Page 36 of The Birchwood House

Evan took a few steps down off the porch and stepped back to look up at the house. Although it was dusk, he could see that the mansion did in fact look greatly improved.

“It’s always been a magnificent building,” he said, “but a fresh coat of paint makes it look better than ever. It looks brand new, like we’ve been transported back to when it was first built.”

“That’s the idea,” Audrey said, looking proud. “We’ve done some landscaping as well. What do you think of the garden and the new rose bushes?”

“Very nice. Are the rose bushes part of the house’s history?”

They began to stroll across the lawn together, a light spring breeze ruffling against their faces. Evan stole glances at her as they walked, thinking to himself that she looked beautiful even in her old sweatshirt and sneakers.

“They are,” she said, sounding a little impressed that he’d guessed correctly. “We were looking at all kinds of old photographs of the house as well as old journals, and it turns out that there used to be rose bushes everywhere, but a lot of them died when one of my ancestors was sick for a whole summer. My mom and Michelle and I are very excited about bringing the rose bushes back.”

“It’s a great idea,” Evan said. He looked around the grounds with a smile. “Everything looks great.”

“Thanks.” Audrey smiled and then they walked quietly side by side for a few moments. “It’s been therapeutic to be able to devote my mind to something,” she said. “Making our house into a historical site will benefit my mother, and it’ll be good for our whole town as well. It’s nice to feel satisfaction in something again. I—well, I haven’t felt much satisfaction since my husband left me.”

Evan felt a twinge of awkwardness, not knowing how to handle the way she was sharing her heart with him so unexpectedly. Emotions were something that he tended to runfrom. If he never stopped to process his own emotions, how could he help Audrey with hers?

Despite his hesitancy, however, his heart seemed to know just what it wanted him to say. He found himself speaking his next words effortlessly, almost as if he couldn’t help himself.

“I think it’s terrible that he would do that to you,” Evan said, his tone gentle but firm. “Marriage is a difficult journey to be on with someone, but I believe it’s one of the best and bravest things we can do with our lives. If a person has found someone else who’s devoted to them, they should do whatever it takes to make sure that person feels loved. Breaking someone’s trust is the worst way to shatter a marriage.“

Audrey looked straight ahead as they walked, her face a mask of expressionlessness. At first, he thought he might have offended her, and then when he saw tears in her eyes, he realized that she was trying not to cry.

“Any man who wouldn’t fight for a woman as determined and innovative as you is a fool,” Evan said, meaning the words with a fierceness he hadn’t even realized he was feeling.

I guess I can face my own emotions if I put my mind to it,he thought.I feel strongly that she should be treated well.

Audrey turned to him with a smile that quickly widened into a silly grin. “Really? A woman as determined and innovative as me?”

He cleared his throat, blushing slightly. “Well, yes.”

“Thanks for the compliment,” she said softly, touching his arm.

They walked quietly side by side for a few more moments. Evan’s heart rate had quickened, and he felt almost giddy, thinking of the way she’d grinned at him.

She knows I’m flirting with her,he thought.And she seems to be happy about that.

“Would you like to help me put hooks in the ceiling out here?” she asked as they were circling back toward the front of the house. “We want to hang plants along the porch.”

“Yes, I heard.” He smiled. “I’d love to. Do you have a level and a drill? And the hooks?”

She gave him a mock exasperated look. “Do I look like this is my first rodeo?”

“Do you look like someone who frequently uses power tools? No. You look like a woman who came straight from the city.” He laughed as her mouth popped open in protest. “But you do look like a very competent, intelligent woman and you’re right—I should have just assumed you were ready to put the hooks in if you asked me for my help.”

“Thank you,” she said, wrinkling her nose at him and smiling. “Don’t underestimate me, remember.”

“I’ll remember.”

After the words left his mouth, he regretted them. He hadn’t meant to imply that he needed to remember to not think critically of her—he wanted to assure her that he thought very highly of her. But hadn’t he just suggested that she might be going into a project totally unprepared?

It’s not her,he thought, repressing a sigh.That’s just how I am. I helicopter parent everyone and everything. It’s like I’m always ready for someone else to benotbe ready.

He wondered why he’d gotten that way. He hadn’t been like that during most of his life. It was only in recent years, as he’d been working overtime as the mayor, that he’d been viewing life as one giant mess that he had to constantly be on top of.

“Let me go get the ladder out of the garage,” Audrey said. “That’s the one thing I don’t have ready yet.”

“Let me get it for you,” Evan said, starting toward the back of the house. “Is the garage unlocked?”