Wishing for the Girl Next Door (Piney Brook Wishes Book 3)

4. Evan

Once the furniture’s loaded on the back of the truck, I tighten it down with bungee cords. Can’t have Karlee’s furniture falling out on the side of the highway. I slide my phone out of my pocket and text Heath.

Me:Be there in about an hour. Thanks for the help.

Heath: No problem, man. Happy to help. See ya then.

I slide my phone back into my pocket and hop into the truck. Karlee’s grinning bigger than a Cheshire cat, and that’s got my heart doing funny things in my chest. She’s downright beautiful when she smiles.

“All right, you ready to head home and get your apartment settled finally?” I ask as I start the truck and pull away from the loading zone.

“Yes,” she says, excitement making her voice higher than usual. “I can’t wait to sleep in my bed. I hope the mattress I picked is comfortable. And my couch, for that matter. I’ve never picked furniture on my own before.”

“Where did you live before you came to Piney Brook?”

“I lived in Rockville, just outside of Little Rock. I’ve lived with my mom and sister in the same little house my whole life. Well, except for when I was in college.” She turns her head away from me and looks out the window.

“Nothing wrong with that,” I say, trying to lighten the suddenly heavy mood. “Lots of people live with their parents while they are going to college and getting established. I lived with mine until I’d been working for Brant for almost a year. Took me a while to save up enough.”

She turns to face me again and smiles, but this time it looks forced.

“Thanks.”

The rest of the drive passes in silence. I’ve got country music—yuck—playing for her, and she sings along softly. Her attention is focused on something outside the truck. If I had to guess, outside Piney Brook.

Heath is standing at the bottom of the stairs when we drive up. He waves and I roll down the window. “Hey, man, thanks for coming. Help me back it in.”

“You got it,” Heath says, jogging back to the sidewalk.

He helps direct me into the space since I can’t see out my rearview mirror. Once I’m in, I put the truck in park and shut it off. Karlee slides out of her seat and makes her way to the back of the truck.

“Heath, this is my neighbor Karlee. Karlee, my best friend since grade school, Heath.”

Heath’s gaze roams over Karlee, and I have to bite my tongue not to say something.

“Nice to meet you,” he says, taking her hand and bringing it to his lips for a kiss.

“You too,” Karlee says. Pink colors her cheeks, and she brushes her hair from her shoulder. “I’ll go unlock the door and put Peanut in her carrier. Don’t want her running up a tree again.”

Heath watches her climb the stairs, a big grin on his face. “Why didn’t you tell me your neighbor is gorgeous?”

I punch him in the shoulder. “Dude, leave her alone. She’s my neighbor, for crying out loud.” I move to unstrap the bungee cords, and he reaches for the other end.

“I didn’t think neighbors were off limits, man,” he says matter-of-factly. “Remember when you dated my neighbor, Sabrina?” He shakes his head. “That was a nightmare.”

“Exactly,” I say, pointing my finger at him. “So, stay away.”

He laughs and throws his hands in the air. “Message received.”

“Wow, you guys, thanks.” Karlee turns and flops backwards onto her new bed. “This is going to be the best night ever!”

Heath laughs and extends his hand to help her back up. I roll my eyes. Of course, he’s not taking the no flirting with my neighbor rule seriously.

“Happy to help.” I grit the words from between clenched teeth. “Heath, we should go. The games already started.” I motion toward the front door. “Besides, I’m sure Karlee would like to get her bed made and settle in.”

She stands and smiles. “Thanks, really.”

I nod and grab Heath’s arm, practically dragging him from her room.

“Anytime,” he says, waggling his eyebrows. Who does that?

She giggles and waves as I push him through her front door and onto the landing.

“Bro,” he says, pulling his arm loose. “What’s wrong with you?” He raises an eyebrow and stares at me.

“No. Flirting. With. My. Neighbor.” I enunciate every word so he hears me clearly. “She’s off limits. I get the feeling she left her hometown for some space, not to be hit on.”

“Okay, okay.” Heath puts his hands up in surrender. “Can’t blame me, though. She’s gorgeous and sweet, too. Besides, I haven’t had a date since I moved home.” He shrugs and waits for me to open the door to my apartment.

“Have you called Gabby?” I’m not sure what happened there. Those two were inseparable before he left for the military. Somewhere along the way, something must have happened, because neither one of them will talk about the other.

“Nah,” he says, settling into my couch. “She wouldn’t want to hear from me, anyway.”

“You sure about that?” I ask. He’s been home for a few months, but I can tell he’s having a tough time adjusting to civilian life. Having another friend to talk to might help.

Heath shrugs and avoids eye contact. Okay . . . “How’s your mom?”

“She’s good, I think.” Heath sighs. “I don’t know anymore, man. The treatments are hard on her. It kills me she was going through this alone before I came home.”

I pass him a cold Coke, put a bag of chips and a bowl of salsa on the coffee table. “I can’t imagine.”

“Can we just watch the game? I need a break from the heavy stuff.”

“You bet,” I say, grabbing a handful of chips and popping one in my mouth.

An hour later, I’m nodding off. The game’s pretty much over, and I’m ready for bed. I stand and press my fists into my back, getting a good stretch. “I’m headed to bed, man. Feel free to stay. I can toss you a pillow and a blanket if you want to crash on the couch.”

Heath stands and moves to the kitchen to throw his empty can in the recycling bin. “Nah, I’m going to head out. Mom has an early radiation appointment tomorrow.”

I slap him gently on the shoulder. “I’m here. Anytime you need a friend.”

