Page 38 of Home Between Homes

He squeezed his eyes together, made a face, and let out a groan. “Already?” he muttered, squinting at me with his left eye.

“Looks like it,” I replied, my voice hoarse as if I had drunk all the alcohol in the house last night.

Jack shook his head as if this was a reality he couldn’t accept. His hands grabbed the hand I had on his chest and turned to his side, now holding my arm hostage. “You can’t go. You’re mine now.”

I cleared my throat to get rid of the hoarse sound of my voice. “I don’t want to either, but…” I motioned to where the sound was coming from.

A bark from downstairs joined the ringing.

“All right,” he groaned, letting go of my arm and sitting up as well. “I hate that we have to be so mature.”

“Tell me about it,” I chuckled and set my feet on the floor, taking a second to make sure they were awake before heading downstairs. I picked up the phone. “Hello?”

“Hi, this is Dany fromTwo Trucks And One Man. Sorry to call you so early. Is thisNoah Atchley?”

“Speaking.”

“I thought I might reach you at this number. I’m calling because we found your car and brought it in. It was still where Jack told me it would be. I wanted to let you know you can pick it up today.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your call.”

Jack joined me in the living room, now wearing his jeans and shirt with the little sign that lets everyone know he’s the‘Home Services Expert.’

“I’m heading out to tow Jack’s car in about two hours,” Dany said on the other end of the line. “If you want, I can give you a ride.”

“That would be great. Jack’s still here, too.” I turned my head to him. His hair was in a wild state. He rested his fingers on the wooden console that held the phone and raised his eyebrows slightly as he caught my eye.

“Perfect. I can take you both. Please let him know he can borrow Laura’s Ford until his truck is fixed.”

“I will. Thanks for calling. See you in two hours.”

“Yep,” he replied and hung up.

“Ugh.” Jack made a face as I hung up the phone.

“Heard everything?”

He nodded. “I dreaded this so much, but I guess I’ll have to hurry then.” His eyes darted to the floor. “I’d rather have the house so clean that when the McCormacs come back tomorrow, they’ll never guess what we’ve been up to.”

He didn’t need to explain. He was right to get back to work today. We cleaned up the bigger messes right after they happened, like when we cooked or had our spa day. But the little things accumulated, and Jack was a master at caring for them. It wasn’t just about cleaning the house either. There were probably a lot of old people who needed fresh food as much as we did. I would have told him to leave the house to me and take care of the rest first, but I already knew he wouldn’t accept that suggestion.

He took a step toward me, and somehow, I expected him to pull me into a hug, but he didn’t. “Please know that I’d rather stay with you.”

“So would I, but we knew this was coming.” No matter how much we both wanted it, the week we were given was over. Denying it would only make things worse. “How about you get started, and I’ll make us breakfast? And at least help out by shoveling some snow?”

He let out a deep sigh. “Thank you for being so understanding.”

Being an adult in moments like this sucked. Hard. But it wasn’t like we could do anything about it.

Sunlight streamedin through the windows, bathing the entire house in a warm yellow glow. I was rinsing the last plate from our breakfast when the ringing of the front doorbell announced that Dany was there. Maggie was the first to rush to our visitor. I put the plate in the sink, dried my hands on the tea towel thathung by the stove, and followed Maggie into the living room. She looked at the non-existent gap under the front door, her tail wagging.

A man in his fifties waved at me through the door’s window. He was wearing a cap with the logo of his company,Two Trucks And One Man.

“I’ll be ready to go in ten minutes,” Jack called from upstairs.

“Take your time,” I called back, bent down to hold Maggie’s collar so she wouldn’t jump at Dany. But as I pulled the door open, she put up a good fight for her age in her attempts to greet him.

A cold gust of wind blew in, bringing with it a few snowflakes from the drifts that had accumulated on the porch.

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