of turning this into a kind of apartment. Nothing fancy, just insulate and finish the walls and put in another dormer or two. A bathroom, of course. Ross says he can come up with a simple plan that would even let us split it into two spaces later it we need to. What do you think?”
“It’s not my house, Ben.”
“No, but we were thinking we’d give you first crack at the place if you want. Otherwise, I’ll offer it to Doug.”
“I’ll take it. When can I move in?”
Ben laughed. “You don’t want to think about it?”
“Nope. Sorry, Doug, wherever you are. Too bad for you!”
Ben laughed harder. “Okay, okay. We at least need to get insulation and sheetrock up in here, so not until after exams.”
“I can help. And I want to do the painting myself. Can I pick the color?”
“Whatever you want.”
“Thank you!” Mindy grabbed Ben in a bear hug, the kind her dad was so good at. “I’ve never had a room that was just mine before.”
Ben hugged her back, resting his cheek on the top of her head. “Cool. Go study, Min. We’ll make sure it’s ready soon.”
Mindy broke the hug and ran down the stairs. “Thom!” Ben heard he exclaim from below. “Thom! Ben just showed me the attic!”
“What did you think?” Ben could hear the smile in Thom’s voice.
“It’s amazing! Thank you! Thank you so much!”
Ben reached the bottom of the attic stairs to find Thom crushed in Mindy’s bear hug.
“Okay, Min. Let the man breathe.”
“Oh, gosh! Sorry, Thom. I’m just so excited.” Mindy gave him one last hug before running down the stairs calling, “Jon! Jon, guess what!”
“I take it she was pleased with the attic, then?” Thom asked.
“You could say that. Ready to hit the road?”
“Yeah,” Thom answered.
“Don’t worry,” Ben said as he put an arm around Thom’s shoulders and led him toward the stairs. “We’ll go visit in January. It’ll be here before you know it. I even showed Steve how to use Skype.”
“I know. It’s the change thing again. I’m better at some things than others.”
Ben stopped and turned Thom to face him. Putting his hands on either side of Thom’s face, he tilted the shorter man’s face up so their eyes met. “We’ve got a lot of changes coming in the next few months. You gonna be okay?”
Thom smiled. “Are you going to distract me if I start freaking out?”
“Sweetheart, I’ll distract you even if you don’t.”
Epilogue
“DOES BEN come back tomorrow?” Thom heard Doug asking Mindy in a low voice. They were in the vineyard, and he figured Doug didn’t realize he was in the next row and could hear them.
“Yes!” he called out, loud enough for them to hear him. Doug’s startled yelp confirmed his suspicion. “Jeez, guys, chill out.” He looked over the row separating them and saw Doug looking flustered and Mindy smirking.
“Sorry,” Doug muttered as he bent to pick up the knife he had dropped.
Thom knew he’d been on edge lately, and it had been getting worse the longer Ben was gone doing his apprenticeship in Seattle, but he hadn’t realized it had gotten this bad. “It’s cool, man. Look, let’s knock off early and head into town for dinner.”
“Whoa!” Mindy looked at him, her eyes round. “You? Going into town?”
“I am not a hermit!”
“If you say so.”
“Tell Jon, too. I’m leaving in one hour. Anyone who wants to go had better be waiting on the front porch or they’re getting left.” Thom gathered his tools and headed for the house. Halfway there he saw Mindy and Doug speed past him and race for the back door.
He wondered whether Ben knew yet that Doug was infatuated with Mindy. If he didn’t, he’d find out soon enough. He couldn’t tell whether Mindy returned Doug’s interest – she treated them all with the kind of fond condescension reserved for brothers and dim-witted dogs. Watching this drama play out could be amusing, as long as no one got hurt.
He felt the phone in his back pocket vibrate a second before he heard Ben’s ringtone.
“Hey,” he said, smiling as he answered the call.
“Hey, yourself,” Ben replied, and Thom felt his body start to respond to that honeyed drawl.
“Damn, you’d better get home soon.”
Ben laughed. “I’m leaving at the crack of dark tomorrow morning. I’ll be home for lunch if the traffic cooperates.”
“That’s too long,” Thom growled as he yanked open the screen door.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. It’ll be worth the wait.”
“Tease.”
“Nope. It’s a promise. What’re you up to?”
“Getting cleaned up. I’m