with her mom. Maybe that all would have been regular teenage stuff, but eventually, she’d also run away, and taken a good deal of Donny’s and her mother’s money with her. She’d told it all simply, and without shame. Maybe even with a bit of pride.
He reached into the box, shuffled some of its contents around, trying to look busy.
“All’s I’m saying is, none of us knew you exis—”
“Jonah,” came a voice from the doorway, and like everything else having to do with Nora Clarke, he couldn’t really explain it, the relief he felt. Out of all his visitors today, she was the enemy he should be dreading the most; she was the most dangerous to him. Frankly, she was probably here to finish him off.
But he didn’t think any of that, at first. He looked up and saw her there and all he could think was: Finally.
Finally, she came.
Her hair was up again, that sleek, straight ponytail he had an absolutely deranged urge to tug on, and she was dressed casually, like she’d been the other day—a loose, long-sleeved gray shirt, dark leggings that stopped above her ankles, and a pair of sneakers that looked like they’d never been worn outside.
She was so pretty.
It doesn’t matter, you knob, he told himself. She’s the enemy. “Your ride’s here,” she said to Jonah.
“Already!” He reached up to smooth his tufts of white hair, then patted his pockets. “She’s early.” He looked over at Will. “I’m watching you, pal,” he said gruffly, before heading toward the door.
“No wine,” Nora said to Jonah when he got close, a warning note in her voice.
“Sure, sure.” He looked over at Will and proclaimed that he was “on the dating apps!” and then waved as he passed by Nora, saying something to her Will didn’t catch.
Will felt a tide of annoyance sweep through him. He didn’t want any more of this We’re a family performance-art shit these people had been doing all day, distracting him and slowing him down. He finally looked away from Nora, his eyes sweeping over the room. It’d started a mess, and now it was more of a mess, and he figured he knew who’d given the marching orders.
“I see you came empty-handed,” he said, turning toward the kitchen. “That’s new.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see her, still in the doorway, a more tentative approach than any of her neighbors had taken, and for some reason, that annoyed him even more. He wanted her to come in; that was the hell of it.
“Can I offer you something?” he added. “A casserole, or a small appliance? Maybe a potted fern?”
She took a step inside, and he and his heart had a firm, silent communication about its recent behavior. This visit wasn’t anything special. She was the last neighbor in the building, and obviously he wouldn’t be left in peace until they all came through. It was like ticking a box; that was all. Easy.
“So,” she said, casting her eyes around the space. She didn’t seem quite as familiar with the place as Jonah had been, and that was strangely comforting to him. “Now you’ve met everyone.”
“Everyone but Emily,” he said, gesturing toward the plants.
Nora shrugged, reaching out a hand to gently touch one of the largest one’s leaves. “She’s shy.”
“I’ll give you credit,” he said, bending down to pick up his still nearly-empty Toss box. “It was a good idea.”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean by that.”
He held up the box. “Would you like to see how far I’ve gotten with cleaning out the kitchen? Or if that doesn’t appeal, I could tell you about Benny’s starter wort, which slowed me down quite a bit. That’s wort with an o, if you weren’t aware.” He hadn’t been, and for a good ten minutes he’d thought Benny was asking him for his professional opinion. “It’s got to do with beer. I learned a lot today.”
Her face flushed. “It wasn’t really—” She cleared her throat. “We only thought it might be nice to welcome you to the building.”
There was absolutely nothing so interesting about that plant. She was avoiding his eyes.
“I’m not sure it worked as you intended,” he said, and her mouth pulled to the side.
“Jonah’s manners are a little rough, that’s all.”
“It wasn’t just Jonah. Marian thinks I use my medical license for bribery-related poisonings.”
She finally looked up at him, her mouth curving into a closemouthed smile that she was clearly trying to keep from spreading further.