Page 25 of Falling for a Grumpy Hero

LILA

F ord’s house was surprisingly pretty. I’d genuinely been surprised when we’d parked outside it yesterday and it had turned out that I hadn’t made a mistake with the directions. At first, I’d really thought I’d messed up, but nope.

The single-story home with the stone walls and slightly overgrown front garden was his. He’d had a key for it and everything. I’d watched him let himself in, which meant that my gruff and grumpy boss lived in one of the most gorgeous homes I’d ever seen.

It was absolutely, one-hundred percent a historic fixer-upper that he must’ve spent ages restoring, but it had come out breathtakingly picturesque. The garden could use a little bit of tender loving care, but the house itself? Stunning. Chef’s kiss.

I looked up at it from the street after I’d parked, the truck laden with snacks and groceries to make him lunch and dinner. I’d wanted to be here earlier this morning, but I’d known he’d be eager for updates from the office, so I’d stopped by there first.

After attending to everything that had been urgent, I’d popped over to a store and now I was here, my laptop at the ready in case he wanted to do some work and my bike on the bed so I could cycle home later and leave his truck here with him.

Drawing in a deep breath of warm, fragrant air, I shook my head again at the realization that he lived in a neighborhood where there were flowers in well-tended garden beds and tall, healthy trees lining the street. I really hadn’t seen that coming.

I chuckled as I finally strode up to his front door and knocked. You really are full of surprises, Ford Callahan.

Even though I’d told him I would come here today, he looked surprised to see me after he’d yanked open his door. Lightning seemed to race across those stormy blue eyes before they narrowed and he took a step back.

“What are you doing here?”

On a day-to-day basis, he was normally pretty well groomed, but there was day-old stubble on his jaw today and he was in a pair of black sweats with an old Marines shirt. I felt my chest tighten as I took him in, but I knew better than to comment on it.

He looked damn good like this. Like himself. I just wished there wasn’t still a gleam of pain behind his currently angry blue eyes. “I told you I was coming, didn’t I?”

He scowled at me and at the armful of things I’d brought along to care for him—against his will. “Why are you not in the office?”

I lifted my shoulder to show him the laptop bag hanging across it. “The tablet is in there too. This is going to be my office for the day, but I dropped in at our actual offices first. Everything is under control there.”

“Great,” he muttered sarcastically. Somewhere behind him, Rook was whining. He sighed but stepped out of my way and let me in. “Fine. Come on, then. I can’t take it when he moans like that.”

“Thank you.” I saw Rook as soon as Ford stepped aside, smiling at the friendly ball of fur and his happy little face. “Good morning, beautiful boy. How are you? How is he ? You know he’s not going to tell me the truth, but you will, won’t you? What’s that? He’s feeling pretty… ruff ?”

Ford didn’t smile. What did he know about comedy, anyway?

As I strode into his foyer, I was immediately struck by how starkly empty his house was. Off to one side of the front door was a huge living and dining area, but he had exactly one couch, a TV mounted against the wall, and a small coffee table.

Nothing else.

The stone walls were empty and so was the entire spacious room to my left. Ford tried to take some of the groceries from me, but I shook my head and half-turned my upper body away from him. “You shouldn’t even be on your feet. Just point me in the direction of your kitchen. I’ll be fine.”

He grumbled under his breath but jerked his head down a hall past the empty room. “It’s through there.”

I nodded and took off to find it, hearing Rook’s nails clicking against the bare hardwood floors behind me. There wasn’t a rug or a carpet in sight, no sign of even a poker next to the fireplace. An unfamiliar uneasiness crept through me.

Why does he live like this? With everything so sparse and empty?

The guy made a killing. His company, as far as I knew, was super successful and just that truck must’ve cost him a bundle. All his clothes—those he wore to work, anyway—were tailored and looked brand new.

This isn’t a money issue, is it?

Rook offered me quiet companionship as I finally found the kitchen and headed directly for the fridge.

As with the rest of the house, there were only the bare essentials in there.

A coffee maker and a toaster on the counter next to the stove.

The fridge and microwave were on the opposite side of a large, center island that had exactly one pot and one pan hanging from copper rails above it.

Sadness bloomed deep in my chest as I looked around, realizing that this was where Ford cooked all his meals. The kitchen was supposed to be the heart of the home, but this heart was cold. Empty.

Otherwise, the kitchen was gorgeous, with light yellow and white paint on the walls and a huge window behind the sink that looked out on an expansive backyard. Modern, quartz countertops or something that looked similar to it. Beautiful white cabinets.

It was light and airy, but the blinds hadn’t been opened all the way and there was a stillness in the air in here that told me he didn’t spend much in this particular room.

Glad that I’d brought groceries when I opened the fridge to find it as bare as the rest of the place, I unpacked before I started cooking lunch.

Doesn’t he have family who can help him out? Or does he push everyone away just like he’s tried to do with me?

As I dropped some chicken into the sole pan and watched it sizzle in the splash of oil I’d added, I heard him on the phone setting up his first PT appointment. “Yeah, I know the drill. Thank you, yes. I’ll be there.”

After a brief pause, he said goodbye and I wondered if he’d come see what I was up to, but he never did. I made our chicken wraps and managed to track down two plates, then brought lunch to him where he was sitting on the couch.

The TV was off and it looked like he’d been jotting down something in a spiral notebook he snapped shut when I walked in. His leg was up on the coffee table, that short dark hair naturally messy instead of styled, like he’d climbed out of the shower and just let it dry without touching it.

I sat down beside him and held out his plate. “It’s not gourmet, but I promise it’s edible.”

