Page 45 of How Dare You
Day Eight
Coming to the house today?
-Rhett
It’s easier to use the computer in the trailer.
-Notes on the whiteboard, August 28th
Devon
Made it half a mile farther today than yesterday before I turned around. It’s freeing not to have time constraints to hold me back, but the final stretches of my workout are getting harder and harder. Should probably back off tomorrow. Should, but won’t.
My phone buzzes the moment I run past the reception rock. Mom. I must have forgotten we had a call scheduled. What day is it? I give myself three rings to try to recover my breath before I answer, collapsing onto the cleft in the rock.
“Hi, Mom.” I mute the phone immediately, breathing in slowly through my nose, then out through my mouth.
“Did you forget about me, sweetie?” her bright voice asks. “My first call went straight to voicemail.”
I press unmute. “Sorry about that. Busy morning.” Then mute again. If I walk to the house to get water, it will drop the call, but I am so thirsty. Slow, deep breath.
“Mine, too. I only have five minutes left now.” Her voice betrays no hint of irritation. Mom may be exacting and a fierce businesswoman, but she is also incredibly patient. It’s a combination I have admired for as long as I can remember.
She is going to want an update on Friday West. What do I even tell her? She hasn’t taken a vacation in years. “Devon? Are you there? I can’t hear you.”
Unmute. “Here, sorry. Just finishing a walk around the office. Went to grab coffee and clear my head.”
“You have to be careful taking too many breaks like that.” Yeah, she definitely wouldn’t understand. “And you sound out of breath. Are you getting enough exercise?”
“I get enough.” I pull one of my sore legs into a quad stretch. “Maybe even too much. Just extra hot out today.”
“Okay, well, things are good here. I am speaking at your high school tomorrow, one of three local women entrepreneurs. You should see if there are opportunities like that in your area. You would be a good role model for young girls, showing them how to focus on their careers, develop a business from scratch on their own.” If I could breathe, I’d tell her about the article Nathalie’s writing. She’d probably be proud.
I file it away for our next conversation and say, “I will check into it.”
She moves on to the brother update portion of our call. “Zachary and Noah are both coming home for Labor Day weekend.”
“Oh, that will be nice.” I haven’t opened my planner in days. Forgot it was so soon.
“Is Allie still dating her landlord?” she asks, skipping over dad updates, in the way that I appreciate. “I cannot stop thinking about what a bad idea that is since you mentioned it to me last time we talked.”
I forget to hide my scoff. “They own a business together. They live together. It is fairly new, but she’s committed.”
Mom sighs loudly into the phone. “I am just glad you have the sense not to get your love life and your business mixed up together. Are you dating anyone, by the way? I haven’t asked you about that in a while.” Dating? No. Am I sharing a bed with a hot carpenter I haven’t stopped thinking about for months? Yes. Did I almost hook up with him the other night? Also, yes. “Devon, are you still there?”
“Yeah, sorry. Not dating anyone. No.” Before she has an opportunity to turn the conversation to my business, I cut it off. “I’m sorry I missed our call earlier, but I actually have to get going. Let’s try again next week?”
“Alright, sweetie. Send me some dates and times.” She signs off on a particularly heartening note. “I am proud of you every single day. Work hard!”
Rhett
Working at the house without Devon is damn near unbearable. I did it for six months before I ever met her without a problem. But now that I know what it’s like to have her close, working in my future bedroom at a table and chair I built, with her increasingly frequent smiles, walking back and forth for more iced tea than anyone needs to drink in one day, the hours drag and the place feels as hollow as it looks.
Chapter 21
Day Nine
Dinner will be ready at 7.