Leave the Lights On (21 page)

He followed her up the stairs, his hand protectively at the small of her back, his body still humming with adrenaline. “I can’t believe you married that guy.”

“That makes two of us. Come here.” Sophie turned on the faucet and held her hand out. “We need to get that cleaned off.”

Parker held his hand under the cool water, letting Sophie clean off the cuts. “What was he talking about anyway?”

“You need to ice this,” she said, examining his fingers. “Sit.” She pointed to one of the barstools at the center island, and Parker perched on top of it. He flexed his hand, noticing that his knuckles were already swelling.

Sophie ran water on a dishtowel then rang it out and filled it with ice. She placed it on his knuckles, tucking the ends into his palm. “Hold that there for a bit.”

“You’re really bossy when you wanna be, you know that?”

“Sorry. I can’t believe you had to see all that.” She looked down.

“Hey. You’ve got nothing to apologize for. Talk to me, though. What timeshare? What’s he giving you a hard time about?”

Sophie took a deep breath and sat on the barstool next to his. “We bought a timeshare together, a few years ago, when we got engaged. It seemed like a good idea at the time. The price was down when we got divorced, so as part of the settlement our lawyers agreed we’d keep it as a joint property until we could get a better deal on it. I was stupid to agree to that.”

“And now you need the money?”

“That place on Spruce Street, the one I told you about the other week? I looked at it again, and it’s the perfect spot. My lease is up next month. If I had the money from the timeshare, I could totally afford it. Without it, I can’t.”

“How much do you need? Most of my dad’s estate is still in probate, but I’ve got some money and I can always take cash out of the company. Just say the word.”

Sophie shook her head. “No. I’m not taking money from anyone. Joey offered the same thing last week, and I told him no too.”

Parker felt his jaw drop. “When did this happen?”

“Last week, when he stopped by that afternoon.”

Parker remembered. He’d come home for dinner and had found Joey sitting at the kitchen table drinking a beer while Sophie made quesadillas. He’d said he was in the neighborhood visiting his mom and had stopped by. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked.

“I didn’t think there was anything to tell. I was embarrassed he even knew about it. Nate called while Joey was here, and he overheard us fighting. He offered to buy the timeshare—said he could get the money to me in an hour. I said ‘no way’.”

Parker knew it was a nice thing for Joey to offer and that the money certainly wouldn’t mean anything to someone with his salary, but it irked him to think of Joey trying to swoop in and save the day. Especially without Parker even knowing about it. “You should have told me.”

“I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want you to offer me money either. I can handle this. I own half the timeshare. I have the money. I just can’t access it because he’s being a prick. That’s what’s so frustrating.”

“I’m sure. And obviously he’s being a total ass. But now that I know, will you let me help?”

Sophie looked down before raising her eyes to meet his. “I’m not good at asking for help.”

“I know. But you’re not asking—I’m offering.”

She sighed. “Thanks. If I can’t handle it, I’ll let you know. I promise.”

“Good.” Parker flexed his hand. The ice had significantly reduced that pain, and it was only a little sore.

“Does it hurt?” Sophie lifted the edge of the towel to peek underneath.

“It’s fine. It was worth it.”

She ran her fingers through his hair. “I don’t think anyone’s ever stood up for me like that.”

Parker shrugged. “I just hit the guy.”

“No.” Sophie’s eyes were dark and serious. “You told him to apologize and you told him to leave. And you hit him.”

“True.”

“When we were getting divorced, you have no idea how badly I wanted someone, anyone, to stand up to him and tell him to apologize to me and make him leave me alone.” Her fingers continued to play with the hair at the nape of Parker’s neck.

“What about your dad?” he asked.

She shook her head. “He was too busy worrying about town gossip. He never once told Nate off.”

“Now I’m sorry I didn’t hit him harder.”

“Just as well. He’d probably have sued you. I think you got your point across. And I’m sorry he called you the lawn boy.”

