“Let me get changed, and I’ll tell you everything.” When I give her a knowing look, she rolls her eyes and whispers, “I’m obviously not gonna tell her about the orgy part.”
A couple of hours later, the four of us are in tank tops and shorts. The sun is gone, and the indoor air temperature is ninety degrees. Although the rain has lessened, the wind persists, and according to the electric company’s outage alerts, power won’t be restored until at least tomorrownight.
When I check my phone again, I’m surprised to find a text message from Jonah.
Jonah: I know you said not to text you, but are you ladies alright? Do you have power? I don’t see your lights on.
Well, that’s... kind of him to check on us. A little invasive, but neighborly, I suppose.
Renée: No power. It’s going to be out for a while.
Jonah: OMG SHE TEXTED BACK
Jonah: Sorry that last one wasn’t meant for you. Do you have a generator? I could set that up for you if you need.
Renée: I don’t have one. We’ll be fine.
When he doesn’t reply right away, I think little of it until there’s a loud knock at my front door.
Amber and the girls are hot on my heels when I peek through the side window to find none other than the man himself—drenched—standing under our porch roof, wearing barn boots, rugby shorts, and a cutoff T-shirt. For the first time ever, there’s an emotion on his boyish face that I’ve never seen—worry.
“What are you doing here?” I ask as soon as I open the door.
“Hi Jonah,” Delta cheers.
“Hey Ladybug,” he says to her, then scans our home past our heads and back to me. “It’s hot in here.”
I shrug. “It’s hot outside. The rain isn’t cooling anything.”
“Stay with me.”
“Pardon?”
“I have a massive generator, so I have power, and air conditioning. It’s too hot to live like this,” he says with a gesture to our living room. He spots my sister just then. “Oh, hi. I’m Jonah. You must be Amber.”
“Hello,” she croons the way I’d expect if she ever met someone like Pedro Pascal.
They shake, and I slap it away. “No, none of that. We will be fine.”
“It’s no trouble,” he says. “I have spare rooms, and they all have locks. And you can bring all your food over so it doesn’t go bad. There’s also an extra refrigerator in my garage.”
“Can we, Mom? I’m so hot,” Delta whines, and Lo nods her head. They both have their hair braided and off their faces, but curly wisps cling to their necks. There’s nothing I can do to cool them off other than put them in a cool shower.
I inwardly sigh because I’m being presented with a tremendous gift—one that will save me money and provide us a safer environment—but I feel uneasy about it. Their father—may the devil torture his soul—was the last man we shared a house with, and I was planning on keeping it that way forever.
As if he can read my mind, Jonah says, “If you want, I can give you the keys to my house and I’ll sleep in the barn.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I huff, but I know deep down if I said yes, he’d do it in a heartbeat. I study his wet face for a moment longer, gauging whether I can trust him. He wouldn’t do anything malicious; he’s too pure and too clueless to even think about it.
“Fine.”
“Yes!” He pumps his fist in the air. “I have coolers in the back of my SUV for all your food.” Before I can reply, he’s running to grab them.
“Girls, go pack your bags with a change of clothes and pillows.”
“Sleepover!” Delta shouts, before taking Lo’s hand racing to their room.
Sensing my trepidation, Amber places a reassuring hand on my bare shoulder. “We’ll be okay. You know he’s nothing like Greg.”