Heath nods. “Thanks. What I need is to go out this weekend. Get back into the groove of Piney Brook social life.” He laughs, but it sounds hollow. “What little of it there is.”

The gravel from the parking lot of the Curly Pig crunches under my tires. A neon sign flashes pink to white. The pink shows an outline of a pig, and the white shows the name of Piney Brook’s only sports bar—a franchise? of the one closer to the University in Fayetteville.

Music floats into the gravel lot every time the swinging front doors open. Weekend nights are busy at the Curly Pig, and not usually my scene.

“Thanks for doing this, man.” Heath says, swinging open the passenger door. “I know it’s not your thing.”

I sigh and adjust my baseball cap. “It’s all right. I haven’t been here in a while. Getting out is probably good for me.”

We approach the swinging doors just as they open. A woman stumbles out, hanging onto the arm of none other than Thatcher Blount, my high school rival. I suck in a breath when I realize the very inebriated woman is, in fact, Louise, my ex.

“Come on, baby,” Thatcher says, pulling her closer to his side and eyeing me. “Let’s get you home.”

Louise giggles and leans into him as she stumbles and almost falls. “Sounds good, lover boy.”

My fists ball at my sides. Heath grabs my arm and tugs me through the doors and away from the train wreck that was my life. This is why I don’t go out anymore. It’s also why I don’t date.

“She’s still in town?” Heath asks. He leans against the bar and raises his hand to get the bartender’s attention. “I was sure they’d left Piney Brook for New York or something.”

I sigh and rub my hands over my face. “They came back.” I really do not want to talk about Louise and Thatcher. Not now, not ever. Brant and Daniel don’t even realize we were once an item. Being several years behind them in school has its perks.

Heath gives me a knowing look and a quick nod. “So,” he says, looking around the bar. “Tell me, who’s new?”

I scan the bar top and tables that aren’t hidden from the small dance floor, which is currently filled with people cutting loose and laughing. In the corner, I spot a group of people from the hospital, and my breath catches. Heath hands me a Coke and follows my line of sight.

“Hey! Karlee’s here. We should go say hi!”

Heath’s already squeezing between groups of girls who are laughing and dancing wildly to the 90s remix music, when my brain realizes what he just said.

I take the long way around the dance floor, avoiding getting inadvertently turned into an Evan sandwich. As I turn the corner, I see Heath slide into the booth next to Karlee. He makes eye contact with me and grins. I can feel my eyebrows creeping further up my forehead with every step in their direction.

“Here he is,” Heath says, raising his cup in my direction. “Evan, look who I found.”

He grins and for a moment he reminds me of the twelve-year-old kid who used to sleep over and have video game battles with me. I decide to make the best of this weird night. He deserves one night to be that happy again.

“Hey, guys.” I say to the table. “How’s it going?”

A chorus of “good” rings out, and I pull up a chair from a nearby table, squeezing it in at the end of the booth.

I lean in and whisper in Karlee’s ear, thankful that she made Heath slide between her and some guy I haven’t seen around before. “Are you going to introduce me to your friends?” Her cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink, and I fight to swallow the grin that wants to break loose.

“Mona, Terran, Marla, and Nicki.”

She points to the people seated across from her at the table. I’m sure they are all great, but all I can see is her. This isn’t good. I take a sip of my soda to distract myself from the warm heat that is spreading through my chest. Like warmed honey for a cough, Karlee does something to me.

She shrugs and takes a sip of her fruity looking drink. “This is Evan, my neighbor,” she says as she places the drink on the table in front of her.

Mona giggles. “The neighbor?“ she asks, lifting an eyebrow and smiling.

Karlee’s pink cheeks blaze red, and I thank the owners of the Curly Pig for not putting in ridiculously low lighting.

I bump her with my shoulder. “Have you been talking about me?” I chuckle. “All good things, I hope.”

The corner of her mouth lifts in a small smile. “So, Marla, weren’t you telling us about your run-in with the newest doctor?” she asks, diverting the attention from her. Smooth.

Marla nods. “Dr. Sullivan. He transferred here from somewhere in South Carolina after Christmas last year. From what I hear, he’s a very good acute care specialist.”

“Thank goodness,” Mona pipes in. “It was time for Dr. Ferrick to retire. I swear, he was the ER doctor when my momma was growing up.” Everyone laughs.

“I wonder what brought him to Piney Brook,” Terran says, looking around the bar. “It’s not like we have a lot to offer. He must be in hiding or something to land here.” Her eyes land on Karlee, who’s focused on picking her napkin apart. “Sorry girl. I grew up here. Never thought I’d stick around.”

Heath leans forward and places his elbows on the table. “Take it from me. Leaving isn’t as great as it seems.” He smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. He brings his drink to his lips and finishes it. “I think I’m headed to the bar for another round. Anyone want anything?”

Marla asks for a Shirley Temple with extra cherries, and Heath nods. “Anyone else?”

I shake my head no. I don’t really drink. Besides, I’m driving. Karlee scoots out of the pleather bench seat and lets him out. I slide in beside her when she scoots back in.

“It’ll be easier this way,” I say, shrugging. “He will want to move around freely.” I wink at her and turn my attention back to Terran. “You grew up here?”

She nods. “I did. I was a freshman when you were a senior.” She tips her head back and laughs. “All the girls had a huge crush on you, but they were afraid of Louise.”

I must have made a face, because the giggles at the table abruptly stop. “Sorry,” Terran says. “I’m really putting my foot in my mouth tonight.”

Karlee places her hand on my arm and gives me a gentle squeeze. I appreciate the support. Even if she doesn’t know the details. “No problem,” I say, forcing a smile. “That was a long time ago.”