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“Excuse me?!” I exploded, making Ava jump and drop her toy completely. “Sorry, baby.” I grabbed the slobbery, plastic ring and handed it back to her. She accepted and promptly jammed the toy back into her mouth.
But... What the hell? As I shook my head, trying to make sense of what I was reading, more messages just kept coming.
BEAU: Anyone got sticky notes? We need sticky notes.
TEAGAN: Got us a sitter, so JB and I can make it. He has to run an errand first, and then we’ll head over.
CRESS: I can stop for Post-it Notes at the store. And bubble wrap.
CHLOE: I’d rather pack boxes than clean my house today. On my way.
And it just continued.
Huffing out a disgusted breath, I dialed my brother’s number.
“Hey,” he answered a few seconds later, sounding winded. “Kind of busy here. Can I call you back later?”
“Absolutely not,” I snarled. “Just what the hell is going on over there?”
“Aah, shit. I didn’t block you from the group texts, did I?”
“No. You didn’t. So would you care to explain yourself, now?”
“It’s okay. I don’t expect you to help with moving,” he told me. “You’ve got a baby to watch. We’ll take care of everything, don’t worry.”
“Don’t worry?” I cried. “What…?”
“Look, you’re the one who insisted on this hair-brained idea to rent out your garage. So I found someone I thought was acceptable enough to have a key to your place.”
“And so you chose Vaughn?” I mean, was he insane? I couldn’t live with Vaughn. “I hate to break it to you, brother, but Vaughn already has somewhere to live. Somewhere that’s a hell of a lot nicer than my house, let alone my garage.”
“Yeah, not anymore,” Beau retorted. “He’s selling his place and said renting from you would be a—shit, what did he call it again? Oh, right. Your garage would be a good interim place to stay until he decides what to do next.”
My jaw dropped. “Vaughn’s selling his house? Since when? Why?”
“I don’t know. The usual reasons, I guess. To start over, get away from all the memories, downgrade into the single-man life. Why does anyone do anything? He said he’d rent from you, and that’s all I care about, so we’re moving him in. Now, I’d love to stand here and chat all day, but people are starting to show up, and I’m kind of the organizer of this whole shebang, so bye. Love ya.”
“Wait. You can’t just—”
But he definitely could. As the line went dead, I growled, “Dammit,” and then immediately winced, touching Ava?
?s chubby leg. “Sorry.”
She didn’t seem to mind my potty mouth though, still kicking her feet and chewing contentedly.
“That’s it. I’m just going to call him.”
I had respected Vaughn’s space and not bothered him since the understanding we’d made over text a few weeks earlier.
But after this, I was definitely going to bother him.
Except the phone barely rang three times before Beau answered, “Do you mind not interrupting us, huh? I told you, we’re busy.”
“How did you get Vaughn’s phone?” I demanded.
“It was sitting on the counter. He’s otherwise occupied right now, and he’s probably going to be out-of-office for the rest of the day, so… Bye-bye now.” And he had the audacity to hang up on me. Again.
“Bastard,” I growled.
