Page 70 of Keep My Heart
‘You sure proved her wrong,’ Mom says, going to get more coffee.
Dad leans back, cringing and rubbing his stomach.
‘You okay?’ I ask.
He shakes his head. ‘I’ve been having some bad indigestion lately. Your mom says I’m working too hard, but I think I just need to eat less.’
‘You’vebeeneating less and you still have that pain,’ Mom says, taking our plates to the sink.
‘How long’s this been going on?’ I ask.
‘A few weeks.’ He gets up. ‘It’s just part of getting old. I’m going to take a short nap before going out in the fields.’
When he’s upstairs, I walk over to Mom. ‘Is Dad okay?’
‘He’s fine. He just overworks himself. I keep telling him to hire another helper, but he insists he can do it alone.’
‘He’s getting older. He needs to slow down.’
‘Maybe you can talk him into it. He won’t listen to me.’
‘I’ll talk to him when I get home. Thanks for breakfast.’
Mom winks at me. ‘Tell Lyndsay I said hello.’
‘For the last time, I’m not dating her.’
My mom would love it if I dated Lyndsay. She’s always liked her. They worked together on some school fundraisers. Lyndsay always volunteered for that stuff; school fundraisers, bake sales to support local kid programs, charity events to raise money forpeople in town that needed it. She was always helping out, and because she was popular, she got other people to help out too.
When I get to her house, she answers the door.
‘Hey, I’m Nick, your repair guy. I believe you have an issue with your dishwasher?’
Lyndsay smiles. ‘Yes, it’s leaking. I couldn’t wait for you to get here.’
The way she says it makes me think she’s not kidding, that she really couldn’t wait to see me. I’m so damn confused about her. Last night had me even more confused. I told her what I thought she wanted, for us to stay friends, but she looked sad when I said it. I don’t know what that means, and when I asked her about it, she acted like everything was fine.
Was she hoping for something else, like for us to date? Why would she want that, knowing I’m leaving? And if she wanted us to date, why didn’t she tell me that? I don’t think she does. I think she’s just sad we won’t see each other anymore. I’m sad about that too, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I have to get back to New York.
‘Nick, can I get you anything?’ Patty asks as I bring the toolbox into the kitchen. ‘Some coffee? A cinnamon roll?’
‘No thanks. I just had breakfast. But I might take one of those cinnamon rolls to go.’
‘You can have the whole pan,’ she says, sounding excited that I asked for one. She’s always been an excellent baker. She loved feeding me when I’d come over to tutor Lyndsay.
‘How are your parents doing?’ Patty asks as she wraps up the cinnamon rolls.
‘I think they’re worn out from the party last night. They were up pretty late.’ I get to work taking the door off the dishwasher, noticing Lyndsay watching me.
I’m watching her too. She’s got on ripped denim shorts and apink-and-white plaid button-up shirt that’s tied in front, just below her breasts, exposing her stomach. If she’s trying to tempt me to cross the friend line, she’s doing a damn good job.
‘You want to help?’ I ask, smiling at her.
‘I’m good over here,’ she says, smiling back as she picks up her coffee.
The job only takes ten minutes. When I’m done, Patty runs the dishwasher and not a single drop of water leaks out.
‘It works!’ Patty hugs me. ‘Oh, Nick, I can’t thank you enough.’ She lets me go and races over to her purse. ‘Let me pay you for the parts.’
