But this is what it costs to be a homeowner.
It’s not always flowerbeds and picking out paint swatches.
I wonder if Hunter will be okay with me staying in his garage apartment for a couple of months. He seems to be perfectly fine with having me around, but sixty days or more is a lot to ask. Especially given that our relationship is so new. And Grant was right, I do have plenty of family here that I could stay with.
Hell, Maggie has space in her house.
I drive the short distance to Mary Margaret’s and knock on her door.
“You just caught me,” she says when she opens it. “I was about to head to the pub.”
“I’ll be there in a few hours,” I tell her and follow her to the kitchen. I tell her all about my meeting with Grant. “It’s going to take a lot of time to fix it, and I might need a place to stay.”
“I have space.”
“I know. I think it’s best if I move in here. I don’t want to wear out my welcome with Hunter, you know? Things are still so new.”
“I get it. It’s not a problem. Do you need help moving your stuff?”
“Nah, I can manage. Thanks. I’m going to head over there and start packing. I’ll probably move in here tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. All I ask is that if you and Hunter decide to do the dirty, don’t do it when I’m home.”
“I think we can manage to keep ourselves under control.”
Chapter 11
~Hunter~
“It was so cool,” Rachel says as she unpacks her overnight bag. She’s been talking nonstop since we arrived back on the island, and Maeve went to check on her house. “Grams and Gramps and I watched every minute of it. Maeve was so pretty. And then you won, and we were yelling and screaming and jumping up and down. And you even said my name in your speech.”
“What other name would I say?”
She rolls her eyes, making me grin.
“And it was sweet, what you said at the end about the new chapter and meeting someone new.”
“You know, now that you say that, I’d like to have a chat with you. Let’s go sit out here.”
I turn and walk to the lounge area that Rachel and I made in the loft space. We have a big TV, leather couches, and a ping-pong table with room to spare.
“What’s wrong? Did it go bad? Are you breaking up with her?”
“Good God, you have an active imagination,” I mutter and sit across from my daughter. “No, it didn’t go badly at all. In fact, we had a great time.”
Rachel deflates in relief.
She’s a bit dramatic.
“You’re not a baby anymore, and I’m not going to insult either of us by thinking that you’re not an intelligent young woman who knows what goes on between two people who care about each other.”
“Sex.” The word is simple, and matter of fact, and puts a lump in my stomach.
“Among other things. Also, side note, if you start having sex, I want you to tell me. I’m serious. I need to make sure you’re safe.”
“I’m not,” she says and rolls her eyes again. “Boys are scared of me because you’re my dad.”
I grin. “Really? That’s great.”
Rachel narrows her eyes.
“I mean, how horrible for you. Anyway, I care about Maeve, Rach.”
“You love her.” She smiles and reaches over to pat my shoulder. “You just don’t know it yet.”
You’re wrong. I know it.
“I want to move forward with her and see if this is something that might stick for the long haul. And I don’t want her to stay in that apartment.”
Rachel frowns. “Then where would she…? Oh. You want her to sleep with you.”
“I do, but only if it doesn’t freak you out. Because as you know, you’re the most important part of my life, and I don’t bring women home. You know that.”
“I know. That’s how I know she’s really important to you. And I like her, Dad. I like her whole family. They’re really cool.”
“They’re definitely cool,” I agree. “I don’t want you to feel disrespected if I ask her to move in with me.”
Rachel licks her lips and thinks it over. “Grams said something last night that I hadn’t thought of before. And it’s true. She said that in just a few years, I’ll be off to college, living my own life, and you’ll be moving onto another new part of life. An empty nester or whatever. And that it’s okay for you to start thinking about yourself more. I wasn’t complaining or anything. She was just talking. Dad, it’s okay. I like Maeve, and I know that nothing’s going to change between you and me.”
“If something makes you uncomfortable, I want you to say so,” I reply, my heart in my throat. “Because even though you’re going to leave me when you’re thirty, I still love you more than anything.”