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"Guys! Get your asses out of bed. We have guests coming in a few hours," Mags yells from somewhere in the apartment. "If I didn't know better, I'd think King is making use of your morning wood you had on display, Kiwi."
Kiwi lets go of me and covers his face with both hands, shaking his head. "Good Lord, where did you find this girl again?" he mumbles through his palms.
I burst out laughing. "She found me, remember?"
After a long,hot shower and a cup of coffee, I am finally ready to tackle whatever grueling tasks my roommate has planned for me. Kiwi bailed with the excuse that he had to go home to change but would be back later to help, which means he'll show up in time for the party.
Mags has left me with the glamorous task of setting up the extra folding tables we borrowed from our neighbors across the street (a bunch of MPU juniors) when my boss walks in through the side gate, carrying two crates of beer.
I knit my brows. "What's this?"
"My contribution," he grumbles as he walks toward the back door of our first-floor apartment.
I cackle a laugh, unfolding the legs of the upside-down table in front of me. By contribution, he means Mags ordered him to bring it over.
My friend has been an open book with me from day one, which is why—besides Kiwi—she is the one other person who knows the full truth about me—what I did and how I ended up in Stonebriar, Montana. But Grizz…he is the one topic Mags refuses to talk about, no matter how hard I've tried these last twelve months. And I've tried. They have a relationship I can't put my finger on. I'm ninety-nine percent certain nothing is going on between them, yet there is an underlying tension that everyone who spends more than five minutes in the same room with them basically gets slapped in the face with.
Grizz disappears inside, and I finish up without any further interruptions.
Later, we are bringing the last of the snack bowls outside when Chelsea and her boyfriend, Mack, enter the yard through the patio door.
"I dropped my purse in your bedroom," she informs her big sister.
Mags nods and continues to rearrange the beer bottles. Ever since Grizz left, her mood has taken a dive.
"Happy birthday." I hug the guest of honor as she takes in the transformed backyard. Lanterns and fairy lights adorn the trees, and we actually mowed the lawn for once. Not that we don't take care of it, but we're usually a week or two behind our neighbors, and one of the boys takes pity on our green patch of grass.
"Where is Echo?" Chelsea looks around.
"Grizz is keeping her for the weekend," I explain the absence of my three-year-old German wirehaired pointer.
I never had a pet before her. When I was little, we couldn't afford another mouth to feed, and as I got older…pretty much the same applied. Plus, I didn't have the time. But when Mags made the comment in her "move in with me" speech, the seed was planted.
You can lock your door. Get a dog. Whatever makes you feel safe.
I don't need Echo to make me feel safe; I can do that on my own. But the thought of having a dog appealed to me.
I let the idea fester for a few weeks, and every time I thought of reasons why I couldn't have one, I came up with none. I had a steady job and a home, so why not?
One evening, after Kiwi got to town, we were sitting on the back patio, and I confessed to my friends that I wanted to adopt a dog. Little did I know, one of Mags's classmates was looking for a home for her pointer, as she was moving and couldn't take Echo with her. Echo was trained as a bird dog—not that I knew anything about hunting, but it was something I was open to taking up.
Chelsea nods in understanding. Echo is the perfect dog, but she is also very protective of me. With so many people going in and out, I didn't want to chance it.
Mack veers directly to the sound dock and plugs his phone in. "Let's get this party started!" he shouts and hits play. "Last Resort" by Papa Roach starts blaring through the backyard, and I shake my head as Chelsea jumps into his arms and squeals. If the cops don't shut us down tonight, I'll be surprised.
As predicted,Kiwi shows up an hour after we're finished setting up and the first guests have arrived. I'm not mad, though. He has done more for me than I can ever repay him for. I'm chatting with Chelsea when arms envelop me from the back.
His touch is as familiar as my own. If it had been anyone other than my childhood friend, my body would've reacted of its own volition, which is why I left my knives in my room tonight. I don't fuck around. I may have dropped some of my guard over the last year, but I still don't let anyone touch me.
"Hi, Roe-Roe." Kiwi places a kiss on my cheek, and I twist in his embrace to give him a droll glare.
"I thought you were going to help." He knows I'm teasing.
"I landed a new project and had to go get supplies."
That makes me turn in his arms and drop the angry charade. "You did?" I'm beaming so hard my cheeks hurt. "That's awesome. Your business is totally taking off."
Kiwi loves art, and he can draw like no other, but what he enjoys more is building things—and he is fucking amazing at it. Shortly after arriving in Stonebriar, he met a guy who owned a welding business. It didn't take long, and they joined forces. They expanded the original business to incorporate woodwork, and together, they produce the most amazing furniture.
