She hadn’t been here long, but I could see she’d been building a cozy home for herself. Colorful pillows adorned her couch, and cute artwork hung on the walls.
Nothing matched, but somehow it all worked perfectly. It made me want some of those bright colors inmyplace. I wasn’t much for decorating. It wasn’t a skill I possessed, kind of like talking to people. Some things were out of my wheelhouse.
“You should wait outside,” I grunted, guiding her back to the front door.
After she went to wait in the yard, I poked around to try to see what had started the fire.
I found the source in the kitchen. The fire had started from some old wiring behind where the stove used to be.
“Bad wiring,” I said when I came back to where Cassidy stood in the front yard, hugging herself, “by the stove outlet.”
She blew out a shaky breath. “I knew the wiring needed to be replaced. The whole house needed it. But I couldn’t afford it.” Her voice cracked. “Now I’ve lost everything because I was too broke to fix it.”
I crossed the distance between us and gripped her arm to steady her. “Hey. Look at me.”
She did, her brown eyes swimming with tears.
“It’s not your fault. It’s probably been a fire hazard for years. Long before you moved in.”
My words seemed to give Cassidy some comfort, and I noticed her leaning in towards me as though I could make it all better. I wanted to, but I wasn’t sure how. Even if I could help with the work, I wasn’t a money guy. I couldn’t pay for most of the supplies she’d need. And I couldn’t do the work without the materials.
“The house isn’t a total loss,” I said firmly, even though I suspected that was a lie. “Fire was contained to the kitchen. There’s smoke damage, yeah, and everything you own is goingto need to be tossed. But structurally? The bones are good. Everything can be fixed if you throw enough money at it.”
“That’s the problem.” She laughed bitterly. “I don’t have money to throw atanything. I could barely afford groceries this month.”
Well, weren’t we a pair?
“Insurance,” I said. “You have insurance, right?”
“Yes, but…” she trailed off, and I knew what she was thinking. Insurance took time. Adjusters, paperwork, approvals. Weeks, maybe months. Plus, there were deductibles, and everything cost more than expected.
And in the meantime, she had nowhere to go.
I should let her figure it out. Should offer to drive her to a motel in Fernwood, wish her well, and go back to my solitary life on the mountain. That would be the safe thing to do.
Instead, I heard myself say, “Let’s call your insurance company and get the ball rolling.” I couldn’t look at her and I stared at a water stain on the wall instead. “In the meantime, stay with me. Till it’s fixed.”
Silence. My heart pounded in my chest while I waited for her to turn down my offer.
I braced myself for the rejection. I was used to it after all. Women didn’t choose men like me.
But instead Cassidy said, “You would do that for me?” Her voice was muffled against my chest. “Oh my God, Hall. Thank you. Thank you so much. I’ll figure out how to repay you, I swear.”
Then she flung herself into my arms.
I stood frozen for a moment, shocked. Then my arms came up around her, pulling her close, and I let myself breathe her in.
She said yes. She actually said yes.
Even though we both knew the chances of this old farmhouse getting fixed were low, it seemed we were both willing to live with that lie.
The fire had been contained to the kitchen, but the condition of the whole place was so poor that the insurance company would probably consider it a total loss. The foundation was cracked, and the roof was sagging. Those were just the issues I could see.
This house wasn’t getting repaired. It was getting condemned.
Which meant Cassidy was going to need somewhere to stay for a lot longer than either of us was admitting.
“It will just be temporary,” she said, pulling back to look at me. “Until I figure things out.”
