But then I reminded myself that Hayes had moved to Copper County at least in part to be near me, despite my aunt giving him the hard sell to move back home to Southbourne. Since his arrival, I’d tried to see him every week, though it ended up being more like every other. We’d managed what he’d called a “Bros Weekend” at the lake last summer. But I’d barely talked to him the past week, though he’d texted several times to express his concern.
Was I getting to be like my father, putting work and all the mixed-up feelings that came with it ahead of my family?
The cabinet door I’d just installed swung open violently and smacked me in the shoulder.
“What the—?” I pushed it closed, and it immediately swung back open.
Because it wasn’t plumb. Because these cabinets were never going to work right in this house.
Frustration boiled over into anger, all the hotter for me trying to push it down.
I could have made Delaney cabinets. Beautiful, custom ones. But he didn’t want to talk about alternatives. He wanted his fucking metal cabinets that were dead wrong for the space.
And, I realized, I needed to get out of this house before I marched down the hall and shouted that to his face.
Instead, I texted my cousin back.
Sounds good. Meet me at the Hive in 2 hours?
I left the cabinets exactly as they were and headed for the attic. I fed Teeny dinner, then took her for a longer walk than usual since I’d be leaving her alone for a few hours. Spending time with her made me feel slightly less like a volcano about to erupt as I headed downstairs for a shower.
But the sight of the old vanity I’d reinstalled in the bathroom—mybosshadn’t made up his mind about a new style yet, despite me providing him with five choices that were all fairly similar to thegirthyone—amped me up again.
This whole situation was my own fault, and I knew it. I’d agreed to do things Delaney’s way, hoping it would teach him a lesson, butIwas the one suffering the consequences. If anyone in town saw those cabinets, my reputation would be toast… which was why I’d begun including design clauses in my contracts to prevent this kind of disaster.
I stalked out of the bathroom with a towel around my waist and promptly collided with Delaney—still wearing his fucking noise-canceling headphones—in the hall. It was at least the fourth time we’d smacked into each other that way in the past week, and it did nothing to improve my mood.
“Oh!” Delaney jumped. One hand flew to his glasses while the other pulled off his headphones, and his eyes came to rest on my bare chest. “Sorry. I… I didn’t hear you.”
He looked tired—dark circles under his eyes, hair mussed like he’d been running his hands through it—and despite everything, it was on the tip of my tongue to ask if his article was going okay or if there was anything I could do. But I stopped myself.
If Delaney was trying to control the whole world and holding on so tightly it looked like he was about to crack, that wasn’t my problem.
I tightened my own hold on my towel and my patience. “No problem. I’m done for the day.”
“You are? Awesome.” His cheeks flushed with excitement that made my stomach tighten. “You were working in the kitchen, right? I can’t wait to see what you’ve done. Tam’s coming over to see the progress, and I was going to order pizza. If you want, I can?—”
“I’m going out.” I stepped around him.
Delaney blinked, clearly taken aback by my tone. “Okay. They’re, uh, predicting flurries tonight, so?—”
I didn’t bother to share Hen’s predictions. I could imagine how that conversation would go.
“Have a good night, Delaney. Enjoy your new cabinets.”
I headed for the attic, telling myself the flash of hurt in his eyes was my imagination.
The Hive was packed when I arrived, the crowd spilling from the bar to the tables and country music blaring from speakers near a small stage where a band was playing.
I tugged at the collar of my new navy henley—one of the few items I’d purchased to replace my burned wardrobe—feeling oddly self-conscious as I scanned the room.
I stopped at the closest table to the door and greeted Reed, who offered me a ride home if I wanted to drink, and Chris, who was already a little glassy-eyed from the single beer in front of him and kept glancing up at his husband like Reed was some kind of superhero. They pointed out Jasper and Watt, who were standing at the bar, pressed together by the crowd, ostensibly grabbing a fresh round… but with Watt’s hand tucked in Jasper’s back pocket, it was pretty clear that wasn’t the only grabbing on their minds.
When they invited me to join them while I waited for Hayes, I hesitated, deeply regretting my choice to come out. Finding a spot in this crowd would be annoying, but for some reason, I didn’t think I could handle being surrounded by loved-up couples tonight.
I was grateful when I spotted Hayes waving at me enthusiastically from a table he and Kel had already claimed at the back, and I could make my excuses.
“Brewski!” Hayes stood for a quick hug, his lanky frame rising above the crowd. Though my cousin was shorter than me by a good four inches, he wasn’t exactly small, and with our matching eyes and similar jawlines, there was no mistaking we were family.
