Labor of Love Read online

  “Yeah, right.” He picked up the nail and bracket. He climbed the ladder and began hammering the bracket into place.

  “Are you pretending that’s my head?”

  He looked down at me. “What?”

  “I used to pretend every nail was Drew.”

  “So you spent the summer thinking about him.”

  That confession had backfired.

  “Only at first. And yes, yesterday, I was mad when I saw him. It was just the shock of it. And yes, I kissed you to try to hurt him. But he doesn’t mean anything to me. Not anymore.”

  “I can’t do this.” He climbed down the ladder and handed me the hammer. “I just can’t do it.”

  My heart almost stopped. For a minute, I thought he was leaving. Permanently. Going back to Houston.

  But I found him in the kitchen, working on the cabinets. Not that he saw me.

  I just peered in the open doorway, saw him, and thought, Okay.

  Then I went to find Sara.

  Saturday, Jenna and Amber spent the day shopping with me and walking around the French Quarter.

  I told them that they didn’t have to. I was okay with them spending the day with their guys. But they didn’t want me hanging around the city by myself.

  Besides, the three of us hadn’t had much time together since that first day.

  At least that was their reason. But I knew the truth. They were worried about me.

  The past couple of days at the site had been a strain. To say the least. Mostly because I wasn’t giving up on Brady.

  I took him water every hour. Sometimes I’d just toss the bottle to him. Sometimes I’d stop and talk with him for a minute. Not about anything important. Not about us. Not about Drew.

  He’d hold up the water bottle. “You don’t have to do this.”

  “I know. I want to, though.” And I’d decided that wanting to do something was enough reason to do it.

  And tonight I was going on the vampire tour. Because I wanted to.

  I wanted to because Brady was going on it, too.

  Sara had confirmed that for me earlier in the week—after the falling off the ladder incident. I hadn’t asked her for a reading. I hadn’t wanted her to confirm my future. Or not confirm it. Or give any hints. All I wanted her to do was pair me up with Brady.

  And I’d take care of the rest.

  Tank and Sean were going to be there as well. Jenna and Amber were going to meet up with them then. And hopefully, if my plan worked out…well, I just hoped it would.

  So after a day of shopping and talking, we headed to Sara’s.

  I hadn’t expected Drew to be there. I really needed to put a hex on the guy.

  He smiled brightly when he saw us. “Hey!”

  I just wiggled my fingers.

  “This is going to be fun,” he said.

  “Yeah, it is.”

  Sara came over—dressed in her black cape again—and took his arm. “You’re going to be with me.”

  “Really?” he asked.

  She winked at me. “Really.”

  She led him away.

  “That was close,” Jenna whispered.

  Too close. I figured if Brady had seen Drew talking to me—he probably would have walked on by. But the guys weren’t there yet.

  “They are coming, aren’t they?” I asked.

  “Absolutely,” Jenna said, looking at her phone. “Tank just texted. They’re on their way.”

  I took a deep breath and adjusted the tote bag on my shoulder. “Okay.”

  Then I saw them crossing the street. They were heading right for us. Brady wasn’t trying to avoid me, probably because Tank and Sean were leading the way and he was just following, not really looking the group over. I was standing a little behind Jenna and Amber, so he didn’t see me until it was too late.

  “Hey,” I said.

  “Hey.”

  Sara walked through the group, matching people up. “Brady, you and Dawn.”

  She didn’t even give him a chance to object.

  “Your boyfriend’s up there if you want to switch partners,” Brady said.

  “He’s not my boyfriend. He was. Past tense. No more.”

  “You really think you mean that, don’t you?”

  “I don’t think. I know.” Had I been this obstinate in the beginning about wanting to have a dateless summer? Yeah, I guess I had been.

  “Okay, everyone, shh…,” Sara said.

  John suddenly appeared. It was like one minute he wasn’t with us, the next he was.

  I don’t know how he did that, but I jumped. Brady snickered.

  “Are you going to hold my hand if I get scared?” I asked.

  He looked at me. He wasn’t holding my hand now. I really, really missed him holding my hand.

  “I believe in vampires,” I said. I’d believe in just about anything if he’d hold my hand again.

  “All right, people,” John said. He was dressed in a flowing cape. And yes, he had fangs. And he looked pale—bloodless even. “Tonight, I’m going to give you an experience you’ll never forget. Follow me.”

  He started walking down the street, and everyone fell into step behind him.

  Everyone except Brady and me.

  “Do you really want to do the tour?” I asked.

  “Not really. You?”

  I shook my head. “I’d rather go sit by the river.” I lifted my tote. “I brought a blanket.”

  “Okay.”

  We turned and headed toward the Mississippi. He took my hand.

  It was a start.

  It was late, and night, and dark, and sultry. Even the breeze coming across the water was warm. Sometimes we could hear people laughing or music coming from the decks of the lighted riverboats.

  Brady and I were sitting on the blanket. We’d stopped at one of the many tourist haunts and bought a bottle of water. Just one. For the two of us.

  Another step in the right direction.

  We’d been sitting there for a while, though, neither of us saying anything. It wasn’t uncomfortable. Or at least, I didn’t feel that way.

  I brought my knees up and wrapped my arms around my legs. “I went to a voodoo shop today.”

  “A voodoo shop.”

  I heard the skepticism in his voice. I turned my head, lay my cheek on my knees. “Yeah. Want to see what I got?”

  “You bought something?”

  “Uh-huh.” I reached into my bag and brought out a candle. “If you light this, it keeps the bad mojo away.” I set it down near my feet.

  Then I brought out another candle. “And this one brings in the good mojo.”

  “Do you even know what mojo is?” he asked.

  “Not really. I think it’s like karma. Do you want to light them and see what happens?”

  “Sure.”

  I struck a match, lit one, and then the other.

  Brady lifted the first one, studied it. “This smells like peach.”

  With the flame flickering so close, I could see his face more clearly now.

  “Is this really a voodoo candle?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “No. But I’ve learned that sometimes what you believe is more important than what is real. I mean, if I believed that ghosts were really touching me, it didn’t matter if it was a moth. And if you believed that I’d get back with Drew, it didn’t matter that I wouldn’t. You believed it. But you have to understand. I’m not Melanie.”

  He blew out the flame. “Who told you about Melanie?”

  “Tank told Jenna. She told me. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “What was there to say?”

  “I don’t know. But you were asking about Drew. So it seems like you should have said something about her.”

  He sighed. “She doesn’t matter.”

  “Neither does Drew.”

  And maybe he’d been agreeable to my only-while-we’re-here terms because they made him feel as safe as they made me feel. No commitment. No breakup. No heartache.

&nbs