Page 86 of Seeing You

“Max, I need to go. Are you going to be home later? Can I call you tonight around eight?” His heart was pounding and he was eager to get off this call and start trying to put things in motion.

“Of course! I know you’re busy, but if there’s anything you need, you know I’m here.”

“That’s what I’m counting on.” Sitting up straight, he began searching online for phase one of his still-to-be-determined plan. “I’ll talk to you later. And Max?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks. I owe you everything.”

“Hey, it’s what brothers do. I’ll talk to you tonight!”

Chapter Fifteen

Another week had gone by, and Billie managed to convince herself she was fine. She was working, had figured out how to package their new grab-and-go items, ordered the display for it, and decided it was time to rip out her kitchen and do a renovation.

She fully blamed Marcus for that last one. He had her looking at her house differently, but she couldn’t be mad at him for it. The house needed work; she’d just been too busy doing other things to really think about it. A local contractor was going to come over early next week to give her an estimate on the project.

Now it was Saturday, and everyone was heading over to Ashlynn and Reid’s place for dinner. They were just all together last weekend for Chloe and Tanner’s big announcement, so why they had to do it all again was beyond her.

“I love my family, I love my family, I love my family,” she murmured on the drive over. “I just don’t need to spend every waking moment with them.” Still, she had a tray of cookies and another of brownies, and a lemon pound cake with her. It was just a given that she was always going to be the one to bring dessert; Chloe made great appetizers and casseroles, Ashlynnmade amazing side dishes, and Jade could do everything, so she filled in whatever gaps there were. It just worked.

When she pulled up to the house, her father happened to pull up right behind her. She climbed out of her car and waited for him.

“There’s the prettiest baker in the world,” her father said as he walked over and kissed her on the cheek. Ronan Donovan was a charmer, and even though he had been out of the picture for most of her life, they were reconnecting. Billie was learning to stop harping on the past and to appreciate the time they had together now.

“Hey, Dad. How was your week?”

He chuckled. “It feels like we just did this, right?” Another little laugh. “It was a pleasant week. Your mom was having some electrical issues at the house, so I stayed and waited for the electrician so she could go to work.”

“That was nice of you.” She reached into the car and grabbed the box of brownies and handed them to him.

“Then I went with Reid to do some demo on one of the houses over on Boulder Street. You know the one with the massive wraparound porch?”

“You mean the white one?” Next, she grabbed the box with the cookies and handed it to him.

“That’s the one! They’re putting in a new kitchen and he needed an extra pair of hands.”

Grabbing the last of her things, Billie straightened and shut the door. “Wow! I hope you didn’t overdo it. You know what the doctor said about that sort of thing.”

“I know, I know…my heart can’t take too much strenuous exercise,” he told her. “I was very good, so you don’t have to worry.”

“I hope so.” They began walking toward the house. “I didn’t realize Reid was still doing the demo thing on the side. I thought he gave that up when he got the promotion at the firehouse.”

“I think with a baby on the way, he’s just making sure they have plenty of money in savings so he can take some time off. With Ashlynn being self-employed, she’s not going to get a paid maternity leave.”

“True.” They stepped up onto the porch. “It’s funny that you were working on a kitchen. I’m thinking of doing mine. I have a contractor coming next week to give me an estimate.”

“Really?” he asked excitedly. “I’m surprised you waited this long! With all the baking you do, I thought you would’ve upgraded a long time ago.”

“You know, it was on my list of things to do in the future and then I kept putting it off because there was always something else to do.”

“Your house is perfect for one or maybe two people, so I know that’s why you like it so much, but you deserve something bigger and better.” Then he laughed again. “And if you ever decide to sell, let me know. I’d be very interested.”

That…wasn’t what she expected. “Seriously? Why? You have a house.”

He shrugged. “I do and it’s fine. Your cousin Patrick helped me get into it, but I grabbed the first house he offered because I was desperate to move back to the area. Now that I’m here, it’s really just not me. Your house is more my style. Not that I’m pushing you out, but should you ever decide to upgrade, just know you’ve got a buyer.”

Shaking her head, she laughed softly. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

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