Page 41 of The Ex Next Door (Charming, Texas #8)

Chapter One

Twenty-two days until the wedding

“T op of the world, my behind.”

Chip Lowry inwardly winced at his father’s judgment on what would have been celebrated by any other person.

“You don’t like it?” Chip gestured at the plans taped on a wall at the Top of the World Senior Center and then to the ongoing construction in front of them.

Beyond were his contractor and some workers demolishing a wall with sledgehammers, pry bars, and saws.

“You’ll have a much bigger multipurpose room with a stage.

And a working kitchen. Just think how much better the holiday party will be with so much more space.

They’ll be able to fit a DJ and everything. ”

But in his classic George Lowry way, his father snorted. “ When it gets done. I could be six feet under by then.”

Chip choked on nothing but shock. “Dad. You’re barely seventy. Don’t say stuff like that. And, anyway, it should all be done in three months.”

“That’s a lifetime for a person my age. And until then, we have to live with this . I thought this was just going to be a paint job.”

Chip shrugged. Top of the World was the place his father called his second home, a bustling community center where he congregated with his friends, and thankfully stayed out of trouble.

Built in the early 2000s, barely a day had gone by without the building being full of members or volunteers, but it had fallen into major disrepair.

The center members had been intent on improving it. Multiple fundraisers had been held, some more successful than others, but they’d only earned enough to address small renovations.

To keep his father and his buddies from climbing the ladders themselves, Chip had decided to donate to the senior center by having the entire building painted, inside and out.

And, well, one project turned into two. With additional investment from his best friend, Nathan, the concept expanded to encompass the new multipurpose room.

“You know how renovations work, Dad. It evolves. But I promise, it will be worth it.” At the silence, he said, “What, you don’t trust me? How many houses have I flipped to become short-term rentals? Three.”

“That’s not it.” George shook his head. “I trust you. But you’re going overboard. Again. Just like your mother.” Except when he mentioned Mom, his face softened.

Just a smidgen, though.

“I’m going to take that as a compliment.

” Chip gave his dad his award-winning smile, literally, since it had won him “Best Smile” in his high school senior superlatives.

He never minded being compared to Fern Lowry, may she rest in peace.

She had been beloved by everyone in Peak, and very much by his father, who was her complete opposite.

Since George had moved in with him five years ago, after retiring from the water plant, Chip could now empathize what his mother had had to deal with.

From George’s epic nightly snore fests, to how picky he was in loading the dishwasher, Chip at times had asked himself if it had been a good idea to combine their households.

It was a decision that turned his life upside down, having such a curmudgeon living under his roof.

Though, to be honest, it would worry Chip more if his father didn’t live with him.

George was a busybody despite his grumpy nature, and Chip could only sleep when his dad was safe and sound at home.

With energy that hadn’t waned despite his age, George could get into trouble if left to his own devices.

Once, Chip caught George up on a ladder, trimming the roofline with Christmas lights.

Another time, his father was standing on his flatbed truck cutting the branches back of his big oak tree.

Chip wasn’t sure how he felt about the tables being turned, but there was no choice but to live with it.

“And you’ve spent too much on it already,” George went on, now exiting the construction zone through a door and moving down a hallway blocked with plastic sheeting.

Chip waved away his father’s complaint. Though, yes, the project was costing him a pretty penny, he considered it an investment.

With the money his mom had left him with her distinct words in her will to “be the change you want to see”, Chip was intent on sharing it with those she had loved, and that was their community.

His father, indirectly.

And what was money for, but to reinvest in things that could grow, so that one could live the way they wanted to? Thanks once more to his mother’s insistence on teaching him how to invest before she passed a decade ago, he’d taken a risk with certain tech stocks and came out of it profitable.

These days, he had a lot of flexibility.

“You should be saving that money for yourself, son.”

“And do what with it? I’m stuck here watching you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled. “You could take a vacation. Go away with those friends of yours. Have fun. Get out of my hair.”

“Sorry to tell you, but there’s not…much to get out of.”

George pulled another door open and shot him an annoyed expression. In truth, his dad still had a full head of white hair, but it had thinned out as of late.

