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“I suppose I can forgive you dissing me for a damsel in distress.” Ethan met Nick at Sage’s car with a jack, tire iron, and teasing grin. “I can see why you’ve lost your heart to her, young Prater.”
Nick pulled the tire from the trunk, hoping it wouldn’t need air. He bounced the spare against the pavement and it seemed to hold shape. “We’re just friends. I’m like a brother to her. Nothing more.”
“Sure about that?” Ethan loosened the lug nuts. “I paid attention to how she looked at you yesterday. I think you can ditch that brother tag and move on to something more substantial.”
Oh, but he wished. “What if I tell her how I really feel and it ruins everything? It’s not like I have an abundance of friends, you know.” Most of his high school buddies had left for larger towns and those who remained behind were getting on with their own lives and starting families.
Ethan folded his arms across his chest. “I’m wounded, young Prater. Do you not consider us your friends?”
Nick couldn’t hold back his smile. “Of course. And I’m truly grateful for your offer to help me out this morning. More so than I can say. I feel bad about ditching you.”
With a wave of dismissal, Ethan moved the jack into place and began lifting the front end. “If you had left her in this mess, I would have lost all respect for you. I’m concerned about these other tires. They’ll not hold out much longer. Does she know that?”
“Yeah, she knows. Neither of us is in a great financial spot at the moment. Another reason I’m hesitant to ... you know, to say anything. I have nothing to offer her.”
“Nothing but a heart of gold, man.”
“Did you find that in some song?” Nick leaned against the passenger door as the front slowly rose.
Ethan laughed with a shrug. “Probably. But I stand firm in my belief that although being financially stable has its advantages, finding someone who compliments you is worth more.” He locked the jack in place. “But hey, if the relationship is working for you as it stands, then maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s better to let sleeping dogs lie, as Haley is fond of saying.”
Nick chuckled. “Where does she get those sayings, anyway?”
“Who knows? Must be a southern thing. But she keeps the conversation lively, doesn’t she?”
Nick had heard the story of how they’d met just days before Thanksgiving last year. Ethan loved going around telling everyone that Haley blew him off his feet. Although, it was actually his car that she’d blown off the road.
“So ... is your friendship with Sage working out for you?”
“Not sure it matters.” Nick removed the nuts and pulled off the flat tire. The thread showed through and if the others were like this one, she’d be taking a risk every time she got on the road. He really hated that.
“I wouldn’t even know how to... I mean, she’ll probably think I’m pranking her. If I came right out and told her that I’m ... falling for her. You know?” He rolled the tire aside and replaced it with the spare. “And if she doesn’t feel the same way, it’ll make things uncomfortable between us. I don’t want to—”
“Let me ask you something, Nick. Do you just like her? Or do you seriously feel like you’re falling in love with her? That you can’t imagine your life without her in it.”
Nick’s silence must have answered his friend’s question. One of the biggest reasons he kept quiet was his fear of driving her away. He couldn’t imagine her not being a part of his life in some way.
Ethan came to stand beside Nick. “If it’s the latter, then what you have now won’t last much longer anyway. You’ll not be able to take being around her. Eventually, you’ll start finding excuses to push her away, or you’ll try to avoid her. Know what I mean?”
“Already feel that way. Staying at her house last night, just a couple of rooms away from her, was pure torture. I was so afraid I would do something like hold her hand too long or hug her too long. And she’d know. Or I’d say something stupid and give away my feelings. So I kept my distance and didn’t say anything. She noticed. I hated myself for acting like that.”
Ethan helped him set the tire in place and held the wheel steady while Nick tightened it. “Then it doesn’t sound like you have much of a choice, do you?”
Half an hour later Nick followed Ethan, who drove Sage’s car, back to the house. When he got out, he stood beside the Saturn raking his long bangs out of his face. “I’m really worried about those tires.”
Nick walked past his friend and patted his shoulder. “She’ll get them replaced soon as she can. Once I empty out my car, I can get her to classes and back. We have a similar schedule.”
