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“Okay,” I rasped, nodding. “Take me home.”
The quaint bungalow-style house was not far from downtown Ember Hollow. It sat near the back of a dead-end street that butted up against a creek. The orange and red leaves rustled in the trees lining the street as Reid and I approached the powder-blue porch.
He hesitated near the front steps.
Reid stared up at the house I had lived in for most of my life. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been here.”
Growing up, Reid was around often. Of the five Ramsey brothers, Reid was the closest to my age and stuck near his little sister. He’d pick Thea up after a slumber party or when we’d hung out after school. I went to her house any time I got the chance, but we spent a ton of time here, too. We spent a ton of time together, period.
The look in his eyes sent a pang of grief through my chest. I ducked out from under his arm, and he finally let me this time. A shiver hit me as his comforting warmth vanished.
“You’re welcome to come in,” I said, surprising myself. “If you want.”
Reid’s eyes shifted from the house to me. His brows knit. “I’m not sure—”
“It’s the least I can do.” I cut him off and gestured to the brown stains of coffee drying on his shirt. “We have a bathroom and you can clean up a bit.” The embarrassment burned in my belly.
The corner of his lip twitched. “I suppose that wouldn’t be the worst thing.”
“No, the worst thing would be dropping a freaking coffee from a second-floor landing right on top of someone’s head.”
I turned to the door as he chuckled, the sound making my face flood with heat.
Reid followed me into the cluttered living room. My mother was a collector of odd and pretty things…some she gathered to sell at her store, and some she simply found interesting. It all culminated into a very full house. I hadn’t been home long enough to tidy everything up, and the embarrassment just kept piling on as Reid had to shimmy his large body between a green curio cabinet and the velvety pink couch filled with cardboard boxes of merchandise.
“Sorry about the mess,” I mumbled as we shuffled into the kitchen I’d spent all morning cleaning out. The yellow cabinets still had a good layer of dust, but there was space to breathe.
Reid looked around the small kitchen, his eyes lingering on the breakfast nook that had held a table at one point, but now functioned as a reading/sitting area. Two Victorian armchairs and a coffee table sat in the space, facing the windows that overlooked the forested backyard and creek.
I’d already claimed it as my crochet nook.
Reid’s stare lingered on the skeins of yarn piled next to one of the armchairs. He stepped into the space, tilting his head at the basket sitting on the coffee table. Reaching down, he pulled something from it.
Reid glanced back at me, raising a brow as he held up the teeny, tiny crochet pumpkin. It had a cute little face that smiled at me like it was having the best day of its life.
“What are these?” he asked, a half smile pulling at his mouth as he eyed the basket full of crochet mini fruits and veggies.
“I crochet food.”
“With faces.”
I nodded. “Yes. Food with faces.”
“What are they for?”
His eyes sparkled in the light streaming in through the windows. It was hard to explain, but keeping my hands and mind busy with crochet was such a big part of my therapy. It calmed me, and finishing the little projects was quick and satisfying. Plus, they were hella cute and I loved them.
“Making them relaxes me. I make a lot.”
Reid placed the pumpkin back into the basket and turned to me. “Is that all you do?”
“What do you mean?”
He turned toward me and put his hands in the pockets of his dress slacks. “Not that crocheting food isn’t something worth doing.” His voice went up a few notches at the end, and he cleared his throat. “I just didn’t know if that’s what you did for like, a job.”
“Oh,” I said, understanding where he was going. “Yeah, I work in the marketing department for a company in Los Angeles.”
His eyes widened. “Wow. LA, huh? That’s…impressive.”
