On My Way - Eve Langlais Page 0,9

where I was going. Left a note or texted Winnie.

Those were crazy thoughts. Darryl wasn’t a bad guy. I hoped.

I stepped inside a tidy front hall. Tidier than I would have expected for a single man. There was a flat, plastic tray with a pair of construction boots and assorted men’s shoes. Large ones, I might add. A closed bifold door that was probably a closet. The area was enclosed but partially open at the same time. There were wooden pickets starting mid-wall, going right up to the ceiling. Through them I got a glimpse into a living room decorated with lots of plaid fabric and wood.

In order to close the front door, Darryl had to step close to me, his body brushing mine, making me all too aware of him. The dog rushed past, bounding into the hall as gangly as a colt, knocking me into Darryl. I braced my hands on his torso.

When he turned, he smiled softly down at me. “Sorry. He’s still kind of clumsy.”

“How old is Herbie?” I asked, stepping away.

“About six months old.”

“How big is he going to get?”

“Big enough he’ll cost me a fortune to feed,” Darryl joked.

I didn’t even want to imagine the size of its poop. I’d seen what my little kitty could do in a litter box. How something so cute could smell so bad...

“Kick off your shoes. Give me your coat.” Darryl held out his hand.

I slid off my loafers and shucked my sensible canvas jacket. I’d left the helmet outside on the bike and didn’t want to know just how bad my hair looked. Darryl didn’t seem to mind. He smiled every time I glanced at him.

I smiled back.

Stepping out of the front entrance, I noticed the hallway lined with pictures hung atop old wallpaper, the kind with lines rather than flowers. Some of the images appeared old, the paper yellow with age, everyone looking so serious. My house had a gallery, too, but the weird thing was many of its images were recent, and yet, no one took credit for taking and framing them. Probably because they’d done so via stalkerish methods because it certainly wasn’t me or Winnie. Which didn’t leave many other options, unless I believed my house was magical. Ridiculous, right?

“You live here by yourself?” I asked as I glanced into the living room and noted the basket with knitting supplies.

“Yeah. Used to be my parents’ place, but they’re both gone.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Guess we got being orphans in common.”

I wrinkled my nose. “I guess we do. I never really thought about it because of my kids.”

“Has your son come to visit yet?” he asked.

Darryl had met Winnie on more than a few occasions. But Geoff… He and I had yet to achieve the kind of relationship I wanted. Heck, I was lucky if he talked to me for more than two minutes during my weekly calls. Weekly because I’d decided it wasn’t up to him to make the effort. And while it was awkward, I hoped that over time it would become easier and he and I could slip into something similar to what I now had with Winnie.

“He’s busy working. And then there’s his fiancée.” I’d finally gotten a picture. Pretty girl, Asian features, her hair cut in a bob, petite beside Geoff.

“Family’s tough,” Darryl commented.

“You don’t have any brothers or sisters?”

“Not anymore.” Rather than explain, he clapped his hands. “Ready for the tour?”

I eyed the stairs leading to the second floor, probably his bedroom. With a bed.

“I don’t know if I have time for a full tour today. I really should get back to the store. I’m supposed to take a shift at the diner around four.”

“In that case, let’s go right to the stash in the basement first. I’ve been meaning to replace the furnace and need to make some room.”

Darryl led the way down the hall and into an old kitchen, the kind with plywood cabinets and red pull handles. The linoleum floor had a checkerboard pattern while the wallpaper border and curtains sported roosters.

A door with a lock on it creaked when he opened it. He reached in and flicked a switch. “Ladies first.”

I eyed the roughhewn wooden steps going down, lit by a dangling bulb. “Oh hell no. You didn’t warn me you had the basement used in every single horror movie.”

The remark made him laugh. “I swear the only scary thing down there is the mess. But if it makes you feel better, I’ll go first.”

He descended without