“I’m not just
the
lawn boy, I’m
your
lawn boy.” He saw the smile tugging at her lips.

“Best lawn boy I’ve ever had.”

“Only one you’ll ever need,” he said, pulling her into a kiss.

The next afternoon Parker left work early and headed straight to the bank. He got a cashier’s check, wanting to be able to hand the money to Sophie for the deposit whether she wanted it or not. If she didn’t need it, that was fine, but he wanted her to know it was right there if she did.

As he made his way into the parking lot, he saw Chrissie struggling to get a stroller out of the back of her blue Honda Odyssey. One of the stroller’s wheels appeared to be caught on something, and she was tugging relentlessly with no success. Part of him wanted to just pretend he hadn’t seen her and drive away, but he couldn’t do it.

“Need some help?” he asked.

She jumped at the sound of his voice, then sighed when she saw him. “You scared me. I didn’t see you coming. Yes, I’d love some help. I can’t get the damned thing out of the car.”

“Probably because of this.” Parker lifted the stroller and untangled the wheel from the mesh divider panel in the back of the van. He freed the wheel and set the stroller down in front of Chrissie.

“Thanks,” she said, flipping the latches on the sides so it fell open.

Parker studied her face for a second as she squinted at him in the sunlight. Her brow was furrowed, her expression sad. “You’re welcome. I’ll see you around.”

He started to walk away.

“Wait.”

Parker closed his eyes and took a deep breath before turning back. “What’s up?”

“I’ve been meaning to call you, you know. Or stop by. I was kind of hoping maybe you’d have gotten in touch after we talked at your dad’s memorial.”

“Get in touch? About what?”

Chrissie sat down on the rear bumper of her still-open minivan. “About…everything. Parker, I’m…I…”

He could see that she was on the verge of tears again and, as much as he didn’t want to be talking to her, he also didn’t want to see her cry. And he had no napkins to hand her this time.

“Chrissie, there’s nothing left to say. I’m not mad at you, if that’s what this is about. Okay? It’s over. What happened between us was a lifetime ago. We’re different people now. This is your life.” He gestured to the stroller and the child he could see sleeping in a car seat in the minivan.

“We’re different all right. You’re happy and I’m miserable.” A tear rolled down her cheek, and she looked away, wiping it quickly on her shoulder.

“Why are you miserable?”

She turned to look at him. “I told you. I made a mistake. You’re right.” She waved her hand around. “This is my life, every day, all the time. Me and Brice. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a mom, but when I pictured myself with kids, I never thought it would be so lonely.”

“What do you mean?” He couldn’t imagine being lonely with a spouse and child.

She shrugged and fiddled with a strap on the edge of the stroller’s hood. “When I was younger and I thought about kids, I always pictured you as the father. And I could see you running around the yard with our kids, teaching them to throw a ball.”

Parker’s chest clenched. He’d pictured the same thing more times than he cared to remember. “Well, you married Jarrod, so now he can teach your kid to throw a ball. Assuming he knows how.”

“I don’t know if he does or not. He never spends any time with Brice. Or me.”

He wanted to say something cold and obnoxious like “too bad” or “you made your bed…” but all he could manage was “I’m sorry.”

Chrissie gave a rueful laugh. “No,
I’m
sorry. I really am.”

The church bells rang in the distance and Parker realized it was five o’clock. “Look, I’ve gotta get going.”

“Okay.” Chrissie stood up, straightening her shorts. “I’ve got to run errands and get home. Thanks. For getting the stroller for me.”

“No problem.Take care of yourself, Chrissie.” He turned and walked away, glad she didn’t call him back again. He had nothing left to say.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Sophie looked at the clock for the third time in five minutes. Parker was never late for anything but he’d been due to arrive home an hour ago and he was nowhere in sight. She tried his phone but again it went straight to voicemail.
Stop worrying—he’s fine.

