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“I thought my house was a mess, but you’ve got me beat, man,” Levi says as we walk around the property. With his navy blue baseball cap, dirty jeans, and tool belt slung around his hips, he looks like the epitome of a general contractor. I hope he lives up to the hype I’ve heard because it’s going to take a miracle to get this house in shape.
“God, I know. I don’t know what I was thinking when I bought it. Mainly, get out of Mom and Dad’s house, whatever it takes.” I grimace. Making life-altering choices solely based on needing to get out from under your parents is probably immature, but I’m losing my mind living with them again.
Levi laughs, his hazel eyes lighting up with humor. “A little too close for comfort?”
“I love them, but dude, I’m a grown-ass man. Having my mother smother me every day is about to kill me.”
“I would never be able to move back in with my mom, so I can’t imagine. We’ll get you fixed up in a few months, and you’ll be free as a bird.”
“If only that were true,” I mumble. Free as a bird would mean I’m not having to settle for small-town life in the middle of nowhere. Although, I am grateful to be free of Rebecca.
It’s been a few weeks since we had our confrontation, and I’m still pretty angry about the whole thing. Despite the talk I had with Sara, I haven’t been very good at keeping my temper reined in. I am working on it since the techs didn’t do anything to deserve my ire. I even had lunch brought in a couple of times when I knew I was enemy number one. It mostly led to raised eyebrows from Sara, unimpressed stares from Susan, and indifference from Michelle. So, I won’t be winning any boss of the year awards just yet, but I’m trying.
When I walked into my apartment in Greensboro after confronting Rebecca, I realized how little the place felt like home. Especially compared to how Mom’s house feels to me now. The apartment was cold and unfeeling, almost sterile in a way I never noticed before. I didn’t spend much time there, choosing to work extra hours instead of sitting around at home, so it’s not a big surprise I never noticed.
The emptiness made me start cataloging why I was pissed about having to come home, which led me to realize my job and Rebecca were the only two reasons I had. Without Rebecca to consider, I had to wonder if I was pushing away the idea of taking over for Dad because that’s what I’ve always done. There’s never been a time in my life when I thought Sonoma was the place I wanted to live—until I came back and figured out that it holds a lot more appeal than my cold, dead apartment in the city.
Even though the anger is still simmering, my mindset has changed pretty drastically when it comes to running Dad’s clinic. It’s not going to be as exciting as the animal hospital in Greensboro. The days of interesting surgeries are over, so I’ll have to get used to slightly more monotonous days. But finally making Dad proud of me will be worth the boredom. If I’m being honest with myself, I’ve come to enjoy the business side of things. It’s challenged my mind more than I ever expected.
All of that to say, I’ve been a stubborn asshole over this whole situation. It’s time to release the stranglehold I have on what I thought my life would be like and start accepting what itwillbe.
The first step is getting out of Mom and Dad’s house. Having a little separation between us will do my mood a lot of good.
“Let’s take a look at some of the design stuff,” Levi says, gesturing over to his truck. He pulls out a couple of design samples as well as books with tons of options for flooring, tile, and anything else you could need in your home. If I’m honest, every option looks identical to each other.
Levi quickly picks up on the fact that I have zero design skills and helps me pick out the best choices. Everything he picks looks good to me, so I give him full rein. Then I won’t have to worry about it.
“If you’re looking for something to do, our group still gets together regularly to hang out. We’d love to have you join us sometime,” Levi offers as he packs away his stuff.
“You and your brother still hanging out with Todd Montgomery?”
“Of course. We’ve all partnered up at this point, but we still have a good time. Natalie Carlisle and Tucker James are actually together now, if you didn’t know. You were in the same class as Tucker, right?”
“I was a year ahead of him, but I know who you’re talking about. It would be great to hang out with people my age again. Mom’s friends are nice, but…you know…” My eyes widen at the thought of spending another dinner with my mom’s friends.
Mom pried the reason I went to Greensboro out of me when I was at my moodiest, and now, she’s made it her mission to set me up with someone else. I can’t imagine dating someone right now. Rebecca’s betrayal did a number on me. I’m glad it happened, though. She wasn’t the person I believed her to be, so I’m happy I didn’t end up marrying her, tying myself to a miserable life.
“I definitely know.” Levi laughs. “We’ll take care of you, man.”
“God bless you.”
We wrap up the final items on Levi’s list before he heads to another project, and I go to the gym. Finding a place to work out was the first order of business when I decided to officially move back home. I was surprised to find a gym that catered to my favorite type of exercise. Boxing. I fell in love with the sport in college, but when I started working at the animal hospital, I didn’t have time to keep training. I barely had time to run while I worked there, and I only made time because I needed the stress relief.
Walking into The Warehouse, I’m immediately hit with the smell of rubber mats and sweat. Since it’s late afternoon on a Saturday, there are quite a few people here. The sound of punches hitting mats and weights clanking to the ground follows me into the locker room.
This place is set up to handle both weightlifters and fighters, so I can get both in one place. I train with the owner, Dax Pierce, a couple of days a week to help keep my form. He’s a bit of an enigma. All I know about him is he moved here a few years ago and was in the military.
Once I’m changed, I start warming up, going through my lifting circuit and pushing my body to the limits. Getting back into the gym has been one of those unforeseen benefits of my move back to Sonoma. With Dax’s intense workouts, I’ve gotten jacked over the last few weeks.
“Fix your form, princess!” Dax yells across the room. He started calling me princess when I wore a headband to keep my hair out of my face while we trained. I asked him what else I was supposed to do, and he responded with, ‘Grow it out like a man’,then tightened his man bun.
I re-rack the bar I was bench-pressing, then flip him off without saying anything. His echoing laugh makes me grin. I have one more set to go, and then I’m going back to Mom and Dad’s. Levi said they could have my house ready to go in two months, which sounded a bit crazy to me. There’s a shit-ton of work that needs to happen, so I figured it would take longer. I guess since most of the house is gutted already, they can start installing new stuff instead of taking the time to remove all the old stuff.
Finally done working out, I grab my duffle bag and head back to my car. I’ll shower when I get home, then play with Sadie for a while. I think she’s enjoying getting to spend more time with me. She used to come to the animal hospital with me, but she’d still end up sleeping in my office most of the day. Now she has free rein over the house while I’m at the clinic and gets more attention since I come home at a decent hour.
She greets me with huge tail wags as I walk through Mom and Dad’s door. There’s nothing better than getting all the love from your best friend when you get home.
“How’s construction going?” Mom asks from the living room.
