Chapter 10
Waking up wrapped around Street in the morning started Rosa’s morning off fantastically.
Despite his urging to go back to sleep, Rosa had dragged herself out of bed with him to have a quick breakfast. When he’d had to leave, she’d waved at the front door until the rumble of his motorcycle had faded away.
Rosa missed him immediately. His absence sucked the air and energy out of the empty rooms. She wandered into the bedroom and smiled at the Devil Daddies blanket he’d folded neatly at the foot of the bed.
Instead of waking up shivering throughout the night, Rosa had slept soundly, curled up under the soft fabric.
Feeling more refreshed than she could remember, Rosa hugged the blanket. She never slept completely through the night. She crossed her fingers, hoping her panic wouldn’t return. Everything seemed better with Street. Who knew she just needed a big, tough biker dude in her life?
Laughing at that thought, Rosa walked into the family room. Street had suggested several activities she could do today while he was at work. He’d only asked her to keep the phone close. The new, shiny device sat on the kitchen table. As she considered it, a loud buzz made her jump.
Be good, Little girl.
Rosa grinned at the screen. He’d had a tough time leaving her this morning. That meant something, right? Did he have real feelings for her? No one had ever seemed to care about her like Street did.
Her mother had changed after her father’s passing.
After remarrying, her mom had purged her life of everything—furniture, clothing, hobbies.
Diving into her new life, she avoided spending time with Rosa, preferring to devote herself to her new husband and his daughter.
She treated Rosa as if her child was a painful reminder of her father’s tragic death rather than proof of the love she’d shared with him.
Rosa had learned to disappear in a room and not leave traces of her existence.
Tearing her thoughts away from the sadness of the past, Rosa pondered the activities Street had offered.
Not used to having free time, she couldn’t decide what to try.
Rosa flitted around the spotless cabin, cleaning and tidying a few things.
Street lived sparsely in the temporary home.
She wondered if he had more possessions for his own house.
As she remembered the new space, a thought popped into her head. She could go to his cabin and do a few tasks there to help. Rosa wasn’t trained in construction, but she bet she could find some project there to assist with.
Tugging on her tattered sneakers, Rosa grabbed her phone and a bottle of water.
She hesitated on the front step. Was the compound safe to leave the house unlocked?
Only the MC could get through the lot. Still leaving the front door open bothered her.
She decided to leave the kitchen one unsecured instead.
She retraced the path Street had taken her previously and headed for his new house.
She walked in easily through the open entrance that allowed air to waft through freely.
Standing in the middle of what would become the family room, Rosa pictured how he could arrange the space—a big TV over there would allow someone in the kitchen to watch as well, and an oversized couch could be against the far wall so they could snuggle together.
Before she could get too wrapped up in the possibilities, Rosa pinched her arm.
Sure, everything was wonderful now, but would Street really want her to stay with him forever?
She needed to prove to him she wouldn’t mooch off his job and place.
Contributing to the building effort would help her feel more comfortable as well.
Rosa had run into a lot of freeloaders over the years. She had more self-respect than that.
Getting to work, she wandered around the space, picking up debris.
Rosa made neat piles of nails and pieces of drywall and lumber, as well as organized the tools by type.
When she discovered a broom in the garage, she swept out the entire house and both vehicle bays, using a bucket to hold the dust and small scraps of supplies like a trash can.
“Hey! What are you doing?” a gruff voice demanded from behind her.
Startled that he’d snuck up on her, Rosa turned her back toward the closest wall, assessing him as a threat. She shot glances in several directions to find the best escape route. “Um, I’m Rosa. I’m staying with Street…”
Before she could finish her statement, the man had his phone out. When she eased toward the door, he held up his hand for her to stop, pinning her in place with a steely stare.
“Yeah, Pirate. Does Street have someone named Rosa okayed to be in the compound?”
“I’ve talked to Pirate….” She stopped rambling when the man shook his head. His eyes remained locked on her.
“Gotcha. Thanks, brother.”
The newcomer nodded at her. “You check out. Does Street know you’re here?”
“He’s aware that I’m in the compound,” Rosa said quickly.
“And in his new house?”
“No,” Rosa admitted. “I wanted to do something to help while he’s at the warehouse. I can go back to his place.”
