Crazy (The Gibson Boys #4)(22)

She sighs in frustration. “Don’t mess with me, Peck. I seriously need to find something.”

“And I seriously have a room you could stay in.”

I look up at her. There are equal parts of hope and suspicion in those green orbs, but I get it. I feel the same way.

A part of me is excited at the thought of having her around to joke with for a few days. But a part the same size is worried this might be all kinds of fucked up. But now that I’ve already spilled the beans, I have to ride it out.

“I can’t stay with you,” she says.

“Should I take that personally?”

“No,” she says with a grin. “But I barely know you. It would be super careless to move in with you.”

“I was using the words ‘stay with me’ because it sounds way less permanent than ‘move in with me,’” I say. “I don’t mean forever. I just mean while you figure this out.”

Her face falls. “This isn’t your problem.”

“I’m aware of that. But if someone has a need and you can supply the fix, you should. I have a room and a bathroom that never gets used. And a big ole barn out back that’s pretty much empty. You’re looking for both those things.” I smirk. “Or you can pile your things in Navie’s apartment, and the two of you can sleep outside. Up to you.”

She narrows her eyes. “Are you serious-serious?”

“As serious as I’m gonna get.”

“Do you sleepwalk?” she asks.

“Um, I don’t think so.”

“Do you eat a lot of beans?”

I laugh. “You’re gross.”

“I lived with a guy once that loved them, but they didn’t love him back, and I’d rather not do that again if I have the choice.”

“Well, then, I’ll explicitly ask for no beans, no guacamole when I go to Peaches and get Mexican.”

Her brow furrows. “Peaches for Mexican? That makes no sense.”

“Tell me about it.”

She rubs her forehead again as she walks in a small circle. She stops to look at the house before turning on her heel and facing me again.

“I guess it won’t hurt anything since you’re in love with Molly,” she says.

My head spins with that announcement. Molly? What the fuck does she have to do with anything, and how does she even know about her?

“What? What do you know about Molly?”

“That you love her.”

She says it carefully, testing the sound of the words in the air. Each syllable is enunciated, broken out by a thoughtful tongue.

Leaning back, she waits for my response. It’s one I don’t want to give her.

Molly and my feelings toward her are complicated.

She’s been a constant in my life—more so than anyone even knows. I don’t bother to explain it to them because it’s none of their business, for one. And, for two, they already have their mind made up about her.

She’s not easy to get along with. There are things about her that even I don’t love. But underneath her attitude is a person who needs someone to care about her. I promised her one day a long time ago that I would always give a shit.

It’s a promise I won’t break.

“I have things to do today, you know,” I tease.

“I’m calling bullshit because you planned on helping me today.”

“And now I’m not and could go by Crank and help Walker rip a tranny out of a SUV. Or go check on Nana or have a drink at Crave.”

“At this time of day?” she asks.

“Are you judging me?”

“Maybe.” Her cheeks split with a smile. “What’s the rent?”

“Whatever you want to pay. Honestly, the room is just sitting there.”

“Four hundred a month then. That’s what I was going to pay here.”

I laugh. “Yeah. No. How about we just talk about it later? See how you like it and how it works out?”

She wants to argue with me, but she can’t. I’m her only option, and I’m not upset about that.

“Fine,” she says with a grin. “I would love to stay with you for a while.”

I look at the sky and sigh. “Like you’re doing me some big favor.”

“Oh, but I am,” she says cheekily.

“Only if you cook a lot. Can we add that to your rent? Like you have to make dinner when you can so I don’t have to go find it every night.”

She laughs. “You never cook?”

“Never. If I can’t get Nana to make something, I go to one of my cousins’ houses. If they’re not making food, I just go buy it somewhere.”

“That’s a waste.”

“It was. Now I have you.”

We exchange a smile.

The air between us picks up, and a gentle breeze carries the scent of cat pee our way. We both make a sour face.

“Let’s get out of here,” I say.

“I need to talk to Mark and get my security deposit back.”

I head to my truck. “Follow me. We’ll take care of that together in case Mark has anything to say. Then we can head to my house.” I pop open the door when I’m stopped by Dylan’s voice.

“Hey, Peck.”