Page 31 of Falling for the Guy Next Door

Bosco turned and crossed his arms casually as he leaned against the railing. “It’d be nice to get out from under your shadow for a change.”

I shook my head. “Right, well, that’s the end of my pep talk. Take it or leave it or just stand there and let your old man get into your head like he used to do before games. You’d have done way better on the gridiron without his constant lectures hanging over you.” I turned to walk back inside.

“How are they?” he asked quietly. “Your mom and Becky? I know you keep a lot of it to yourself, but I also know it’s always hanging there—the worry, the weighty responsibility.”

I turned back and leaned next to him on the railing. “It’s not good. Things will seem like they’re improving and then there’s a setback, and Becky is starting to fray at the edges.”

“Can’t blame her. Still can’t believe your mom is in such a bad way. Man, she always had more energy than all of us, and she was always in a good mood. I envied you, even though your dad was long gone.” He chuckled. “I probably envied youbecauseyour dad was long gone. But your mom—she was always cool. Made me feel good to be at your house.”

I reached up and patted his back. “We had some good times, didn’t we?”

Bosco nodded. “Sure did. So, is that it for you? I know Seth has decided to go mainstream, and I never have to worry about Ronnie because she’s always got so much going on in her life, the band isn’t a big deal for her. I think I heard her talking to a few friends about an all-girl band. She’s probably sick of us lumps of clay.”

“Yeah, Ronnie will always come out on top because she works hard at it. To be honest, I haven’t given it much thought. I wasn’t expecting this bomb tonight, but I’ve noticed we just aren’t cohesive anymore, and I think that’s usually the red flag that tells you it’s over. I need the gig money, but right now, I don’t have the heart or soul to start looking for another band. I’ve got a good job on the construction site at least until October, maybe longer if we don’t finish by then, and maybe they’ll hire me full time. I like working with my hands.”

Ronnie poked her head out the back door. “Just making sure no blood has been spilled.”

Bosco chuckled. “If there had been it would have been this guy’s. Is there still pizza left?”

“Yep.”

We both pushed off the railing. “Seriously, you couldn’t just pick the pepperoni off?” Bosco asked as we headed inside.

“Much more fun to aggravate you.” I clapped his shoulder, and he walked in ahead of me. It seemed, for now at least, we’d patched up what remained of our long friendship.

ChapterNineteen

Layla

Once again, it seemed I would spend the evening alone. I didn’t bother cooking anything. It wasn’t worth it for one person. I buttered a few pieces of toast and carried my gourmet dinner out to the back patio. The sun had set an hour earlier, but the cool coastal breeze hadn’t settled in yet to drop the temperatures. Heat still radiated in soft billowy puffs off the sand below.

My phone beeped with a text. I hadn’t spoken to Emily since she called me at work and basically accused me of having something going with Nash. This whole thing had really pushed her overboard, and I wasn’t in the mood to talk to her right now. I hoped she’d come to her senses soon because I missed having my best friend around, especially lately, when I was feeling mostly abandoned by my sisters.

The text was from Ella. “I’ll be home late. Rhett and I just started a movie.”

“That’s fine. Have fun.” I put the phone down and picked up my sorry slice of toast. I crunched away on it as I gazed out at the cove. The moon hadn’t shown up yet to crease the rippling surface with its usual streak of gold, so the water was inky-black. When we were younger, we’d always go for a swim when the moon was full. The sand would be almost blindingly white on those nights, and the moon showered the dark, choppy tide with glittering light. It always felt way different and more exciting than swimming in the daylight. There were shards of light everywhere, but the sea itself was still black beneath the surface, so we’d giggle with nerves, thinking about what might be down there, below that rugged surface, creatures and monsters we couldn’t see. Those same creatures and monsters would, of course, disappear once the sun was back in the sky, but we loved to shriek and scream about all the wildly tentacled possibilities during our night swims.

I was halfway through my very uninspiring dinner when I heard a guitar playing quietly next door. Nash must have had the same idea as me and gone out to his back patio. I sat there for a few minutes listening to him play a song I’d never heard before. It was a good melody, one that was mostly rock and roll and a bit country. It made me sway back and forth as I nibbled my toast. The toast crunching was drowning out the music, so I put it down on the plate and turned my ear that direction. He hummed along with the tune. Even his humming was rich and soothing. I could have easily walked around our cottage and over to his side and out to his patio, but the terrible conversation with Emily splashed through my head. It was ridiculous really, since we had nothing but a neighborly friendship. Nash had certainly never said or done anything to make me think he was interested, and I’d turned those thoughts off myself because of Emily. I sat back and listened to the guitar for a few more minutes, then stood up. My feet moved in that direction before my brain knew what was happening.

Rocky hopped up first. Nash had been focused on his playing. He turned to see what had gotten Rocky’s attention. His white smile was bright under the dim patio light.

Nash put down the guitar.

“No, don’t stop. I walked over so I could hear it better.”

“That’s all right. I’m sort of composed out for the night.”

I sat down on one of the patio chairs. “It’s an original? I thought as much. I really like it.”

“Yeah? Great to hear. It’s just something I’ve been messing with.”

Rocky came over to sit next to me. I raked my fingers through the curly fur on his head. “I thought he might be sleeping already after our big walk.”

Nash always smiled when he looked at his dog. “Nah, he waits for me to go to bed, but he’s definitely much more tired in the afternoon when I get home. I’m sorry if he scared you today. Not sure what got into him. Like I said, he does that at night sometimes, but not usually on a walk.”

“Maybe he saw a cat or something,” I said.

“Yeah, but there’s something else, isn’t there? You don’t look convinced by the cat theory, but I sense that it really bothered you.”

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