“Thank you.” He didn’t smile but took the plate and leaned back against the couch. Staring straight ahead, he picked up the wrap. “You didn’t have to come, you know.”

Rook trotted into the room and I expected him to go sit with Ford, who was very clearly uncomfortable, but he came to sit next to me instead. I smiled. “Rook must not think you need him right now.”

“I don’t.” His jaw clenched, a faint flush streaking across only the very tops of his cheeks. I wonder what that’s all about?

When he shot Rook a frown, I realized that he might just be a little offended that his dog preferred me and I chuckled. “Maybe he thinks I need him more.”

He shrugged. “Maybe you do.”

“I’m not the one who’s about to start physical therapy,” I said. “How are you feeling about it?”

“Fine.”

I sighed. “Come on. I know you can do better than that. How’s the pain today?”

“Better.”

“Jeez. Even Rook is a more expressive conversationalist than you, and he can’t actually speak.”

Ford finally glanced at me, those blue eyes latching on mine as the flush receded and he sighed heavily.

“I’m fine, okay? I was in PT for years. Well, it felt like years.

The point is that I know what to expect and I took a painkiller this morning.

So again, I’m fine. This isn’t a big deal. You really didn’t need to come over.”

I looked at his sharp profile, that hardened jaw and the tense set of his shoulders.

For the first time, it occurred to me that he really had been through a lot worse than this, but it didn’t look like he was used to having people take care of him.

Pain was a familiar old friend but nurturing felt foreign.

“I know I didn’t need to do it, but I wanted to. Honestly, there’s no place else I’d rather be. It’s okay to let people care about you when you’re hurt, Ford. Did you know that?”

“No.”

It took me a fraction of a second to realize that he was serious, but he also looked pretty serious about not wanting to talk, so I kept my mouth shut and just ate with him.

The silence that fell between us wasn’t awkward at all, more companionable than anything else, and when I was done, I took both our plates to the kitchen and washed up.

All without saying another word.

“I’m going to take Rook for a walk around the neighborhood,” I said when I rejoined him in the living room. “Is that okay with you? You’re not going to come hobbling out after me?”

He jerked his chin toward the door and I smiled when Rook jumped up, already trotting toward the foyer. Resigning myself to living with mostly silence while I was here, I went to join the dog, laughing when he bounded out as soon as I opened the door.

I made sure to pull it shut behind me. One of the reasons why I wanted to take a walk in this neighborhood was to look for inspiration for the designs for Heritage House.

I hadn’t yet told him that Eliza wanted to hire me as the interior designer on the project.

Another pang of worry zapped through me as I wondered how he was going to take it.

I imagined he wasn’t going to be particularly happy. Ben had flat out laughed at me when I’d mentioned the possibility of going back to school. It had been shortly before our breakup and he’d told me it was ridiculous to want to pursue a new career at almost thirty.

Feeling myself fading a little as I thought about it, I refocused on Rook’s excitement, the way he was darting from lamppost to hedge, sniffing before doubling back to come and check on me.

A group of older women at the end of the street, a cul-de-sac with the grassy area in the center and a gazebo, stopped talking as they noticed Rook.

They clearly knew him, one of the women calling him over by name. She eyed me warily as I grew closer. “Who are you? This is Ford Callahan’s dog.”

“Yeah, I know. Ford’s my friend and he’s hurt, so I’ll be around for a while.” I dropped into conversation with them without skipping a beat, but I didn’t miss the flashes of surprise on their faces when I’d explained what I was doing there.

They invited me to join them and immediately went back to what they’d been talking about before they’d seen Rook. “We should announce who won best yard of the year at the summer block party. The separate barbecue for the announcement didn’t work out last year.”

Ford had a very nice house and property, but it soon became obvious to me that his expertise was spent on his projects, not his own home, yard, or neighbors. One of the women, Anita, sighed as she looked at me.

“Do you think you could encourage him to attend the block party this year, dear? We always invite him, but he never comes.”

“I’ll make him be there,” I promised, even though I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy feat. Would it be wrong to trick him into attending? I had to think about it.

Still, it would be good for him to get out and make some friends. Especially with his neighbors, all of whom seemed like desperately nice people to me.

I chatted to them for a while before practically bounding back to his house to tell him the good news. Ford was still on the couch where I’d left him, and he listened to me go on and on about the party, smiling lightly to himself.

“What?” I asked finally, slightly exasperated about his apparent amusement. “You should be excited that they’re still willing to have you after you’ve stood them up so many times.”

“I haven’t stood them up. That implies that I said I would be there, which I never have.

” Those usually haunted eyes twinkled with laughter he seemed to be struggling to hold back.

“I hate to break it to you, but those women are horrible gossips who occasionally stand outside my house and whisper about me. I’m not going to that party. ”

Determined to show him that he could be likeable, I stood my ground—proverbially—but strode over to the window to pull his curtains back.

“It’s midday. Let’s get some sunshine in here.

You know what else we should do? Redesign your interior and mow your lawn.

You could be a great asset to this community, Ford.

You just have to let them get to know you. ”

I didn’t notice the soft way he was looking at me until I turned, hands on my hips to show him I meant business about this. I nearly missed it before he looked away too, but I caught it just before it disappeared and I smiled.

It wasn’t an agreement that he would attend the party, but it wasn’t nothing either. Coming from him, softness was like somebody else shouting from the rooftops, so I was marking a check in the success column.

It was about time someone coaxed this man out of his shell. He could be happy. I knew it. Now I just had to convince him that it was true.