Page 8 of Tide Over

Liam heads through the door and into the bedroom across the hall. It has a large window with a view of the woods surrounding the house, opening to the water. The room is bathed in warm, orange light from the setting sun, and I try not to let my gaze rest too long on Liam as he stands before the window, the soft glow highlighting his features in a way that makes it hard to look away.

“There’s two other bedrooms upstairs besides mine, if you’d rather be up there. But this one has the best view out of all of them. And your bathroom is right next door.” I put my hands in my pockets as I linger by the doorway, watching as Liam just stands by the bed, looking out the window.

As I glance around the room, I shake my head at myself. What the fuck. I haven’t even done anything to this room, except put a bed and a dresser in here. The trim needs to be replaced, the floor needs to be refinished, and it definitely needs to be painted.

I swallow and lift a hand to rub the back of my neck. “I know this isn’t the best place to live… it still needs a lot of work. It’s quiet though, and private. There’s no traffic, even on the water?—”

“I can move in right now.”

My brows lift in surprise as Liam turns to face me.

“Ok,” I say, glancing once more around the room. “I can take this bed out, if you have your own…?”

He shakes his head, looking down at the queen-sized bed I put in here for who knows what reason. “I have everything I own with me in my truck. So, the bed works for me.”

I nod slowly, observing him for a moment. I’m not sure what he has going on, but maybe I wasn’t that far off when I thought he could be on the run.

But fuck it, right?

“Beer?” I ask.

He nods, and I turn around, heading into the kitchen. He doesn’t seem like the forthcoming type, and I’m not about to ask for his life story. So, we can at least somewhat get to know each other over a beer if we’re going to live together.

I grab two beer from the fridge and pass him one as he takes a seat on a stool at the kitchen island.

“What do you do on the rig?” I ask, twisting the cap off my beer as I lean against the counter opposite the island.

“I’m a welder,” he says, then takes a drink.

I nod, fiddling with the label on my beer bottle. “And this is your first time working offshore?”

He nods as well, looking down at the bottle in his hands. “Yeah. Did my training for offshore last week, so my first shift starts next week.”

Before I can say anything in response to that, he looks up at me. “I can help with your renos while I’m here.”

I glance around the kitchen and shake my head slowly. “You don’t have to. There’s quite a bit left to do, and probably not how you want to spend your time off.”

He shrugs, sitting back and looking around as well. “Not like I have anything else to do.”

An urge rises to ask him why he’s here in Torrin Cove, when he’s from Cape Breton. He’s on the complete opposite end of the province, and from what he said in the store, I don’t think he actually planned on living down this way. But I don’t ask him, and instead I point at the partially knocked down wall behind him. “I guess I wouldn’t say no to some help tackling that beast.”

He turns to look at it and chuckles. When he turns to face me again, his bright blue eyes meet mine and I can’t help but stare directly into them.

The corner of his lips tilt up in a soft smile. “I can help with that.” Then he gestures around the kitchen with his beer bottle. “So, you fish, work in a store, and have a carpentry business, all while renovating a house. Quite the life you got carved out for yourself here.”

I suppress a sigh and take a drink, trying to ignore the familiar feeling of frustration as it rises to the surface. But I simply nod. “Yeah. My family owns the store, and I inherited the fishing business. Quite the life…”

I immediately regret the way that came out, and Liam eyes me curiously. Thankfully though, he doesn’t dig any deeper into that response.

And as we shift our conversation back to the house and renovations, there seems to be an unspoken understanding between us. We don’t ask each other anything personal. Nothing more about work, family, home… nothing. We just talk about tile, support beams, and wiring.

Liam is a mystery, and I have no idea what he’s doing here. But I know all about hiding parts of yourself from others, so… who am I to judge?

FIVE

The stairs creaksoftly as Theo makes his way downstairs, and I listen while he quietly passes my closed bedroom door and heads into the kitchen. But I continue to lie in bed and stare up at the dark ceiling, just like I have been all night. And it has nothing to do with the room or the house… I just can’t get my mind to settle.

The faint smell of coffee drifts into my bedroom, and I hear the soft clink of a spoon against a mug as Theo gets ready to go to work. I turn my head and look out the window, taking in the darkness of the early morning. A long breath escapes me as I listen to the waves gently lapping against the shore, and once again think of everything that happened yesterday. I don’t know if I should be here. I also don’t know where I’m supposed to be. But this place, Torrin Cove… it feels right. The quiet simplicity of this little town might be just what I need right now.

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