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“Sure, and that’s what friends do, but I’m not so obtuse that I haven’t noticed your car is packed with blankets and clothes or that you’re hanging out here and at the bakery more. I was hoping you were just between places, but something tells me you have no place.”
I pointed at her and let out a breath. “My rental at the campground ended on September thirtieth when they closed for the season. I’ve been driving to Saginaw to a hotel every night since.”
“Wait, what?” she asked, leaning in, and holding my gaze. “You’ve been driving to Saginaw for a month? Why didn’t you come to me?”
“What were you going to do, Ivy? Find a magical empty apartment in town? There aren’t any. I check every single day. I was supposed to head to the hotel after work, but I was too tired to drive. I went to the park hoping it would refresh me for the thirty-minute drive but fell asleep instead.”
“Wait,” Lance said, waving his hand. “Weren’t you the one lecturing me a bit ago about letting your friends help you?”
My eyes rolled before I could stop them. “This isn’t the same thing.”
“But it is,” Ivy said, her head shaking in the way it does when she’s completely twitterpated.
“I have my name on the list for an apartment when the new housing opens up in January. In the meantime, I don’t have a choice but to drive to Sag and stay in a place there. It’s not much, but it’s warm and has a bed.”
“Is it safe?” Lance asked.
“Define safe,” I said jokingly.
Ivy huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “No more. You can stay at my place until we figure this out. We’ll turn Lucy’s playroom into a bedroom for you.”
“No,” Lance said with so much conviction we both snapped our heads up to look at him. “You don’t have to do that when I have two empty rooms at my house. Indigo can crash there until an apartment opens up or the new housing is finished in January.”
“Seriously?” Ivy and I asked in unison.
“Are you sure?” I asked, holding his gaze. “I don’t want to make things uncomfortable or hard for you.”
His shoulder went up and back down while he stared at his pie. “You won’t be. I could use the company right now. I can’t stand how quiet the house is. I just feel like everything is so empty in my life now. You would be helping me.”
Ivy motioned at him. “There you go. Problem solved. See, always go to your friends. There might be a solution right in front of your eyes.”
I rubbed Lucy’s head while I tried to avoid Lance’s gaze. “As long as I’m not a bother. I’ll clean and you can cook?” I was teasing but it earned me the smile and laughter I was hoping for from him.
“That sounds like a deal,” he agreed. “Do you need to go to Saginaw and collect your things?”
“Nope,” I said, fiddling with the pop glass after Ivy took Lucy from me. “I keep everything in my car. I don’t trust anyone enough to leave it there. I book the night when I arrive rather than ahead of time.”
“I still wish you’d told me about this,” Ivy grumped as she rocked her daughter in her arms. “I would have done something sooner.”
I patted her on the shoulder. “We all know the housing situation in Bells Pass, Ivy. It worked even if it required a little extra effort for me to do it. Well, a lot of extra effort but not the end of the world.”
Lance set his hands on the table. “Well, what do you say, roomie. Should we head to the homestead?”
I chuckled and nodded, waiting for Ivy to slide out of the booth so I could too. Once I had my coat on, I followed him to the door with Ivy right behind us.
“Get some rest, Indigo, and don’t worry about the bakery.”
I smiled and kissed Lucy on the top of her head. “I’ll be in later tomorrow to do my regular duties, but I think I’ll sleep in, as long as my roomie doesn’t mind.”
I shoulder bumped him and winked at Ivy before we left one home for the other.
I stuck my key in the door and paused, wondering what the hell I was doing bringing Indigo Dickson home to my mother’s house. Correction. To my house. Had I lost my mind? This was the perfect way for my heart to want her even more. Like it needed any help in that department. Not to mention how shattered it would be when she left.
I wish I had a choice, but I didn’t, so I took a steeling breath and turned the key. I held the door for her since she had a bag in each hand. “Welcome home,” I said, a fake smile on my face and fake enthusiasm in my voice.
“Thanks,” she said, but the word was strained and carried a tinge of shame.
I closed the door and toed off my shoes, taking a moment to pat the table my mom always put all her things on when she got home from work. She’d be proud of me for helping a friend in need and happy that the house would be filled, but that didn’t make it any less difficult in the moment. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that I can help Indigo with secure quarters for a few months. I don’t want to think about something happening to her on the road or at a hotel when I could have prevented it. That was the reason I spoke up at the diner today. I could never live with myself if something happened to her because I didn’t act when I had the chance. For a fleeting moment, I felt my mother pat my shoulder the way she used to when she approved of a decision I’d made. I blew out a breath at the thought. She’d been right. I hadn’t been to her grave once, but I still felt her around me when I was doing the things that were important to her in life.
