A key dropped out of the envelope.
Tears blurred my vision. Chaucer plopped his head in my lap. “He’s promising a lifetime supply of dog treats. It’s a pretty good deal.” He snuggled in. “He says he loves me.” I scratched Chaucer’s furry, bearlike head. “What do you think? You’re an excellent judge of character. Do I risk it? Again?”
A car pulled up in front of the house. I checked the clock. Six ten. Who the heck? I went to the living room and looked out the front window. Aiden’s truck. I hadn’t decided yet. Chaucer trotted over to the front door, his tail wagging a mile a minute. When I didn’t rush to open it, he jumped up on the door, his front paws against it.
“Yes, fine,” I said, pulling him down. “You’ve made your point. And I’m sure it has nothing to do with all those doggy biscuits he gave you. But he will have to wait a little bit longer.”
I needed a shower and some think time before I saw him. Thirty minutes later, I walked down the stairs, my hair in wet ringlets, my face clean and freckled, wearing faded jeans, a black thermal tee, and Grandpa’s fisherman’s sweater. I sucked in a deep breath and opened the door.
Aiden was standing on a ladder, installing something.
Heart squeezing at the sight of him, I asked, “What are you doing?”
Aiden startled. He turned to look at me, climbing down the rungs. “Sorry. I know I should’ve asked first, but I needed to get started, to be doing something other than sitting here, waiting, making myself crazy—er.” He motioned to my front yard. “So, Pops gave you his Bronco,” he said, nodding his approval.
“Loaned. I’ll give it back.”
“No. It’s a good rig for you two. Pops doesn’t drive anymore. I’m sure he told you to keep it.”
Yeah, he did. We’ll see. I pointed at the eaves over the porch. “Seriously, what are you doing? To my house. Without my permission.”
He fumbled with the box, his cheeks coloring slightly. “Motion sensor security lights. I just, uh”—he shrugged—“I wanted to make sure you’d be safe.”
I turned away. He looked so contrite, I wanted to hug him, but I wasn’t ready. I hadn’t decided. His truck was overladen with gardening supplies. I motioned to it. “Did you rob a garden center?”
He watched me apprehensively before speaking. “No. You said once that you liked the idea of adding flower boxes along the porch rails?—”
“When did I say that?”
“When we were in bed, talking about our homes growing up. I described mine, and you said you’d always wanted a pretty little house with flower boxes overflowing with blooms.”
“I did?”
He grinned. “Well, I might have been running my hands all over you at the time, but you did say it.”
“Oh.” I felt my cheeks heating.
He stepped closer. “I know the first frost will be hitting us soon but... Well, I didn’t know which flowers were your favorite”—he shrugged again—“so I got all of them.”
I stared at the truck, willing my brain to make sense of what Aiden was doing. I walked down the steps and leaned over the side of the truck bed. It was a veritable mobile nursery, and that wasn’t even all of it. He’d already off-loaded some flowering trees, which were sitting on the ground by the open truck gate. There were even more wedged into the cab. I turned to him, gesturing vaguely at the truck. “You want to make me flower boxes?”
“No. I’m not a carpenter. Bear’s doing the actual building.” He put his hands in his pockets. “I haven’t slept. I was doing some soul-searching, trying to figure out how to get you to care for me again, but I was hitting a wall. I went to see Pops and he helped me shift my thinking. It isn’t about me. It’s about you. What could I do to show Katie I see her, I know her, and I love her?
“I thought about the flower boxes you wanted, so I sketched ideas. I woke Bear up before dawn—he’s unhappy with me right now—to show him the sketches. He said my design ideas sucked, but that he knew exactly the type of flower boxes this house needed. I made him get up and start working on them. He’ll bring the first set over when he’s done and make sure you like them. Although he said he didn’t think you knew any better than I did what design would be complementary to the house. Or something like that. He might have used the word organic. Honestly, I stopped listening. He can be pretty pissy if you wake him up too early.”
That made me smile. “Like a bear.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, exactly.”
I turned back to him, bracing myself. “Aiden, I get it. You’re sorry, but this thing”—I motioned between us—“I don’t know if I can do this again.” He started to speak, but I cut him off. “To be completely honest, it would make it a lot easier on me if you didn’t do stuff like this.” I turned back, waved at the truck bed. “The grand romantic gestures are hollow when there’s nothing backing them up. You said you love me, but what happens when you get cold feet again? Do I get dumped again? I was with a man for ten years who never loved me, who constantly made me nervous and uncomfortable in my own skin. And with you, I feel like I’m always preparing for the rug to get pulled out from underneath me.”
“Katie—”
“No, really. You should take all these back.” I reached into the truck and pulled out a pot of sweet peas. “Except this one. I love sweet peas. I’m keeping this one as payment for emotional damages.” I turned and walked up the steps, never looking back at Aiden.
“Katie, can I say one more thing?”
I didn’t turn around. “I really wish you wouldn’t.”
