Page 12 of This Kind of Forever

I’m sure it’s a figment of my imagination, but I swear all the adults in the room are watching us with bated breath. Waiting to see what will happen now that Gabe and I are stuck in a room together for the next hour.

“Hi,” I squeak.

They’re definitely staring at me now.

“You’re the lady from the store,” Abbie says, taking some of the attention off me. She shifts in her chair, sitting on her knees so she can lean over the table, closer to me.

I smile. “I guess I didn’t get to properly introduce myself, huh? I’m Hallie.”

“She’s Aunt Clara’s best friend,” Gabe adds. “We all went to school together.”

“So you’re Daddy’s friend, too?”

I used to be, I almost say. But explaining our complicated history and what went wrong to a six-year-old doesn’t seem like the right move.

My gaze flits to Gabe briefly before returning to Abbie. “Yes. I’m his friend, too.”

Thankfully, everyone begins to eat, and conversation moves to other things. Safer things. I manage to sit and observe for a while before I’m forced to talk about myself, something I’d much rather avoid.

“Carole says you’ve been a great help with the gallery,” Maggie says. “But I hope Clara isn’t driving you too crazy in that apartment of hers.”

“Hey!” Clara says. “I’m the perfect host, thank you.”

I laugh. “Clara has been great, and working for Carole has been fun. Now I just need to find a place of my own.”

A place that costs me zero dollars, preferably. Though in today’s market, I’d be more likely to find a pot of gold at the endof a rainbow. At least I was fortunate enough to finish paying off my student loans a few months ago, and I do have a decent amount in my savings because my recent nannying gig paid well, but that will only stretch so long.

“Any luck?” John asks.

I blow out a breath. “None so far. But it’s okay, I’ll keep trying. Something is bound to come up.”

“Why don’t you move into one of the rooms here?” he suggests. “We won’t charge you, of course.”

While Haven House is more than big enough, I don’t want to take advantage of their generosity. I feel bad enough mooching off of Clara.

Before I can come up with an excuse to decline, Maggie interjects. “Oh, John, she can’t. We’ve got that thing happening next week.”

He turns to his wife with a raised brow. “What thing?”

“You know, Dad,” Clara says, as if it’s obvious. “Those guys are coming to rip into the walls. All the rooms will be torn apart.”

Maggie nods along. “Yes, honey. Because of the termites. Remember?”

I gasp. “You havetermites?”

“Really big ones,” Delilah adds. She nudges her boyfriend in the side. “Right, Luke?”

It takes him a second, but then he nods. “Right… Definitely don’t want to mess with those, Hallie.”

“I, uh—” John scratches his chin as he looks from his wife to me. His expression is wary, but he acquiesces. “It appears we do… Sorry, Hallie. I misspoke.”

I narrow my gaze, more than a little suspicious of their strange behaviour, but then I shake my head. “It’s okay, don’t worry about it. I’ll find something.”

“I think I have an idea,” Clara says. We all turn to her, and the gleam in her eye has my stomach twisting into a knot. That lookis nothing but trouble. “Gabe, why don’t you let Hallie move into your guesthouse?”

My gaze slides to him, and in some cruel twist of fate, his eyes are already on me. They flick briefly to his sister before settling back on me.

He clears his throat. “It’s not exactly in the best condition.” He palms the back of his neck. “I’ve been meaning to work on it, but I’ve been putting it off.”