“Ah…” Gabriel thought for a moment. “I got her the summer before I started middle school, so she must be like sixteen or seventeen years old now.” He smiled and bent to pat the dog’s head, which was still in Savannah’s lap. “She’s still in pretty good health, too. I’ve heard some dogs live to be twenty. I hope it’s true for this old girl.”
Savannah smiled, “Me, too. I remember she used to follow you everywhere.”
Gabriel nodded. “Yeah, she doesn’t do much of anything these days. Nanny likes to spend her days laying in the sun, and her nights sleeping on the porch.” He laughed softly. “I think she likes having Molly around for company, though. She used to get lonely when I worked and stuff, but she’s perked up since we moved here.”
“How long have you been living with Jay, anyway?” Savannah asked, glancing up from the old pit to look at Gabriel. His brown eyes caught the sun so they appeared lighter and brighter.
“Six months, give or take. It was this or go back to living with my parents.” Gabriel shrugged. “I love my family, but the house is still crowded.”
Savannah nodded. “Whose still living at home?”
“My three youngest brothers and my parents. But everyone is always in and out. You know how it is.” Gabriel snorted. “My house has always been insane.”
Savannah chuckled. “I always loved your house. Your parents are so nice. I was always totally jealous, and I remember one time I told Jay I was going to live with your parents instead of ours.”
Gabriel chuckled. “I remember the one time you did try to run away and come live with my family.” Gabriel burst out laughing. “You told my Mama she wouldn’t notice one more child. You remember what she told you?”
Savannah blushed, sighed, and rolled her eyes. “That I was too pale to be her child, so she wouldn’t be able to hide me if they came looking for me?” Savannah laughed and Gabriel joined her again.
Jay walked out then, wearing a pair of sandals and khaki shorts beneath a sleeveless tank. “What are you two idiots laughing about?”
Gabriel answered, “We were talking about that time your sister wanted to run away and live at my house.”
“Dude, I wanted to run away and live at your house, too,” Jay answered, chuckling at the memory. “Anywhere but our house would have been great.”
Savannah shook her head. Most people wouldn’t have believed how awful it’d been growing up at the Meridian house. In fact, everyone in town probably wished they could have lived there, too. A big house, with a huge yard, and a lot of money.
Some of it was old money, inheritance from their grandparents. But Savannah and Jay’s father was a well-respected doctor and their mother was the town’s best attorney. Needless to say, finances had been the one thing they never worried about. Living up to their parent's expectations – and the cruel ways they’d shown their disapproval – had made life hell enough.
“You ready?” Jay asked. Savannah nodded and stood, removing Nanny’s head from her lap. The three of them wandered down the short walkway and slipped through the fence. Molly came bounding at them and leaped at the gate as it closed. “We’ll be back, girl,” Jay said, roughly petting the lab’s head from over the fence.
The walk downtown only took a few minutes, and the three of them were mostly silent. They ended up heading to an old 1960’s style soda shop that served sandwiches for lunch. The eatery was connected to a giant antique store. There were dozens of antique stores in the historic downtown. Sometimes Savannah felt most of town was comprised of those, churches, and banks.
The three of them got their food and sat at one of the few tables pushed against one long wall. After taking a bite of his sandwich, Gabriel asked, “So how’re you liking your new place, kitten?”
Savannah rolled her eyes and sighed but declined comment on his nickname for what must have been the billionth time. “It’s going good. I got a few things set up and the place is starting to feel more like home.” Savannah stopped talking to pop a few potato chips into her mouth. “I’m working on refinishing the attic. Did Jay tell you that? It was half done already and all the wood was already up there. So, I only have to invest in paint and sealer, that kind of thing.”
Gabriel shook his head. “No, Jay didn’t tell me that.” He grinned sideways at his friend. “Jay doesn’t tell me much of anything.” Jay only rolled his eyes and chuckled, continuing to eat the first of his two sandwiches. Jay always had a huge appetite. “What are you going to do with the room once it’s finished?”
“I’m going to move my bedroom to the attic and make the current bedroom my home office,” Savannah said.
“Oh, that’s cool. It sounds like a good idea. How long do you think it’ll take?” Gabriel was looking at her, interested.
Savannah shrugged. “I’m not sure. I might work on it this evening, though. I just don’t have a lot of time, you know?”
Gabriel nodded. “Well, you know, I’m free all weekend. If you wanted me to come over and help today and tomorrow, I could totally do that.”
“Oh? Where’s Rio?” Savannah asked.
“He’s staying the weekend at my parents. Mama said I needed a break, and I wasn’t going to argue.”
“Oh, okay.” Savannah paused again to eat some food. “If you wanted to help, that would be awesome. I can do it, but,” she shrugged, “it’s a lot of work for one person.”
Gabriel nodded. “Yeah, I’m all yours when you want me.” Savannah’s stomach fluttered and her heart skipped a beat when he said that. If only he’d said those words under a different context years ago.
Savannah didn’t say anything about her feelings, of course. She felt silly admitting her lifelong crush on Gabriel still existed, but there was no denying it. “How about after lunch? The two of us together could get a lot done in a few hours.”
Jay had been mostly silent during the exchange, instead focusing on his food. He interrupted now to say he had plans this evening or he’d help too. “Sorry, Sis, but the plans were already made.”
Savannah shrugged. “It’s fine. What kind of plans do you have, anyway?”
Jay chuckled. “A date.”
Savannah stared at her brother. A lady killer he was not. “So who’s dumb enough to date you, Jay?”
Jay rolled his eyes and sighed but didn’t answer the question. Gabriel answered instead. “Rebecca Matthews.”
Savannah choked on her soda as she tried not to laugh but failed miserably. “Rebecca Matthews? Really? The girl who threw up on you in eighth grade?”
Jay shook his head. “Shut up.”
“Dude, make sure you don’t feed her anything. Okay? You might want to make sure you’re on top, too,” Gabriel joked.
Savannah added her two cents. “I don’t know. With him on top, she might hurl from having to look at him.” Savannah and Gabriel laughed at Jay’s expense, while he quietly turned a bright shade of red.
Chapter 5
He was nailing the last floorboard into place. Savannah started on the other side of the huge room, applying sealer using a thick paintbrush. Gabriel couldn’t help watching her a minute after that last nail was in. She’d grown into a beautiful woman. It was hard reconciling the dainty girl he’d been so protective over growing up with the person in front of him.