Nerds on Fire (19 page)

“
There’s an upstairs?” he
asked when she led him out of the laundry to a small spiral
staircase.

“
Yes.”

He followed her, admiring her gentle
form as they ascended the delicate staircase. Upstairs there was an
additional bath and two bedrooms as well as another small sitting
room. A narrow balcony opened off the sitting room.

“
This is nice.” Leo spoke
from behind them.

Trixi offered Leo a gorgeous smile and
something deep inside Mark protested, especially when he noticed
the masculine appreciation in Leo’s eyes.

“
You finished the dishes?”
Trixi didn’t appear to notice.

“
We did.” Katy glanced
around the space. “In all the years I’ve lived here, I hardly ever
came up here.”

“
I know. I never visit
either.” Trixi glanced around the rooms. “I guess because it’s
intended for guests.”

“
I’m going to enjoy my time
here.” All this space as well as Trixi and Gran for company.
I am one lucky man.

“
Let’s get you moved in,”
Leo said.

“
Sounds good.” With him in
residence, he hoped to learn plenty more about Trixi
Duvall.

Chapter 19

“
Are you okay with Mark
moving in?” Katy pulled her aside while Mark and Leo conducted a
low conversation.

Tilting her head, Trixi tried to sort
through her chaotic thoughts. “Yes. I’m happy.”

Katy nodded. “It will be
safer.”

“
That’s the part I do
like.”

“
What part don’t you like?”
Katy knew her far too well.

“
I’m still trying to figure
that out.”

Anyone who didn’t know her might have
questioned her, but Katy just nodded again, satisfied with her
answer. “I’ll be interested to hear your take on the situation
after he’s been here a few weeks.”

For some odd reason, her heart
flipped. “Right. I’ll be interested in the same report.”

“
What report?” Leo curved
an arm around Katy and tugged her against him. Katy snuggled into
him as though they had been doing so for years.

Trixi glanced at Mark. His eyebrows
bounced before he sent her a speaking look. She stifled a chuckle
at his obvious amusement of Katy and Leo’s
obliviousness.

“
Are you leaving soon to
pick up Mark’s stuff?” Katy ignored Leo’s question as though he
never asked it. Trixi stored this avoidance technique for future
use.

“
Yes. We’re leaving now.”
Mark indicated Katy and Leo lead the way.

They thundered down the stairs to the
main floor then into the kitchen. Gran was busy wiping down the
island. “I’m done.” She deftly retained possession of the sponge
when Trixi tried for it. Gran continued to the end as though never
interrupted.

“
I can finish this.” Trixi
put up a token protest, not certain how she felt about all this
help. She followed Katy to the table where they sat while Leo dug
out his keys. He carried a lot of things in those spacious pockets
men enjoyed. “Do you want to take the Duvall SUV?”

Both Leo and Mark surveyed her. They
exchanged a glance before Mark paced to the door leading to the
garage. He opened it to study the huge vehicle at the far end. “You
know, if we took it and Leo’s, we could do this in one
trip.”

“
Let’s take both vehicles.”
Leo made the decision as he tugged Katy out of her
chair.

“
We’ll be right behind
you.” Mark lifted Trixi out of hers. She didn’t even have time to
squawk as he nudged her toward the mudroom. “You need your jacket,
it’s cold outside.”

She glanced down at her Sunday
clothes. “I am not moving your stuff in high heels.”

Katy also dragged her high-heeled
feet. She eyeballed Leo. “Neither am I. If we’re being roped into
doing some of this work, we need to change.”

“
How long is that going to
take?” Leo didn’t sound hopeful.

“
Five minutes,” Trixi
replied dryly.

From the corner of her eye, she caught
Katy stick her tongue out at Leo, whose face wreathed into
amusement. He tried to catch her, but she danced out of his range
and instead made for the stairs, laughing. Trixi shook her head at
them, smiled at Mark, and followed her.

True to her word, it didn’t take long
to change into more appropriate clothing.

She met up with Katy by the stairs.
“Do you think Mark has his stuff packed?”

Katy’s eyebrows surged upward.
“Probably not.”

“
Yeah.” She sighed. “It
means we’re going to spend the afternoon packing.”

Mark and Leo met them at the bottom of
the stairs. “What took you so long?” Leo grumbled as he plucked
Katy off the stairs.

She ruffled his hair and went along
for the ride. Casual and easy as though this behavior was perfectly
normal.

Contemplating them, a wave of
fruitless wishes washed over her. She stood on the third stair from
the bottom and observed her best friend in the arms of the man she
would probably marry. Trixi shoved her useless longings aside
because now was not the time.

Looming in front of her, Mark swung
her off the stairs, and not expecting it, Trixi yelped as she clung
to him, heart racing. “You can put me down now.” She only managed
to say this after she caught her breath.

His eyebrow rose. “No, I
can’t.”

“
Why not?”

“
Because you’ll think of
six other things to do and we’ll never get me moved.”

“
I will not.” But she did
settle against his impressively hard chest and enjoyed the ride.
She might never get to be carried like this again, so better to
savor the moment.

Mark didn’t reply, but he did squeeze
her. She enjoyed it very much. Maybe too much. Chaotic thoughts
broke like billiard balls, rolling in turbulent disorder and
clicking against each other, bouncing around in her
brain.

Soon this man would be sharing her
house. It was weird, but nice. She had never shared space with a
man other than her father and brother. At least Gran was here. If
anyone could steady the awkward moments, it was that stellar
lady.

And there would be awkward moments.
Cringing, she flipped through scenes of herself with wet hair or in
her jammies...

