The Boy Next Door: A Standalone Small Town Romance (Soulmates Series Book 3) (18 page)

Chapter 34: Connor

I knew Laney was home when I walked in because there was an open
box of Wheat Thins in the middle of the butcher block, and the back doors to
the porch were wide open.

Outside, she was reclining on one of the sun loungers with a
shoe box of letters in her lap.

“What’s all this?” I asked, bending to give her a kiss.

“They’re from my mom,” she said. “To Helly.”

I raised my eyebrows and sat next to her crossed legs. “There
are a lot of them.”

“I guess she had a lot of energy when she stopped drinking.”

“How did things go this morning?” I asked. “At the motel?”

“I feel guilty that I wasn’t more charitable.”

“Don’t waste any more guilt on this,” I said. “Guilt is such a
worthless, unproductive feeling.”

“Then why does the church love it so much?”

“Because it distracts people from questioning their faith.”

“Shit, Connor.”

I shrugged. “You asked.”

“True.”

“So how did you leave things?” I asked, noticing she was wearing
one of my t-shirts.

“I told her I didn’t want to see her anymore and that, while I
wished her well, I wasn’t about to let her back into my life.”

I nodded.

“Do you think I’m a horrible person?”

I shook my head. “No. I think it would be horrible if you didn’t
put your own needs first.”

“Really?”

“Of course,” I said. “Don’t you think the best thing for both of
you is for you to do what makes you happy?”

“I never thought about it that way.”

I turned away from her and scanned the yard. Sarge was following
Neo as he sniffed around the perimeter of the garden, rubbing his cheek on
every surface he could find. “How long have they been playing together?”

She shrugged. “About an hour.”

“Not bad.” I glanced down at the letters. “Just out of curiosity,
how is reading her letters not letting her in?”

“Because it’s only fair.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Fair?”

“Helly’s been writing to her about me since I arrived in
Glastonbury.”

I squinted. “What?”

“She knows about everything. Even you.”

“Shit.”

“I know,” she said. “So it only seems fair that I should know a
little about who she is when she’s not too intoxicated to express herself.”

“You’ll take a break if you need to, right?”

She nodded.

My phone buzzed in my pocket.

“Who is it?” she asked.

“It’s my folks.”

“Tell them I said hi.”

I answered the phone and stood up, walking down the steps into
the yard to keep a closer eye on Sarge and Neo.

“It’s good to hear your voice, Connor.”

“You, too, Dad.”

“How’s the house?”

I glanced over my shoulder at it. “I haven’t burnt it down yet.”

“Did you call those guys about the double glazing?”

“Not yet.”

“What the hell have you been doing?” he asked.

My eyes found Laney and followed her crossed ankles up to where
her thighs disappeared into her shorts. “I’ve been working- and doing that
stuff at the park I told you about.”

“Oh right. How’s that going?”

“Fine,” I said. “We’re almost done. Then we’re going to
reinstate Bark in the Park.”

“I’m glad there’s something in it for Sarge.”

“Yep.”

“Do you think you could send down a few books we left in the
basement?” he asked. “If I told you where they were?”

“How about I send you money instead and you and Mom make a day
of buying replacements?”

“I suppose that makes more sense,” he said. “I just got so
excited she remembered we had them. But you’re right, the less time she has to
forget she mentioned them in the first place the better. Maybe we’ll go
tomorrow after golf. Or before golf so I can have a drink at the club…”

I lifted my eyes to the tops of the trees and waited for him to
stop rambling.

“Jim McNulty told me you’re seeing some girl.”

One corner of my mouth curled up. “Jim McNulty’s eyes aren’t as
bad as he makes them out to be.”

“Who is she?” he asked. “Someone local?”

“It’s Laney.”

“Laney Laney?”

I nodded. “The one and only.”

“How long has that been going on?” he asked.

“Since before Fourth of July.”

“I always liked her.”

“I’m glad,” I said. “Because she just moved in this week.”

“Where?”

“Into the house.”

“Holy Cow,” he said. “Hold on while I go tell your mother.”

I strained my ears to listen.

“Guess what dear? You’ll never guess!” he said.

“Just tell me then,” my mom said. “I’m too old to play guessing
games. My time is too valuable.”

“Connor’s seeing Laney again.”

“Laney Price?” she asked. “Like Next Door Laney?”

My chest swelled at the discovery that my mom remembered her.

“Yep,” my dad said. “Isn’t that wonderful? She just moved in.”

“Where?” she asked.

“Into our house- Connor’s house.”

“That’s great news,” she said. “We should send them something
nice from Harry & David.”

“I don’t think they want pears, dear.”

“Everyone wants pears! Who doesn’t want pears? What’s wrong with
them?”

