Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Natalie
Istretched my arms over my head and looked around the little cabin. How could a place so small be so dirty? I couldn’t imagine how disgusting it would have been if Ash hadn’t been coming by every few months to make sure nothing was getting inside.
It never occurred to me that rodents and other animals would love an empty cabin in the winter. I shuddered. Gross. Thank God for Ash.
Mmm, Ash. The guy I’d known had grown into an incredibly attractive man.
The kind of person who would look after our cabin rather than tearing it down.
They didn’t make men like that very often.
Even out here, this piece of land was worth a decent amount of money. He could have sold it. But he didn’t.
I needed to stop thinking about him. I was here to get my life sorted, not complicate things more.
I stretched again. What I needed was a long, hot shower. I pulled out the towels I’d brought with me from my bag and made my way into the small bathroom and looked at the old hard-shelled shower in the corner.
I’d never understood how my grandpa even fit inside the thing. It was barely big enough for me. How a fully grown man fit comfortably, I’d never know. How did he even wash his hair in there for all those years? I eyed the old shower curtain. Gross. A new one of those was definitely on the list.
I peeled back the curtain and turned on the water. The pipes groaned and sputtered as dirty water poured out, quickly turning clear. Oh, thank God. I closed the curtain to give the water a chance to warm up.
I wrestled my way out of my sweaty sports bra before dropping it on the floor with the rest of my clothes.
Dang it. My shampoo.
Naked, I peeked my head out of the bathroom, then laughed at myself.
Who did I think I was going to see? For some unknown reason, I dashed to the bedroom.
What was I doing? I walked around a dressing room practically naked all the time and had costume people I’d just met touch my body and yet here I was streaking through this tiny cabin like my nudity was something that might offend the gods of the woods.
Grabbing my shampoo, I walked slowly back to the bathroom, pulled back the shower curtain and screamed. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,” I chanted as I quickly turned off the tap. It didn’t seem to stop the bubbling mess of disgustingness that seemed to multiply by the second out of the drain.
How did I make it stop?
The brown, chunky mud hit the top of the shower basin, and I prayed it didn’t go over the edge. I frantically searched for a plunger or anything that might make the water disappear. There was nothing.
I glanced back at the shower. It seemed to be holding at the moment, not going up or down. I took a couple of steps closer to the shower and wrinkled my nose. Please tell me that wasn’t sewage. It didn’t smell like it, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t. Oh God.
I darted back into the bedroom, grabbed my phone, and called the only person I could think of.
“Ash. Hey, it’s Natalie. Um, I have a little problem.”
“What’s up?”
“Um, my shower is…well, it seems to be alive.”
“What do you mean, alive?”
“I don’t know. It’s bubbling and sputtering and absolutely disgusting.”
A deep, masculine sigh sounded on the other end of the line. “I’m on my way.”
“Thanks.”
“Yep.” The line went dead.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God Ash was coming. He’d know how to fix this. My shoulders dropped, my hands hit my bare thighs and I jolted. I was naked. Not exactly the best way to greet a guy for helping me fix my shower.
Well, I mean, maybe it was.
No, I shook my head. Definitely not. I glanced around.
My old clothes were still in the bathroom, but the idea of putting them back on was gross.
I scooped a pair of baggy sweats out of my bag and put them on, not bothering with underwear.
Grabbing a double-lined, cropped yoga tank with good nipple coverage, I threw it on and called it a day.
Dressed, I popped back into the bathroom. The shower lip was holding the line. The shower coughed, and dirty water shot straight up into the air. I stepped closer to see if that was enough to dislodge something free, but apparently not. What the hell was down there?
At the sound of tires on the gravel, I made my way to the front of the cabin and pulled open the door.
Relief flooded me when I saw Ash hopping out of his truck.
He reached into the truck bed and grabbed a toolbox.
The muscles in his shoulders and arms bulged as he brought the box around comfortably.
He pulled up short as he looked at me. His gaze lingered on my bare midriff, and his jaw clenched. I glanced down at myself. Was that a good clench? A bad clench?
I shifted uncomfortably and moved from one foot to the other. He wouldn’t be the first guy to find my body off-putting. I closed my eyes. God, I hoped he wasn’t one of them.
“You changed,” Ash said.
“Well, yeah, it was either this or answer the door naked. So, you’re welcome,” I joked.
His jaw clenched again as his gaze dropped to my chest. He cleared his throat. “Appreciate it, that might have been a little distracting.”
A little distracting? Ouch. Naked me was supposed to be a whole lot distracting. “Hey. I know they’re small, but they’re mighty.”
“What?” He blinked at me in confusion.
“My boobs. I know they’re small, but they’re still boobs.”
“Trust me, I’m very aware,” he mumbled.
“Good.” I smiled at him, enjoying the awareness simmering between us. “Now go be all manly and fix my shower, please.”
Ash smirked. “Yes, ma’am.”
My stomach fluttered at the way he looked at me. One part amusement, one part pure masculine predator. Yum.
Focus.
“I was about to have a shower, but it’s not draining.”
“Let’s have a look.” He walked into the bathroom and stopped at the edge of the shower. He crouched down and, without even hesitating, stuck his hand into the brown mess.
“Ew, don’t you want gloves or something?” I screeched.
