16. Summer
A persistent thuddingsound cut through the silence of my sleep and I opened an eye in annoyance.
If this was Rook at the door again, I was going to…
Bright light flooded through the windows, and my whole body ached from working in the garden.
Groaning, I pulled my covers up and over my face, gritting my teeth. Does the man ever sleep…why can’t he knock on my door at a normal time of day……why the heck is he here anyway?
The man was annoyingly determined. And I was too tired to make any coherent-ness.
”There”s someone walking on the roof.” Callie’s voice cut through my disorganized thoughts.
I blinked sleepily, whining. “I’m too tired for this. I need coffee.”
“Me too.” The bed dipped as Callie crawled under my covers, slipping in next to me.
I was torn in two: stay and snuggle with her—I only had a few hours before I had to take her to the airport. Or figure out what the hell was going on.
She slipped an arm through mine and put her head on my shoulder. “I’m nervous.”
“About the internship?”
“What if everyone else is better than me?”
“No one is better than you.”
“You’re my sister. You’re supposed to say that.”
“Remember the gallery exhibit last year? You killed it,” I yawned, my brain cells starting to fire.
“But that was last year,” she continued. “There’s a new guy. He’s supposed to be really good.”
“Well then, bitch, up your game.”
“Hey!” She pushed me towards the edge of the bed, “you’re supposed to tell me I’m going to kick his ass.”
Squealing, I gripped the edge of mattress, trying not to fall off. “Girl! I’ma kick your ass if you push me off this bed.”
“You need to get out of bed, lazy.” She gave me one last half-hearted push before scooting in closer. She snuggled to my side, leaving very little room for me. “Go figure out why someone is on the roof.”
“And you go finish packing.”
“Ugh, I don’t wanna.”
“And I don’t wanna go to work today, but that’s freaking life.”
“Tell me about it,” she groused. Our gazes simultaneously shifted towards the ceiling as someone literally walked across the space above my room. ”Speaking of money, did you pay someone to fix the leak?”
”No.”
“Then...?”
“Then what?”
“Then—” she gave me an exasperated look, jerking her finger towards the ceiling. “Why the heck is someone hanging out on the roof?”
”Hell if I know,” I complained, pulling the covers back over my head. I didn’t want to adult today.
The sound of a loud clapping noise downstairs had me throwing off my covers. This time, I hurriedly pulled on shorts and a tank top before rushing out, with a quickly dressing Callie on my heels.
”Benson?” I called out as I hauled butt down the stairs, then turned the corner to see a whole freaking crew of men standing in my foyer. Callie rammed into my back at my sudden halt, and we both stared in horror at the men ripping up the hardwood flooring.
A bearded man rushed to greet me. ”I”m sorry Miss Duvall. We didn”t mean to wake you.” He shot an angry look at one of the men on his crew who gave me an abashed, apologetic look.
”What is going on here?”
The bearded man stared at me blankly. ”We”re fixing your flooring. We’ll have it done by today, as agreed.”
“But I,” I stammered, confused, and my stomach rolled with nerves, ”I don”t have the money to pay you.”
The bearded man looked at me like I had two heads. “The invoice’s paid.”
”What?”
Even Callie made a squawking noise.
“Mr. Craven paid,” he glanced at his phone, “a little over a week ago.” Right after I’d gone to the Magnolia.
”Mr. Craven?” My voice came out a squeak of disbelief. That man!
“He let us in this morning. Told us not to wake you.” I bet he did—didn’t want us to yell at him. “Did you...” Now Bearded man looked a little bit nervous. ”Did you not order this?
”I ...” I frowned, folding my arms across my chest. I was going to kill Rook. “Do you often come into people’s homes and tear up floors without the owner”s knowledge?”
“Frankly, people don”t often pay for repairs on homes they don”t own. He paid a hefty rush fee and demanded completion by today. We had to overnight the flooring from Indonesia.”
Of course. Midnight tonight was the deadline they’d given me to make a decision.
“I assumed that he owned the house.”
I could only blink at the boxes of hardwood flooring—the color perfectly matching the custom flooring. It was a rare dark color that my father had specially ordered.
”I...” I didn”t know what to say. There was already a hole in my foyer. What else could I do but let them finish?
At the sudden, distant buzz of a chainsaw, Callie and I forgot about the floor and, flinging the front door open, rushed into the yard. There was another crew outside, standing around my favorite tree—one of them had climbed it and was starting to saw into a limb. I watched in horror as the branch that used to hold our tire swing began to lean downward.
“No!” Callie exclaimed, and we sprinted across the yard, waving our hands for them to stop.
I grabbed the nearest body I could find—a Hispanic-looking male with a bright lime green t-shirt on that said, Timber Tech.
”Stop, stop!”
”I no speak English.” The man said, pointing towards another man. “Jefe over there.”
Growling, I stomped my way through the grass, ignoring the jabs to my bare feet.
”Excuse me!” I had to yell over the sound of the chain saw.
”Get back, please,” the man held out an arm, positioning me away from the tree.
”I said stop!” I yelled again, this time demanding his attention.
