Page 13 of Wrecked

Luke walks into the kitchen, freshly showered and wearing clean basketball shorts and an undershirt.

I rapidly suck in and blow out through my mouth to cool the burn on my tongue. “No worries. Luke’s gonna drive me today.”

Mom grabs a glass, fills it with milk, and hands it to me. “Here you go, sweetie.”

Gulping the milk, I look at Luke, who is holding his hands up like he’s riding a motorcycle and revving the engine. I squint my eyes at him.

“Good news.” Dad reaches across the counter and hands me a slip of paper. “Grandma wired the money to the McConaughey Fund. You have another forty grand.”

Luke lets out a low whistle. “Who knew Grams was loaded?”

Mom tsks at Luke. “She’s not loaded. She’s just helping her granddaughter fulfill a dream.”

“Besides,” Dad says, grabbing a paring knife, “after Leah’s done paying off Paulie for the remainder, that will be a lucrative business.”

All this talk of how much money is going into this bar makes me antsy. I know the books of that bar like the back of my hand. I know how long I’ll have to run it before I can start making a profit. Doesn’t make it less frightening though.

“Maybe Grams has a few more dollars to make my dreams come true,” Luke says. He’s eyeing me again, making that stupid motorcycle sign.

I mouth the word, No, to him.

With a rise of his brows, Luke turns to Dad. “Did you hear about Leah’s night?”

Dad looks up from slicing strawberries. “No. Anything exciting happen?”

Just then, the doorbell rings, and I quickly stand up. “I’ll get it!”

On my way out, I flip Luke the bird, and he holds his wrists up like they’re cuffed together, reminding me of my eventful night.

I open the front door, and suddenly, Luke is no longer the problem.

My eyes instantly collide with a man’s torso, clad in a tight orange T-shirt that accentuates his muscular chest. He’s wearing jeans and construction boots, and when I look up to the top of his six-foot frame, he’s wearing aviator sunglasses that reflect my dumbstruck expression.

“Adam.” I lower my voice to a whisper. “Why are you here?”

He lowers his chin and peers at me from under his sunglasses. “You don’t have a car, and your community service begins at ten.”

I try to close the door, so no one can see who is outside when Mom pops up from behind me.

“Who’s here? Oh, Adam! What a surprise.” She places a hand to her chest. “Is everything okay? You’re not here on duty, are you?”

I snap my head at Adam, who looks back at my mom with a smile.

“No, ma’am. I’m here on my own time.”

Mom relaxes her arm. “Well then, welcome. It’s so good to see you. You haven’t been over here since you were, what? A junior?”

“I was a senior, Mrs. Paige, and I’m here to pick up Leah. She’s agreed to volunteer at Homes for All Souls with me.”

Mom’s chin drops to her chest. “Leah? My Leah is going to build houses?”

“Apparently, she is looking for a little rehabilitation.” The inflection in his voice doesn’t go unnoticed.

I turn to her and flippantly answer, “Like I’d say no to gawking at hot construction boys all day. I just want to watch them play with their hammers.”

She hits me on the arm. “You’re so fresh.” Turning to Adam, she uses her arm to motion him inside. “Come in. Bob made cinnamon rolls.”

I try to intervene. “No, Adam has to—”