“
Would you two hurry?”
Leo’s voice cut into her unsettling thoughts. Trixi was
grateful.

In the mudroom, Mark set her on her
feet so she could retrieve her jacket. She also scooped up her
purse and after ascertaining her phone was in her pocket, followed
Mark into the garage.

“
Let’s get this done so we
can enjoy the rest of the day,” Leo stated, only the wind gusted
leaves and some ashes at them.

None of them lingered. Mark swung her
into the passenger seat of the SUV and took a lingering look at the
small car parked closest to the kitchen door, in the smallest bay.
A workbench and extra fridge took up the remaining space. “The
littlest vehicle is yours?” He slid into the SUV driver’s
seat.

The big machine suited him.

“
Yes. It’s my daily driver.
This is for when the weather is bad.”

A sedan resided between her
puddle-jumper and the SUV. “The car in the middle is
Gran’s.”

He nodded.

Mark glanced around the SUV interior.
“You can haul a lot of stuff in here.”

“
Sometimes we
do.”

“
What do you
haul?”

“
In bad weather, people.
Whenever Dad and Reed have projects, they take this for their
supplies. You can fit a stack of dry wall in here diagonally and a
bunch of tools.”

“
Excellent news. Leo’s
house is coming along, but it still needs work.”

“
Feel free to use this
whenever.”

He sent her a look she couldn’t
interpret, but didn’t have time to say much because Leo drove up
beside them in her driveway. The two men discussed logistics for
about a minute before with a nod, Leo turned onto a side street and
then onto a main thoroughfare in town.

“
Leo lives here?” She was
surprised when Mark pulled into the driveway of a stately old home
not far from hers.

“
Yes, this is our de Vosse
grandparent’s house. Actually, it was my de Vosse grandmother’s
mother’s house, and she left it to my grandparents who lived here
until about a year ago. They’ve moved into a smaller place and were
really happy when Leo expressed an interest in buying
it.”

“
How long has he been
here?”

“
He’s owned it less than a
year.” Mark backed the SUV to within an inch of a garage door. She
could see why when the door raised to reveal a stack of furniture
and boxes directly on the other side. “My grandparents left a bunch
of stuff here for us. This stack is mine.”

He pointed to the door beside his. “To
the right is what they left my parents, and Leo’s stuff is still
scattered all through the house. Plus there are some things in the
shed.”

“
Your parents live here in
town?”

“
Yes. They’re sorting
everything so they can make room. My sister’s things are also
interspersed throughout their stack.”

“
You have a
sister?”

“
Yeah, Jessie. She’s almost
three years younger than Leo.”

“
I’ve never heard of her.”
Why didn’t they ever talk about her?

“
Right now she lives in
Australia.”

“
Wow, she’s a long way from
home.”

“
Yeah, but she’s doing
important research and needs to live there.”

“
Does she miss
home?”

“
Sure, but I think she
likes living in Australia. It’s a totally different place and what
she’s doing is really helping her research. Our parents are
planning a trip to see her soon.”

“
Have you ever been
there?”

“
No, not yet. I’m hoping to
visit sometime this year. We’ll see how it works out. You need at
least two weeks, because it’s so far away.”

Trixi nodded. “Australia would be
wonderful to see someday.”

Leo and Katy joined them and while the
men discussed logistics, Katy helped her fold the back and middle
seats flat. They started tucking boxes into the vehicle before Leo
noticed and he and Mark then loaded the bigger items. It didn’t
take long and they had it packed. The garage bay was now
empty.

“
You know, Leo,” Katy said,
glancing around the garage. “You could get some of those garage
organizers and clear out this second bay as well.”

He stopped beside her and contemplated
all the stuff blocking the other half of his garage. “I would love
to be able to park in here. Especially with winter
coming.”

“
He’s been so busy inside
he hasn’t ventured out here much.” Mark and Leo inspected the
stuff.

What was the big
deal?
Trixi scooped up a box and positioned
it on the long workbench at the back of the space. Then she stacked
the next and the next before Katy caught on and joined her. They
soon piled the furniture and other items against another wall and
Mark joined in while Leo directed their efforts and still managed
to clear out more boxes.

“
I don’t even need to buy
additional organizers. I had Trixi.”

She blushed, but smacked him. Leo
danced out of her way, laughing, but it did improve the space. Now
he could park two cars easily in the over-sized garage.

“
It’ll be nice for you to
use this.” Katy beamed at the cleared area.

Leo nodded as he patted Trixi on the
head. “I’m happy.”

She managed to sneak in another
smack.

“
Let’s get the rest of my
stuff.” Mark headed into the house.

They didn’t take much time to view the
place, but Leo did give them a quick tour. The bones of the house
were good, and many of the rooms were in great shape. Some of the
wallpaper needed removed and there was some missing trim work. The
bathrooms were the biggest project.

All of them were outdated, although
still functional, except for where Leo had removed some of the
essentials. One didn’t have a toilet, another lacked a bathtub, and
yet another was missing the vanity and sink. Only one bath
contained all the necessary components, but it was clearly the
oldest.

“
I love this house.” Katy
trailed through the high ceilinged rooms.

“
The only room that’s
finished, or nearly so,” Leo said, “is the kitchen.”

“
You still need a range and
refrigerator.” Mark blocked the doorway as he dug into a cupboard.
They peered around him. The cabinets, countertops, floor and
ceiling were all finished. Even the sinks and faucets were new and
perfect for the house, but the appliances, other than the new
dishwasher, hadn’t been replaced yet.

“
Why didn’t your
grandparents update all these rooms?” Katy’s hair caught the
sunlight as she tilted her head.