8. Fia
Fia
“What do you mean he invited you to live with him?” Halle’s voice echoes through the cafe.
Two students sit in the far back corner with headphones on, eyes in books. Country music blares through the speakers—thanks to Halle—yet my cheeks still burn hot as I turn away from her to wipe the espresso machine down with a damp cloth.
“Lower your voice,” I hiss, eyeing those students. Neither look up. “No one can know about this. I’m serious. You have to take this to the freaking grave.” I nearly growl.
She pretends to zip her lips, but her eyes sparkle with mischief.
I straighten, throwing the towel onto the butcher-block counter beside me. “And I never said he invited me to live with him. I said he has an empty property I can crash at, rent free, while my house is being repaired.”
Halle grabs my arm. “Start from the beginning. I’m begging you.”
She lives for the plot, and normally I don’t indulge, but she is the only person who knows that Caden is helping me, and I desperately need someone to talk to about this whole situation.
I pull her close in, half hidden behind the coffee grinder.
“Caden called me on my lunch break, and told me they found mold in the hallway ceiling—” Just saying it makes my skin crawl.
Halle’s eyes widen. “That’s incredibly dangerous, Fia! I saw a documentary about a family that got these mystery illnesses, and it turned out to be black mold and—”
I cut off Halle’s rambling with a groan.
“Halle! Not helpful.”
She zips her lips again.
“I know it’s dangerous,” I spit out, pulling on the tip of my long braid, “so clearly, I can’t live there.”
“What about Penny? She has a guest room, right?”
“She lives too far away, but that’s beside the point.
” I shake my head, nausea biting my stomach.
“Penny doesn’t know anything about the house, and it has to stay that way.
She’ll make a huge deal out of it, and Danny will end up siding with her, and they’ll strong-arm me into selling the house.
They don’t think it’s worth the money to repair it. ”
“You know I’d invite you to live with me if I didn’t have three roommates from hell.”
I wave her off. “It’s okay, don’t even go there. This all happened so fast, I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.” My heart reacts, pattering wildly in my chest.
Halle is taking her last few classes this summer before she graduates with her degree in education, and though she’d take me in in an instant, I need a quiet place for Daisy. Her stability is all I’ve been worried about since Caden called.
My best friend eyes me. “So then, what are you going to do?”
“Well, like I said, Caden has a property that’s sitting unused. It’s fully furnished with two bedrooms and about fifteen minutes away.”
“So you’re moving in?”
“I can’t afford a rental, so what choice do I have?” I shrug, shoving my hands in my back pockets.
“Yeah, no, that’s a relief you have a solution . . .” Halle avoids my eyes and picks up a rag to wipe the already clean counter.
“What are you not saying?”
Her mouth opens and closes. “Isn’t it just so out of character for Caden to be so . . . involved?”
I chirp a laugh, leaning my hip against the counter. “Let me reassure you, he’s involved for selfish reasons.” I roll my eyes. “I mean yes, I’m grateful for the loan and housing, but it’s not out of the goodness of his heart. He knows without me this coffee shop would fail.”
“Look at you, such a hot commodity.”
We both laugh, but then the back door chimes and I bolt up, eyes over the espresso machine. Caden waltzes in with sunglasses still on and perfectly sun-kissed skin.
“Why the hell is he here?” I whisper to Halle as my heart races for no damn good reason.
Halle raises her eyebrows, looking me up and down.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Are you sure he just wants to help you because he cares so deeply about his business?” she mocks, and I don’t like her innuendo. It’s absurd. Caden and I are oil and water.
“I’m going to fire you,” I reply through tight lips.
“You’d have to ask your new landlord first.” She winks, and before I can react, a voice cuts through our whispers, low and stern.
“Fia, can we speak?”
My best friend spins away from me, but not before I catch the smirk on her face.
“Yes, coming,” I reply, closing my eyes briefly before following Caden into his office. I have to step over a box of syrup I forgot to unpack this morning.
He is dressed even more casual than normal with board shorts, a white T-shirt, and tennis shoes. He’s giving a whole surfer, skateboarder vibe with his dirty-blond hair raked back and secured loosely at the nape of his neck in a bun.
I cross my arms over my chest and remain near the office door.
But standing here still has me feeling exposed.
Not even a week ago, Caden knew next to nothing about my life.
