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me, the money is worth having little to no time away. If I need to go home, I use Heath’s spare bedroom. He’s cool like that and said I’m welcome to it any time I need it. I’ve got a ton of time off built up so I’m not sure how long I’ll be in town.
    There’s no point having a smart phone while working in a place that will never get a signal. A piece of shit pay as you go phone is all I have for whenever I’m off the rig. It gets no Internet but I can make calls and send texts. Pulling it from my pocket, I send Reilly and Heath each a text to let them know I’m going to be in town.
    Heath replies back right away letting me know he’d leave a key for me under his doormat. Reilly doesn’t text back; she calls.
    Glancing around, I look to see how full the car I’m in is. Luckily, there’s only a small group of people, who seem to be traveling together at the other end of the car.
    “What’s up, Reils?”
    “Hey, big bro. How long are you going to be in town for?”
    My eyes shift to the window. “No clue, it depends on how fast I can get stuff done with Gram and Gramps’ house.”
    “What’s going on with their house?” She asks.
    It only takes a couple of minutes to catch her up. She doesn’t need to know everything, only that the current renters didn’t renew their lease.
    “Will you have time to hang out with me?”
    “You’re the big shot reporter. You got time for me?”
    Her laugh is a welcomed salve to too many days away. “Big shot? Please. Today I got to interview a woman who has not clipped her toenails in ten years.”
    Shaking my head, I chuckle. “Why the hell would you do that?”
    She sighs. “People love stories like that. Besides, it’s not like anything interesting ever happens here.”
    “You getting sick of Ferncliff?” I ask.
    There’s a pause before she replies. “Yes and no. Don’t listen to me; I’m in a weird mood.”
    Her tone concerns me.
    “What’s going on?”
    There’s another pause before she says, “Heath asked Kace to marry him.”
    My head jerks in surprise. “Kacey Albright?”
    “Yes, and she said yes. It’s the craziest thing.”
    Heath and Kacey?
    Married?
    “I didn’t know they were seeing each other,” is all I can say.
    “They weren’t.”
    She then spends the next fifteen minutes explaining it all to me. I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the two of them together long after Reilly and I hang up.
    Heath isn’t a dumbass so I don’t blame him for making a play for Kacey. She’s a sweetheart and gorgeous. If things were different . . .
    It’s better that I don’t finish that thought. I only have time to worry about two things—the house and seeing Reilly. I settle more comfortably into my seat and focus on the passing view out my window.
    The realtor’s office is closed by the time I make it to Ferncliff so I head straight for Heath’s place. In case he’s home, I knock.
    It was a good call because a minute later he opens the door.
    “Shit man, you look even bigger than the last time I saw you,” he says greeting me.
    Frowning, I shake my head. “Maybe you’re shrinking.”
    He laughs, “Come on in, asshole.”
    I drop my duffle in his front hall. He lifts his mat to retrieve the key he left and passes it to me. I slip it into the pocket of my jeans.
    “Want a beer?”
    Nodding, I follow him to his kitchen. Opening the refrigerator, he passes me a bottle and gets one for himself. I twist off the cap and send it sailing into his trashcan as I lean against his counter taking a long pull of my beer.
    “Feel good to be home?”
    His eyes are on me but I’m looking out into his living room. Heath isn’t living large or anything, but he does have a nice place. It seems like a fucking castle compared to my current living arrangements. Priorities have a way of shifting over the years. When I went away to state on a full scholarship to play ball, I couldn’t see past the life I thought I deserved.
    Everything came so