Chapter 38
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
C lutching the steering wheel too tight, I was at the townhouse by seven in the morning. I told myself I’d only tidy up the yard, but there was so much to do.
I spent ten minutes in my car bouncing my foot and watching the house for any sign of Gerry. Finally, I slowly approached the yard with my phone in my hand. The garbage and recycling bins were still at the curb, where I’d left them a week before. I rolled them up to the garage, watching the upstairs windows.
There was plenty to do around the outside of the house. I put away garden hoses and picked up Gerry’s beer cans and cigar butts. He’d thrown up on the back patio. There was broken glass in the side yard.
Biting my lip and my heart thumping, I pounded on the door and rang the doorbell, then ran to my car and locked myself inside. Nothing happened. Not even a light switched on.
That’s when I decided to break my promise to Dominic. I opened the door and shouted inside. Glancing around, the townhouse appeared about the same as when I’d left it a week before.
Luckily, the carpet cleaners arrived about ten minutes later. The father and son team moved fast while I raced around, clearing off surfaces. I found the spare sheets for the upstairs bed and threw away the linens Gerry had ruined and left on the floor.
I cracked the door of his office and peeked inside, my shoulders so tense my neck twinged. It was the only room in the house he hadn’t trashed. On his desk was an envelope with my name on it. I opened it.
Kelsey,
I am writing to ask for mercy. Don’t you think you’ve punished me enough? I’m letting you sell our home. Allow me to walk away without a criminal record. There isn’t anything for me here anymore. I’m going to ask my father for a job. Managing his grocery store is a step down, but that’s all you’ve left me.
Gerry
“Ma’am?”
I startled, whipping around to see the older man staring at me. “Yes?”
“We’re ready to clean the stairs. Okay?” he asked.
“Yes. I’ll get out of your way.”
He shrugged. “We’ll change the fluid first. In about five minutes.”
I checked over the room for Gerry’s magazines or paraphernalia. Apparently, he’d taken most of it with him. His little sex statues I put in the closet, along with the clutter he had lying around. All of his intensity seemed extinguished when I was done, and it was just a room with a desk and a couch.
“We’re ready now,” the older man called up the stairs.
I ran down the stairs and rushed to change for work in the small bathroom. By the time I’d finished carrying out some recycling, the carpet cleaners were done.
After work, I went directly back, changing into the grubby clothing I’d worn that morning. I tackled the garage full of Gerry mess—a collection of golf clubs, odd things he’d never touched, and empty boxes.
Autumn stopped by with paperwork to leave for the open house. “Looks good. Do you think he’ll stay out?”
I walked with her into the spotless kitchen that smelled of lemon wood soap. “I hope so. He hasn’t been here much. Everything was how I left it last week.”
“Excellent. And that stain on the carpet by the stairs came up. Good.”
“Thank you so much for your help with this.”
She gave me a quick side hug. “We’ll get it off your hands.”
Even though I was filthy and starving, I texted Dominic as soon as I got in my car.
Me
Want company? I can leave now.
Dominic
Yes
An hour and a half later, I dragged myself into his condo. There had been traffic. “Hi,” I called. I took off my shoes and jacket and tossed them in the spare bedroom.
“Dinner’s ready.”
I found Dominic in the kitchen, tossing a green salad. There was baked salmon and potatoes on the stove. I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed his back. “You’re amazing.”
He leaned sideways to glance down at me. “You smell like cleaning fluid and dust.”
“Disgusting, aren’t I?”
“It’ll wash off. Eat first, then I’ll scrub you down myself.”
I kissed him some more.