She scolded herself, not just for worrying that maybe something was wrong, but for worrying about who he was with. Ever since the week before, when he’d told her about running into Chrissie and how unhappy she seemed, Sophie had a nagging feeling she couldn’t shake.
What if he’s still in love with her? What if he wants to rescue her?
She knew Parker. He hated seeing people in distress.
What if…
It was too horrible to think about, yet she couldn’t shake the thoughts.
He’d never do that to me. Would he?
She was about to dial again when her phone rang.
Oh, thank God.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey. Sorry I didn’t call.”

“That’s okay. Where are you? We’re gonna be really late.” Her stomach turned over as she waited for his reply.

“Yeah, about that.” Parker paused. “I can’t go.”
 

Oh my God.
Her heart pounded its way into her throat.

“What do you mean you can’t go? Joey’s gonna kill us if we miss his housewarming party.”

“I know, I know. There was an accident at one of the job sites today. One of the guys fell off a ladder. He’s gonna be fine, but I’m at the hospital with him, and he’s definitely gonna need a cast. His folks are out of town, so I’m gonna stay and then drive him home and make sure he’s all right.”

“Oh no. I’m sorry. One of your college workers?” As sad as she was to hear that someone had been hurt, she couldn’t keep relief from sweeping over her.
He’s not with Chrissie. And I’m going to hell for being thankful for that instead of worried about the guy who fell off a ladder. Dammit. When did I become this person?

“Yeah, the newbie.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll call Joey and explain. We’ll go see his new place another night.”

“That’s crazy. You go. I know you’re dying to finally see the house. Hell, you should be, you helped him pick out half the damn furniture for the place. Besides, he’s counting on you to bring the desserts.”

“Shit.” She looked at the stack of boxes from Mangiano’s. She’d been so worried about Parker she’d almost forgotten.

“Go, you’ll have fun. If I get out of the hospital in the next few hours, I’ll swing by. If not, you can tell me all about it when you get home.”

“Are you sure?” She didn’t know anyone else who’d been invited and really wasn’t looking forward to going by herself.

“Positive. Have a good time and tell Joey I’m sorry. I’ll get there if I can but based on the wait time in this ER I’ll tell you right now it doesn’t look good.”

“Either way I’ll see you at your place later, right?”

“Can’t wait.”

Sophie hung up with a sigh.
Stop being so selfish. And stop being so distrustful. Jesus.

The drive to Joey’s took almost forty-five minutes, but she managed not to get lost. As she pulled up to the house, she drew in a deep breath. She’d seen pictures on his phone, but the photos hadn’t done it justice. She’d known Joey had always wanted a nice house. Even as a kid he’d talked about the day he’d be able to afford one. But this wasn’t just a house—it was a showpiece. Modern. Tall. All angles and glass. It was an architectural dream.

Sophie rang the doorbell, wondering if she was underdressed. Joey answered wearing a fitted black T-shirt and faded jeans, barefoot.
Not underdressed.

“Hey.” He gave her a broad smile and took the shopping bags from her hands as he pulled her into a hug.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said, glancing around. No one else appeared to be there.

“You’re not, really. I told everyone else to get here later. I wanted some time to show you and Parker around.”

“Well, it’s just me.”

“I know. He called. Too bad. But I’m glad you’re here.”

“You’re glad dessert’s here,” she teased.

“You’re better than dessert,” he said, kissing the side of her head. “Come on, I’ll show you around.”

Sophie took in the high ceilings and the wall of windows in the enormous great room. “It’s beautiful. It looks even more amazing than it did in the pictures.”

“Thanks. Wait ’til you get a load of the kitchen.”

She followed him through an arched doorway into what was easily the coolest kitchen she’d ever seen. The entire back wall was brick. An enormous center island sat in the middle of the room. It had chairs on one side and open shelving on each end. The eight-burner stove had a grill in the middle, and there were double wall ovens in addition to the two beneath the stovetop.