Love Next Door (Lakeside 1)

She flounces up the steps to the front porch and disappears inside the house.

“Hey, man, how’s it going?” Aaron jams a thumb in his pocket and rocks back on his heels.

“Good. You?” I like Aaron, and when we’re talking renos, the conversation flows, but sometimes I find it hard to get a bead on him.

“Yeah. Also good.” He glances at the cake. “Dillion make that?”

“She did. We did, actually.” Oh yeah, the territorial streak is strong.

He grins. “But she decorated it, right?”

“I think she did a great job, you know, for a nonprofessional.”

“Oh yeah. She makes the same cake for Billy every year for his birthday. It’s Funfetti, isn’t it? Got all the little rainbow chip things in it?”

“Yeah, it does. You guys grew up together, right?”

“Yup. She’s like my sister, and she looks at me like a brother.”

“I wasn’t . . . that wasn’t . . . I wasn’t trying . . .”

Aaron holds up his hand. “You don’t need to explain, man. I get it. I might think of her like my sister, but I’m not blind. I know she’s gorgeous and she’s got a heart bigger than Pearl Lake. She loves hard. Just be good to her, that’s all.”

“I plan to.”

“I figured.” He tips his chin in the direction of Grammy Bee’s. “How’s the reno plans going? You still want me to have a look at the garage?”

“That’d be great. I have a few different plans already drawn up, but it would be great to have someone familiar with building code, and plumbing and electrical, to have a look at it before I submit it to the town for approval. No point going to all the trouble only to find out I can’t tie into the existing septic, you know?”

“For sure. Want me to take a look after the party?”

“If you have the time, that’d be perfect.”

Dillion returns with her arms laden with party supplies.

“Babe, why didn’t you ask for help?” I rush over to grab some of the items perched on top.

“I got it.”

I nab a pack of paper plates and a box of plastic utensils before they hit the ground. “Really?”

“You distracted me when you came running at me.”

I don’t say anything else, but I move the cake out of the way, and Aaron and I help her set up. There’s punch and an array of nonalcoholic beverages. Bowls of chips, trays of veggies and fruit, and, in the center of it all, the cake.

We have enough time to blow up a few balloons and tape them to the side of the house and the picnic table before Tawny and Allie show up, along with a couple of Billy’s more reliable high school friends.

A few minutes later, her parents pull down the driveway. Her dad jumps out as soon as the vehicle is in park, opens the rear passenger-side door, takes Billy’s crutches, and helps him out of the truck.

Over the past few weeks he’s put on some much-needed weight; his face is filling out, and the dark circles under his eyes are disappearing. He’s without his cast now, but he accepts his dad’s offer of a crutch so he can cross the driveway without difficulty.

“What the heck is going on?” he asks, face turning red.

“Welcome home!” we all shout, sort of in unison, and Aaron starts clapping, so we all join in.

“Man, if this is the kind of party you throw me for winding up in the hospital, I should consider going to college or something. I feel like there’d be a live band if I managed to graduate.” While he seems embarrassed, he also looks genuinely happy.

Dillion rushes up to him and says something. Billy smiles down at her and pulls her into a hug. “I’m joking around; this is great. Thanks for sticking by me.”

Everyone greets him and gives him a hug, telling him in low whispers how glad they are he’s home and that they’re there for him, whatever he needs. I stand back and watch, amazed by the way his family has rallied around him, and I wonder how different things would have been for our family if we’d come together when we’d lost my mom, rather than going in separate directions.

It doesn’t take long before Billy is worn out from the socializing, and probably the entire day. I help Dillion clean up, and while she takes some time with her family, Aaron follows me over to Bee’s so we can look at my plans for the garage and, later, once that’s finished, what it would take to renovate the cottage.

“I don’t think it’ll be tough to get permits to make changes to the existing buildings. That’s not usually the problem around here. It’s more about when people are looking to build things like condos. The lake can’t handle much more boat activity than it already has.”