The man studied Rosa as if assessing her. She stiffened her spine, trying not to show any weaknesses. Inside, she kicked herself for leaving the safety of Street’s house. This was a stupid idea.
Finally, he asked, “Are you the one who drove his bike to get away from the Ravagers?”
Rosa nodded as she eased toward the door leading to the garage. She asked him a question to cover her planned sprint for the door. “Does Street know you’re roaming around the construction zone?”
“Yeah. I’m Fury. I’m here to work on the pipes.”
“Oh, I see. I’ll get out of your way,” Rosa said, continuing to back away.
“I’m not going to hurt you. I could use some assistance if you’d like to work.”
“Doing what?”
“Can you measure accurately?” he asked, pinning her in place with an assessing look.
“Sure.”
“Ever cut PVC pipe? That’s like the plastic white tubing?”
“No, but I’m a fast learner.” Rosa never turned down an opportunity to pick up a new skill. Excitement flared inside her. Who knew how she could use that in the future?
“Call Street. Ask him if you can help me.”
“I don’t want to bother him,” Rosa said quickly as her hand automatically went to the rear pocket of her jeans where she had stashed the new phone.
“He’ll take a break.”
Rosa followed Fury’s directions and fumbled with the unfamiliar device. She’d watched people addicted to their phones for years. Who enjoys messing with this? Finally, she remembered what Street had shown her and selected his number. She kept her eyes on the large man as the phone connected.
“Dinorosa! Is everything okay?” Street demanded.
“Yes. Sorry to bother you,” she blurted. She could hear the beeping of big machinery reversing and chugging around him. Voices shouted over the rumble.
“I was going to check on you in a few minutes,” Street said. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“I came over to your new house to see if I could do anything to help over here. Fury arrived. He says I can help him with piping but wanted me to call you first.”
“Let me speak to him.”
Rosa walked closer to offer the device to Fury. “He wants to talk to you.”
“Street. I’m here laying pipe for the kitchen and bathrooms. Are you okay with me putting Rosa to work? She doesn’t seem like the lie-around-the-house type.”
Rosa bristled a bit at that and then mentally shook her head. Fury was right. She was so used to working hard as many hours as she could to survive. Just hanging around would drive her nuts. She tuned back into the conversation.
“Got it. I’ll find her gloves and go over safety with her.” After a slight pause, he added, “I’ll make sure she gets lunch and drinks water.”
Fury returned the phone to Rosa. “He probably wants to say something mushy.”
“Yes?” she asked, speaking to Street.
“Are you sure you want to help?” Street asked. “This isn’t glamorous.”
“Better than cleaning toilets at that dive bar. Men are gross.”
“Good point. Stop when you’re tired,” he demanded. “Promise me.”
“I promise,” she said, crossing her fingers at her side. She planned to do as much as she could to repay Street for her food and shelter.
“I’ll meet you at home around five. Be good, Little girl.”
“See you soon. Be careful… Street,” she substituted his name for the Daddy that almost slipped out of her mouth.
“Let’s get started,” Fury said, drawing Rosa from her thoughts. “Help me bring the pipe in. We’ll make a pile here in the center of the house.”
In a few minutes, they’d carried in the long tubes and Fury’s tools from his pickup truck in the driveway.
Fury handed her a simple device and showed her how to cut the pipe by rotating the cutter around the circumference.
The move took a bit of hand strength but was simple.
Her confidence rose after finishing several sample lengths.
“Isn’t there a saw or something that cuts these too?” she asked, trying to save time. Each piece took several minutes to finish.
“Yes. I don’t use that because the spinning blade roughs up the edges and they have to be cleaned up. This cuts neatly and without 99% of the mess. I’m going to lay this out and then I’ll call some lengths to you. You can save Street some money if you efficiently use the pipe to avoid waste.”
“What’s the smallest piece you expect to need?” she asked.
“Anything under six inches will probably be scrapped,” he guessed. “Figure out where you’re going to record the measurements. I’ll tell you several out at a time.”
Finding a small piece of drywall, she suspected would only be good for the scrap heap, Rosa borrowed a pencil from his toolbox.
“Ready?” Fury called.
“When you are.” Rosa scribbled down the numbers quickly as Fury called them out. He told her seven lengths. Immediately, she added different combinations up in her head, getting as close to the ten-foot length of the piping as she could.