Chapter 11 Grace
GRACE
Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch
Comments:
SherriffMike Finch: I’m cutting it up right now. You’re distracting me, woman!
Marjorie Brown: Sorry, everyone, the wife was trying pole dancing again and knocked it over.
Jade Clark: I’m better than this. I won’t laugh, I won’t laugh.
Henrietta Brown: It’s better than when you fell and your ass made the watering hole at Bennie Grove farms.
Jade Clark: oh my god SHE’S FIGHTING BACK.
Mollie Wilson: I’m sat and watching. Anyone want popcorn?
The last thing I needed was something else to go wrong, but life didn’t work that way. It had already been a long day. I’d had to go to Knoxville to get my glucose test done and came back to a frigid house.
“Dammit,” I said as I held a flashlight. I had no idea how my heating unit worked, just that it was supposed to turn on when I needed it to. It had trucked along all winter, but this February cold snap finally did it in.
Why did Kelsey have to say spring was here? It was never truly here until it was summer.
The unit was a mess of wires, parts, and dust. I didn’t know why I even tried to go down to the basement to look at it. There wasn’t anything I could do.
Theo was the town handyman, but he’d told us all that he was taking a step back from his work to focus on the coffee shop. The town had come to depend on him, so the news was met with a lot of grumbling, but we were happy for him to do what he wanted to.
That just meant I had no idea who to call.
I didn’t have money for this on any day, but I especially didn’t have money for it now. Going back upstairs, I put a jacket on and got my phone out.
Do we have a new person who can do handyman things?
Jade
Do you mean handywoman things? Wren’s your girl for that.
Do you think she knows HVAC systems?
Only one way to find out. (If you don’t call her, I will.)
Attached was Wren’s number.
The only thing that sounded worse than calling her was having Jade do it, so I mentally put on my big-girl panties and dialed her.
“This is Wren speaking.”
“Hey,” I said. “Are you busy tonight?”
“Grace? No, I’m not. It’s just a night in with Henry.”
“Oh, if you’re with Henry, I can—”
“What’s going on?” she asked. “You sound a little stressed.”
Stressed was my middle name at this point. “My heat’s busted.”
“Oh, shit. I can come take a look.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I can’t pay much, but I can try to compensate you for your time.”
“I am not charging you,” she said. “This is a friend’s call. What’s your address?”
I hated the relief I felt when she said she wouldn’t charge, and I told her my address. She promised she would be here in thirty minutes.
I had to make it up to her somehow, but I didn’t know her well enough to. I spent the entire time of her drive trying to figure something out and came up empty.
Wren’s red truck pulled up next to my car, and I took a breath to pretend like I was fine. Only Jade knew I was pregnant, and I was keeping it that way for as long as possible.
“Thanks for meeting me out here,” I said.
“No problem at all. I love helping out my friends and Mollie never lets me do it. Besides, I didn’t even know there was a house back here!”
No one did. Mom had bought a big plot of land and the house was far back on it. It was a pain for her to mow and take care of, but Brooke and I spent countless hours in the fields here.
“It’s a work in progress,” I said. “I wasn’t prepared to be a homeowner when she passed, so it’s . . . not all put together.”
“I’ve seen it all. What’s more important is that you don’t freeze tonight.”
I laughed humorlessly. “Yeah. What bad timing.”
“Come on, show me where the HVAC is.”
I took Wren inside and down to the basement. I’d figured out how to open the thing, but knew nothing else.
“Well, it’s not that old,” she said as she looked at it. “Honestly, it’s in good shape.”
“It’s just not turning on at all.”
“Did you reset the breaker?”
“Um, should I have?”
“It’s always a good first option,” she said patiently. “Where’s your electrical box?”
I took Wren to the other side of the basement where it sat. I rarely came over here, which was obvious since there was dust all over it.
Wren didn’t seem bothered. She cleaned off what she could and then opened it up.
“It’s tripped,” she said. “Which means it’s just off. And everything on here is labeled. That’s another good thing.”
“Mom took good care of this place,” I said. “I’m . . . trying.”
“It’s a lot for one person,” she said as she flicked the switch to the left. There was a buzzing sound, then it returned to the center. “I think it’s busted,” she said.
“Can you fix that?”
She winced. “I probably could, but I don’t know electrical all that well.”
