We both laughed as Sutton pulled the paper off and crumpled it up.
“How about you shower to get all that glue off of you, and I’ll go grab us some lunch,” I said. “Then we can head to the hardware store.”
With a little smile, she nodded. “Chinese?”
Over the last few weeks, we’d shared countless meals, either cooking together at Sutton’s or ordering takeout. A few times, we’d eaten at her parents’ restaurant. “That sounds good. Text me what you want.”
As I started to head out of the laundry room, Sutton reached for my arm, bringing me to a halt. “Brody?”
“Yeah?” I turned and looked into those gorgeous eyes that had captured my heart so many years ago.
She chewed on her lower lip for a moment before she spoke. “Thank you for all your help. I really appreciate it.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
Dropping her hand, she headed toward the steps while I made my way to the back door. I’d been parking at the back of her house in the hopes that no one would notice how often my truck was there. So far, we’d managed to stay under the radar—which was crazy, since the local newspaper had a gossip column that seemed to know what everyone was doing in town at any given moment.
After stopping by my place to check on a few things, I swung downtown, picked up the Chinese food, and headed back to Sutton’s. When I pulled up at her curb, I frowned when I saw a BMW parked out front. I parked behind the house and then made my way in through the back door.
I should have knocked before I walked in. It was a dick move not to. But curiosity won out over politeness. Or maybe part of me feared it was Jack who’d stopped by unexpectedly.
“What do we do now?” I heard Sutton ask.
“We alert the court that he still hasn’t reached out to you about buying his share of the store. Since the judge ordered it, he legally has to.”
“Isn’t there a time limit on it?”
I peeked around the corner to see Sutton’s divorce lawyer, Ted Johnson, sitting at the table Sutton’s parents had dropped off yesterday.
“There is. Or was. He’s already surpassed it. He keeps having his lawyer file extensions since he’s working out of the country.”
“Why should that matter?” Sutton asked.
“Well, he does need to be here to sign the paperwork at closing.”
“Can’t we do DocuSign or something like that?”
Ted shook his head. “I’m afraid not. We need him to come back to town.”
“That’s the last thing I need.”
I’d been standing in the back hallway, so I took a few silent steps backward so I could open and shut the door loudly. Then I proceeded to casually walk into the kitchen. Sutton and Ted both looked up.
“Brody, it’s good to see you,” Ted said.
I set the food down and reached out to shake his hand. “Ted, how are you doing?”
He smiled. “Can’t complain.”
When Ted glanced between the two of us, Sutton quickly jumped in with an explanation for why I was there. “Brody’s been kind enough to help me with some things around the house that need fixing.”
Ted nodded. “That’s nice of you, Brody.” Then he said to Sutton, “I’m sure that’s helping keep costs down, since you need to keep that money untouched in your bank account.”
“What money?” I asked without thinking.
Ted cleared his throat and looked at Sutton with an expression that said he was sorry for letting it slip.
She turned to me. “Um, part of the divorce settlement is that Jack has to let me buy him out of his half of the store. We worked out an amount, and my mom and dad helped me come up with part of the money. I had to have it in my account before the divorce was final. It’s pretty much all the savings I have left, plus what my parents helped with.”