“Ashanti,” he stopped her. “It’s not that. It’s…” He released a breath. “I know how much your sisters mean to you, and I am honored and humbled that you would trust me with something so important.” He took her hand and placed a kiss in the center of her palm. “Thank you.”
She grasped both his hands in hers and squeezed them tight, then pressed a quick kiss to his lips.
His left hand still clutched in her right one, she guided him up the stairs and knocked on Kendra’s door, which was still slightly ajar.
“Ken?” Ashanti said, pushing the door open. She moved to the side so that Thad could enter. “This is Thad Sims.”
Thad gave her a wave. “Hi, Kendra,” he said. “I know we’re just meeting for the first time, but it turns out that you and I have something pretty unfortunate in common. You up for a chat?”
39
Thad could tell something was off the moment he walked into the Bywater house. Tension hummed all around him. Von stood hunched over Micah Samuels, who sat on an overturned five-gallon bucket. They were both intensely reading over the sheaf of papers Micah held.
“What’s going on?” Thad asked.
Von’s and Micah’s heads whipped around simultaneously.
“I thought you said you would be late?” Von asked.
“I am late,” he said. Although not as late as he’d thought he would be. His grandmother had called early this morning, letting him know that she was on her way to the ER.
It turned out that the new nurse at the assisted living facility had blown a tiny cut on Gram’s foot way out of proportion. One butterfly bandage was all it took. When Thad left, she and several of the other residents were settling in for an all-day marathon ofThe Fast and the Furiousfranchise.
“This morning’s crisis was averted,” Thad said. “Now, what’s going on? Please don’t tell me even more damage was caused by the fire than we first thought?”
“So you’re saying you want me to lie to you?” Von asked.
Thad closed his eyes. “Shit.”
The current reconstruction permit they were operating under required that a city inspector tour the area affected by the fire. Even though the fire had been contained to one room, it had exposed just how highly combustible the originalmaterials used to build the house were. He and Von had made the expensive, though necessary, decision to replace all the walls with fire-resistant materials.
“What is it now?” Thad asked.
“HVAC is toast,” Von said. “As the inspector searched through it to make sure there was no lingering toxins or smoke damage, he discovered that most of the ducts are corroded. He said the previous owners probably didn’t do any kind of maintenance, which isn’t good with the level of humidity they deal with here in New Orleans.”
“Did he give an estimate of what this will set us back, both financially and timewise?”
“Well, here’s the bad and the good news,” Von said. “It’ll clean out the remainder of the contingency fund, but Micah said he has a friend whose company can get it all done in less than a week. And we wouldn’t have to stop any of the work we’re doing.” He hunched his shoulders. “The guy isn’t military, but this situation calls for an exception.”
“I agree,” Thad said. He took in Von’s expression and didn’t like what he saw. The lines around his friend’s mouth remained rigid, as did his shoulders. “There’s something else you’re not telling me.”
One side of Von’s mouth tipped up in a humorless grin. He slipped his hands in his pockets and said, “So who’s reading whose mind this time?”
Thad’s scalp prickled with unease. “What’s wrong?”
Von blew out a breath and ran a hand down his face.
“Look, Thad, I know this isn’t working out the way we thought it would. All these problems that have cropped up, the added expense…”
Thad couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Are you bailing on me?”
“Me?” Von asked. He shook his head. “No. I’m giving you the chance to bail if you want to. I give you shit for it, but I know how hard it’s been for you since retiring. A buddy at the VA told me about a job opening. It’s a civilian position, but it’s exactly the kind of—”
“Von,” Thad stopped him. “I’m not looking for anything other than being co-owner of The PX with you.”
“But this position—”
“I don’t care about any other position,” Thad said. He clamped a hand on Von’s shoulder and squeezed it. “I’m in this with you.” He thought about what Ashanti told him in New York and realized just how true it was. “The PX is how we will both continue to serve our military family. This thing we’re doing here, it’s going to benefit veterans in the same way any position I find through the VA would.” He tapped Von in the center of his chest. “You don’t have to worry about me going anywhere. I got you. We’ve got each other.”
