Page 20 of The Fall Fix Up

She crossed her arms and looked off to the side. “Yeah, well . . . don’t be so noble about things. You can express interest in her without being shady about it, so figure out how to do that so you can stop moping around. You’re stinking up the place with all your pining.”

Aiden scoffed and shrugged. “I’m not trying to be noble. I just don’t have anywhere else to go right now, so the last thing I want to do is make Janae uncomfortable and get kicked out.” When Vini frowned, he knew he had said too much.

“What do you mean you don’t have anywhere else to go? I thought you had talked to that complex out in Hickory Springs?”

Aiden hesitated as he thought quickly. “I did, but it wouldn’t have worked.” When she opened her mouth again, he continued, “It really would have just been too far, and I know how much you hate me riding the Harley in winter on the off chance we get ice.”

It wasn’t a total lie. She had bitched at him a couple years ago when they got one of Georgia’s famous freak ice storms and he’d gotten caught in the middle of it. He and his bike had nearly been taken out when a car jackknifed on a curve. Thankfully, neither of them had been going too fast, and they’d avoided one another.

Vini studied him for a moment, like she was trying to decide if he were bullshitting her. Whatever she saw must have been enough to calm her, because she nodded. “Good. You should listen to me more often.”

He rolled his eyes. “Sure thing, boss lady. Now, can I get back to work or are we going to go into overtime with the inquisition?”

She rolled her eyes back at him. “Whatever, asshole. Don’t think I won’t check in on you again later.” Aiden shook his head with a smile before turning back to the engine he’d been working on. He heard her approach, but didn’t move. She reached out, giving his shoulder a light squeeze. “You’ll be alright, Aiden. We won’t let you fall.”

He reached up and patted her hand, flashing her a smile. He wasn’t sure if he quite believed it yet, but having her support meant at least someone did.

Chapter 9

When the last student filed out, Janae leaned back against her chair with a sigh. It had been a great class even with the memory of the apartment fire still hanging over them. She’d had a couple students who she knew lived in the building too and were affected, but everyone had continued to rally and keep things upbeat. There was even talk about holding a fall festival in a couple weeks to raise money to help cover some of the costs for people who were still struggling. It seemed Aiden’s prediction had come true. Janae was excited to see how she could potentially help out.

Peach Blossom was good like that. Not for the first time, she marveled at how much the community really seemed to take care of its own in a way that she never really felt growing up in a much larger city. It was admirable and just further cemented her desire to make this town a more permanent place to rest.

She stretched her shoulders, hissing softly when something in her neck popped. Thankfully, it was Friday, which meant she’d have some time to breathe and work on a painting she’d started yesterday. It had taken a while, but she was finally feeling the itch to really be creative again, and she didn’t want to lose any momentum.

She’d just stood up from her chair when Grace poked her head into her classroom.

“Hey, friend. Want to join me for lunch?” Grace asked, her smile wide and open. “I was going to walk over to the park across the street to enjoy some of the mild weather we’re having before Georgia decides to strike again with her unpredictable temperatures.”

“Always,” Janae said, waving her in. “Let me grab my food from the back.”

They were mostly silent as they made their way to the park across the street, waving to the front office as they went. Normally outside of school hours, it was awash with the sound of children playing, but today there were only a few parents there with their toddlers. Grace sat down at one of the picnic tables with a sigh and Janae smiled knowingly. Grace looked about how she felt, which was tired. Even though Janae loved teaching, the stress of a new school year combined with abruptly having to move was slowly getting to her and she was more tired than she usually was this time of the year.

“This week seemed to fly by and move slower than molasses all at once.”

Grace’s chuckle was tinged with the same soft tiredness Janae felt. “You’re not wrong. I’m so tired, I feel like I ran a marathon. I don’t know why either. It’s not like we did anything different than normal.”

Janae shook her head. “Same. It felt like my week was so disorganized and chaotic. Even my room feels like a mess.”

Grace snorted. “Please. Your class is way more organized than half the town. You should have seen my lab after this last period. One kid managed to drop two test tubes, both within five minutes of one another. I had to let the janitor know and apologized profusely.”

“Wow. That’s talent,” Janae said with a knowing smile. “It almost beats out when one of my students managed to get paint on the ceiling and somehow inside his shirt at the same time.”

Grace’s laughter was warm as she popped open her Tupperware. “These kids, man. Sometimes I wonder how we managed back then.”

“It was a different time, my friend.”

They both settled, digging into their meals as the sound of children laughing and playing floated through the air in the background. Janae chewed her sandwich and let her mind wander. As it often did these days, it traveled to memories of Aiden and she tried not to smile. Just that morning, he had been up early, making them coffee and greeting Janae the moment she’d stepped into the kitchen. It was nice to have such a sweet smile turned on her first thing. She couldn’t deny that it was a little easier to get up and out the door when she knew she would see him.

“What’s got you smiling like that?” Grace asked, her voice and words cutting through Janae’s thoughts.

“Nothing. Just thinking about this art piece I’ve been working on.”

“Really?” Grace’s tone had Janae glancing over at her. “So, tell me . . . how are things going with the new roommate situation?”

Janae swallowed hard and tried to seem casual about the question, like it was no big deal. “It’s going great actually.” She saw no reason to lie about that fact. It was going very well, and she knew if she said anything to the contrary that Vini would hear about it and probably give Aiden an earful. She didn’t want that in the slightest. “Aiden has done so much work around the house already and the kitchen looks so much better than it did a week ago. I was even able to turn down the heat since he finished getting the windows squared away.”

Grace arched an eyebrow before cocking her head to the side. “That’s great indeed. I remember you talking about how drafty the place was. I still can’t believe you lived there for almost two weeks without the windows being fixed.”