Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
The cottage looks the same as when I left it. Opening the front door, I drop my overnight bag and walk straight to my parents’ room.
My hand flies to my mouth, shocked.
Half the roof is completely gone, laying on the floor in pieces along with the insulation. Water is all over the floor, and the smell… It already has a mildew stench.
“Oh, my God.” I step in and stand, shocked. How the hell did this happen? I can only walk a few feet in and just stand there.
Turning around, I hear my name called, “August.” And I about jump out of my skin when I see Bohdi standing in the doorway. His face is neutral, but for a quick second his eyes hold something else, but quickly it’s gone.
“Do you know how this happened?” I turn to look at the ceiling, completely shocked.
“I have the water turned off; it was still going when I got here yesterday. And Kai is on his way. He’ll be able to let us,” he pauses, “You…know how it happened.”
“Okay,” I say in disbelief. “Excuse me.”
He steps back and lets me by, and in that brief moment, I get the all-too-familiar smell from him.
Sea salt mixed with what I imagine the sun would smell like, welcoming and home…
I head out to the back porch, needing his smell out of my nose.
Stepping outside, I breathe in the ocean, trying to erase his smell. He smells like home.
Leaning on the railing, I stare into the ocean; the sun glints from it. He doesn’t need to announce himself; I can feel his presence.
“How long do you think it will take to fix?” I turn to ask him, my hair flying behind me.
Bohdi stands on the steps outside the door, watching me.
His eyes roam my body, as if he’s remembering what it looked like under my shorts and tank top, but now trying to picture them more mature.
“Um.” He licks his lip. “Maybe two weeks, if that. I know Kai will need to find the problem first before anything gets fixed.” I watch his Adam’s Apple bob up and down before he diverts his eyes.
I let out a loud huff. “Great.”
Bohdi opens his mouth, but he’s cut off by his phone ringing. I see his eyes close briefly before he answers, putting the phone to his ear and walking to the front of the cottage.
I take a few steps to the middle of the porch, hearing him speak.
“I’ll be there once I’m done. Kai is on his way.
” It gets silent. “Stop acting like that. There is no need to worry,” he tells the person.
“Molly.” He draws out the name, and I’m trying to piece it together: his fiancé? “Yeah, me too.”
I try to step back to where I was, but he turns the corner and spots me. His lips turn upward just a bit. “Sorry about that.”
Shrugging, I say, “No worries.”
“What's your plan?” he asks while messing with his cell phone.
“I don’t know yet. I have to get this fixed first, and then I can go forward.”
It all feels so weird. All we had between us and I feel like I’m speaking to a stranger.
Bohdi walks to the edge of the porch and faces the ocean. “I saw your bag in the walkway. Are you staying?”
Rubbing my face, I scrunch my nose. “Yeah.” I draw the word out. “Just for the weekend, so I can get everything going.”
He nods his head before pocketing his cell phone.
“Kai is pulling in.” He turns to face me, and his blue eyes stare straight into me; the ocean can’t compete with how blue they are.
It was the first thing I noticed about him when I was fourteen.
Him running from the water, dirty blond hair dripping wet, and his skin so tanned.
I was immediately enamored by him, but didn’t talk to him for a few more weeks.
We were just friends for four years until we weren’t.
I’m so focused on him, I don’t see Kai walking toward us.
“August.” I swing around and Kai stands there. I can’t help the smile that transforms my face, seeing him all grown.
“Hey. Thanks for coming.” I don’t know what else to say.
In a moment, he has his arms open and is walking toward me. “Come here.”
His hug engulfs me, bringing me tightly to his chest. Quietly, he whispers so only he and I can hear, “Welcome home.”
I tip my head back to look at him, and he smiles so wide that all his teeth are showing. And I shake my head no.
He squeezes me one last time, letting me out of his hug. “Yep.” He turns around and shakes his brother’s hand, while I stand there dumbfounded. I’m not home.
“Okay, Bo sent me pictures, but let’s go take a look.”
I squint my eyes at him, calling Bohdi Bo.
He tightens his lips. “We got into a drunken fight and he won. So, I have to call him Bo now.” Kai leads the way back into the cottage. I let him and Bohdi go into the bedroom, while I wait in the living room for his verdict.
Wiping my hands across the mantel, they come away with dust. This whole place is one big dirt ball. Looking around, the TV in the corner gives me a reflection of the hallway behind me, and I see Bohdi standing there, watching me. I don’t turn around but watch him watching me.
Is this as weird for him as it is for me? We both broke one another. Me with words, him with actions. Nothing but broken pieces left behind.
I hear Kai call Bohdi’s name, and he turns around and walks back down the hall. I’m breathing so hard, I have to sit down. The way being in his vicinity has shaken me to my core.
