“Was he?” Carlise asked with wide eyes.
“No,” JJ said with an amused shake of his head.
“He’s lonely,” April insisted. “And it’s no big deal for you to sit with him for an hour or so after you reassure him the trees in his yard aren’t going to fall on the house.”
Looking chastised, JJ nodded.
“Now that we’ve seen for ourselves that Chappy isn’t at death’s door, I need to get back to Newton,” Bob announced suddenly.
“Yeah, there’s a show on the telly I’ve been meaning to watch,” Cal agreed.
“And since Chappy didn’t feed me, and I’m starving, we might as well go,” JJ added.
Chappy didn’t argue with his friends. Didn’t try to get them to stay longer. In fact, he’d owe Bob big time for being the first to suggest they leave. He might not fully understand or trust what was going on between Chappy and Carlise, but Bob trusted him enough to get out of his hair and let him do his thing.
“Oh, but I’m sure we could make something for everyone,” Carlise protested as she stood.
“Nope, we wouldn’t want to put you guys out. Besides, we know Chappy likes his solitude. It’s why he comes up here, to hide out and be alone,” Bob said.
Chappy saw Carlise frown, and he could’ve kicked his friend for not knowing when to shut up. It was obvious she was now worrying about intruding—again.
“Maybe I should—”
“I’m going to write down my number for you,” April interrupted. “I’ll give you the number to Jack’s Lumber, as well. The service up here is nonexistent, but I’m sure you could use Chappy’s satellite phone. You need anything, just give me a yell. I’ll get one of the guys to bring it to you. Or if you just want to chat . . . you know, hear a friendly female voice . . . I’m just a phone call away.”
“Oh . . . thanks,” Carlise said. “I’ll give you mine too.”
Thankful to April for the distraction, Chappy sighed as the guys went to grab their coats off the rack by the door. He hovered behind April and Carlise as they exchanged info. He wasn’t surprised when Carlise leaned in and hugged the other woman. April looked surprised for a moment, but then a smile took over her face.
Chappy liked April, always had. She was the glue that held their business together, and he usually thought of her as one of the guys. But now he realized he didn’t know all that much about the woman. Anything about her family, how she spent her free time, if she had friends.
He’d always just assumed she had people to hang out with when she wasn’t at the office. But seeing how quickly she and Carlise had clicked, and her obvious pleasure over a simple hug, he wondered if he’d assumed incorrectly.
But he didn’t have time to do much more than smile at her before she was striding out the front door behind the guys. JJ was holding the door open, standing between them and Baxter. The dog seemed content to stay huddled in his nest, keeping his eyes on all the strangers.
At one point, April slipped on the snow and would’ve fallen on her ass, but JJ was close enough to catch her. He pulled her close, holding her against his side until she had her feet under her again.
As he observed his friend holding April, Chappy had the sudden realization that JJ was looking at their assistant the way Chappy probably looked at Carlise. As if she were the sun and the moon at the same time.
As he watched, JJ’s face cleared of all expression, and he stepped away from April. “You good?”
She blushed but nodded. “I’m clumsy. I could trip over air.”
JJ didn’t comment, but Chappy noticed that he stayed close to April as they continued toward the truck.
He stood on the porch as the group got into the truck. Everyone rolled down their windows as they prepared to pull away. The sun was out, but it wasn’t doing much to cut the chill in the air. The upcoming week would bring warmer weather, but for now, it was still quite cold.
Without thought, Chappy moved behind Carlise and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest to keep her warm.
“Glad you aren’t dead,” Bob called out.
April shook her head and smacked him on the arm. “That was rude,” she scolded loudly from the back seat.
Bob merely grinned, not sorry in the least for his macabre humor.
“Call if you need anything,” JJ ordered.
“We’ll be in touch if we hear anything about the avalanche warnings,” Cal added.
Chappy felt Carlise stiffen against him, and he frowned at his friend.