“Crazy lady?”
“Yeah.” The boy peered at the doorway. “See that woman with the long brown hair? Not Lila, the African goddess—she makes everyone call her that. She’s kind of mean. I’m talking about the crazy one.”
“Rachel?”
“Nah, she’s just hyper. The other one is batshit nuts.”
His angel. “Ah. How crazy, exactly?”
The boy sighed. “I’m not supposed to tell anyone because my mom says it’s bad to spread gossip, but I’d be careful if I were you. She tried to stab some guy who broke up with her a month ago. At least I saw her screaming and waving a knife at some dude. Thenanotherguy calmed her down, and her wacko friends stepped in.” He shrugged. “I don’t know, but it was a mess. Had the cops down here.”
Considering what Evan had just witnessed, the scene didn’t seem so far-fetched. “Thanks.”
“Sure. Just like to help.” The boy looked at the truck. “Vets on the Go!? You some kind of animal doctor or the military kind of vet?”
“Military kind. Our company employs veterans to help people move.”
The boy glanced around. “Just you?”
“Yeah. I’m helping one of the ladies move out. And she mostly only has smaller stuff. Though I’m supposed to have some help on the larger furniture. But her boyfriend hasn’t arrived yet.”
“Well, if you need help, let me know. Got a phone?”
Evan frowned, wondering if this was part of a scam to steal cell phones, which had become a citywide problem recently.
“Whoa.” The boy raised his hands, appearing harmless. “Easy. I’m not gonna take it or anything. I’m just gonna give you my number. You can text me if the boyfriend doesn’t show.”
Not that Evan would. He could just see the boy getting hurt and the company being liable for a lawsuit. “I’m good, kid. But thanks anyway.”
“Your loss.” The boy smiled to take the sting out of his words. More shouting from inside the house turned them both in that direction once more. “Well, I’d better leave. If my mom catches me around here, she’ll ground me.” The boy turned and tripped, and Evan caught him before he hit the pavement.
The kid quickly righted himself, a flush on his cheeks. “Nice catch.”
“Thanks.”
“Well, if you change your mind, I’m the red two-story four houses down. Good luck with the crazy ladies.” The boy waved goodbye.
Evan waved then turned to the job at hand. He’d given the women enough time to get it together. He had a schedule to keep, and this house had to be movedtoday. Time to load the rest of the boxes from the bedroom.
Skirting the drama in the living room, he emptied what remained into the truck, leaving room for a few larger pieces, like an armoire, desk, chair, and bed. Rachel didn’t actually have that much to move, so she’d only requested one mover and a smaller truck.
He stared at the armoire and frowned, wondering how he might heft it out himself. Even with the dolly, it would take some doing. Fortunately, Rachel’s boyfriend arrived, and they muscled it and the other big pieces into the truck. The women had vanished. Though Evan would have liked to have seen the “batshit nuts” looker again, he thought it for the best that he didn’t.
“Thanks, man.” Will, Rachel’s boyfriend, tried to tip him as he locked up the back of the vehicle.
“Nah. This is such a small move. It’s no biggie.” It wasn’t as if Evan needed the money. And Will had been a big help; he had a good amount of strength behind those wide shoulders.
“Take it,” Will insisted, and Evan reluctantly pocketed twenty bucks. “Trust me. You doing this saved me a lot of hassle.” Will wiped a hand over his face and asked in a lower voice after glancing around, “Did she freak out?”
“Uh, yeah. You could say that. Wrapped herself around her friend Lila like a boa constrictor and was choking her over something she insisted on taking with her. Apparently they disagreed over the thing.”
Will sighed. “That stupid trophy.”
“I don’t know what the fight was about. I just know it got a little ugly. Then some other woman arrived, got sucked into the group brawl, and they collapsed into tears. Then laughter, then tears again. It was scary.”
Will laughed. “Better you than me.”
Evan wanted to ask about the sexy chick, but he stopped himself. “I’d better get going. Got to get this unloaded before traffic gets too bad.” Traffic was always bad in the city, but there were degrees of road rage Evan could handle.