Voices and music spilled out of a room. “Do you hear that?” George said. “That’s the sound of people having fun. You might want to take a lesson.”

They walked into the foyer and then down to the right, into the current multipurpose room, where people milled about. Groups sat around square tables, playing cards and board games. Conversations buzzed around them; Chip loved the energy. “I don’t know. You all might be too risqué for me.”

And though it was a slight rib, as Chip watched his dad’s friends greet George, he felt a yearning to be the life of the party, to be expected and celebrated.

The fact that his dad, considered unlikable—though Chip thought it was all a facade—could walk into a room and be noticed made Chip wonder what he was missing in himself.

It wasn’t the friends part of it all—Chip had friends. He knew that he was well-liked. But to break out of that wallflower mold, to be exciting and to be paid attention to, would be nice once in a while.

His phone buzzed in his pocket; it was Gabby Espiritu. His spirits lifted, face warming as her image came to the forefront: Filipino-American with golden-brown skin, dark brown eyes, and shoulder-length, highlighted brown hair, with a smile that routinely knocked the wind out of him.

Gabby was one of his best friends; the best, as of lately. She also was her usual, punctual self, as if she’d intuited that he needed a little pick-me-up.

Gabby asked, Coming to Mountain Rush soon?

I’ve got a shift in twenty minutes.

Hurry. Bailey and Willa are coming, too. See you soon.

Huh. While Gabby was on the go a hundred percent of the time, it was usually planned. She was like him—she had her hands in everything. Another reason why they got along so well. Their schedules were as sacred as the church on the town square.

It must be important.

Then again, even if it had been nothing, he’d do his best to be there, anyway.

“Who has got you blushing, dear?” Daria Rojas, the matriarch of the Rojas family, strolled over.

A widow, she was in her late sixties, though had the energy of someone in their thirties.

She was Mexican American and her silver hair was brushed straight into a bob.

Her dark eyes gleamed at him through her red-framed glasses.

Her kids had gone to high school with Chip, and she’d known his parents in their younger years, too.

“You know who it is,” shouted his father from across the room.

“Dad.” Chip rolled his eyes.

“Ah, it must be our Gabriella.” Daria linked an arm with Chip’s and boldly looked down at his phone screen. And as stunned as Chip was—and also a little worried about coming off as disrespectful—he didn’t snatch it away. “‘Coming to Mountain Rush soon.’ Is this a date?”

“No, it’s not a date. It would never be a date.”

“But why not?”

“We’re just friends,” he interrupted, and said louder, “We’ve never been more than that.”

Daria patted his arm. “Well, don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me.” She seemed to think twice. “I mean, with all of us.”

His face burned with embarrassment as he took in who was looking their way, and more importantly, listening. Mrs. Bolen, Mr. Davis and others who had watched him grow up.

No doubt that if Chip wasn’t careful, his true feelings would no longer be a secret.

It wasn’t that he’d meant for his feelings to be buried down deep. It was just circumstance, and how friend circles intersected. Love needed to be managed carefully in the town of Peak. With a population of less than ten thousand, one was bound to step on toes if one wasn’t careful.

Not that he was in love. Just saying.

Here was the real travesty: what had happened to his life that his fathers’ friends knew about his relationship status? Because, yes, Chip had always had a crush on Gabby, but who wouldn’t?

“You’re thinking of her again, aren’t you?” Daria’s soft voice broke through his thoughts.

“Yes.” He caved, because there was no point in pretending. “But nothing can come out of it. I’m not really her type.”

She frowned. “What’s her type? Someone who’s not thoughtful, and funny, and helpful?”

“That’s nice of you to say, Mrs. Rojas, but I’m in what’s called the ‘friend zone.’” He used air quotes with the term. “Also, she’s dating someone, sort of. Some guy named William Jones.”

“That’s…interesting.”

“It is.” It was an extra paper cut to his pride that William, a guy from the internet who lived clear across the country, had been noticed well before Chip.

Not like you asked her out, bro , his conscience reminded him.

Not like I can, bro.

“That William Jones has not set one foot in town so it doesn’t count. And the zone you’re in doesn’t sound so bad. You just need to—” she gestured with a hand “—push that zone out a little.”

“I wish it were that easy.”