Cairo grunted. Then, “And you want to see if we can take some of mine apart? Why not? Bring it over.”
“It’s still in the sedan. Which isn’t working.”
I heard the other male blow out an irritated breath, which just made me grin wider. “Dravik is better with engine repairs. Give me the specs, I’ll see what we can figure out.”
Dravik was one of the males who’d come with us to Eastshore when the Colorado mine had closed down, and I was pleased he’d begun to work with Cairo.
So I told him what I could as the storm blew in from the north, the wind whipping Jocelyn’s hair. She stared wide-eyed at me as she tried to control it, and the fast-moving air brought the scent of her fear.
Fear of the storm? Fear for her car? Or fear of me?
“Uh-huh,” I agreed with his final prognosis. “Okay, thanks man. I’ll let her know. The keys will be in the…?” I turned an expectant look on Jocelyn.
“Cupholder,” she blurted. “As long as no one will break in.”
I shook my head at her question. “Cupholder,” I told Cairo. “Let me know what I owe you.”
When I hung up, Jocelyn had moved closer, using me as a windbreak against the wet wind chasing the storm ahead of it. “I’m paying for the fix,” she told me. “What did he say?”
“He said he’ll do some research while I get you out of this storm, then he’ll tow it back to his place and see what he can do. If it can be fixed, he’ll do it; otherwise, he’ll put in an order from the mainland.”
She groaned and dropped her head forward. “I can’t afford?—”
“Hey, we help each other out on Eastshore.” Before she could object more, I fished my key fob out of my pocket and handed it to her. “Grab your stuff and load it into my truck.” I nodded to where I’d parked by all the equipment. “I’ll go lock down my backhoe, and we’ll get you out of the rain.”
Her fingers brushed mine as she took the offering, but her warm-honey eyes were suspicious. “He didn’t tell you to take care of me while we waited, did he?”
I just smiled at her as I took off in a jog for my excavator.
I took her to my apartment. Smart? Probably not. Worth it? Fuck yes. The storm had moved in big time by then, and seemed to be camped out over the island. I saw the way Jocelyn flinched when a lightning strike hit a few streets over, and I was suddenly anxious as hells to get her safe and dry.
“This is the biggest building on the island,” I was explaining to her as I carried her suitcase down the hall. “Before we moved here, there was a big debate about affordable housing versus turning the island into a tourist trap, so this was Sakkara’s compromise; a condo building with a short-term rental cap. This space used to be a parking lot for the docks—that’s why the parking garage is beneath us.”
And why she hadn’t gotten wet on the walk to the elevators. “Ididnotice a lack of hotels,” she mused as I keyed in my door code. “The bed and breakfast was the only place with availability, and it cost an arm and a leg.”
“No worries, I have plenty of space.”
I heard her suck in a breath—to tell me she wasn’t staying?—but then we stepped into the condo, and she was distracted enough to mutter a, “Wow.”
I shrugged and put her suitcase down in the middle of the room. “Korrad and I have always lived together, so we signed a lease on the biggest unit available. When he decided he was ready to build a house for him and Jay, I agreed to stick out the lease.”
Jocelyn stood in what used to be the living room—now it was just empty space—and turned in a slow circle. “He took all the furniture.”
“He needed it more.” I jerked my chin at the folding table and the lawn chairs. “That’s all I need, plus the stuff in the bedroom.”
When I turned to the kitchen, I heard her sneak over to look into my fully furnished bedroom, and hid my smile.
“Is spaghetti alright for dinner?”
She hesitated, and I wondered if she was going to protest, to put more distance between us…but she sighed and called out, “Spaghetti sounds great. Can I help?”
Having her in my space should have felt weird. I’d lived my life with my brothers. Kardok had moved out, and then when Jay joined us, it had been as if he was an extension of us. My twin and nephew moving out hadmade this place—and my chest—feel a little empty. I didn’tneedthem, but I was used to them. I wasn’t used to anyone else.
But Jocelyn…
There was a kind of rightness,ease, having her in the kitchen, moving around like she knew what she was doing. In all my experience, I’d never had a female inmyspace. I’d always met them in their beds, or neutral territory like that hotel.Hunt. Catch. Fuck. That didn’t include bringing her back tomybed.
Except it felt right to do that with Jocelyn.
