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“You know… in my mind, this house never changed. I can see everything from our childhood so clearly.” Her eyes darted in his direction, locking with his once more.
Mesmerized but not understanding what it was about Rose that was throwing him off guard, Mike couldn’t drag a single word from his lips.
“I can still see your grandmother in her studio. Otis would be sitting at the kitchen table doing a crossword.” A smile touched Rose’s lips and she let her gaze drift once more to the house. “The radio is turned up all the way because he doesn’t hear all that well.”
“That’s because he got hurt one too many times at the rodeo,” Mike jumped in.
Her smile seemed more genuine. “I think I remember that.”
“I didn’t realize you remembered much of anything. You were only here for the summers.”
Rose shrugged and heaved a sigh. “I guess it’s easy to forget that I spent just as much time here as Ethan when you never gave me a second look.”
She charged forward, leaving him behind but not before he caught a glimpse of her hardened expression.
He hurried after her. Was that a dig at him? Had she expected him to pay attention to her? She wasn’t his friend. Ethan was. In fact, she was just as off limits back then as she was today.
Mike slowed his steps, allowing the distance to grow between them. He wasn’t going to fall into that sort of trap. He had zero interest in her—except for her ability to help him get this place ready to sell.
Rose pulled open the door, the loud screech of the hinges sending birds escaping from a nearby shrub. Her eyes sought his and for a brief moment, they were kids again. She let out a soft laugh and he joined in.
The moment died as quickly as it had been created. The seriousness in her expression returned, her focus broken with several flutters of her lashes as she ducked into the house.
Mike nearly bumped into her as they both stood in the doorway, rocked by the view. He hadn’t remembered the place being this bad. It was as if everything that had been here a few weeks ago had multiplied like bunnies. Newspapers, garbage, old heirlooms, junk that his grandfather wanted to fix—all of it was stacked high against the walls with little to no space to move from room to room.
Already he could imagine an avalanche crashing down on one of them as they attempted to get down the hallway. If he thought Ethan would be upset about him developing feelings for Rose, that would be nothing compared to Mike having to tell his best friend that his little sister has been swallowed by his grandparents’ home.
Rose took a step forward and his hand shot out to grasp her elbow. Her eyes cut to meet his, full of question with a hint of condescension.
He was never going to get her to like him—not that it mattered. Even if she decided to treat him with kindness, that was how she treated everyone. Rose lifted one eyebrow, but didn’t say a word, forcing him to jump into action.
Mike released her and nodded toward the back of the house. “Be careful. Don’t touch anything. If you trip, just go down and try not to take everything with you.”
“I think I can manage walking through a house,” she murmured dryly.
Swirling emotions pressed in on him like a heavy fog. They ranged from irritation, to despair, to anger. He was the one who had lost everything, and here he had to relive those moments. Her attitude wasn’t something he wanted to deal with right now.
Her brief hesitation allowed him the time to dart around her, leading them both toward the kitchen where they might have a better chance of setting up a control center.
The whole way there, all he saw was the dust, grime, and misery his grandfather had left behind. Without his grandmother to help him, everything had gone downhill. Mike ended up at the edge of the kitchen feeling as though he’d been put into a pressure chamber and his lungs were going to give out at any moment.
The air had thinned, and every single muscle seemed to spasm. The memories of his last day here thrashed in his head. He’d been so angry with his grandfather—brash and stupid.
But more than any of that, he’d been too stubborn to see that his grandparents were just trying to help him be a better person. Hot, pounding emotion thundered behind his eyes and rippled through his skull. He squeezed his lids shut, his jaw tightening until he felt her soft touch on his forearm.
Mike’s eyes flew open, darting toward her. It didn’t matter that he could see a glimpse of her sympathy like before. It was just a façade. She was simply being nice, and it was making them both uncomfortable.
Rose didn’t want to be here any more than he did. She’d probably only come because she didn’t have anything else to do. She didn’t have a job and she’d actually cared for his grandparents.
Her willingness to help definitely didn’t have anything to do with her opinion of him.
Mike shook off her hand and took a step away. He took a moment to calm himself, pinching the bridge of his nose and pushing that emotion back before he scowled at her.
“I appreciate that you’re here, I do. But I’m not paying you to be my therapist or my cheerleader. You’re just here to help clean up the house.”
That flicker of sympathy dimmed, and she frowned right back at him. “You aren’t paying me at all, so maybe you should be careful how you talk to me.”
“Turns out the lawyer got an adjustment on some of the debt my grandfather had. I have enough to pay you if not much else.”