“I just think maybe a cake would be better,” he said. “Or a pie.
We should look and see what else they have-”

“If they know what’s good for them, they’ll be thrilled with the
pears.”

“Dad!” I called into the receiver. “Helloo?”

“Sorry,” he said, sounding slightly winded. “Your mother is
thrilled.”

“I heard.”

“And she remembers her.”

“She is pretty unforgettable,” I said, glancing back to see that
she’d rolled onto her side and was squinting at the letters with her sunglasses
on her head.

“Does Laney like pears?” he asked.

I laughed. “You don’t have to send us a housewarming gift, Dad. Save
your money.”

“I think your mother has her heart set on it.”

“Are you sure this isn’t one of those times where she insists on
getting something for someone because she wants everyone to realize how much
she, in fact, wants that same thing?”

“That hadn’t occurred to me,” he said. “But she does do that.”

“At least three times a year.”

“Hmm.”

“Here’s an idea,” I said. “How about you tell her you’ve ordered
the pears, but just send them to you instead of us.”

“And if she ever thinks to ask, you’ll tell her they were juicy
and delicious?”

I rolled my eyes. “Of course.”

“You’re a good man, son. Laney is lucky to have you.”

“Thanks.”

“I hope she doesn’t blow it again.”

“Not cool, Dad.”

“You know what I mean,” he said. “I just hope she’s grown up a
little. You were both so young.”

“I’ll keep you posted.”

“Please do,” he said.

“So don’t feel like you have to check back in with Jim McNulty.”

“How else will I know what’s going on with you?” he asked. “You
didn’t even tell me you two were dating again.”

“Just agree,” I said. “And I’ll tell him you shot four under par
next time I see him.”

“Make it six and you’ve got a deal.”

I ran my hand through my hair. “Is there any truth to that or
are you still spending all your time in the sand trap?”

“Everyone’s allowed a bad game, son. A real man never gloats
about another man’s off day.”

“Really?” I asked. “Because after the game where I shot into the
lake twice, you hung a snorkel on the front of the golf cart and told everyone
we came across what it was doing there.”

“That was hilarious.”

“I’m still going to get you back for that,” I said. “When you
least expect it.”

“Bring it, ace. I have a new tee that’s totally changed my
game.”

I laughed. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“Alright, son. Well, thanks for calling.”

Had he forgotten that he called me? Oh well. No harm in taking
the credit. Might discourage him from having Jim McNulty spy on me. “You’re
welcome. Love you guys, and call if you need anything.”

“Will do,” he said. “And tell Laney we said hello. Like I said,
we always liked her.”

Chapter 35: Laney

As much as I’d never admit it, I’d taken Helly’s words to heart.

I was my own biggest enemy, and my lack of trust in myself had
caused me to choose the wrong man and the wrong work and the wrong path too
many times.

But with each passing day, the confidence I had in myself- and
my ability to trust my gut- was getting better.

For instance, it was clear that my heart had chosen Connor.
Again. And just because I couldn’t believe my luck that he loved me back didn’t
mean I shouldn’t be grateful for what we had.

And Neo. Keeping him was down to pure intuition, and that silly klutz
had been bringing me more joy and soft cuddles than I ever imagined might fill
my days.

The mural was a good thing, too. It had reignited my belief that
creativity wasn’t just something I wanted, but something I needed. And while I
was nervous as hell for Bark in the Park- when the whole town would finally
gather to see the finished article- I knew it was a big step forward for me.

After all, I had a professor in school who said art wasn’t art
until you showed it to someone. Sure, it’s something you made and it’s
wonderful to flex your creative muscles, but he said only by putting yourself
out there can you expect the universe to take you seriously and pull you along.

He also thought Picasso came to him in his dreams, but I never claimed
to be a good judge of other people’s sanity.

So I was doing my best to make progress, no matter what shape it
came in.

Unfortunately, not everything was falling into place.

I mean, I didn’t want to settle again- like I had with my job at
the diner- but I also didn’t want to be unemployed.

Following my talk with Helly, I spent two hours floating on my
back in the lake trying to pinpoint all the things I was capable of doing that
made me feel most loved and most deserving of love.

And being employed was one of those things.

Some of the others included taking the occasional candlelit
bath, reading young adult fiction, going for long walks at the nature preserve
(Sarge’s favorite), and practicing new recipes to surprise Connor with.

But finding a job in Glastonbury was proving harder than I
thought, and there was no disputing that it was a more urgent priority than perfecting
my fried rice, learning to feign appropriate excitement about Connor’s
tomatoes, or reading.

Unfortunately, most of the local residents hadn’t changed jobs
in over a decade, and as one would expect in a small community, the level of nepotism
was off the charts.