He shook his head, leaning forward, his hand going to his ear. “My hearing’s not good. What’d you say?”
”I said stop!” I screamed so loud that if he wasn”t already deaf, he would be.
He shook his head again, then walked away from me, yelling, “Hey Julio, parale!” Five men in the same lime green shirt all turned to stare at him. He made a cutting motion across his neck. “Parale, amigo!”
After a few seconds of motioning from the men on the ground, Julio finally stopped. Then all eyes were on me.
”What”s this then?” Grey speckled hair peeked out from under the man’s hat and wrinkles lined his eyes.
“You’re not supposed to cut that down,” I gestured emphatically at the tree, feeling a loss for that stupid limb. Out of all things.
”I was contacted by a Mr.—“
“Craven,” I growled.
”Ok,” He said sternly, “So you do know.”
“That’s my tree.”
He gave me a frustrated scowl. “Look, we’ve already started.”
”I”m not paying for what you”ve already done.”
“Already paid for.”
”And you”re supposed to finish it today.” I was furious with Rook.
A part of me knew that it was one of the sweetest things anyone had ever done for me. But the other, more practical, experienced part of me distrusted anything that man did.
”Yes,” he answered.
”I don”t want that tree cut down. I don”t care what you”ve been told or paid. Keep the money, I don”t care, but that tree isn’t coming down.”
”Are you sure? The branches are too close to the house. They could fall and damage that new roof.”
The roof!I”d forgotten about that. Swiveling, I turned to, sure enough, see a crew of men stripping shingles off my house.
For fucks sake…
”I don”t want the tree cut down,” I repeated myself, dealing with one thing at a time.
“Fine,” he threw his hands out, “but I can”t leave the branch like that. I could get sued for liability.”
“And maybe I”ll sue you for not checking the ownership of the property before you start cutting down trees.”
He sighed, shaking his head. Running a hand through his hair, he removed his hat and gestured to the tree. “Look, five branches need removal for safety. I”ll leave the rest, and tell Mr. Craven to shove off if he complains. Deal?”
I stared longingly at the already sawed into tree branch. Callie was no longer paying any attention to us, or the tree, but was practicing her Spanish with the workers.
Well, it was too late now, anyhow.
Just as I was about to respond, a gray Lincoln car appeared, slowly making its way up my driveway.
What the hell next? Rook apparently just left the gate open for anyone and their dog to enter my property. Which reminded me, how on earth did he get into my house?
”Fine,” I quickly agreed, already making my way towards the Lincoln. “But don”t touch any more than five branches.”
”You got it!” He called out, then, at his barked orders, his crew got back to work.
Within a few seconds, Callie had raced in front of me to greet the man exiting the Lincoln.
”Says he”ll only speak to you,” Callie had a hand on her hip, which was jutting out, a look of hot disbelief on her face. “Asshole,” she grumbled, not too quietly.
”Yes?” I didn”t even have the energy in me to argue with whatever was coming next.
”Are you Summer Duvall?”
”Yes.”
He reached into his sharp suit and pulled out a yellow, folded, manila envelope. He handed it to me. ”You”ve been served.”
* * *
Hot anger billowedup inside me. ”By whom?”
”It”s all in the paperwork.” Without another glance my way, he slid back into his car. No wonder the guy hadn”t even bothered to close his door.
”Who did this?” I yelled after him but he didn’t even pause.
As he drove off, I threw a rock, hitting his trunk. He sped off, and I stared after him, fuming. “Freaking coward.”
”Maybe I shouldn”t go.”
Callie”s words brought me back to my senses. ”No,” I grabbed her arm and began to drag her back to the house. ”I know who”s responsible for all this. I”m not letting him get between you and your dreams. Come on.”
Ignoring the sounds of the chainsaw, dropping roof shingles, and milling men who were now bringing in more boxes of flooring, I ushered her towards the stairs. “Go finish packing.”
”But—”
”No, no buts. You”ve been wanting to do this for forever. I”m going to make one phone call, and then we”re leaving. I’m taking you for a big breakfast, and then we”re dropping you off at the airport.” At her rebellious look, I smacked her butt, “Chop chop.”
She yelped, giggling, then at my continued insistence, she gave me the biggest, excited grin ever before racing up the stairs. Once I was certain she was in her room, I took in a deep breath. Trying to freaking calm down and deal with my emotions.
It was very nice of him to pay for all this. Like, super nice.
But, there was that dark, niggling feeling in my gut that he had ulterior motives.
Growing up, I saw men like him all the time—they smiled to your face while they stabbed you in the gut.
And this guy, this man, had weaseled his way into my life, being all bossy boss-face, and stubborn, and intrusive.
I didn’t know what his game was, yet, but I wasn’t going to let him push me around.
Placing the envelope on the kitchen counter, I fished my phone out of my pocket. Rook”s recent ignored texts lecturing me about eating healthy were on the screen. The guy’d been trying to get me to text him my daily food intake. What a controlling jerk.
I tapped his number and waited—it didn’t take long.
”Hello, Summer.” His voice was a dark rumble.
