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Coop folds in half.
“What?”
“A wooden spoon.”
The wheeze that comes out of him is almost concerning.
Tyler and Trick just stare.
“She threatened you with a spoon?”
“She didn’t threaten me.”
“Then why’d she have a spoon?”
“I don’t know Ty, I guess she planned on attacking me with it when she thought I was an intruder.”
Coop is fully crying now, and even Trick’s mouth twitches.
I’m aware I’ve earned this.
Tyler leans against the rig and smiles.
“So. Verdict? Was I right?”
“The drain’s fixed.”
“That’s not the verdict I’m asking for.”
His voice drops just enough that I know exactly what he’s asking.
“She’s our tenant,” I answer too quickly.
Tyler nods once, like that was a complete sentence and also like it wasn’t.
“Yep.”
Coop looks between us.
“Sooo… what’s the move?”
“There is no move.”
The answer comes out faster than I mean it to.
Fast enough that Tyler notices.
His eyebrow shifts almost imperceptibly.
“That’s—”
“That’s reality.” I set the clipboard down. “She lives in our house.”
It comes out rougher than I mean for it, settling over the bay. Tyler’s grin dials back as he shoves his hands in his pockets.
“Yeah,” he said. “She does.”
I meet his eyes. Eight years of calls, two years of sharing a mortgage, and over 30 years of sharing everything else that mattered. He knows exactly what I’m not saying. That she’s upstairs.
