"Have you noticed the papers all over this table?" Huck asked.
"The ones for the garden?"
"Oh, for fuck's sake," I said, sighing.
But, yeah, now that they all mentioned it, it made sense, didn't it? It hadn't escaped me how she'd looked at the gardens at her grandmother's estate, how she'd reached out to caress some flowers, smell others. I just figured she liked flowers, not that she wanted to garden.
"Harmon, love," Teddy said as she walked into the room, makeup all done, wearing her usual tank and shorts like she did when she was recording. "Can I make a suggestion?" he asked as she grabbed a yogurt out of the fridge.
"Ah, yeah, sure. I guess. What's up?"
"So, you play video games, right?"
"Yeah..." she said, brows furrowing.
"And you do missions with other people sometimes?"
"Yeah."
"And those people, might they be of the male persuasion?"
"Yes. What is going on?"
"Think of communicating with this Neanderthal like telling a teammate where you are in one of your games. Very fucking specifically. Because they don't do subtle."
"I'm really not getting it," she admitted.
"Teddy here thinks I'm an idiot for not realizing you want to put in a garden here," I told her, reaching out to snag her waist, pulling her in at my side as I grabbed her plans for the raised beds in my other hand.
"Oh, right. Well, you know, I was just thinking about it, is all. Obviously, I wasn't trying to say you had to put gardens in. I just like gardens. And I can't do anything next door because my landlord is a dick. I mean, it would help the curb appeal. But no..."
"Speaking of that. I was thinking about investing in some real estate," Teddy said.
"You already own like a fifth of Florida. How much more real estate do you need?" Remy asked.
"Well, I was thinking that," he said, waving out the window toward the house next door that none of us had stepped foot inside for over a month at this point. Pretty much everything Harmon owned had been moved in because of the hiding out thing. And neither of us had even given a second thought to her going back over there. There was no reason to.
"For what? For you to crash?" I asked.
"I was thinking more like him," he said, inclining his chin toward Arty who was arranging the canned goods in the pantry.
Arty had been robbed the week before, a couple of local idiots coming in and stealing all his expensive equipment. But, more than that, invading a safe space for him, making him feel uncomfortable there for the first time in years. That was why he'd been crashing on our couch while we tracked down the assholes who messed with him.
"He needs someone looking out for him. I mean the robbery was bad enough, but the kind of people he is getting involved with on some of his cases now, it's not good. And he doesn't have all the brawn to go with the brain. I was thinking of setting him up. Becoming an 'investor' of sorts in his company. Plus, he will be right next door for you to use when you need him."
"So, I'm getting evicted?" Harmon asked, chewing on her lower lip. There was really no question about it, and Harmon knew it. Having grown up in that world, she understood that if someone with pockets as deep as Teddy's wanted something, they got it, even if it broke contracts already in place.
"Oh, my bad," Teddy said, holding up a hand. "I thought you were done over there. Let me know if or when that is," he said, getting off of the chair.
"She is," I said, seeing Harmon's gaze slide to me immediately. "She's done over there," I repeated.
"Well, I mean, I just... that's a little presumptuous."
"Is it?" I asked. "Do you want to be over there?"
"Well, no..."
"Do you prefer being here where you can fuck me anytime you want?" I asked, making her smack me hard on the stomach.
"I like being here," she said, voice low, careful, not wanting to seem too eager.
"You got any plans to break up with me in the near future?"
"Ah, well, no..."
"Then it's settled. You're staying here. Teddy is buying the place next door. And I am making Seeley build you garden beds."
"See, love," Teddy said, giving her a smile. "Clear and concise."
"You talk a lot of shit for someone who is never in a relationship," I called as he walked toward the living room.
"That wasn't cool," Arty declared, making us all turn.
"What wasn't?" Remy asked, handing his bird half a carrot that he held in his claw as he picked at it.
"Saying something like that to him after he lost his wife."
"Wait... what?" I asked, feeling like he'd knocked the air out of me.
"Oh," Arty said, face falling, realizing his mistake.