Page 9 of It's Only Love

Dean worked on it himself? How…sweet. “How much do I owe?” she asked, rummaging in her purse.

“No charge.” Bear disappeared back under the hood, his husky voice echoing slightly.

“No, really, how much?”

“Boss said there’s no charge, just let us know if you have any more troubles.” He popped out from under the hood again and grabbed some more tools. He gave her what she imagined he thought was a smile but it looked a bit like a grimace. She thanked him and headed over to her car. When she got inside, she locked the doors immediately, thinking of Dean’s comment earlier. She noticed her seat was still in the same position, Dean must have put it back after he moved it into the lot, no way would his long legs fit in this tiny gap. That was thoughtful, she sighed, feeling worse about earlier.

The scent of pine needles and sandalwood enveloped her. It was Dean’s scent, she remembered it well. She closed her eyes, breathing it in, he smelled like the forest, wild and natural. It was intoxicating, making her sigh as she imagined burying her face in his neck and breathing in deep, running her mouth along his skin, tasting. Deep in her daydream, she accidentally leaned on the steering wheel, beeping her horn, startling herself out of the fantasy. When she looked up, Bear was watching her with a quizzical look on his face. Her cheeks flushed, she waved at him then started her car, and drove off wondering where the hell that fantasy came from.

The closer to home she got, the bigger the pit in her stomach became. She wasn’t used to being back in that house yet and certainly didn’t like being there alone. Each room held memories, some sad, some happy, but all of them painful. She tried to spend as little time as possible there. Maybe she needed a distraction while she was in town, to keep her busy, something to give her focus so she didn’t have to keep worrying about spending time alone here.

In the meantime, she would get ready, head back out, and see if Justine wanted to hang out before her gig later. Christy could help her get ready and then go to the bar together. She pulled up outside the weathered, two-story farmhouse and switched off the engine. As she got out of her vehicle and walked up the stone path she took in the house. The wraparound porch was peeling white paint but was pretty sturdy. The hedges and bushes in the front yard needed pruning, badly, the weeds pulled up, and grass cut. The list of jobs was growing by the minute.

She let herself into the house, the front door opening straight into the living room. Old, faded floral wallpaper decorated the walls, starting to peel from some corners, and a few pieces curled up on the hardwood floor. The gray couch and matching armchair were worn but still in pretty good condition, as was the glass coffee table. There was a wooden bookcase in one corner that held paperbacks and ornaments, and an aging plant stood in the other corner. A cream archway led to the hall where the stairs to the second floor and entrance to the kitchen were. Christy didn’t linger, she went straight upstairs to the shower.

After her shower, she went into the spare room where she was staying and dried her hair, trying to tame her short, insistent curls but they weren’t having any of it. She rummaged in her two suitcases for something to wear and selected a hot pink sleeveless sundress and white sandals.

While she was applying her makeup, her thoughts drifted back to Dean. She wondered what he thought of her now. Did he know much about her life from Taylor? Did he know what Douchebag Alfie had done to her, what he had taken from her? How many girlfriends had Dean had? Whoa, where did that one come from? His love life wasn’t her business, she didn’t even care anyway. She wondered if he would be at Justine’s gig tonight. She hoped he would be, but only so she could thank him for his kindness with her car. Her cell rang, distracting her from her thoughts.

“Hello?”

“Hi Christy, it’s Cassie from Blossom Estates, how are you?” Cassie’s soft voice came through the phone.

“Good thanks, and you?”

“Yes, good thank you. I just wanted to let you know the potential buyer we showed around earlier was quite interested in the property, so fingers crossed we’ll have some good news for you very soon.”

“That’s fantastic, thank you!” Christy said, Cassie promised to call her once she heard anything and they hung up. Christy felt a little better, hopefully, this buyer would want to take the property as soon as possible. Although it needed some work to freshen it up, Christy just wanted this all finished so she could hurry up and leave town again. She applied Pink Dynamite, loving how perfectly the color matched her sundress, she tried to smooth her hair down again but gave up. She grabbed her purse, and keys and left the house.

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