Chapter Twenty-Three
Grant
“Morning. So, how does it feel to not be working at the ranch anymore?” Brady asked when I came down for breakfast that morning.
The night before Brady and I had worked until late, and then spent most of the evening drinking beer and watching movies. That, apparently, was Brady’s idea of having a party. But I didn’t mind. I was exhausted from a long day out on the ranch, and putting my feet up was exactly what I wanted. Brady had decided it would be a good idea to watch three Star Wars movies in a row. Halfway through the second one, I was already wondering if we’d make it. But we did. I rubbed my eyes, now wishing I’d gone to bed earlier.
“I’m excited for next week. Although, I wished I’d slept in a bit today. I’m exhausted. I still can’t believe we watched all three movies.”
“We used to do that as kids all the time, don’t you remember?”
“I do remember. But we’re not kids anymore. I’m exhausted. But, naturally, I still couldn’t sleep in. My eyes just automatically open at five in the morning now.”
“It’s six-thirty now, so you must’ve slept in a bit.”
I shook my head. “Nope. I just lay there willing myself to sleep, but I couldn’t. I was wide awake. Ah, thank you,” I said as he handed me a cup of coffee.
“So,” I said. “Are you working today?”
“Nah, I don’t think so, actually. I have the new guy coming tomorrow, so I think I’ll work tomorrow rather than today.”
I looked at Brady and laughed. “So what are you going to do on your day off?”
“I’m not sure. Just relax, I guess.”
“You’re going to relax? You have no idea how to relax.”
He laughed. “Yeah, actually I don’t know. Already I’m wondering if I should just go in.”
“Hey, why don’t you help us today?”
“With what?”
“Emily is moving into her new place. Terra and I are going to help her move. She bought a whole bunch of furniture during the week, and it’s all sitting in Terra’s garage. I could use the help.”
“Yeah, count me in.”
I smiled to myself. Brady was just happy that he had something to do with his day. That man could not sit alone for one minute without wondering what needed to be done around the ranch.
After breakfast, we made our way to Terra’s house. Emily came bounding out the house to kiss me. She was wearing tiny little denim shorts, a white tank top, and sneakers. She looked adorable.
“I like your moving outfit,” I said to her.
She chuckled. “Thank you very much. Although I doubt this white shirt is going to stay white for very long.”
“It is. Because you’re not going to lift a finger.”
“Oh, I like this!” she said and smiled at me. “And I see we have company. Hey, Brady, good to see you again.”
“Hey, Emily; hey, Terra. I thought I’d come and help,” Brady said as if it was his idea in the first place.
The girls beamed at him and told him that they appreciated it.
“So, how’s my old neighbor doing?” Emily said to Brady as we walked to the garage to collect some things.
“Good. Busy. The usual,” he said. “Sorry about what happened.”
“Ah, it’s okay. I’ve had enough time to be upset over it. Now I’m just focusing my attention on moving on. Thanks for convincing your brother that Buffalo was the place to be, by the way. I think I have you to thank.”
Brady looked uncomfortable. “Sure,” he said.
I couldn’t help but chuckle to myself as I watched him interact with the girls. When he was with me, he was outgoing and talkative. At the ranch, he completely took charge of everyone and walked around with a sense of authority that came naturally to him. But now he seemed aloof and unfriendly. He was definitely not used to interacting with the general public. I hoped he loosened up by the end of the day.
We loaded everything into the truck, and made our way to Emily’s new house, with Emily and Terra in front of us to show us the way. Their car was filled with boxes. I felt a little sad that all it took was one trip to take all her things. She’d ordered quite a few things, but she still didn’t have as many things as she should have. She’d lost it all in the fire.
“You’re not the most talkative person when it comes to girls, are you?” I said to Brady as we drove.
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve known Emily for years. I mean, you lived next door to her. And Terra is from this town, so I assume you know her well too. But you talk to them like you don’t know them at all.”
“That’s just the way I am,” Brady grunted, and I decided not to push the matter.
When we arrived, we unloaded everything and took a quick tour of the house. It wasn’t what I had been expecting. The house was small but very cute. It wasn’t the house that most people would’ve picked out, but it had Emily written all over it.
“I like the yellow wall,” I said as we walked into the kitchen.
She squealed. “Me too.”
“I think she got this place just for that wall,” Terra said.
“You do realize that you could’ve painted a wall yellow in any house?” Brady said.
Emily pulled a tongue at him. “That’s what the real estate agent said. And yes, I know that. But I liked this place. The yellow wall is a sign that it’s perfect just as it is. And look, I have a reading nook! Oh, I love this place.”
I smiled at her. It was nice to see her so happy. I walked over and kissed her, and Terra groaned.
“Not in public, please.”
I looked up in apology, but she was laughing.
“So, what do you think, Brady? Like the place?” Emily said to my brother.
He looked around and nodded as if seriously assessing every part.
“Yeah, I like it,” he said finally.
She grinned. “I’m glad. You know. In all the time that we were neighbors, we really didn’t spend a lot of time together. We should do this more often. The four of us,” Emily said.