“Fuck,” I muttered. “Well, I guess I should find the blankets that I stashed down here.”
I went to an old cardboard box. They would need a wash, but it would still be helpful.
“Hang on, you’re not entirely out of luck. There happens to be an electrician in town tonight. Dean just arrived.”
I dropped the box onto my foot. “What? I thought he—”
I paused as Wren turned to me. “You thought he left months ago?” she finished.
“Y-yeah. Definitely.”
“Apparently, he wanted more. He called and asked to work with me again. Want me to help with that box?”
I shook my head and bent down to get it. I didn’t need her looking at my face anyway.
It had to be red. I didn’t think Dean would even call again, but now he was working here? I thought he hated Strawberry Springs.
“So, should I call him?”
Did I even want to see him again? The way he stared at me like I was a bomb ready to go off didn’t feel great.
“He’s really expensive, though, isn’t he?”
“I can call him in for a favor. As long as you can handle some light flirting.”
Light flirting had gotten me pregnant.
At least I couldn’t get more pregnant.
And I doubted he was looking twice at me anyway.
“Okay, let’s call him.” It felt like pulling teeth, but as I picked up the box and saw how dusty the blankets were, I knew these would need more than a wash.
And I was freezing.
Wren stepped outside to call him, and I tried to prepare myself for the fact that I would be seeing Dean again.
Wren walked back in. “All right, he’ll be here in a few.”
“So, how long is he staying?”
“No idea. He asked how much work I had, which is always promising. I know all the ladies missed him.” Wren laughed, but I was processing.
None of this made sense with how he’d acted. Just what was about to happen?
“Do you have any warm drinks?” Wren asked, rubbing her hands together. “That might help us both.”
“You don’t have to stay,” I offered. “I can handle Dean.”
“Dean constantly flirts. If you don’t want that, then I’ll help you out. I know how to keep him in line.”
I highly doubted he would flirt with me now. Our one, well, two-time thing, was over. This wasn’t a fun little escapade anymore. This was real life.
“But you were off for the night. I’m sure Henry wants to spend time with you.”
“He does, but making sure someone doesn’t freeze is also important. And I could fix that step out front. Did you know it was loose?”
“I’ll get to it,” I lied.
“Will you?”
“Seriously, I can’t ask you for anything else. This is enough.”
“Fine, I get it. Mollie doesn’t want me snooping around her place either. But let me at least make you a hot drink.”
“That’s a good idea, but this is my house and you’re my guest, so I’ll make something for the both of us,” I said. I led Wren to the kitchen.
“Wait, does this fireplace work?” she asked as I got water started. “I could light it for you.”
“Oh, um. I don’t think it does.” My cheeks burned. In reality, it probably did. But I hadn’t tried to light it since a bird made its nest in the chimney. I wasn’t sure why, but sweeps were expensive as hell, and I’d nearly passed out when I got an estimate.
Wren raised her eyebrows and I knew what she was going to offer.
“Here, have some tea.” I gave her a warm cup to distract her. “I feel like we haven’t gotten to talk all that much since you moved here.”
That was enough. Wren loved to fix things, but I had a feeling that deep down, she liked people more.
And thank fuck for that.
“Thanks,” she said. “And you’re right. I wanna try to get to know people around here more.”
“Well, you know my house is a bit of a mess. But I do know most of the people in town. So I can exchange some details if you keep this between us.”
“Deal,” she said, and then leaned over. “What’s the deal with Hugh? Does he hate me?”
“He probably doesn’t. He’s just like that.”
“Dean seemed to get along with him.”
“Dean has one of those personalities.”
Wren raised an eyebrow. “But you do too, don’t you?”
“I like to know people and I’m good at it. I know that Hugh seems like a dick, but he just wants someone to listen to him. Kerry wants to know everything she can because she’s bored during the day when her son’s at school.”
“That’s definitely deeper than Dean goes. I’ve worked with him for years and I barely know anything about his personal life.”
“He’s shallow. It’s . . . pretty typical for a playboy.”
Wren nodded with a sigh. “Luckily for me, I don’t need to know him too well to work with him. It’s just so different to how people are here. I like that they all wanna get to know me.”
It was one of the things I liked too. Sure, people could be annoying, but they cared.
Sometimes I forgot other people weren’t like that.
“Speaking of the devil,” she said. “He got here fast.”
