Page 24 of The Coworker
“I’m fine,” I say tightly. “Really.”
“What do you want with that dusty old house anyway?”
Estelle fixes her brown eyes on me, waiting for my answer. It’s not an entirely unfair question. It’s not like my most recent memories of this town are good. But there was a time Iwashappy here. In some ways, I spent the happiest years of my life in this house. Back when I was young and carefree.
Or maybe part of me is still a rebellious teenager, who wanted to come back here solely because my parents would never let me after I got pregnant.
“This ismygoddamn house, Estelle,” I say in a low voice. “And I’m allowed to do whatever I want with it without having to justify it toyou.”
Estelle’s false eyelashes flutter as if she’s shocked I spoke to her that way. I certainly would not have said something like that back when I wasthishigh.
“You know,” she says, “your parents would be very disappointed that you disobeyed their wishes.”
Truthfully, I’m shocked my parents left me the house at all. After I started mailing their monthly checks back to them, uncashed, I figured I was out of the will. But there was no one else for them to leave their estate to. So I got it all by default.
I fold my arms across my chest. “Please don’t bother me again, Estelle.”
Her bright red lips part, and for a moment, I’m certain she’s going to argue with me. But instead, she turns on her heel and gets back into her Lincoln. Her car zooms away just as Tim’s Prius slides into my driveway. I take a deep breath, trying to dispel the tension from our confrontation. It works—a little.
“Wow,” Tim says when I climb into the passenger’s seat. “I haven’t seen you dressed up in a long time.”
I squirm as I slide the seatbelt into place. “I’m not dressed up.”
“Right. Me either.”
Although he does look a bit dressed up. He’s wearing a light blue dress shirt, and he’s even put on a tie. Back when we were kids, I never saw him wear anything besides a T-shirt and jeans, but this suits him.
I don’t invite him to come in, and he doesn’t seem upset about it. I don’t know what Josh will make of me bringing home some guy, especially if that guy is the assistant principal of his school. At the very least, it could start some uncomfortable rumors.
“Where are we going?” I ask him.
“It’s a bar that opened up a few years ago—the Shamrock. It’s pretty quiet, decent food. Or just beer, if that’s all you want.”
I nod, musing to myself that the last time I saw Tim, neither of us was old enough to drink legally. Now that milestone has come and gone.
“So how is Josh finding school?” Tim asks.
“Fine,” I say. “He’s making some friends.”
“That’s great. Kindergarten is such a hard transition, but I’m sure he’ll do great.”
I freeze. I had assumed that when Tim looked me up in the school records, he figured out that Josh was in fifth grade. Apparently not. He still thinks my son is five years old. Which means he doesn’t know that Josh is Shane’s son.
And I really, really don’t want to tell him. Not yet. Not when he’s looking over at me during the red lights and smiling at me that way.
The Shamrock is only a five-minute drive away. Tim parks in the lot outside the bar, and he rushes around the side of the car to open the door for me, even though I have already got it open myself. This isn’t a date, but he’s being a gentleman, which is insanely sweet. Men aren’t like that in New York City. You have to go upstate for good manners, apparently.
Inside the bar is about what I expected. Dark, a slight hint of smokiness hanging in the air, and a lot of sticky tables spread out through the room. We grab a table in the back, and this time it comes as no surprise when Tim pulls out my chair for me.
“When did you get to be such a gentleman?” I tease him.
“I wasn’t before?”
“Ha!” I snort. “I was lucky if you didn’t pull my chair out from under me.”
“Brooke!” He clutches his chest in mock horror. “I would never have done that. Unless you deserved it, of course.”
“I’m just saying…” I look across the table at his twinkling blue eyes. “You don’t have to act all formal with me. We’ve known each other since we were in diapers. We know each other pretty well.”