Terra gave Emily a funny look, and I knew in that instant what Emily was trying to do. She was trying to set Terra up with Brady. I looked at Brady, but he seemed to have no idea what was going on. Typical.
“Yeah,” I said. “That’s a great idea. Brady is such a hard worker. I keep telling him he needs to take a break. We might have to drag him away from the ranch, but I’m sure we can do it.”
“Terra is the same, you know. Hardest working girl I know,” Emily said. Terra raised her eyebrows at Emily as if it to say, what are you even talking about? But Emily continued talking, and Brady continued not having a clue. It felt a bit like a comedy of errors, but at least she was trying.
We spent the rest of the day moving all the furniture inside while Emily and Terra walked around the house, making plans on what they were going to do. It was nice to see Emily so happy again. Once we were all done, Emily surveyed the house and smiled at all of us.
“You guys are amazing. Thank you so much for helping me out like this. It feels more like a home with all this furniture. I still need a lot more, but this is a good start. So, what’s everyone doing for dinner? I can go out and get something for all of us. As a way of saying thank you.”
I grinned at her. “That sounds great to me!”
“Actually, I have to get going,” Terra said. “I have a few things I need to do tonight. But thanks for the offer. I’m going to miss having you as a roommate.”
“I’m going to miss you too.”
“You guys make it sound like you’re not just down the road from each other,” I said to them and laughed.
“I know! But it’s not the same,” Emily replied. She looked at Terra. “I’ll have you over for mac and cheese soon. Now, I just realized you don’t have your car here. Let me drive you home.”
“No, that’s okay,” Brady interrupted. He’d been so quiet for most of the day that hearing his voice actually took me by surprise. “I need to get back to the ranch, anyway. Thank you for the offer, Emily. I’ll take Terra home.”
Emily seemed delighted by this news and eagerly walked them out to the car. Once they were gone, I turned to Emily and grinned.
“Were you trying to set those two up?”
“Was it that obvious?” she asked.
I laughed. “Yeah, it was. But don’t worry, Brady had no idea. That guy is clueless when it comes to women.”
“Do you think he’ll go for it? Think she’s his type.”
I thought about what Brady said to me about never wanting to settle down with anyone, and I shrugged. “I honestly have no idea what his type is. But it’s worth a shot. Terra’s a great girl. Now, tell me more about this mac and cheese.”
She chuckled. “It’s only the best mac and cheese in the world.”
“It is? Wow, you’re confident. What makes it so special?”
“Three different kinds of cheese, and more bacon than you’ll ever see in your life.”
I laughed. “Okay, you’re right. That does sound like the best in the world.”
“Want to make some? I’m going to have to go to the store, though. I have nothing in this kitchen.”
“Nah, I don’t want you to work on your first day moving in. Although, it does mean you’ll have to invite me over for dinner sometime.”
“Now that I can most definitely do.”
“How about we just order pizza? Have a glass of wine or something?”
She smiled. “Great idea. Do you think they deliver wine too? I just realized I don’t have any.”
“Hang on. I’ve got a better idea. Give me half an hour. I’ll be right back.”
I quickly got into my car and drove off. I went straight to the pizza shop to order the food, then drove to the liquor store to get a bottle of champagne. I went back to grab the pizza when it was ready and made my way back to her house. The moment she opened the door, I held up the champagne.
“We need celebration drinks, don’t you think?” I said.
“You’re the best!”
“Oh, and I didn’t know what pizza to get, so I just made sure it had a lot of bacon and cheese.”
She giggled. “Perfect.”
We sat together with the pizza and champagne and said cheers to her new house. It felt good to be with her. And now that Terra and Brady were out, we immediately got talking just like we always did. Conversation always flowed so easily with Emily. I told her more about the fireman job and she asked me again how long I was intending to stay in Buffalo. It was a question I had been asking myself lately. I had never intended to stay this long in the first place.
“I’m not sure. I’m starting to feel like staying is more of a possibility. I never thought I’d like it here as much as I do.”
She smiled. “That’s the thing with small towns: either they can stifle you, or they can make you feel free. Either way, they have a way of sucking you in.”
There was a lot that Emily didn’t know about me. She knew bits and pieces from information that I’d divulged over the past few weeks. But there was a lot still that she didn’t know about me. A lot that I didn’t share with anyone. She had no idea how much the small town was what I needed. It was the change that I’d been seeking for a long time. I just hadn’t known it at the time.
After dinner, I could see that Emily looked tired. I thought about asking her if I could stay the night, but I quickly changed my mind. For the first time since meeting Emily, I got scared that I was getting in too deep. What if I didn’t end up staying in Buffalo? What if I realized that small town life wasn’t for me? I liked her, but it was too soon to start staying over and getting too involved.
“I better get going, Em. I’m exhausted.”
“Me too,” she said and yawned.
“You’re very pretty when you’re tired. Enjoy your first night in your brand new home,” I said.
I had to force myself to stop thinking about how adorable she looked at that moment.
“Goodnight, Em,” I said and walked away.