The Leak Between Us (Rough Hands Hearts #1)

Chapter 1 Burst Pipe

The Flood

Rain tapped steadily against the tall kitchen windows, turning the late afternoon into a blur of gray shadows and silver streaks.

The weather forecast had promised three straight days of storms, and from the look of the dark clouds hanging over the neighborhood, Oregon intended to deliver exactly that.

Liam Carter sat at the large dining table with a textbook open in front of him, a yellow highlighter resting between his fingers.

Several pages of handwritten notes were spread around him in a messy circle, evidence of an entire day spent studying.

He had been staring at the same paragraph for nearly ten minutes without absorbing a single word.

His gaze drifted toward the rain-covered window.

Beyond the glass, water rolled down the driveway in shallow streams. The maple trees lining the street bent slightly beneath the wind. Everything looked cold and distant.

A lot like his future.

With a sigh, Liam dropped the highlighter onto the table and rubbed his tired eyes.

The literature exam scheduled for next week should have been his biggest concern. Instead, his mind kept returning to the tuition payment due at the end of the month. Every time he thought about it, a knot tightened in his stomach.

Student loans already followed him like a shadow. Another semester meant more debt, more uncertainty, and more questions he couldn't answer.

What happened after graduation?

Would he find a job?

Would his degree actually matter?

Would he spend the next ten years paying off loans while pretending he had everything figured out?

The questions never seemed to stop.

Liam leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling.

The house felt too large when he was alone.

It wasn't an old mansion or anything dramatic, but it was much bigger than a single college student needed. His parents had bought it years ago when their careers began taking off. Back then, they'd talked excitedly about family dinners, holidays, and spending time together.

Then work happened.

International contracts.

Business trips.

Temporary assignments overseas that somehow became permanent.

Now they spent more time in airports than at home.

For the past three months, Liam had been living alone while they worked in Singapore. According to their latest plans, they wouldn't return for another three months.

The silence inside the house sometimes felt heavier than the rain outside.

His phone buzzed across the table.

Liam glanced down and saw his mother's name on the screen.

A small burst of hope appeared despite himself.

He answered immediately.

"Hi, Mom."

"Hello, sweetheart."

The connection crackled slightly.

For a few moments they exchanged the usual greetings. She asked about school. He said everything was fine.

She asked about the weather. He told her it was raining.

The conversation felt strangely familiar.

Not warm.

Not cold.

Just distant.

"We might have to extend our stay another few weeks," his mother said casually. "Nothing definite yet, but there's a possibility."

Something inside Liam sank.

"Oh."

"You don't mind, do you?"

He looked around the empty dining room.

The untouched dinner dishes from yesterday sat drying beside the sink.

A stack of mail rested on the counter waiting for him to sort through it.

Every room in the house echoed when he walked through it.

"No," he said quietly. "That's fine."

"You're doing okay on your own?"

"I'm okay."

It wasn't entirely true, but it wasn't entirely false either.

He was surviving.

Sometimes that seemed to be enough.

His mother continued talking about work schedules and meetings. Liam listened politely, adding comments when necessary.

Eventually she glanced at something on her end.

"I have to go, sweetheart. We're heading into a meeting."

"Okay."

"We'll call again soon."

"Sure."

"I love you."

Liam hesitated for the smallest moment.

"Love you too."

The call ended.

The silence returned immediately.

For several seconds he stared at the dark screen in his hand.

A familiar emptiness settled in his chest.

His parents loved him.

He knew that.

The problem was that love sometimes felt very different from presence.

Liam set his phone down and forced himself to focus on studying again.

A few minutes later, his attention wandered once more.

This time it drifted toward an unopened email notification sitting in the corner of his laptop screen.

Student Account Services.

Even without opening it, he knew what it contained.

Another reminder.

Another payment deadline.

Another polite warning about tuition balances.

He groaned softly and shut the laptop.

Maybe a short break would help.

He pushed away from the table and headed toward the kitchen.

The room was warm and bright despite the weather outside. Liam opened a cabinet and reached for a mug.

Coffee sounded like a good idea.

Something strong enough to keep him awake through another evening of studying.

He had barely filled the kettle when a loud metallic crack echoed beneath the sink.

Liam froze.

The sound was sharp and violent.

For a second everything became completely still.