“Okay, so I’ll need to go back to my office and put together a proposal for you. I’m going to get on the roof so I can inspect that, but I think this all happened from the pipe leading from the bathroom,” Kai says before heading out the front door.
Standing, I watch Bohdi walk to the icebox. When he turns to me, “Where’s the pictures?” His voice holds a bit of worry.
“They’re at my apartment.”
“I’m sorry about Craig. I know you loved him so much.”
Smiling weakly, I say, “I do. But look at what he left me.” I try to be funny, throwing my hand toward the bedroom.
“This is just a bump. Kai will have it fixed in no time, and you can get out of here once and for all.” Those last words feel like he had poison on them.
Raising my eyebrows, I say, “Absolutely.” That one word holds so much.
I watch him hold his tongue, wanting to say more, and the look I give him tells him to.
I want to hear it. Maybe hearing this will help me leave it all in Driftwood Bay, close the door, and throw away the key forever.
But he says nothing. He swallows those words, turning and heading out the front door.
I stand there, breathing in one deep breath, blowing it out with my annoyance with him.
I didn’t think being so close to him would fuck with me so much.
But everything is bubbling to the surface; everything I rolled up and packed down so tightly is coming undone just by being here and by him being around.
Eight years changes a lot. Eight years can remake you or destroy you. I don’t know what it did to Bohdi, but for me, it just kept me in a void.
My skin is already itching to leave this place.
“Hey! So, I got up on the roof. The good thing is nothing seems amiss up there. That’s a huge plus for you,” Kai informs me, walking through the back door.
“Great.” It comes out sounding bitchy.
Kai looks at me. “No. Sorry. That’s great. The faster this gets done, the sooner I can put it on the market and be done with it. I appreciate you, Kai.” I give him a smile.
He gives me one back. “I’ll get to my office and hopefully have this over by this evening. And we can get started Monday, if it all works for you.” He walks toward me, and I know he’s coming in for a hug, and I let him, hugging him back. “Bay’s going to be excited you’re back in town.”
I give a frown. “I’m not staying, Kai.”
Leaning back, he places both his hands on my shoulders. “Things can change.”
I laugh at his retreating back. “Not with me.”
The sun is setting as I’m on the back porch watching it.
Enjoying the cool breeze bouncing off the water.
I’m trying to take it all in, fill myself up with August Cove before it’s no longer mine.
When I hear tires crunching on the drive.
Standing up, I walk to the front of the house and see a truck pull in.
Squinting, I wait till they get out and see it’s Kai.
“Hey,” I call to him, perplexed.
He looks my way, holding up papers. “I decided to come bring it to you.”
“Thank you.” I hold out my hands.
“If you want, we can sit, and I can go over everything with you. If you have any questions, I can answer them now. I have thirty minutes before I’m meeting up with Bay.” Her name makes my heart tinge.
“Sounds good.” I lead us to the patio set.
Kai uses the huge shell in the middle of the table to hold the papers down, so the breeze doesn’t take them.
“What’s the damage?” Meaning money-wise.
He leans back in the chair. “Well, it’ll be fifteen thousand, and that’s including the fans we need to bring in to dry the room and ceiling out, so mold doesn’t build.”
Okay, it could be worse, I tell myself, but dang.
“And how long should it take?” This is the part I fear.
“To dry everything out, two to three days, then once I’m satisfied with that, another week or so to fix the pipes leading from the bathroom, and then to replace the ceiling. I’m going to say two weeks just to be on the safe side.”
“When do you start?”
Kai smiles at me. “You want to get out of here so fast.”
It’s not a question, but a statement, so I don’t answer him.
“My guys and I will be here Monday morning. You can leave the check with the keys under the doormat. And I’ll keep you updated with the progress. I think Bo said you already signed the paperwork, so once this is done, the listing will be live.”
He’s all business and so serious. It’s weird to see Kai like this, when he was just a twenty-year-old boy the last time I saw him. Only worried about drinking, driving the boats…and Baylee. “Sounds good.” I reach for the papers, but he holds on to them, looking dead at me.
“Why don’t you at least come out for the night with me and Bay. We’re going to Crabby Dan’s for some beers tonight; it’s all-you-can-eat shrimp. Just for old times' sake, and I know Bay would love it.”
I open my mouth to decline, but he speaks, cutting me off, “Bo isn’t on Driftwood Bay; he took the ferry with Molly. He’ll be gone all weekend.”
For some reason, that makes my stomach hurt, but I try to ignore it. “So, her name is Molly?”
“Yeah.” He opens his mouth but shuts it.
I squint my eyes at him, but he just stands up and holds out his hand for me to shake it. “If you change your mind, we’ll be at Crabby Dan’s.”
Smiling at him, I say, “I won’t, but thank you. Have fun and be safe.”
“It’s Driftwood Bay; nothing ever happens here.” He smiles and walks off.