Undone by Her Two Masters(13)

Nevis ran across and hugged Andorra. York wanted to congratulate her as well. She hadn’t been flying very long and even if Trenton had helped her, she was a damn fast learner. He also guessed that her latest landing would be uploaded onto YouTube any minute now for all the teenager’s friends to see.

Trenton patiently let the old man and his grandson look inside the cabin of the helicopter, then he waved at the rest of them to get aboard. Bronx shook everyone’s hand and they took off again. Once again Andorra was doing the flying and she flew slowly and low over the town before rising higher and heading for Hot Springs Mountain.

All York’s possessions were at the mountain, but they’d need to go get Nevis’s property, which was in storage, and Bronx’s things. York supposed they’d put what they didn’t need in the warehouse and swap things around if they found something wasn’t working out for them.

York lifted Bronx’s ear protector and spoke right into his ear. “I hope you’ve got a large bed.”

Bronx grinned at him. “Maybe we should just buy one new. What are those really large beds called? California King Size? We could get one of them.”

York had checked with Mike, the realtor, to make sure there was excellent, fast Internet available on site. He simply couldn’t work remotely from the mountain without it. He’d Googled a few things on his cell phone while they were there and it’d worked fine so he felt pretty confident about it.

When they got back to the mountain, Bronx started talking to Trenton about taking them and York’s luggage back to Pine Corner in the morning, and Nevis grabbed Andorra to congratulate her on her flying. York found himself half listening to both conversations wanting to know the outcomes of both discussions. Also, despite a delicious breakfast and a calorie-laden midday snack, he was hungry again. They likely needed to talk about who would do what once they were living together. Would they take turns doing laundry and cooking meals? And when would they take the road trip to collect Nevis and Bronx’s things? Should he stay behind at the site while the others did that? Or would just Bronx go? No, that wouldn’t work. Nevis would have to sign for her own furniture.

York realized he didn’t want to be left behind. He wanted to go with them too. It wasn’t logical. He supposed someone should remain their new property, be there to answer any questions from potential clients. But he wanted to be with the others. He wouldn’t even mind having a few lessons on how to drive the truck. He knew they had a lot of gears. But apart from that, surely driving one couldn’t be too difficult. He’d driven a stick shift for years, so he did have the necessary skills. Well, probably he did.

He tapped Nevis on the shoulder. “We three need to talk. How about I go grab a couple of pizzas and you both wait for me here in the roof garden? What kind of pizza do you want?”

“I don’t mind. No anchovies and no olives though.”

He nodded and headed for the stairs, running down three flights and making his way to the food area of the building. It was a bit late for lunch but he knew the chefs would still be there. He also knew Bronx would eat just about anything, so if they were running low on some ingredients it didn’t really matter.

He chose a pepperoni and parmesan cheese pizza, a chicken and cherry tomato pizza with garlic prawns, and one with the lot—except anchovies and olives. There had to be something there she’d like. As he ran back up the stairs to the roof, he began to understand why Bronx and Raleigh constantly complained about the lack of an elevator. Oh, well, his new job didn’t involve stairs so it was all good.

The garden occupied maybe a quarter of the roof of the building, tucked in the corner by the door to the stairs. A veritable forest of small trees, flowering shrubs, and flowers were in raised garden beds, and people often sat on the flat wooden plant boxes to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine. By the time he arrived back with the food, Nevis and Bronx were sitting on one such wooden plant box, looking out over the metal railing at the mountain surrounding them.

“I’ll miss the scenery here,” said Nevis.

“We’ll find other scenic places in our new home,” replied Bronx grabbing one of the boxes of pizza.

“I probably shouldn’t be eating anything after that pastry.” Nevertheless Nevis chose a slice of chicken pizza.

“If you come to bed with us tonight, I’m sure we’ll find some fun ways of burning off the calories,” said York.

She shook her head at him. “I have to pack up all my stuff, remember.”

Yes. He had to pack as well and he was certain it was going to take him way longer than it’d take her.