Chapter 13 #2
“You don’t need to rush out. I’d be surprised if they don’t have to completely gut the apartment. The carpet needs to be replaced, and the patio doors are destroyed. I was actually going to head over there here in just a bit so I can get them properly boarded up for you.”
“You don’t need to do that. You’ve already done enough.” I gesture toward the apartment. “I’d say we’re more than even.” I laugh awkwardly, unsure how to handle the intensity of the expression on his face.
“I want to help.”
“Because you care what happens to us,” I reply, repeating what he’d said only a few minutes ago. “Though I still can’t figure out why. I mean, until I found you on your floor, we’d never spoken.”
“What is it you said to me? Kindness doesn’t need familiarity.” He grins, and I might as well have been reduced to a puddle on the floor.
I smile at him. “Fair enough, Mr. Holt.”
He leans in, gaze sparkling with something I’d rather not look too closely at. “I’m glad you think so, Miss Ellis.”
“I still can’t believe my doors broke. I mean, why mine and not yours?”
“Did you chain down your patio furniture?”
I stare at him, half-expecting it to be a joke. “Was I supposed to?”
He arches a brow. “Around here, the wind can get pretty strong.”
Embarrassment and frustration quickly push aside everything else, and I run both hands over my face. “This is going to be an expensive fix.”
“Nah, it’ll be fine.”
“It’s my fault they broke.”
“And we can fix it. Seriously, Katelyn, don’t worry about it.”
Throat burning, I try so hard not to wear my emotions on my sleeve. How am I supposed to afford it? Will my renters’ insurance be enough to cover it?
“Katelyn.”
I open my eyes, mortified that they’re full of tears.
He steps around the counter and stops in front of me, but he doesn’t reach out. What does it say about me that I want him to?
“I’m sorry. I just—”
“We’re going to get it fixed.”
But at what cost?
“I know. Everything will be fine. It’s just a lot.”
“I’m here for you. Whatever you need. Let me help.”
“You’ve already helped enough.” I wipe my cheeks and look up at him. The emotions swirling in his dark gaze are enough to have my breath catching in my throat.
Oh, this is a mistake.
There’s a sharp knock on the door that breaks the moment between us. Garrison heads toward the door, and I watch him pause just on the other side as he checks the peephole before pulling it open.
“Hey, Mr. Holt. Sorry, I know I’m a little early.” The voice reaches me before I can see who’s there, cutting a conversation short that was getting far too intimate. Especially since Garrison has this ability to make me forget every reason we won’t work.
“No problem at all, Kyle, come on in.” Garrison steps aside as a boy who looks to be only a few years older than Thomas walks in, wearing dark jeans and a black hoodie sweatshirt.
He removes his hat once inside and toys with it when he sees me.
“Kyle, you remember Ms. Ellis. I’m going to go change, and I’ll be right back. ”
“Nice to see you again, Ms. Ellis,” Kyle says. His gaze darts away from me quickly, though, almost as if I make him nervous. My heart aches for this boy who has clearly seen a bit too much of the darkness in this world.
“It’s nice to see you again, too,” I reply with a smile. “Thomas has always spoken highly of you. He said that you came to his rescue when some bullies cornered him shortly after we’d moved to town.”
“Thomas is cool. Always nice to everyone.”
I smile. “That makes me very grateful to hear. So, are you working with Garri—Mr. Holt today?”
He nods. “He’s about the only one who hasn’t given up on me completely. I’ve made some mistakes.”
Like bringing a knife to school? Even though that weapon could have posed a risk to Thomas, I can’t find any anger at the boy trying to protect his sister. “He definitely seems like a good man.”
“Yeah. I don’t deserve the chance he’s giving me, but I appreciate it anyhow.”
I smile at him, appreciating his candidness. “What are you guys going to be doing today?”
“Uh, I think we’re boarding up windows.”
“My windows?” I ask, honestly surprised. Has Garrison already made official plans to start working on my apartment?
“I think so. Thomas said you lived next to Mr. Holt. So, if so, then yes.” He smiles at me, and a bit of the darkness slips away. “I’m happy to help. More than, really.”
“Well, I really appreciate it.” I return his smile. “Will you excuse me for just a second?”
“Of course. Yeah.”
“Thanks.” I push off the stool and head down the hall. Garrison’s door is cracked, so I gently push it open…only to have the air knocked from my lungs when I see him standing partially in his closet, his shirt in hand. “Sorry, I—”
He turns toward me, revealing the still-healing scar on his side, along with quite an assortment of others on his chest and abdomen. Heat spreads through me like a wildfire as attraction burns heavy in my gut.
Oh boy.
I’d seen him shirtless before, but then he’d been covered in his own blood and barely clinging to life.
Now, every inch of a hair-dusted, muscled chest is on full display.
DANGER. The word echoes through my mind like a battle cry.
“Sorry, hang on.” Moving quickly, he shrugs into a long-sleeved shirt. “Sorry, Kyle’s a good kid, but I wasn’t sure how comfortable you would be being left alone with him, so I kept the door cracked just in case. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I—” Get it together, Katelyn. Why am I in here again?
“Katelyn?”
“I can’t date you.” I blurt the words out without thinking, then immediately wish I could take them back. “Sorry. I don’t know if that’s what you’re trying to do, but if it is, then you need to know that I—”
“I would absolutely love to date you,” he interrupts. “But that’s not why I’m helping.”
I stare at him, taken aback by his candid response and my very potent reaction to it. “I—then why are you helping me?”
Garrison cocks his head to the side. “I thought we covered this earlier? With your own words, might I add.”
“I just… You don’t even know me. Not really. And this is a whole lot more than some frozen food.”
“So, not really knowing someone should keep us from helping?” He crosses his arms. “Do you know the parable of the Good Samaritan?” When I continue staring back at him while I try to recall the story, Garrison continues.
“A man traveling to Jericho was attacked by robbers. They stole his clothes and beat him. By the time they were done with him, he was half dead. A priest and a Levite both traveled down that road, and even though they saw him, they left him there to die. But when a Samaritan happened upon him, he took pity on the injured man and bandaged his wounds. He then took the man from where he was on the side of the road to an inn to take care of him. When it was time for him to leave, he paid the innkeeper out of his own pocket and promised to return and reimburse him for any additional expenses as the innkeeper cared for the injured man.”
“I’m hardly a beaten man on the side of the road,” I reply, though it’s not entirely far from the truth, when you take into consideration what’s happened to me in my past.
Garrison leans in, close enough I can make out flecks of copper in his dark eyes. “God calls on us to love our neighbors. To care for others. I’m helping you because it’s the right thing to do. And because the thought of anything happening to you or Thomas is unthinkable.”
Tears threaten, stinging the corners of my eyes. It’s been years since I’ve had anyone to look out for me. Since I let anyone close enough to do just that. Truth be told, if Thomas weren’t so happy in this town, I likely would have already left this place behind me.
But for the first time, I want to stay.
I want to fight for my place here.
And I’d be a liar if I didn’t at least admit to myself that part of the reason has to do with the man standing in front of me.
Garrison clears his throat and steps back, then offers me his hand. “So what do you say, Katelyn Ellis? Want to be my friend? No strings attached? No romantic relationship on the horizon?”
I study his large hand, knowing that I would love to be so much more than that. But with secrets like mine, it’s just not possible. So I take his hand, letting the large, calloused palm envelop mine. “Friends.”
Garrison beams. “Then this friend is going to go get started boarding up your windows. If you have time, you should come get some of your belongings and bring them over here so you have them.”