Glancing around the car, I couldn’t help but catch the wide-eyed terror crossing Josie’s face, while Mia just nodded gently and a sly smirk tugged at Derek’s lips. What I wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall the moment Derek’s truck backed out of my driveway.
“Josie?”
Her mouth fell open like a goldfish before snapping shut and repeating. I would have bet money her mind was going a million miles an hour. My intention had never been to make her feel uncomfortable.
“O-Okay.”
“Okay then. See you tomorrow. It’ll be fun, promise.”
With a wink, I slammed the door shut and stepped back, my gaze never once leaving Josie’s stunned face. Part of me was waiting for her to stick her head out of the window and tell me she’d changed her mind. Surely it was only a matter of time before I got the text message apologising. Refusing to stew on it though, I headed inside, full of energy. Ten minutes ago I’d been ready to pass out and not wake up for a week. Now, now I had a date with a beautiful girl and she’d agreed to get on the back of my baby with me. Even though she’d ridden with me before, that didn’t really count. Last time she’d been left with no other choice. This time though, this time she was climbing aboard willingly. I couldn’t wait.
After a quick shower to wash away the stench of stale beer and grease, I climbed into bed with a smile on my face and a to do list, which was getting longer by the minute. As much as I thought I wasn’t invested in this date going well, when I added clean bathroom to the list, I knew I was only lying to myself.
After only a couple of hours of restless sleep, while the sun was still hiding, I got up, munched down a couple of pieces of toast and a bucket full of coffee, and attacked the house with a renewed enthusiasm. Even the dining room, the one room I hadn’t decided what the hell I was doing to do with, saw some action. After tearing up the carpets, I was pleasantly surprised to find hardwood floors hidden beneath the layer of dirt. Not just a thin layer of dirt either, but a thick, crusted layer of dust, debris, and more than a few thousand dead bugs.
I was hauling the threadbare, mouldy carpet out the door when Derek pulled into the drive dressed in work boots, ripped jeans, and a backwards baseball cap, although it wasn’t his appearance that shocked me the most. Following him across the yard was Logan, a guy I’d only met once a few months ago skiing on the river, and even then we’d only spoken for a total of ten minutes, tops, and Mia. She too looked like she was ready to kick some ass. She looked all kinds of sassy and ready for work.
“Hey?”
“Morning. Thought you could use a hand or two.”
“Always. How’d you know…?”
“You’d be restless and needing to get it out of your system?”
Mia’s words knocked me sideways. Literally. At her words, although seemingly innocuous and simple, I stumbled, bashing my elbow on a post on the veranda as I attempted to descend the steps.
“Th-thanks.” Shocked is pretty much the best description of how I was feeling. I wasn’t expecting help and out of any day they could have offered, today was the day I’d have preferred to be alone. I had too many thoughts all at once. I was scattered enough without having other people watching me and waiting on me to tell them what I wanted them to do or where I wanted them to put something. The problem was, I couldn’t push them away. Not when they’d given up their Saturday to get dirty and help.
“So, where do we start?” Logan asked, looking slightly anxious.
Shit! Now I had to make a decision and since I had many hands I might as well focus on knocking over the one task that, for the past couple of weeks just seemed too big to face. And it was. Too big to face alone anyway. Today though, today I wasn’t alone and now seemed as good of a time as any.
“Well, since you’re here…you keen on helping me knock down the shed?”
“Seriously?”
“Yep. Bloody stupid place for a shed, if you ask me. Right in the middle of the yard. I’ve already cleared some space in the back corner where the new one will go. Gotta organise the slab, then get it ordered.”
“Yeah, you got a point.”
“So…” Mia began as she wrung her hands in front of her, a dazzling smile lighting up her face. “How we doing this?”
“You’re not!”
I was relieved Derek had said it. I wanted to. It was on the tip of my tongue. Thankfully, Derek had done the dirty work, now he was the one getting the death rays from Mia’s cranky ass. I knew someone who wouldn’t be getting any tonight.
“And why not, sweetheart?”
“Shit! I know that tone,” Logan added, backing away, his hand in the air, surrendering.
“Coffee?” I offered. Before I knew it, Logan and I were standing in the kitchen, sipping freshly brewed java while beyond the window, the window which desperately needed cleaning, we watched as Derek attempted to reason with his stubborn fiancée. He was either bullet proof or a complete moron. I mean, this guy arrested criminals and had dealt with some pretty dark shit from what I could gather, but with the firecracker all wound up, I watched curiously as he took more than one retreating step.
“Who you think will win?”
“My money’s on Derek.”
“Really?”
