“Can you fix it?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you, Liam.”
She ended the call before I could say anything else. I put my phone in my pocket and stared at the clinic entrance. Pete shouldn’t have tried to lift that unit alone. He knew that. He had done it anyway.
I stared at the steering wheel for a second, already running through the system layout in my head. Intake line first. Pressure regulator reset. Check for cross-threading. Make sure Pete didn’t over-tighten the coupler again.
The bar couldn’t operate without water. No water meant no sanitation. No sanitation meant no service. No service meant refunds, complaints, and bad reviews.
The thought of the system sitting half-installed under the bar made the muscles in my jaw jump.
The clinic doors opened.
Zoey stepped out, looking pleased with herself. I bet if I pointed it out, she wouldn’t even deny it. She moved steadily. Confidently.
I got out and opened her door before she could protest.
“Well,” she said once I was back behind the wheel. “I’m officially released. Cleared to return to society.”
“That’s great.”
“You look like something caught fire.”
“Not exactly.” I started the engine. “Nora, the manager of Pine Hollow, called. Pete—the bartender at the lodge—attempted to install the new filtration system under the main bar without assistance.”
Zoey stared at me. “Why?”
“He believed he could.”
“And?”
“He threw his back out and is now lying on the floor behind the bar, which has no water because he disconnected the system.”
She blinked once. “Well, fuck.”
“No sinks. No taps. No ice.”
She winced. “That sounds like a catastrophe.”
“Correct.”
“When do you have to be there?”
“Soon.” I met her gaze. “I can drop you at your apartment.”
She hesitated, then rolled her shoulders back. “What the hell. I’m still off work today, and I’ve been cooped up in my house for days. I want to see this chaos. Take me with you.”
Chapter 13
Zoey
I was cleared.
Officially. Medically. Someone with framed degrees and impossible-to-read handwriting had signed off on it.
It made me feel giddy and reckless.
