AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dave laughs and slaps his thigh. “I live in a one-bedroom apartment. You can take the couch if you want, but I guarantee you’ll find Anita’s guest room more comfortable.”
“I’m sure I can find somewhere else,” says Ves. “It won’t come to that.”
That’s the end of the chitchat for the next couple of hours.
Since day one, Dave has been patient and explains everything, sometimes twice, to make sure Ves gets it, but the rest of their time is devoted to doing their respective tasks. The man works hours on end on his many projects—custom cribs, reclaimed barn door headboards, rocking chairs—for people around town. Dave spends most of that time in silence, or humming Presley, Sinatra, or, surprisingly, Mumford & Sons. Ves envies that focus, especially since he still hasn’t made any progress on his next book idea.
By the time they finish making the curved ski runners, it’s almost noon. Ves usually asks Dave to lunch, but the old man never takes him up on it, citing the meals Anita sends him home with. And now, having been the recipient of the same generosity, Ves knows he’d much rather devour the leftovers in his fridge Anita insisted on packing for him. There’s enough for him to be set for both lunch and dinner.
His phone rings when he’s halfway down Main Street, Arun’s name popping up on the screen. “Why did you send me a picture of sleeping cats at three a.m. last night?” his best friend asks without preamble.
“You always offer to send me pet pics.”
“Which you say you delete without looking at, which is physically impossible, by the way.”
Ves huffs. “Fine, I look. They just don’t have the same effect on me as they do on you.”
“Oh, pfft! If you’re done lying to yourself, just admit they make you all squishy, too,” Arun says with a good-natured snort. “But seriously, what’s up? Why cats. In the middle of the night. Answers, please.”
“I couldn’t sleep last night and thought they looked cute curled up together. They refused to pose earlier. Every single photo came out blurry or with tails blocking the lens. Jeez, I thought you’d like it. My mistake.”
“Don’t pout. I need more information, Veselin Andrew Hollins.”
Ves winces. Other than his parents, Arun is the only person he still associates with who knows his full first name. He hates it. It reminds him of the first year at boarding school when the other boys called him Vaseline, even in front of the teachers.
It’s been Ves ever since. Not Veselin, the boy who cried at night. Not Veselin, whose textbook pages were gloopy with petroleum jelly on his second day. Not Veselin, who had thought if he went to the child psychologist without making a fuss, maybe his parents would get back together and then he wouldn’t have to go back to that school for a second semester.
Ves is a man who none of those things could happen to. Ves is someone who is in control, and that’s how he likes it. How he plans to keep it. Changing what works will only invite crushed hopes, and it’s not a taste he cares to familiarize himself with again.
Arun gasps at Ves’s silence. “Plot twist! Did you, the most city person to ever city, decide to settle down and get closer to your homespun roots, falling for the girl next door, saving a local business, ideally one owned by her mom and pop, and then, cherry on top, save some kittens from a tree?”
“Roots?” Ves’s lips quirk. Karl’s family emigrated from Germany, and Adeline has never quite been able to give a straight answer about her background; her side of the family had a habit of estranging themselves at the earliest opportunity, so he’s never known that half of the family tree. Just another way they’re fucked up. “Arun, small tourist towns are not my roots. And I keep telling you, there’s no falling happening. Her parents’ business is probably the most profitable one in this whole town. Have you been watching Hallmark again?”
“...No?” Arun’s voice lilts at the end. It’s his tell.
“I blame Cade for this.”
“It’s just so...” Arun sighs. “Real.”
Ves stands to the side to let a group of brisk joggers overtake him. “It’s a film set.”
“Oh, if only places like that existed in real life.” Arun’s voice rises dramatically. “Oh wait, they do! Welcome to Piney Peaks! God, I wish I was there right now.”
“Okay, that proves nothing. Piney Peaks is the exception, not the rule. And, if you think about it, isn’t the whole town basically a set? They’re so committed to dining out on Sleighbells’s success for as long as possible that they’re really playing up the whole cutesy charm.”
Arun grumbles. “Getting back to your cat acquisition...”
“They were Maeve’s. I inherited them.”
“And you just found out?”
“Elisha didn’t want to stress me out with them right away.”
Arun laughs. “She knows you well.”
“But, I don’t know, now that they’re here... I think I would have been fine with it? They haven’t clawed the furniture or pointedly pissed on the carpets. Thor and Thorin have been pretty chill so far.”
“Excuse me, who and who?” Arun sounds incredulous.
