Thankfully, he reaches out and grabs me again, although this time, he’s careful to keep some distance. Not until he’s sure I’ve got my footing, does he release me and step back, giving me an encouraging smile.
And I’m mesmerized.
His teeth are white and straight, their proportions perfect. It’s a combination that gives him a textbook wolfish grin, telling me he knows all about flossing. I then revise this assertion, with the glint in his dark green eyes hinting more at oral sex than oral hygiene.
Certainly, there’s nothing clean about his gaze as it sweeps my body, leaving me feeling more gloriously dirty than I have in my entire life. And then, just like that, it’s over. He lifts his gaze to focus on my face, his eyes now having a shuttered quality to them, leaving me thinking I’d imagined the whole thing.
TWO
TYLER
Being a Wednesday, it’s unusual to be packing up this early, but the remodeling job we’d been working on had gone without a hitch. No hidden nasties in the walls, no asbestos, and no plumbing issues, had led to us finishing up a couple of days early.
And I couldn’t be happier with our schedule having been relentless for the past six months, and it set to continue for the foreseeable future. Our next job is reconfiguring the Dugan home from top to bottom, with them moving out while the work takes place. With the family due to pack up over the weekend, we won’t be stepping foot on site until Monday at the earliest.
I’ve therefore got a few days to myself. Well, not entirely myself, because I’m conscious I’ve been neglecting my daughter Zoe since scoring the job as supervisor with Lucky Break.
I’m loading my tools in the back of my truck when Ethan, my boss, saunters over, his phone glued to his ear. On hearing his, “I’ll get someone to call over there now,” I know I’m not escaping just yet.
After ending the call, he shoves his phone back in his tool belt, before grabbing a pencil and what looks to be a receipt out of the front pouch.
“Sorry, Ty, I’d go myself, but I’m taking Lindsey to the doctors for an ultrasound.”
His words, while casual, still evoke a visceral response deep in my gut. Hadn’t I said the same thing myself in the past? For all the help, those ‘normal’ scans had provided after the actual delivery. Not even the doctors saw those complications.
It doesn’t matter that it’s been nearly five years since I lost my wife. Some days, the memories are fresher than others. Rather than give in to them, I instead watch Ethan as he leans over so he can use the leather of his tool belt as a make-shift desk.
His writing was bad at the best of times, but when jotted on a crumpled slip of paper using a carpenter’s pencil in need of sharpening, it’s atrocious.
As if sensing this, he says, “It’s a potential new job for some woman, Lily Finnegan. Thirty-seven Holder Ave. Apparently she’s a friend of Alice, that old lady at the Rose Haven.” However, with his mind firmly on his wife’s appointment, he adds nothing more before leaving.
* * *
On looking up at the house Ethan has sent me to, I’m at a loss. Last time I checked, Lucky Break Construction wasn’t in the business of building from the ground up.
Which would be necessary here, with the place looking to be ripe for demolition. As it is, I reckon termites might be all that’s holding the place together. It’s then I remember we don’t get them as far north as Coogan’s Break, meaning the derelict nature is thanks to age and a lack of maintenance.
It’s enough to have me pulling my phone out and searching through my contacts. I don’t think twice about calling Alice at the Rose Haven, keen to find out more about the client before I go any further.
As always, the old girl talks at a million miles an hour, bringing me up to date with the home’s owner, at least in bald terms. Certainly enough for me to get the lay of the land.
On climbing the steps to the front porch, I’m careful where I put my feet with more rotten boards than is typical in the houses we work on. Likewise, I’m careful when I traverse the front porch, only committing to a step when I know the board will take my full weight.
This is easier said than done with me six-four and built like a tank, just like my old man, or so I’m told, with mom having long ago trashed any photos of him. As dark as she’d been on him when he took off, this doubtless involved flame and sage.
But it wasn’t just physical reminders of her ex-husband that she’d had to ditch when she moved into that duplex. She’d had to get rid of a lot of things.
Unlike the rest of the derelict house, the front door looks to be solid wood. I’ve not even knocked when screaming comes from just inside. This is a surprise on several levels.
First off, I’ve fully expected the place to be empty. Second, there’s no missing that the woman who’s screaming is clearly terrified. It’s enough to have me reaching for the door handle, surprised and relieved when it turns and doesn’t come off in my hand.
I’m as shocked when I open the door a sliver to see if I can help the woman out. She’s still screaming, although the pitch then changes, before ending with a squawk. When I first see her, I’m not sure what sucker punches me the most.
That she’s in danger, or that she’s gorgeous, with both fighting for supremacy.
“Here, let me help you.” I ease a foot inside the door, and once sure the floor will support my weight plus hers, I reach down and lift her free.
In our favor, is the boards she’s fallen through are so rotten that they offer little resistance. Unfortunately, she’ll still sport some bruises.
