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“That’s a damn shame.”
Reuben raises an eyebrow. “You hitting my friend up with a business proposition at the table?”
“What?” Rye shrugs from the accusation. “He needs a place to live, we could always use more work. It’s win-win, Reuben.”
“He’s an old friend, not a customer, Rye.”
“We’d give him a healthy discount!”
I shake my head and finish my slice of pie. Mama Rough has once again delivered and surprised me with how good it is.
I look across to Fig. She’s still nervous as hell, and I wonder if I’m adding to it. She’s dealing with something, that much I know, and maybe my presence is making things more difficult.
“Well then,” I declare. “It was wonderful as always, Roughs. I’m very grateful that you’ve had me over, but I need to get home and get plenty of sleep. I have a lot of houses to go and look at tomorrow.”
“Always a joy to have you, Hank,” Papa Rough says with a smile.
“Yes, you can come by anytime,” Mama Rough adds. “I always make more than enough.”
“Gotta always over-prepare for guests, huh?” Lemon chuckles.
I turn and head for the door, looking at Fig one last time. Maybe she can get her thoughts together. I’m not a hard guy to find, and I’m sure Reuben would connect us if either of us asked. I’m just giving her time to think. To deal with whatever’s bothering her.
As I open my truck door, the front door to the Rough house swings open, and Fig runs out with my jacket in her hands.
It did seem a tad colder than it was when I arrived, but I guess Fig isn’t the only one with way too much on her mind.
“Don’t forget your jacket,” she says, presenting the coat to me.
“Thank you,” I reply. I take a deep breath, her right in front of me. She makes me feel so awkward. Usually I’m super confident and upfront with any girl I feel something for, but Fig is different. In so many ways.
“Take care,” she says, ready to turn and leave me.
“Hey, Fig,” I say, getting a hold of myself. “What are you up to tomorrow?”
“Uh… I’m not sure. I didn’t have any plans for when I got back. I guess right now, I got ‘vegging out in front of a computer’ penciled in on my agenda tomorrow.”
“You up for tagging along with me as I look for a place to live? Could use some feminine insight if you know what I mean.”
She sucks in a breath, and takes her time replying. “Um… uh… sure! I’ll come along. What time is your first appointment?”
“Twelve thirty. I can come by and pick you up at about noon, if that’s okay?”
“That works for me. Then it’s uh…” She hesitates, not sure she wants to use the D-word for this. “An agreed upon time for us to meet and hang out?”
“Yeah. Let’s call it one of those. Have a good night, Fig.”
“Thank you, and you too.”
I step into my truck, and close the door. As she turns and heads back into the house, I can see from here that Fig is nearly vibrating. My on the fly not-date idea must have made her very happy.
Which is fair, because it makes me very happy too.
As I pull out of the driveway, I take a deep breath. Maybe I should stop by the grocery store on the way back and make sure my self-grooming supplies are stocked up. You never know what could happen…
5
FIG
I’m up early in the morning, just in time to be anxious about everything again. I get dressed, and decide to head into the local coffee shop.
While I am looking forward to my afternoon with Hank, I can’t help but think of my family and their expectations of me.
I grab a nice hearty muffin and a sugary coffee before going off to sit at a table with my phone. It’s the breakfast of champions, or at least the twenty-something with no regard for their sugar intake. I’m about to go looking for cat videos to distract myself, but my phone chimes with a text message. It’s Lemon.
“Where are you at? Did you leave already?”
“I’m at The First Sip in town. I haven’t been here in a while.”
“Oh. Okay, stay there for a bit, I’ll be over in a jiffy. Need to tell you some things I should be telling you in person.”
“Alright, I’m just vibing.”
I take my time, and take in some cat videos. I feel a sense of dread from Lemon’s words though. It doesn’t sound like it’s going to be bad news, but why couldn’t it just be a text? We text all the time, occasionally about some very personal stuff too. Being the only two girls in a family full of mountain men has led to a lot of bonding over stuff that only the two of us could really understand.