Every time I heard it, it made a shiver race up my spine and my insides flip flop. Goddamn if his voice wasn’t sexy.
”You”ve got a lot of nerve,” I ground out, ignoring the butterflies knocking around in my belly. ”I made it quite clear the house wasn”t for sale. And! You broke inside!”
“I must admit, I was expecting more of a ‘thank you’.”
“How did you even get a key? Stop coming here, stop letting people into my house without my permission. They could”ve done something to Callie!”
“That would never happen.”
“How do you know?”
“Because,” he growled, his voice a dark and dangerous sound that sent a prickling sensation across my skin, “they know better.”
The firm confidence of this man was unnerving.
“You can”t have my house!” I pounded a fist on the kitchen counter. “I’m not selling it to anyone!”
”I”m no longer interested in buying your property.”
“I--” his words took the heat from my voice. “You’re not?”
“No.”
“I don”t believe you. Why else would you do all this? Without my permission, I might add.”
There was a long pause, then a quiet, “That is a good question, Miss. Duvall.”
”What?” I stuttered, taken aback by the way he’d turned it on me. ”You tell me,” I spit out.
”I have yet to answer that for myself.”
You”re ridiculous!” I let out, exasperated.
”You would be the only person on this earth who would think that.”
The line went silent and I stared at the phone. “Hello?”
”You have one more visitor. She”s coming up the drive right now.”
”Seriously?!” I growled. ”You need to stop.”
”No one tells me when to stop.”
”What is it this time? Another summons or lawsuit?”
”Repeat that,” he barked.
”I said—“ the phone beeped with another call and I glanced at the screen. Amara. I bit down on my response. ”Hold on.”
I switched over, ignoring his complaining, ”Hey Amara, can I call you back? I”ve got to get Callie to the airport.”
”Summer?” A choked cry came from her throat.
”Shit. Hold on.” I went back to Rook. ”I gotta go. But if I find out that you”re suing me to try and get this house, I”ll rain down so much shit on you, you”ll wish you had pushed me into that grave, instead.”
“Summer, tell me wh?—”
I hung up on him, switching over and answering the doorbell at the same time. “What happened, Amara?”
”Summer. I”m in big trouble.”
Best friend mode activated.
“Who do I need to kill? Did Tyler do something?” I opened the door to a friendly looking girl on my doorstep and pointed to the phone.
Wearing a long black dress, a black beanie, and a nose ring, she nodded, saying she understood. Then held up several bags filled with...groceries?
”Summer,” Amara sobbed. ”I”m pregnant.”
“Oh my god!” In shock and not really thinking, I ushered the girl through the door. She rushed past me with about a bajillion bags on her arms, following the direction I pointed.
“That’s a—” I couldn’t think of what to say. “A lot.”
“It’s a nightmare! I’m not ready to be a mom! I have no idea what I’m going to do, and I—grrr…” I could practically feel her vibration through the phone, “I just can’t even right now.”
“Mmm,” I grunted, noncommittally, letting her get it all out.
“Exactly,” she hiccupped, her breath ragged and anguished. ”Except, when I went to tell Tyler, I was going to surprise him, ya know? Anyhow, so I snuck into his room, and he was…grrr. I think I’m going to kill him. He was—” she paused, “in the middle of screwing that girl.”
“What?!” I felt like a parrot. “Who?”
“You know—Jessica!”
I gasped. “That slimy maggot!”
“Exactly!! I wanted to murder him.” She kept going, rambling almost incoherently, and I listened intently, chiming in as I tipped the grocery lady and put away the food. When I was done, the cupboards and fridge were stuffed full. And Callie was leaving today! I was going to have to eat all this by myself?
For sure I’d have to take some to Benson.
And suddenly, Amara”s voice faded to the background as a realization washed over me.
I had everything I needed.
I’d had to sacrifice—the tax thing was pressing, so I’d pawned my precious birthday necklace, determining that it was worth it. Keeping the house would give me more memories and happiness.
But everything else… with the house fixed up and having full cupboards.
I could breathe.
My world suddenly felt lighter.
I wouldn’t need to sell my soul to the Magnolia after all.
I would still have to figure out a way to make things work, but at least I had some time.
My shoulders relaxed and I inhaled a hitching breath, the anger at Rook inside me burning away into something so much stronger.
Gratitude.
Even if he’d done it for jerk-ish reasons, I was still just so—so grateful, I wanted to cry.
Warmth washed over me, the feeling settling in my chest and gut, tingling my insides out.
I could breathe again!
And I knew it; I would have to swallow my pride and thank him. Despite the brazen and annoying way he’d gone about it, he had saved me.
Smiling, I murmured agreement to Amara”s ranting, spotting the envelope from earlier.
I absentmindedly opened it, pulling out a stack of papers and scanned over it.
My stomach dropped.
The blood drained from my face.
Something trapped in my throat and tears burned at my eyes.
Couldn’t breathe.
I was going to have to sign, after all.
Tears running down my face, I slid it back into the envelope and, putting the call on speaker phone so I could still hear Amara, I typed out a text.
I’ve decided to accept your offer.