Page 62 of A Lesson for Laurel

“Laurel is the name of a flower,” Abe said.

“It is?” he asked. He didn’t keep track of that shit.

“It is,” Abe said. “And that is why I make my career in landscaping and you don’t.”

“I’ve done it enough,” he said.

“You have and I appreciate you doing it now. But you didn’t answer my question.”

There was no reason not to either. Or to lie about something. “Things are good there.”

“Good?” Abe asked. “What does that mean?”

“It means we are dating.”

“Code word for sneaking over at night,” Abe said, laughing.

“There is no sneaking and not at night,” he said drily. “We are both busy.”

They had dinner last night together at his place. Made it up to his old room and barely fit on the double bed. She was laughing more than him and joked that if he spent the night, it’d be at her place, her bed was at least a queen.

He hadn’t realized how much he missed his king until last night.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Abe said. “What the hell?”

“I didn’t think it sounded bad,” he argued. “I’m not sure what you were expecting.”

“I don’t know either,” Abe said. “I just want to make sure you’re not all caught up in your head over the past.”

It was hard to forget the past when everyone was bringing it up. “I’m not,” he said. “It’s been a few dates. I like her. She knows I’ll be going home in a few weeks.”

“Then what is going to happen?” Abe asked.

“No clue. We haven’t gotten that far.”

“You haven’t talked about it at all?” Abe asked.

“Since when have you gotten to be so nosy?”

“I’ve got no life here and am only talking to Mom half the time.”

“You’re losing your mind, aren’t you?” he asked. And it made him wonder if his cousin would come home earlier than expected and then he’d have to leave.

Shit, that could put a wrinkle in things when he was hoping to have a few more weeks to get a feel of things with Laurel.

“A little,” he said. “I’m staying busy and doing a bunch of work around the house here. It doesn’t need much. I can’t even do anything with the landscaping. Their HOA covers it and Mom said I’m not supposed to change a thing.”

“That has to kill you,” he said, laughing.

“It does, but it’s better that she lives here and doesn’t have any upkeep or maintenance for those things.”

His aunt lived in a townhouse. She wanted nicer weather and less work around the house.

“Then what are you doing?” he asked.

“Thankfully her bedroom and bath are on the first floor, so no stairs for her. No carpet, which is good. Everything is tile in the house on the first floor. The second, where I am, was carpet and she didn’t want it. I put hardwood in for her. I redid the guest bath too.”

“While you’re using it?” he asked. “Are you out of your mind?”

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