Headlights came down the driveway and his older truck pulled in next to Wren’s.
Would this be a sight I saw often as we traded our kid back and forth?
I shook myself out of my thoughts and went to meet him by the door. That was . . . way ahead of things.
Dean was heading up my porch and tripped right where everyone else did.
“Sorry,” I rushed to say. “That plank is loose.”
“Yeah, no kidding.”
“I’m working on it.”
Dean met my gaze, eyebrow raised. I had no idea what that expression meant. I hated that I didn’t know.
“We’re here for one thing,” Wren reminded him as our eyes remained locked for far too long. “You need to look at this electrical panel.”
“Right,” he said, shifting his focus away from me. “Where is it?”
Wren took over, showing him what she’d found. From how they talked, I knew Dean was an expert. He muttered things about the wiring of the whole house and something about the brand of the breakers.
I both loved and hated experts. Usually their experience came with a price.
“It looks like it just needs a new switch,” Dean informed me.
“Okay, how much will it run me?” I asked.
“I told you not to worry about that,” Wren said.
“I still have to pay something.”
Dean watched our exchange. I had a feeling he was about to tell me a number that would put me in debt.
“One dinner.”
“Oh, for the love of—” Wren groaned. “Really?”
“Dinner, seriously?” I asked.
“Just one.”
“That’s not usually how this works.”
“Save your money, Grace,” Dean said. “Take this deal instead.”
I’d been so sure Dean was only around me because he had to be. After all, this was his worst nightmare.
But if I’d had it my way, I would have liked to get to know him. We didn’t have to be best friends, but something was better than nothing when we’d be sharing a child.
Had he figured out what he was able to offer? Was this dinner to discuss that?
I knew my answer immediately.
“Fine. Dinner.”
“Grace, you really don’t have to do this.” Wren turned to Dean. “And you should really know how to ask people out better.”
“I’m not asking her out. I’m asking for one dinner.”
“Right, because you don’t date.” Wren crossed her arms. “I know where this leads.”
“It won’t go there,” I said, because it already had. “It’s a good deal. What other electrician is gonna offer this?”
“Whatever. If he hurts you, I’ll kick him in the balls for you.”
“Scary,” Dean said. “Thank you for your business, Grace. I have the stuff in my truck. Give me a few minutes.”
He walked away.
“Seriously, dinner?” Wren muttered. “The nerve of that guy.”
“You did warn me about flirting.” Though, I doubted it was true flirting. “It’s fine. I’d rather make him food than deal with how much he would charge.”
“You just know his whole thing, right?” she asked. “He only sleeps with people. He doesn’t commit.”
“Trust me, I know.”
“And he doesn’t change his mind.”
She was making sure I knew what I was getting into. And I had, back when I thought it would just be a one-night stand. Now, we were something else.
What? I wasn’t sure. But we certainly weren’t together.
“I’ve got it,” I said gently. “I know what I’m getting into.”
“Good. Now let me clean up some of this dust so Dean isn’t here longer than he needs to be.”
My allergies were going to hate that. There was a reason I avoided the basement.
“I’ll do it,” I said. “I have a duster I brought down here and forgot about.” Wren sighed and let me get it. But then she stole it when I walked past her. “Hey!”
“Too late! It’s mine now.” She got to work with a smirk sent in my direction.
My body went tight, and I wanted to find a way to steal the duster back so I could do this myself.
Every cell in my body demanded me to move, to not need the help in the first place, but I did.
I already felt sneezing fits coming on, and I wasn’t sure if I could even take allergy medicine if I pushed myself.
I was still struggling with it when Dean finally came down the stairs to work on the problem.
“Did you get lost?” Wren asked. “I had time to dust the whole basement.”
“A little, but it’s good now.” He held up a toolbox. “Now let me get to work. And you . . .” He turned to me just as I was about to sneeze again. “Get out of the dust. It’s killing you.”
My cheeks burned, but he was right. Since when did he care if I was sneezing? I was so shocked about what he’d said that I didn’t fight it. I slowly went upstairs and let them do what they needed to.
I wound up washing up before Dean came back up the stairs and told me everything was done. Wren said she would leave to get a shower and thanked me for letting her help. It felt wrong to even accept it, but at least I had working heat.
I went to bed, promising myself that I would get it together and not need it again.
I didn’t even realize the loose step was fixed until the next morning.