Chapter 5 #2
I shrugged. “I don’t really know. He showed up one day undernourished with a bunch of scars on his nose and one ear ripped to shreds.
I’m not sure if he was part of a dog-fighting ring or if he was just a stray.
We got some weight on him and taught him some manners.
He’s been available for adoption for a few months but hasn’t had any takers. ”
“You’re a good boy, aren’t you?” Alex ruffled the short hair behind Buster’s good ear. “Seems like a lovable guy.”
“He is. If we can teach him how to behave himself, he might qualify for a program I’m putting together that helps veterans get acclimated to life after the military.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yep.” It was still in the planning stages, but I was hopeful my partnership with the nonprofit would pan out.
Helping the dogs was one thing, but if I could manage to help the dogs and some of my fellow military men and women—then I might feel like I hadn’t been wasting my time in the middle of nowhere while life seemed to pass me by.
“What’s going on over there?” Alex pointed to the bucket sitting in the middle of the floor.
“Another leak. Hopefully I’ll get the guy out here to take a look at it before we have another storm.”
“I’d be happy to check out your roof,” Alex offered. “Do you have a ladder around?”
“You know about roofs?”
“Yeah. I worked for a roofing crew for a few months to make enough cash to travel. Can’t be anything too difficult.”
I shrugged. “Okay then. That would be great if you could take a look.”
“Where’s that ladder?”
“Let me get it for you.” I led the way outside and around the back of the building to where a tall extension ladder lay sideways on the ground.
He grabbed it and propped it up next to the building. “Where’s the leak coming from?”
I pointed to the roof. “I’ve got two of them. One in the front office area and another one that’s getting worse over in that corner.”
“I’ll take a look.” He checked to make sure the ladder was level and then started up to the roof. Once he reached the top, he turned around and his eyes grew wide as I climbed up after him.
He offered a hand as I cleared the roofline. I took it, sliding my hand into his. The feel of his skin on mine ricocheted through me. He may have felt a little flicker of something, too. The way his mouth parted as our fingers twined made me think he might not be so immune to my touch, either.
“You didn’t have to come up here. I could have filled you in.” He stood next to me, not letting go of my hand.
“It’s better for me to see for myself.” I didn’t mind. In fact, I enjoyed the way his palm felt against mine. It led me to imagine how the rest of him might feel pressed against me.
“You said it’s leaking from this corner?”
I nodded and reluctantly let my hand slide out of his as he stepped to the edge of the roof.
“Feels spongy over here. Has it leaked in this spot before?” As he leaned over, placing his hand near the darkened circle to get a better look, the roof shifted underneath him.
One moment he was there, the next he was gone.
I screamed, my pulse thundering through my ears as I rushed to the edge of the gaping hole he’d left in the roof.
Alex sprawled across the ground below, covered in debris.
“Don’t move, I’m coming.” I almost lost my footing as I rushed to the edge and scrambled down the ladder. I never should have let him go up on the roof. How many times had I told myself it wasn’t safe? Especially not with a known leak. I’d be lucky if he didn’t sue me.
As I flung the door open and raced through the office to the back of the building, my heart pumped so fast I thought it might explode right out of my chest. He had to be okay.
Finally, I caught sight of him. He’d fallen on top of a pile of baby mattresses that had been donated to the shelter to use as beds for the larger dogs. The breath I’d been holding slowly dissipated. Maybe he wasn’t dead. Please don’t let him be dead.
“Are you okay?” I leaned over him, searching for broken bones.
“Wow, did that look as uncool as I think it did?” He struggled to prop himself up on an elbow.
“Are you hurt?” My hand closed around his, and I helped him come to a seated position.
He patted his hand over his torso, his legs, and his head. “I think I’m okay. How far did I fall?”
We both looked up at where a man-sized hole let the afternoon light in through the roof.
“I think it’s about eighteen feet,” I said. “Are you sure you’re not hurt? Do you need to go to the hospital? See a doctor? Are you going to sue me?”
“Sue you?” He scowled. “I’m the dumbass who offered to take a look at your roof. You should probably sue me for making the damage worse.”
I sighed, the tension flooding from my system, leaving me shaky and a little unsteady on my feet.
“But don’t sue me, please?” Alex gave my hand a squeeze. “I’m pretty sure I’m not insured for that kind of thing. And I promise I’ll help you fix it.”