Ethan nodded but said nothing as he chewed on his thumb and stared at the worn tires. Nick, though he appreciated the man’s kind heart, knew Sage would never accept charity from someone outside what she deemed her inner circle. “Don’t offer, man. I know her prickly pride.”
Following Nick up the steps, Ethan said, “It’s not that I can go purchase a new set of tires though I wish I could.” They headed around to the back of the house, past the open shelter outside the side door. Miss Haley called it her smoke shack and had one impressive grill set-up where she cooked her meats for the weekend restaurant.
“Can’t save the world, man.” Nick had to laugh. He’d never seen Mr. Ethan so intent about something. This was really bugging him.
“Don’t want to.” He drew in a deep breath. “But I’m a firm believer that God brings certain people into our lives for a reason. I’ve been blessed this past year after I nearly made a wreck of my life. I intend to pour out into others what the Lord has poured into me.” Ethan stopped at the corner of the house and turned to face him. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way, young Prater. You’ll see.”
“I don’t doubt you for a second. Not for one second.”
When they found the girls talking excitedly in the backyard, Nick’s heart nearly stopped at the wide grin on Sage’s face. He’d not seen her looking so happy in a while. Her time spent with Miss Haley must have gone well.
Haley, upon seeing them, grabbed Ethan’s hand and pulled him into the house, saying she needed a quick word. Sage, holding her shoes in one hand, threw her arms around Nick’s waist and hugged him tightly. Too tight.
“Thank you, thank you, Nikolai. I love her. And this place. I have a job. And a means to help Lana. And a website design job that I can do to pay for the reception.”
“Everything worked out well for you, then?” His hand rubbed over her back, and he resisted the urge to kiss the top of her curly head. They used to be close like this, and he never thought twice about it. Until now. He wanted to hold her and never let go. He wanted to kiss her and never stop.
Instead, he held her out at arm’s length so they were eye to eye, and a safe distance apart. “I’m happy for you.”
Oh, but he needed to tell her.
“Did you know Leon works here, too?” She swung her shoes from side to side. He didn’t like her coquettish smile one little bit. “I was just talking to him. That’s a perk Moi is going to be so jealous about.” Her brows wagged in a way he hated even more.
Maybe he’d tell her some other time. Maybe. He’d never considered she might care about someone else.
She giggled, bouncing on her bare feet. “I need to get home and tell Ma and Lana the news.” She planted a quick kiss on his cheek. “Will I see you later? Oh wait; you have a place to stay now, don’t you?”
“Yeah, and I need to go help Mr. Ethan with those walls.” Why’d she have to be so darn cute? “Say, don’t drive too much on those tires, okay? I’ll come to get you for class on Wednesday.”
“But, you’ll have to wait around for me again.”
“I don’t mind. I’ll get more work done if I don’t have anything distracting me.” Though she distracted him to the point he worried he might lose it. “They’re not safe, Sage. Don’t drive too far, and call me if you have any problems.”
“Got it.” She nodded and blew him another kiss. “I’ll see you later, then. Love you and thanks again.”
“Sure thing. Love you, too.” More than he cared for her to know.
He watched Sage retrieve her bag from his car and then slipped into hers. Hopefully, it would hold out until she earned enough to fix it.
“I really need to get my act together.” Having a place to live would help a lot. He’d not blow off this opportunity Mr. Ethan was giving him to get back on his feet. He needed a real job. A good one. And he needed to find a way to let Sage know how he felt. Their brotherly friendship simply wasn’t going to float anymore.
He went inside the house where the owners were in the middle of a discussion. Miss Haley always provided a bowl of fruit and plate of cookies for guests, and workers, to snack on. He grabbed one of each and then noticed a stack of stationery left out for people to write notes on. Sage had admitted to being taken by her siblings’ love note. She seemed a little sad that it hadn’t been real. Girls did like that sort of thing.
Nick had always hated writing longhand, ever since his high school teachers harassed him about his sloppy penmanship. When he finally got a computer and printer, he no longer wrote out his work, much to everyone’s relief. He’d need to take his time on this. But if it opened the door to let her know how he felt, the trouble would be totally worth it.
He grinned and snagged a couple of sheets which he neatly folded and tucked into his shirt pocket.