“She conked out during The Little Mermaid. Are you sure you don’t want me to try to help?”
“Yes. I want to do this, and how helpful are you going to be when you need crutches?” I raise an eyebrow at him.
“I can get around without them. It’s called the hop on one foot method.”
“How about you stay out of my way?” I don’t trust him hopping around paint. The last thing I need is for him to lose his balance and make a mess.
“Fine. How have things been here?”
“Okay.” There’s a knock on the door before I can say more, and Logan says he’ll get it. A minute later, he returns with Meredith and Lizzy. I place the brush in the pan and stand. “What are y’all doing here?”
“We heard you were working on a house project, and we came to help,” Meredith says.
“Oh. Y’all don’t have to do that.”
“We wouldn’t have come if we didn’t want to,” Lizzy says.
“Well, come on. Oh! Meredith, Lizzy, that’s my stepbrother, Logan. Logan, Meredith and Lizzy. They are girlfriends of Ian’s teammates.”
They say hello to one another and then the girls start helping me. It’s a good thing I bought extra rollers.
“So, why did y’all decide to come help?”
“We’re nice people, Sydney,” Lizzy says with a smirk.
“Besides, Noah didn’t want me sitting at home by myself. I watched EJ’s baby until his mom could get here and I’m going to help her out some this week, just to give her a break. Needless to say, I have baby fever. Noah would rather I do something more productive than dream of babies.”
“He doesn’t want kids?” I ask.
“He does, but he has a plan.” She rolls her eyes. “It’s a good thing, really. He wants more time of it being just us, but I don’t know. I’ve waited so long to be with him; why postpone the inevitable?” Her voice lowers. “At least, I hope it’s inevitable.”
“Don’t overthink it, Meredith,” Lizzy tells her. “What’ll happen will happen.”
“Are you still having your nightmares?” Meredith asks. “Have you told Marco yet?”
“Yes and no. I’m thinking it’s just because I’m super stressed.”
“Over what? When are you going to tell him?”
Should I be listening to this? I flick a glance at Logan and he gives me a small wave as he leaves, probably to go sit with Savannah until she wakes up.
“I don’t know. They didn’t start until he left for this stupid trip.”
Meredith looks over at me. “She’s having nightmares about her late husband and Marc’s father.” Okay. That’s a weird combo.
“My late husband died in a crazy hockey accident and Marc’s dad is a crazy man, who has apparently done some really bad things, which we found out about when he kidnapped me a month ago.” My eyes nearly bug out of my head. “Kidnapping feels like an exaggeration, but it’s what he’s charged with.” Lizzy waves her hand. “Anyway, for some reason, I’ve been having nightmares since Marc left.”
“Wow. I’m sorry. Is this the first big trip he’s been on since it happened?”
“Yeah, I guess. There was a trip right after, but this one is longer. Let’s not talk about it anymore. Are things good with you and Ian?”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t like to share details, do you?” Meredith asks.
I laugh. “Not really.”
“I’m right there with you, Sydney. The only reason I do is because they annoy the hell out of me until I spill. Plus, Meredith and Sylvia are my closest friends, so might as well tell them.”