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“It’s not a date!”
*
Isaac was juststarting to work on a new bid proposal when a movement alert sounded from his mailbox camera. The morning conference call had run long. It took longer than he’d expected to convince the team they should start chasing app development bids slightly outside their usual market. But his message about evolving or becoming extinct—especially when they were so close to dipping into the payroll account to pay the office space lease—had eventually hit home, and the group grudgingly agreed to give it a try. Grateful for their flexibility but equally disappointed that it had come to this, Isaac had hung up and dealt with the discomfort like he always did: by digging into his work.
But as he pulled up the video stream to the security camera, his pulse quickened.
Outside, an oversized silver pickup was now parked at the end of his drive. As he watched, out stepped Delaney, looking completely different than she had last night. Gone was her soaked and muddied attire, replaced with a bright orange polo shirt, khaki cargo shorts, and low work boots. Her hair was a light auburn when not drenched, the pixie cut with its intentionally messy styling a good look on her. Today, dark sunglasses shielded her eyes.
Isaac breathed out a small sigh of relief. She would be far easier to keep at a distance today without the lure of those bright blues. At least, he sure hoped she would be.
He pushed back from his computer, the movement rousing Louie from his late morning nap.
“What do you say, buddy, wanna get some fresh air?”
He made the hand sign he and Louie had come up with forwalk, and the bully’s behind began its happy wiggle. Though Isaac missed people, Louie’s slobbery grin and happy wiggles never failed to brighten his day. Wiggles turned into circles and then into zoomies. In another blink, Louie was gone, darting down the hall toward the front door. Isaac followed on a chuckle, grateful his roommate was so easy to please.
Louie really had been a trooper during their transition to Bourbon Falls. While this location was perfect, its condition wasn’t the sunshine and roses Will had led him to believe. The older house hadn’t had renters for more than a year, and they’d arrived to find it a dusty cobwebs-and-spiders-everywhere mess. Birds had nested in one of its bathroom vents, a few bats in its garage and attic. And the mice? They’d been everywhere.
Neither one of them got much sleep those first few days.
But professionals had quickly been called to eradicate the critter issues, and soon the pair was able to focus on settling into their temporary home. Well, as settled in as they could get with what limited furniture Isaac had brought along. It was plenty for the two of them but took up a fraction of the home that was easily three times the size of his apartment out east.
Truthfully, the empty rooms didn’t bother him nearly as much as the home’s dark and dated decor. While he preferred light, natural colors, Will’s aunt and uncle must have had an affinity for dark brown; the color was everywhere. Dark trim, dark floors, dark cabinets, dark carpet. Even the bathroom tile and grout were a dark chocolate brown. All fixable for its current owner, which Isaac was not.
Up ahead, Louie nuzzled the lead hanging from a hook by the door, then turned back as if to say, “Hurry up already, will ya?”
“Patience, buddy,” Isaac said, reaching for his sunglasses, a ballcap, and the leash. “You’re eager to meet your new friend, huh?”
He snapped the lead to Louie’s collar and opened the door, then stepped aside to let his dog pass. Is that what Del would become to them? A new friend?
Isaac knew he had to be cautious. Just because she hadn’t seemed to recognize him in the rain last night didn’t mean she hadn’t had an aha moment after she’d gone home and Googled him. If she acted differently around him today, he would know she knew.
But then what? Pack up and move in the dark of night?
He glanced back at the dining room half full of boxes. At least there wouldn’t be much packing to do if it came to that. Unfortunately, he doubted anywhere else he could land would be rent-free. Could he swing paying rent in Manhattan and somewhere else?
Isaac shook his head and stepped out into the midday sun. It was too soon to think like that. Clearly, all this alone time had made him paranoid. Well, that, and the whole fiasco last fall. He’d never received so many vicious hate tweets in his life.
Clueless so far to their nearby guest, Louie took his time sniffing out the perfect patch of yard to fertilize. Though the woods that surrounded their house and yard were lush and green, the sound of a revving chainsaw would have alerted any other dog of their visitor. It wasn’t until they were on their way down the drive and on other side of the woods that Louie realized anyone else was there. Suddenly, the bully lunged forward with more gusto than anticipated. Isaac watched in horror as the lead slipped from his grip, Louie barreling down the driveway and heading straight for Del.
She turned her gaze toward Louie, but rather than take off running, Del set the saw down and knelt to receive the incoming four-legged welcome wagon. Oblivious as always to his own brute strength, Louie barreled into her, knocking her clean over. By the time Isaac caught up to them, a full-out slobberfest had commenced. Beneath a happy, wiggly Louie lay a dirtied, doggie-kiss-covered, laughing Del, her sunglasses half knocked off.
“I am so sorry about Louie. He just really loves people,” said Isaac, gently muscling his dog off her.
“I can see that,” she said, rising to dust herself off.
He studied her carefully, watching for any glimmer of recognition. If she’d gone home last night and discovered who he really was, she was doing a good job of hiding it. Hopefully, his secret was still safe. Question was, how long could that last?
“You must hate coming over here,” he said. “Every time you do, you end up getting dirty.”
“Nah, I live to get dirty. Why else would I start my own landscaping business?” She straightened her shades and motioned toward where his battered shrub had been. “It also allows me to play with cool toys for doing stuff like this. Look a little better now?”
“Wow, yeah it does. Kinda makes me wish you were cutting its twin down, too.”
Will would agree. He hated plants.
Which was why all the ones in their office were fake.