Still, I’d remained optimistic and had officially dropped my resume
off at every single place in town and half of the places in neighboring
Sunnyside… except for the funeral homes and the garbage depot.

So far, only two places had called me back.

One was the principal of the local school who informed me that, while
they already had an art teacher, she’d be happy to add my name to the end of a
dispiritingly long list in case a subbing opportunity popped up.

And the other was someone from Mimi’s Café who had just called
to get Helly’s number since I’d mentioned that I was her granddaughter.

Needless to say, I was feeling a bit deflated by the time I
dragged my sore tootsies into the house and kicked my shoes off.

I could hear the shower running upstairs so I headed towards the
kitchen to brainstorm what we might have for dinner, greeting Sarge and Neo on
my way in.

As I walked around the butcher block towards the fridge, I heard
Connor’s phone making that horrible dying beep so I grabbed it and walked it
over to the charger.

I kept my eye on the screen as I plugged it in to make sure the
little battery icon popped up okay, but when the screen lit up, my eyes saw an
opened text.

“I’m sorry about that stuff I said about Laney.”

I saw Dave’s name right before the glowing green battery appeared,
and my heart sank.

A moment later, my mind started racing, trying to think of the
last time Connor had even mentioned Dave, much less seen him.

I couldn’t think of a single time he’d come up since I moved in.

Here I was worrying I might come between random town residents
and their favorite librarian when I’d clearly caused friction between the man I
loved and his best friend.

I walked up the stairs, feeling a strange mixture of hurt and
anger, and opened the bathroom door.

Connor was shaving over the bathroom sink with a towel around
his waist.

“Hey babe,” he said, dragging the razor up his neck.

“What did Dave say about me?”

“What?” he asked, glancing at me in the mirror.

“I just saw your phone.”

He dropped his hand and looked at me.

“It was dying so I plugged it in, and I saw a text from him
saying he was sorry about what he said about me.”

“It’s nothing,” he said, turning back towards the mirror. “Don’t
worry about it.”

“What a stupid thing to say.”

“Can I finish what I’m doing here?” he asked.

“Sure.” I folded my arms. “Be my guest.”

I watched him shave for as long as I could before my body
started to betray me, and when the desire I felt to run my hands over his muscly
chest became too much, I let myself out.

When he came in the bedroom to get dressed a few minutes later-
looking freshly shaved and hot as hell- I was sitting on the end of the bed.

“Don’t pout,” he said. “It’s got nothing to do with you.”

“It obviously has everything to do with me,” I said, crossing my
legs so they dangled over the crème colored rug. “You haven’t even spoken to
him since I moved in.”

“Yes I have.”

“When?”

He opened a dresser drawer. “The day he pissed me off.”

“What did he do?”

Connor pulled his shirt on as he walked over to me and set his
hands on my shoulders. “Do we really have to talk about this?”

I nodded.

He sighed. “He thinks I can’t trust you.”

My shoulders drooped.

“But he’s not the one who has to trust you. I am.”

I pursed my lips.

“And I do.”

“Why?” I asked.

He furrowed his brow. “Why what?”

“Why do you trust me?”

“Because I love you.”

I shook my head. “That’s not the same.”

“It’s good enough.”

“It shouldn’t be,” I said, shrugging him off. “Dave’s right.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

I squinted at him. “Why are you so willing to give me another
chance?”

He folded his arms but stayed standing in front of me. “I just
told you.”

“But you’ve never even asked why I said no. You’ve never even
asked me not to do it agai-”

“I don’t want to push you, Laney.”

“Well maybe you should!”

He shook his head. “Pushing you is what made us lose out on so
many years together.”

“No it’s not.” I pulled my legs up to sit cross legged. “I’m the
reason we lost out. It has nothing to do with anything you did.”

He clenched his jaw.

“Dave’s right.”

Connor’s lips twitched. “He’s not.”

“Yes he is,” I said. “He’s right about the fact that I don’t
deserve your forgiveness, and he’s right about the fact that you need to demand
more from me.”

“Tough,” he said. “Because I forgive you. And I think you demand
enough of yourself without me piling on.”

“I don’t,” I said. “I never have. I’m a total coward.”

His lips fell apart.

“And I’m doing my best to be the kind of woman I want to be, the
kind of woman who’s deserving of a man like you,” I said. “But I need you to
hold me accountable. I don’t want to break any more promises. Not to myself.
And especially not to you.”

“Okay,” he said, pulling me into a hug. “Okay.”

“Promise you’ll be harder on me,” I said, pressing my cheek
against his chest. “And don’t let me off the hook so easy.”

“Shhhh,” he said, smoothing my hair down.

“And make me earn your trust again,” I said. “For both our
sakes.”