He chuckled. “I’ve had my hands in worse.”
“That is not something a girl wants to hear.”
He snorted.
“Please tell me it’s not sewage,” I pleaded.
“It’s not sewage.”
“No… but, really, it’s not sewage, right?”
He glanced at me and shook his head indulgently.
“No, Nat, it’s not sewage. It’s dirt and debris.
I’m just not entirely sure why.” He grabbed his screwdriver and reached into the shower basin.
A moment later he set the drain cap on the ground.
He pulled out a handful of dirt and what looked like little tree roots.
“What is that?” I asked.
“It looks like the trees have grown into your pipes.”
Trees in the pipes. That didn’t sound good. Or cheap. “Can you fix that?”
“Yeah, it can be fixed. I just don’t have the stuff with me right now. I can probably get it drained enough for the water to go down tonight, but you can’t shower until it’s fixed.”
“I can’t shower?” What was I supposed to do without a shower?
“You can shower at my place tonight, and I’ll get one of my guys to come by tomorrow and clean it out.”
“You have guys that can do that?”
“We do build houses for a living, Nat, so yeah, I’ve got a plumber.”
“I know you build houses, but I just thought installing the plumbing might be different from whatever this is.”
“It is different, but it’s not that uncommon to need this done.
Most of the houses we build have a lot of trees nearby, and they don’t like to be told where they can and can’t grow.
We get called out by owners who think it’s a problem with our build when really it’s just Mother Nature telling us not to get too comfy on her spot. ” He chuckled.
I eyed the shower. “I guess that’s one way of looking at it.”
“Let me just get this cleaned up a bit and we can head back to my place for you to shower.” He hopped up and left the room.
A minute later he returned with a contraption of some sort that he shoved into the drain.
He pulled out a massive clump of what looked like hair and roots, and God knows what.
Whatever it was, it was enough for the drain to release and the dirty water disappeared.
“That should do it for today.” He started packing up his stuff. “You got plans for tomorrow?”
“No, not really. I was maybe going to go for a hike, but nothing much.”
“If you aren’t home when Mark gets here, are you okay with him coming inside, or would you rather I call you in the morning once I know what the day looks like and give you a time?”
“Um, I’m fine with him coming in, but a heads-up would be nice, just…” I shrugged. “You know.”
“No problem.” He picked up his toolbox and snake-like-thing. “Why don’t you grab your stuff, and we can head to my place?”
“I’ll just follow you there.” The least I could do was drive myself. It was bad enough that I was imposing on him to shower and fix my drain. He didn’t need to be my chauffeur as well.
“I don’t mind bringing you back.”
“Don’t be silly. Once you’re home, you should be allowed to stay home.”
He shrugged. “Your call. I’m good with either.”
I placed my hand on his forearm and gave it a little squeeze. “Thank you, I really appreciate this. Me coming back wasn’t supposed to make more work for you, and yet here I am, adding more to your list.”
He placed his hand on top of mine and squeezed. “It’s not a problem, Nat. Besides, I’ve been saving you since the summer I met you.” He winked.
“Don’t remind me.” I cringed. “I still can’t believe that little shit put gum in my hair.”
He chuckled. “I can still picture you and my sister trying to figure out how to get that wad of pink Hubba Bubba out of your hair without leaving a bald patch.”
I winced. “Your sister was planning on shaving it off. You saved me from a life of preteen embarrassment.” I’d fallen a little in love with him that day.
Not only had he been the cutest boy I’d ever seen, but he’d painstakingly removed the gum from my hair with no visible damage.
“Who knew a teenage boy, ice cubes, and peanut butter would save my life.”
He snorted. “Pretty sure no one has died from gum in their hair.”
I raised my eyebrows at him. “Clearly you have never been a girl. A huge bald spot on my head would have been mortifying. If I hadn’t died of that, I’m pretty sure my grandpa would have killed me because I wouldn’t have left the cabin all summer.”
“I’ll give you that. Can’t picture your Pops tolerating that.”
“Oh, I had such a crush on you after that.” I sighed.
“Yep, I remember.”
My eyes widened. “You knew?”
He cringed. “Kind of hard not to.”
“Oh, that’s embarrassing. I thought I was so cool when you were around. Especially after Beth threatened me with death if I tried to date you.”
“Sorry to burst the bubble. You were definitely not chill. You turned beet red every time I came in the room.”
“Oh my God, please tell me that’s not true.” I covered my mouth with my hands in embarrassment.
“Afraid so.” He nodded. “Besides, you were twelve. A worldly fourteen-year-old like me was interested in a more mature woman. I was all about the boobs that summer, and you hadn’t hit that spurt yet.”
My head bobbed slowly in agreement. “Unfortunately, that growth spurt never really happened, so I’m still out of the running.”
His gaze dropped to my chest, then back to my face. “You keep talking about your boobs, but…not to be a total guy about it.” He shrugged his hand. “From where I’m standing, they look pretty spectacular.”
I could feel the heat rush across my face. “Thanks.”
“And there it is.” He chuckled. “Nice to see some things never change.” He tapped my nose and walked toward the front door.
I closed my eyes. Mortified. What was it about this guy that I reverted to my teenage self? I couldn’t remember the last time I blushed about anything, and here I was blushing like a schoolgirl.