Page 25 of Keep My Heart (The Haydon Falls #1)

Nick

‘You’re going where ?’ Mom asks as she pours me another cup of coffee.

We just finished a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, toast, and bacon. I’m not used to eating that much. I did when I lived here, but I was a growing boy who spent hours a day working outside in the fields. Now I just sit at a computer all day.

‘To Lyndsay’s house,’ I say. ‘I’m fixing her mom’s dishwasher.’

‘That’s interesting,’ Dad says, his bushy gray brows rising as he sips his coffee.

‘I’m doing it to be nice, not for whatever you’re thinking.’

Dad glances at Mom. ‘Tell him what I did for your mother back in the day.’

‘He fixed her car,’ Mom says to me. ‘Built her a whole new engine. It was when your grandfather had to be on the road for work. Your grandma’s car completely died one day and she didn’t have the money to take it in. ’

‘So I offered to fix it for free,’ Dad says. ‘Her mother liked me from that day on.’

‘Are you saying Grandma didn’t like you before that?’ I ask.

‘She called me a dreamer, thought I had my head in the clouds because I was always talking about having my own business. She didn’t think I could do it, which meant I wouldn’t be able to support her daughter.’

‘You sure proved her wrong,’ Mom says, going to get more coffee.

Dad leans back, cringing and rubbing his stomach.

‘You okay?’ I ask.

He shakes his head. ‘I’ve been having some bad indigestion lately. Your mom says I’m working too hard, but I think I just need to eat less.’

‘You’ve been eating less and you still have that pain,’ Mom says, taking our plates to the sink.

‘How long’s this been going on?’ I ask.

‘A few weeks.’ He gets up. ‘It’s just part of getting old. I’m going to take a short nap before going out in the fields.’

When he’s upstairs, I walk over to Mom. ‘Is Dad okay?’

‘He’s fine. He just overworks himself. I keep telling him to hire another helper, but he insists he can do it alone.’

‘He’s getting older. He needs to slow down.’

‘Maybe you can talk him into it. He won’t listen to me.’

‘I’ll talk to him when I get home. Thanks for breakfast.’

Mom winks at me. ‘Tell Lyndsay I said hello.’

‘For the last time, I’m not dating her.’

My mom would love it if I dated Lyndsay.

She’s always liked her. They worked together on some school fundraisers.

Lyndsay always volunteered for that stuff; school fundraisers, bake sales to support local kid programs, charity events to raise money for people in town that needed it.

She was always helping out, and because she was popular, she got other people to help out too.

When I get to her house, she answers the door.

‘Hey, I’m Nick, your repair guy. I believe you have an issue with your dishwasher?’

Lyndsay smiles. ‘Yes, it’s leaking. I couldn’t wait for you to get here.’

The way she says it makes me think she’s not kidding, that she really couldn’t wait to see me.

I’m so damn confused about her. Last night had me even more confused.

I told her what I thought she wanted, for us to stay friends, but she looked sad when I said it.

I don’t know what that means, and when I asked her about it, she acted like everything was fine.

Was she hoping for something else, like for us to date?

Why would she want that, knowing I’m leaving?

And if she wanted us to date, why didn’t she tell me that?

I don’t think she does. I think she’s just sad we won’t see each other anymore.

I’m sad about that too, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I have to get back to New York.

‘Nick, can I get you anything?’ Patty asks as I bring the toolbox into the kitchen. ‘Some coffee? A cinnamon roll?’

‘No thanks. I just had breakfast. But I might take one of those cinnamon rolls to go.’

‘You can have the whole pan,’ she says, sounding excited that I asked for one. She’s always been an excellent baker. She loved feeding me when I’d come over to tutor Lyndsay.

‘How are your parents doing?’ Patty asks as she wraps up the cinnamon rolls.

‘I think they’re worn out from the party last night. They were up pretty late.’ I get to work taking the door off the dishwasher, noticing Lyndsay watching me.

I’m watching her too. She’s got on ripped denim shorts and a pink-and-white plaid button-up shirt that’s tied in front, just below her breasts, exposing her stomach. If she’s trying to tempt me to cross the friend line, she’s doing a damn good job.

‘You want to help?’ I ask, smiling at her.

‘I’m good over here,’ she says, smiling back as she picks up her coffee.

The job only takes ten minutes. When I’m done, Patty runs the dishwasher and not a single drop of water leaks out.

‘It works!’ Patty hugs me. ‘Oh, Nick, I can’t thank you enough.’ She lets me go and races over to her purse. ‘Let me pay you for the parts.’

‘I’m not taking your money,’ I tell her. ‘You can pay me in cinnamon rolls, but that’s it.’

‘You’re such a nice young man.’ She walks over to me. ‘I need to go get ready for church, but thank you again for all your help.’

