Page 76 of Love You
“Are you sure?” Reggie could be napping in his bedroom. But it was odd that the dog hadn’t shown its face.
“Pretty sure. But if he comes out now we can just pretend we were about to knock on the door.”
“All right.” Win vaulted himself over the railing like TJ had and they walked around checking out the view from various vantage points.
“I’ll go in partners with you,” TJ said.
“You already have a house and I don’t want a partner.” Win pressed his face against the glass to get a better look at the kitchen.
“I don’t think you can afford it otherwise. Hell, this place is right on the river. The land alone is worth bucks. The cabin may need work but it’s got amazing bones. You’re looking at a big chunk of change here just to afford the mortgage payments.”
“I might have to settle for something else then.” Win wasn’t going to take money from TJ, just like he wouldn’t from his parents. He wanted to do this on his own.
TJ gazed out over the property, at the gardens and the grove of trees, and let out a whistle. “I’d sure like to have this in the Garner family. When Reggie gives you a price let’s see what we can work out. Maybe there’s a way to swing it. You’ve got savings, right?”
“Some.” Not as much as he probably should have in the bank, given his not unsubstantial salary and his low overhead. His studio apartment cost next to nothing. But over the years he’d frittered away a lot of cash on fancy outdoor gear and equipment, his Jeep, and some pretty extravagant vacations.
“With that and the bonus you get from bagging the FlashTag account—if you get it—we might be able to figure out a loan that would keep your monthly payments down.”
If anyone could pull it off, TJ could. He had a master’s degree in business from UC Berkeley and was the best wheeler-dealer Win knew.
“It’s a sweet property.” TJ went down the porch stairs, stepped back from the house so he could appraise it from a distance. “Needs a new roof. But it’s a hell of a cabin, really nice design. Solid.”
“Yep. Can we go now before someone thinks we’re breaking into the place?”
“Uh-huh.” TJ was distracted. Win could see the wheels in his head spinning. He was already figuring out a way to turn the place into Camp Garner.
“Come on.” Win kicked him in the ass. “Let’s go back the way we came.”
Ten minutes later, they were headed for the main road back to town.
“Where’s Deb?” Win asked to break the silence.
“Doing something with Hannah and Delaney. Probably wedding crap. You want to talk about what’s going on with you and Darcy?”
Win figured the question was the real reason TJ had come and he’d used the house as an excuse. “Nope.”
The cab of the truck filled with silence until TJ finally spoke. “I was a dick before.”
“You? Never.”
TJ slid him a sideways glance and his lips quirked. “You’ve gotta admit that your track record isn’t so hot and Darcy . . . well, I’m pretty damned fond of her, not to mention that she’s become an integral part of this company. Whatever that shit was you pulled with her mother . . .” He let out a breath. “It wasn’t like you. I guess what I’m trying to say is I hope you know what you’re doing.”
He didn’t have a fucking clue. “We’re friends, TJ.” Which was mostly true but there was more, too. He was a little bit crazy about her. Damned if he understood it but it was there, this desperate need to see her every morning and sleep with her every night.
“That’s the thing, Win. What you think is friendship, some women think is more.”
Win knew TJ was talking about his whole unfortunate situation with Deb. But it was Darcy who initiated the sexual part of their relationship, not him. “You’ve got to trust me on this.”
TJ turned down Main Street and instead of taking Win home, parked in one of the diagonal spots in front of Old Glory. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, because I know you don’t intentionally set out to hurt anyone. It’s not who you are but let’s just say you’re prone to a lot of misunderstandings and I just don’t want Darcy to get hurt.”
“You ever think I might be the one to get hurt?” Win didn’t wait for TJ to answer, just swung open his door and got out.
Chapter Seventeen
Darcy found Nana in her bedroom, looking peaked again. Her skin was ashy, her breathing shallow, and her bony hands were clutching the side of the dresser to hold her up.
She helped maneuver her to the bed to sit down. “What’s wrong, Nana?”