He cut my paycheck and texted me weekly about brief business updates.
But now? He got a peep inside my very real, very messy, single-mom life.
He saw me in my freaking pajamas, for goodness’ sake.
It’s entirely unfair considering the only things I know about him are that he surfs, he has an abundance of discretionary funds, and his family owns a construction business.
“What’s up?” I break the silence as he leans over his desk, long arms reaching out to grab a piece of paper and pen.
“I just made a copy of the key to the property.” He waves a silver key on a keychain and then tosses it to me underhand.
I catch it, closing my fist around the metal and smiling tightly. “Oh right, thank you.”
He rubs a palm over his jaw. “You can also unlock the door using the last four digits of your phone number.”
I seal my lips and nod curtly.
“I’ll text you the address,” he says on an exhale. “I’m assuming you’ll want to move in as soon as possible.”
“Yes.” I swallow hard, palms growing clammy around the key. “I’m going to pack tonight and move in tomorrow, if that’s okay? I know I’m supposed to be training the new hires, but I have a sitter lined up during the workweek and—”
“Sure,” Caden replies dismissively, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
“I’ll make sure Halle is prepped and can take over training for the day.”
“Whatever you need to do.” He rolls his shoulders back, locking in my gaze. “It goes without saying, but it’s very important you keep this entire situation between us.”
My heart falls into my belly. Halle knows, but I trust her with my life, she won’t say a peep. She’s the least of my concerns.
“No worries there, there’s no one to tell.” I force a laugh, but his brow creases as he watches me without another word. Caden just nods at me once. I wait a second, but he remains stoic.
Now that he got me to comply with his offers, he’s suddenly a man of silence again, like a bulletproof safe. He’s spun one-eighty from the guy in my kitchen this morning.
“Anyway, thanks again. I should get back out there.” Awkwardly I step towards the door.
And still, he says nothing.
I close his office door behind me, shaking my shoulders out.
I hate being indebted to someone, especially someone who controls the fate of my job, but as I shove the silver key into my pocket, relief pours over me. The house will be fixed, and Daisy and I have a place to stay.
Now onto the next two things at hand: figuring out how to keep this secret from my siblings for the next six weeks . . . and figuring out how to pay Caden back.
Little by little, I will. And this whole situation will be behind me.
One day, one step at a time.
I didn’t mention the change of housing to Luanne when I picked up Daisy today.
There’s no need—I will still drop her off and pick her up at the same times. Everything must remain steady for Daisy in that respect.
I already feel guilty enough for moving her temporarily.
The stroller bumps along the sidewalk as we walk home. She’s holding her stuffed giraffe in one hand and a snack cup with Cheerios in the other.
“It’s going to be a late night for Mama,” I tell her, making a mental list of what needs to be packed.
Half of me is filled with relief that the house will be safe and fixed in six weeks. The other half is full of anxiety over the change. But mostly I’m just exhausted.
And it’s only 4:00 PM.
When I push through the weathered iron gate, the hinges squeak and my heart aches. This is the last time I’ll be coming home for a while.
This is the home that’s always been my safety, it’s the only home I’ve ever lived in, that Daisy’s ever lived in, and now it’s trying to kill us with a weak roof and black mold.
“Let’s see the damage,” I say to Daisy as we walk through the front door and up the steps. Thick plastic lines the ceiling, almost as thick as the lump in my throat.
“Okay, change of plans, baby. We are sleeping downstairs tonight,” I say as I tickle her belly.
I don’t care if Eddie said the mold was contained and we’d be safe for another night, I’m not taking my chances.
As I unfold Daisy’s travel crib next to the sofa I’ll be sleeping on, the sound of distressed meows echo in the air. Quickly, I set Daisy down beside the sofa and dash to the powder room, whipping the door open. Hamburger screams another meow at me, and I reach down to scoop him into my arms.
“I’m so sorry, buddy. I forgot you were in here!” I kiss his head, my shoulders tense with guilt. I completely forgot I put him in here to keep him safe from the crew today.
The smack of squishy palms sounds down the hall before Daisy comes crawling up to my leg, pinching it with her little fingers as she pulls herself to her feet.
“You don’t think I’m the worst mom in the world, right?” I ask her, but she just smiles, drool on her chin. That’s when I spot a little white tooth poking through red gums.
It’s going to be a late night indeed.