Page 49 of Overdue

“I’m sure the whole town knows since my stride of pride. But that’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. Well, not about the sex. But sort of about it.” Good Lord, I’m rambling. I shouldn’t still get nervous around Austen. “So, Gran has decided to move to Shady Acres.”

“The cemetery?”

“No, the other Shady Acres. The senior living facility in Fredericksburg. Anyway, she signed the house over to me, and I was thinking. Since you’re looking for a place, and I now have a place. Maybe you could rent part of my place. You don’t need to pay much. You can even work off part of the rent.”

The scowl on her face is the first hint I’ve said the wrong thing. Again. Though for the life of me, I can’t figure out what.

“So you’re saying I can move in and you’ll let me ‘work off’ my rent?” She even adds the air quotes. I guess when said like that, it does sound bad.

“No, I just mean—”

“Thanks, but I think I’ll pass. As much as I appreciate you offering me housing for sex, I do have at least a little bit of pride left.” Austen stands and throws her napkin on the table. I watch the way her hips sway as she marches out of the restaurant.

So, as I see it, two things need to change. First, I need to learn to stop saying dick things without thinking. Second, she needs to stop taking every dick thing I say so personally. As if I would ever intend for Austen to exchange lodging for sex. I wouldn’t say no if she offered, but I would never insist.

I stand and drop some cash on the table. I’ll have to deal with this later. I have other pressing matters right now.

Today, we begin tearing out the old shrubs and cement pathways. Of course, we’re preserving the war memorial, but I’m having it cleaned. We’ll be doing a little more landscaping around it at the end to make it stand out.

Gran once pointed out the name of a great-uncle on the side under World War II. Austen’s and my names should be on it under our own heading. It feels like we’ve been at war for a very long time.

I stand, staring at the memorial while my guys prep the area. Tomorrow, the crew shows up to plant the tree that will be the main focal point of the square. A live oak that will still be around generations from now. Next week, the cement for the stage will be poured. I have the metal signs that go over the entrances being created in a local artist shop already.

If everything goes to schedule, we could be dedicating the square a month from now. At the very least, a month and a half, during Founder’s Day. The town will be filled to overflowing with visitors that weekend. It will be a great chance to use the new stage. I want everything to be perfect.

That includes having the prettiest woman to have ever left her mark on this town by my side. If Austen isn’t with me when it’s dedicated, it will be a bittersweet event. I scowl harder at the memorial. If that’s how I feel, I can’t let this thing between us fester any longer. She needs to know exactly how I feel, and she needs to either reciprocate, or put me out of my misery once and for all.

“Hey guys,” I say, moving toward my truck. “I have to go deal with something. I’ll be right back.” They wave me off, as I slide behind my steering wheel. Austen never returned to the library after lunch, so I assume she’s at home. I drive the short two blocks and climb out. Standing on the sidewalk, I take a deep breath trying to shore up my nerves.

“Reed?” I hear from down the block. Turning, I find Austen standing halfway between her house and mine. I steel my spine and start for her. She half jogs until we’re standing toe-to-toe. She starts to speak again, but I hold up my hand to silence her. I’ve got to get this out before I explode.

“Let me go first,” I say. “I never meant to insinuate that you're going to turn tricks in return for rent. I’m sorry. I just thought you might want to move in and we can fix it up together.” I have her rapt attention, and I pray I don’t fuck this up.

“Truth is, I love you, Austen. I always have. I always will. I now own this big house to rattle around in, and I can’t think of anyone else on this earth I’d like to rattle around with more than you.”

She continues to stare at me when I finish. Did it come out right? I can’t think of anything else to say. I love her. I want to be with her. That sounds like everything. She’s beginning to make me nervous, when she throws her arms around me.

“I’m sorry, Reed. I know you didn’t mean it like that. It’s just, you’ve always been my favorite person to fight with, and it just comes naturally now. I promise I’ll try to be better. I love you too, and I would love nothing more than to move in with you.” My arms wrap around her waist, and I press her against me tight.

“I don’t so much mind the arguing, as long as I know we’ll still be good at the end,” I say. She pulls back enough to smile up at me. “And you should know by now that sometimes shit just springs out of my mouth before my brain engages. I always mean well, though.”

“I know that now. I really do.” She presses her lips against mine. We make out right there on the sidewalk where all the neighbors can see.

I don’t care what the gossip is anymore. I love this woman, and I want the world to know. It’s also perfectly fine with me if it gets around that she’s mine. There are way too many other guys only too happy to move in on her. I’m not okay with that.

“I should probably get back to work. The guys are unsupervised. They tend to do bad things when not supervised,” I say when we finally break apart.

“Yeah, especially Raffe. You’ve always been a bad influence on him.”

“Hey!”

She grins at my protest. She’s probably right, though. It was my idea to “accidentally” wander into the girl's locker room by mistake. We both got suspended for three days. Gran was not impressed.

“I need to get to work also. The internet is still not up at the library, so I’ve been splitting my days between there and here. The board released some of the emergency funds to replace the books that we couldn’t restore. I have a huge wishlist I’m working through.”

Of course, instead of leaving immediately, we make out for a few more minutes. I manage to pull myself away from her after a promise of joining Gran and me for supper tonight.

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