‘You’re welcome. I’m glad I could fix it.’

She leaves and Lyndsay walks up to me. ‘Want some coffee?’

Before I can answer, my phone rings. It’s my mom calling.

‘Just a minute,’ I say to Lyndsay as I answer the phone. ‘Hey, Mom, I’m just finishing up. You need me to stop somewhere?’

‘No. I was calling because I wanted to know if you’d be willing to fill in for your father today out in the orchard.’

‘Sure, but why? Is he okay?’

‘He isn’t feeling well and I want him to rest, but I know he won’t if his chores don’t get done.’

‘What’s wrong? Is it his stomach?’

‘I believe so, but he’s not saying much. You know how he is. He doesn’t like me to worry. I know you had plans today, but if you could just help out for a few hours.’

‘Of course. I’ll be right over.’ I end the call and gather up my tools. ‘Sorry to rush out, but I need to get home.’

‘Is everything okay?’ Lyndsay asks .

‘My dad’s not feeling well. He needs me to cover for him in the orchard today.’

‘Can I help?’

I smile at her. ‘I’m not sure you’d want to do this kind of work. It gets hot in the fields and there’s a good chance you’ll run into a snake or some mice.’

‘I could help clean up from last night. I’m sure your mom hasn’t had time to do it and she really shouldn’t since it was her party.’

‘I’ll see if one of my brothers can do it.’

‘Nick, really, I don’t mind.’

I pause a moment, wondering if this is a good idea. I should be keeping my distance from her, trying to stop these feelings I’m having, but I can tell she really wants to help. It’s just how she is, how she was raised. We were both raised to help people out.

‘That’d be great,’ I tell her. ‘I’m sure my mom would appreciate it.’

‘Let me just run up and grab my shoes. Can I ride with you? My mom will want the car.’

‘Sure.’

While Lyndsay’s upstairs, I call Sawyer.

‘Hey, what’s up?’ he answers.

‘You hear about Dad?’

‘No. Why? What happened?’

‘Mom said he’s not feeling well. I’m going to fill in for him at the orchard today. I may not make it to your beer tasting.’

‘Why don’t I just close for a few hours and help you out in the fields?’

‘I don’t think I’ll need it. I’ll probably just be cleaning up the rows. And I don’t want you closing the place and losing business.’

‘Okay, but let me know if you change your mind. Do you know if Lyndsay’s still coming to the tasting? ’

‘Probably not. I’m with her right now. She’s coming over to the house with me to help Mom clean up from the party.’

‘Sounds like something a girlfriend would do,’ he says, a smile in his voice.

‘Don’t start with that shit. She’s just being a friend. Hey, I need to go. Call Brody and Jason and tell them about Dad.’

‘What do you think is wrong with him? Is it the flu or something he ate?’

‘He said his stomach was bothering him. He didn’t look too good at breakfast.’ I hear Lyndsay running down the stairs. ‘I gotta go. Talk to you later.’

‘I’m ready,’ Lyndsay says, her sneakers on, her hair in a ponytail, and wearing a white baseball cap. She looks adorable, and fucking hot in that plaid shirt and those tiny shorts. I want to take her in my arms and kiss her, but I can’t. We’re not dating, not even fake dating.

Last night sure felt like a date. It took everything in me to stay away from her.

More than once, I reached out to touch her, but then realized I couldn’t.

I couldn’t kiss her either, even though I was dying to.

We had such a great time at that run-down mini golf course.

It was in such bad shape, it was comical.

We couldn’t stop laughing, especially at the one-eyed clown, which was both frightening and funny.

I haven’t laughed that much in years. Back in New York, I’m always so serious.

I have to be for my job. It was nice to just kick back and relax and let myself laugh and have a good time.

When we get to the house, my mom looks surprised when she sees Lyndsay.

‘Well, hello,’ Mom says, smiling as she goes up to her. ‘Nick didn’t say he was bringing a friend.’

‘I thought you might need some help cleaning up from the party last night,’ Lyndsay says. ‘I probably should’ve asked you first, but Nick was in such a hurry to get over here.’

‘Do you mind if she helps?’ I ask, realizing Mom may want to tend to Dad rather than deal with the party cleanup.

‘I’d love some help,’ she says, looking at Lyndsay, ‘and the company. I haven’t seen you since Nick’s graduation party. That’s been what .?.?. ten years?’

‘Fifteen,’ I say, laughing. ‘I’m 33, Mom.’

She pauses to think. ‘That’s right. I guess it was 15 years. Time sure does fly.’

‘What’s Dad got on the chore list?’

‘Cleaning up the fields. We had a storm last week and your father wasn’t able to get out there and clean up all the debris it left behind.’

‘Because he didn’t have time or because he wasn’t feeling well?’ I ask, hoping it was time and not his health.