why is it all wood?”

He drops his bag on the couch, looking around at the pine walls.

“I think it’s the vibe here,” I say. “It’s one of the few places I could find on short notice and get all of our furniture here when we arrived.”

French doors stand in the back of the living room leading to a large back yard. One thing that I loved about this place is how far apart the houses are. Even though it’s in a neighborhood, we’re not on top of anyone else.

The owner gave me a good deal since we’ll be renting this place for the next year, more than making up for the slow months when it’s not tourist season.

Luke wanders around the main floor before I take him downstairs.

“The entire basement is yours. There’s a bedroom down here, and if you want, maybe we could get that new video game system you wanted.”

His eyes perk up at that, but he doesn’t say anything.

Thank God the owner was able to meet the movers to drop our furniture because he collapses onto his unmade bed. There will be a lot of unpacking to do, but I can worry about that later.

Luke goes back to his phone and I let him be. It’s been enough for one day. Having spent the weekend driving up here, I’m beat.

As much as I want to collapse on the couch, I don’t. I head back out to the car to grab the important things so I can start unpacking.

I have exactly three days to make this place livable before my job starts. The new manager of the Pinecrest Loggers. Never in a million years did I think I’d leave LA for a small town, but here we are.

My mind drifts back to the last time I was here. It does that a lot. What started as a shitty weekend with a foot of snow turned into one of the best nights of my life.

All because of one woman. One woman that was pissed at me one second and then coming for me the next.

Too bad I didn’t get her number before I had to leave. Maybe I’ll bump into her. Or hell, I know where she works. I could always go out and see her if I have time.

Unless that’d be too weird. Shit. Maybe it would be.

I’ve been out of the dating game for so long, I don’t know what I should do and not do. I’ve had a few dates since the divorce, but nothing serious.

Grabbing the scissors—the one thing I brought with us so we wouldn’t be tearing into boxes with our bare hands—I start unpacking the kitchen.