Page 25 of The Hometown Heartbreaker

“What are you doing?” I wiped my brow.

He held up the gloves like Exhibit: A. “What’s it look like? Gettin’ to work.”

I wanted to argue, to tell him I could handle it, that I didn’t need anyone’s help, least of all his. But one look at the sagging porch, the knee-high grass, and the black mold creeping up the siding, and I knew I was full of shit. This was more than a one-man job. I let him climb the stairs without another word.

Damon reached the top step, tested it with a little bounce, and whistled. “This thing’s a lawsuit waiting to happen.” He glanced at me sideways. “You got a plan or are we just playing it by ear?”

“I made a list.” It sounded stupid as soon as I said it.

He smiled with amusement. “Of course you did.” He jerked his chin toward the inside. “Let’s see it.”

I handed over the legal pad with my scrawl, every repair, every hazard, even stuff I knew it’d take weeks to fix. He scanned it, nodding as if I’d just presented him with the blueprints for a bank heist. “All right. I’ll take the bathroom and anything involving power tools. You do the kitchen, less chance of you losing a finger.”

He was being a dick, acting as if he was better equipped to handle tools when he was the one who had to be rushed to the hospital thanks to tool-related injuries. But since he was helping, I kept my mouth shut.

As we headed inside, I heard a tiny mouse squeak. Damon and I both looked down, and Minnie was staring up at me with her huge Disney eyes.

“Who’s this?”

“Minnie,” I stated.

“Minnie?” he repeated.

“She was squeaking like a mouse. So…”

“I like it.” Damon bent over to pet Minnie, and she hid behind my legs.

“I didn’t know Buddy had a cat?” he commented as he stood back up.

“He doesn’t.”

“Where’d you find her?”

“I didn’t. I was sitting on the porch, and she found me.”

Damon shook his head and squeezed my shoulder. “Wow, pussy literally shows up on your doorstep. How do you do it, bro? What is your secret?”

I shook my head, ignoring my brother, again, because he was doing manual labor for free.

We got to work. There wasn’t much talking, just the rhythm of tools and trash bags and the occasional grunt of frustration. Minnie was my shadow. She followed me from room to room, to outside, back into the house, never more than a few feet away from me. She kept her distance from my brother as he tore down the house to rebuild it. Damon was the only guy I knew who could demolish a bathroom vanity with a crowbar and still look like he was on vacation. At some point, he found Buddy’s stash of whiskey and held it up with a questioning eyebrow. I shook my head. “Later,” I said, and he put it back without comment.

The hours ran together. We moved through the house as a unit, like we always did when it came to work, me on the projects that needed finesse and skill, Damon on brute force. There was something weirdly comforting about it, like being in the old barn again, shoeing horses before sunrise or fixing fence posts in the rain. We didn’t have to talk to be on the same page, it had always been that way.

By mid-afternoon, we’d cleared out most of the garbage, replaced the worst of the floorboards, got Herbie up and running, and set up a temporary brace for the porch railing. Damon was needed back at the ranch, so he packed up his tools and wiped his hands on a rag, looking more satisfied than tired.

Minnie hopped onto the counter beside me and then kneaded my arm, signaling she wanted to be picked up. For a tiny thing, she was bossy. I scooped her up, and she curled into a ball in the crook of my arm.

“Not bad.” My brother surveyed the cleaned-up living room. “It still smells like someone died in here, but at least no one’s gonna break a hip on the way to the bathroom.” He gave me a little nod, like we’d just won a game of backyard football.

I looked around, let myself feel a tiny bit of pride at what we’d pulled off. “Thanks,” I said. I meant it more than I could say.

“No thanks necessary, now you owe me.” Damon winked, more comfortable with sarcasm than gratitude, and gave Minnie a quick rub behind her ears.

He headed out to his truck, leaving the door open behind him.

I stood on the porch for a minute, breathing in the fresh, crisp air, holding Minnie in one arm. Damon was already backing out of the drive, one hand on the wheel, the other out the window, giving me an exaggerated salute. I flipped him off and watched him disappear down the road, the dust cloud trailing after him like he was leading a cavalry charge.

When the silence settled again, it didn’t feel so heavy.