Then came the hiss.

His eyes widened.

"Oh no."

Water exploded from beneath the sink cabinet.

A powerful stream shot outward, slamming against the cabinet doors before pouring across the kitchen floor.

Liam stumbled backward.

"What the hell?"

Within seconds water spread in every direction.

Panic surged through him.

He dropped to his knees and yanked open the cabinet.

The sight waiting inside made his heart sink.

One of the pipes had split completely.

Water sprayed everywhere.

Directly at him.

Liam flinched as icy droplets hit his face.

His mind raced.

Turn it off.

Stop the water.

Do something.

He grabbed the pipe instinctively.

That turned out to be a terrible idea.

The pressure forced more water through the break, soaking his sweatshirt.

"Come on," he muttered desperately.

He searched beneath the sink for a shutoff valve.

Everything looked unfamiliar.

Metal fittings.

Connections.

Pipes twisting into the wall.

Nothing made sense.

Water continued pouring onto the floor.

The growing puddle reached the legs of the dining table.

Panic threatened to take over completely.

No.

Think.

Move.

Liam forced himself upright.

His laptop.

The extension cords.

Anything electrical.

He rushed into action.

Within minutes he carried electronics into the living room and lifted important items onto higher surfaces. Books, chargers, paperwork, and anything valuable disappeared from the expanding flood zone.

The water kept spreading.

His socks became soaked.

Rain hammered the roof.

The entire situation felt unreal.

When he finally ran out of ideas, Liam grabbed his phone.

His fingers shook while searching online.

Emergency plumber.

The first local company appeared.

He pressed call immediately.

The woman answering sounded calm and professional.

Liam wished he felt half as calm.

He explained the situation as quickly as possible.

Burst pipe.

Water everywhere.

Home alone.

Please help.

"We have someone available," the dispatcher said. "He can be there in about thirty minutes."

Relief washed through Liam.

"Thank you."

"We'll send him right away."

The call ended.

Now all he could do was wait.

Liam stood near the kitchen window watching rain race down the glass.

The house suddenly felt fragile.

One broken pipe and everything had become chaos.

Outside, headlights appeared through the storm.

A dark work truck turned into the driveway and slowly rolled toward the garage.

The company logo was printed across the side.

The vehicle stopped.

The driver's door opened.

A large figure stepped out into the rain.

Liam's pulse jumped unexpectedly.

The plumber had arrived.

First Knock

Mason Reed killed the engine of his truck and sat for a moment listening to the rain hammer against the windshield.

It had been a long day.

The kind that started before sunrise and somehow managed to get worse with every hour.

A clogged sewer line in the morning.

A broken water heater before lunch.

A restaurant kitchen emergency that had delayed his entire afternoon schedule.

Now, nearly twelve hours after leaving home, he was responding to one final emergency call before he could finally call it a night.

He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck and glanced toward the house.

The place was bigger than most homes in the neighborhood. Warm lights glowed behind several windows despite the storm. Water reflected across the driveway in shimmering puddles.

According to dispatch, the homeowner had reported a burst pipe beneath the kitchen sink.

Simple enough.

At least, it should have been.

Mason grabbed his tool bag from the passenger seat and stepped out into the rain.

Cold water immediately soaked through his work boots.

He ignored it.

After fifteen years in plumbing, getting wet barely registered anymore.

The front door opened before he reached the porch.

A young man stood inside.

For a second Mason forgot why he was there.

The kid couldn't have been much older than twenty.

Dark hair fell across his forehead in damp waves. His oversized sweatshirt was soaked from the chest down, and worry filled every inch of his face.

The first thing Mason noticed wasn't how attractive he was.

It was how overwhelmed he looked.

Like someone trying very hard not to panic.

"Plumber?" the young man asked.

Mason nodded.

"You called about a burst pipe?"

Relief immediately flashed across the guy's features.

"Yeah. Thank God."

Mason followed him inside.

The warmth of the house hit him immediately.

So did the sound of running water.

"Kitchen," the young man said quickly. "It's still going."

Mason set down his tool bag.

"Show me."

The kitchen looked exactly like he'd expected.

Maybe worse.

Water covered most of the floor.

Several towels had been thrown down in a desperate attempt to contain the spread.

Cabinet doors stood open beneath the sink.