I shook my head. “I think I’ll wait for the professionals to handle this. You’ve kind of done enough.”
“I can at least get a tarp up there to tide you over until your repair guy comes through.”
“Did you hit your head?”
“No, I don’t think so.” For a moment his forehead creased, and he patted his hands over his head. Finding no reason for concern, he shook his head slightly.
“Well, you must have if you think I’m going to let you go back up there. I’ll get someone out here tomorrow if I have to drag him here myself.”
Alex shifted on the stack of mattresses and put his feet on the floor. “If you change your mind . . .”
“I won’t. But I do appreciate the offer.” I leaned over to brush some slivers of wood from his shirt. “You’ve got stuff on your back.”
“I’m just glad those mattresses broke my fall. Thank God they were there.”
Thank God, thank my lucky stars, thank everything in the universe for making sure Alex had a soft space to land. I couldn’t afford the claim on my insurance, not to mention what Lacey would do to me if the biggest wedding in the history of Ido fell through because I’d taken out the penguin guy.
Alex got to his feet and wiped the remaining bits of insulation from his jeans. He took a few steps toward the door leading to the front office, when a loud cracking noise exploded from the ceiling.
I looked up in time to see a whole section of the ceiling collapse. I yelled, my feet frozen in place. Then something crashed into me, sending me sailing across the room.
Alex covered me with his body, his broad chest pinning me to the ground. A cloud of dust rose around us, and I coughed, more from his crushing weight than from the aftermath of the ceiling falling.
“Are you hurt?” He pushed up onto a hand.
My lungs filled with air, making my chest rise and fall.
His gaze settled on my face. I could tell by the heat flooding my system that my cheeks were red, and I flip-flopped back and forth from wanting to push him off me completely and pulling him into me to take advantage of that pouty bottom lip I’d been admiring.
“Zina?” He pushed up on the other hand, hovering over me. “You’re not hurt, are you?”
“I’m fine.” Flustered at exactly how flustered he made me feel, I willed myself to pull it together. My roof had just collapsed, and all I could think about was how his tongue might feel sliding against mine.
“I’m sorry. Here, let me help you up.” He staggered to his feet and held out a hand.
I hesitated, not wanting to expose myself to more contact. His touch, his heated gaze, his voice . . . the combination made me want to throw caution to the wind and dive headfirst into the attraction.
Shaking my head, I scrambled to my feet, sending all inappropriate thoughts about Alex scattering like the pieces of my roof that now blew around the concrete floor. “What am I going to do now?”
A shrill ring came from Alex’s pocket, and he pulled out his phone. “It’s Lacey.”
“Don’t answer it.” That’s all I needed was Lacey to remind me I should have had the roof repaired last time it leaked.
“What do you mean don’t answer it? I have to.” His brow crinkled as he held the phone to his ear. “Hello?”
I dusted off my pants. It was no use. At least the pups were okay.
The section of roof had collapsed over the supply area.
But I’d need to find a place to move them where they’d be safe until I could get the roof repaired.
The only place I could think of that had space had just been leased out to the man pacing across the concrete floor on the other side of the room.
By the time he hung up, I had a plan. A good plan.
“Sounds like Lacey wants to meet with us at her office in the morning. Are you available around ten?” Alex asked.
“Did she say what it’s about?”
“The wedding, I guess. Now what are you going to do about these dogs?”
“About that.” I braced myself for a bit of a battle. “I have an idea.”
“Okay, let’s hear it.” Alex gave me a smile.
I wondered how long that would last when he heard the details of my proposal. “So it looks like I’m in need of a space to hold the dogs until my roof gets fixed.”
“I think we’ve already agreed on that.” He leaned against a tall shelving unit that held extra bags of dog food that had been donated.
“And you happen to have some empty space that you won’t be using for a few months.” I summoned my biggest, brightest smile. “Win-win, right?”
“Whoa, wait a minute. I need to get a penguin habitat built if we’re going to have a shot at pulling off this wedding.”
“We?” I scrunched my nose. “There’s no ‘we’ here. That deal is between you and Lacey. What ‘we’ need to figure out is where we’re going to move the dogs since you single-handedly ruined their shelter.”
“Wow, single-handedly? From the looks of it, your roof was in pretty bad shape before I stepped foot on it.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine, you’re right. But you’ve got space and I have a need. A huge need. Can’t we work something out?”
“How long do you think it will take to fix the roof?”