I dump out my old rags and sponges onto the counter, handing Jim the empty bucket so he can place it under the pipes.
“How high can you count?” he asks Jackson.
Jackson bites his thumb. “One hundred.”
“All the way to one hundred?” Jim’s eyes widen. “Holy smokes, I’m sure glad you’re here. Okay bud, when I say ‘go,’ turn on the faucet, and let the water run. Count to five, and then shut it off. Can you do that for me?” Jackson nods and Jim holds up his hand for a high-five. Jackson gives a light tap and steps in a little further.
Jim pulls the flashlight and a wrench from my toolbox before lowering himself again to see under the sink. “Alright, whenever you’re ready, turn on the faucet and count to five. Then shut it off.”
Jackson turns on the faucet, and I bite back a giggle as I see his sweet little mouth count each word until he gets to five. He shuts off the faucet and quickly crouches to look underneath the sink.
The water leak was spotted immediately, but it warms me that Jim still let Jackson finish his counting. He pops out and says, “Good job, high five.” And he holds out a hand for Jackson to slap.
“What are you doing now?” Jackson whispers.
“Wanna see? Come crawl down here and I’ll show you.”
Jackson gets down on his hands and knees and peers under the sink, nodding along as Jim twists the pipes apart, inspecting each one when Jim shows him, as if he knows exactly what Jim’s talking about.
“The good news is I think it’s just a worn compression nut. Super cheap to replace.”
I laugh a little. “I don’t even know what that would look like. Is that something that the store down the street would have?”
He stands and wipes his wet hands on his jeans before I grab a hand towel and hand it over. “I’m sure it does. I’ll go there now and check it out. It’ll be a fast fix, too. The wood will need to be replaced. It doesn’t look like the water damage has reached the floor or neighboring cabinets. We could probably replace it with a simple piece of plywood since you plan on eventually gutting the whole thing. It won’t be pretty but it’ll do the job for now.”
“You have no idea how much I appreciate all of this.” I might have figured it out on my own, but the dishes would have had to sit for another week or so until I did.
“Don’t worry about it,” he says, tossing the towel on the island and moving to the front door. “This is what friends are for, aren’t they?”
Friends. There he goes, using the F-word again. A word that somehow warms my heart and stings my chest at the same time. “How do you know about all of this anyway?” I gesture to the destroyed sink behind me. “I don’t see you having a side hustle as a plumber.”
He chuckles, pausing at the front door. “My family owns a construction business. I’m one of five boys, no girls. Three of my brothers work side-by-side with my dad, one brother is in the military.”
“Your poor mother.” I couldn’t imagine that much testosterone. Or stinky gym socks.
His eyes fall to the floor, darkness clouding over for a split second, and then it’s gone. “Yeah, she sure had her hands full when we were growing up. Anyway, I spent summers working for my dad, starting at fifteen all the way until I graduated med school. Guess you can say I learned a thing or two.”
“I’ll believe that when my sink stops leaking.”
“You’ll be singing my praises in about thirty minutes, mark my words.” He fires off a wink before reaching for the door handle, pausing again when Jackson calls out after him.
“Are you coming back?”
“Yup. Going to get some parts to fix the sink, then I’ll need your help again.”
Jackson nods. “I’ll be waiting.”
I laugh and grab the door for Jim. “Hey, can you—or do you—want to stay for lunch? As a thank you?” A slight panic sets in at his pause. Then I realize it’s Saturday and he most likely has a date. Or maybe he even has a girlfriend. It’s been so long since I’ve really had a conversation with him that doesn’t center around my issues, that I have no idea where his life is at. “Ordinner sometime, or lunch. I can pay you, too, obviously. I don’t expect you to help me for free. Whatever works for you. Just as a thank you. You probably have plans, I just—”
“Megan,” he interrupts with a smile. “I would love to stay and have lunch with you guys, today is perfect.”
Chapter Eight
Iscoop the diced chicken up with both hands and pile it into the mixing bowl along with the chopped bacon, mayo, and green onions. With a hearty shake of ground cumin, I call out over my shoulder that lunch is just about ready.
After Jim got back from the store, he asked Jackson for his help with counting again. Jim was able to fix my whatever nut and installed a temporary plywood floor to the bottom of the cabinet. Jax conned him into a game of catch while I tackled the dishes, and they’ve spent the better part of the morning outside.
Jim pulls out Jackson’s chair once they come inside, taking a seat next to him as I place plates of sandwiches and chips on the table, along with a dish with carrots and dip.
