Chapter 38
James
Oh God, what had I done? I’d been so worried about the asshole sheriff doing something to Marc, I hadn’t stopped to think about what was coming out of my mouth.
Now he was gone, and I didn’t have the first clue where.
He’d packed a bag, got in his car, and peeled out of here without so much as a backward glance.
I floundered with what to do. Did I go after him and force him to hear me? Did I give him a chance to cool off and hope he came back? The sheriff’s threats to arrest us for public indecency tempered any ill-advised notions of running after him. Besides which, he was driving, and I’d be on foot.
Lacking clear direction, I went back inside to deal with the somewhat more pressing issue of the gaping hole in the shop's front.
Unfortunately, that required going back upstairs and finding my phone.
My knee gave an unpleasant twinge as I hauled myself back to the apartment.
I glared at the wet step that had nearly taken me out and given Marc the lead he needed to get away.
Back in the apartment, I held my phone to my ear while I fished out an anti-inflammatory.
There weren’t that many steps leading up, but it’d been more than enough to have my knee throbbing like a motherfucker.
Realistically, I knew that the people I should be reaching out to were the insurance company, but that wasn’t information I had, so I went with the next best thing.
“Howl Stone Construction, Terrence speaking,” a warm, professional voice greeted me when the line picked up.
“Hey, Terrence, not sure if you remember me. This is James Gallagher—JD. We met a few weeks back in the French Quarter.”
“JD! It’s great to hear from you, man. Of course, I remember you. Rumi was tickled pink about getting to go to the flower shop. How are things?”
While it was great that he remembered me, I wished I had better news to share. “To be honest, things could be going a hell of a lot better.”
“Let me guess, that little storm we got did a number on the shop?”
I huffed an ironic laugh. “Not sure I’d qualify that monster as little, but yeah. The whole front is gone. A massive tree limb shattered all the windows. Honestly, I don’t think there’s anything left in the front that’s remotely salvageable.”
He let out a low whistle of commiseration. “That really sucks, man. How’s your buddy holding up? It’s his aunt’s shop, right?”
“His now, actually, but not great. He’s uh…
” Pissed as hell at me, and rightfully so.
I cleared my throat and pushed away thoughts that he likely never wanted to see me again, that I was over-stepping, and that I should probably just leave and spare him the pain of having to deal with me.
“He’s dealing with a lot. I figured I could at least get a jump on this for him. ”
“Sure thing. How can I help?” Terrence's instant offer of aid had relief flooding my chest.
“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. You were the only person I could think of to reach out to. The biggest issue right now is the giant tree poking through the front and the massive hole it made.”
He hummed in agreement. “Yeah, we’ll need to get closed up ASAP before more damage is done from being exposed to the elements.
How ‘bout this? I have some guys who’ve been asking for extra hours.
I’ll give them a call and see how soon they can be there.
In the meantime, I’ll add the job to the books and gather some plywood to seal up the front.
Can you give me a rough estimate of the area we need to cover? ”
“Probably looking at twenty by ten feet.”
“Wow, it really took out the entire front. Okay, I’ll get right on that and let you know. Is this a good number to reach you on?” he asked, and I heard the clack of a keyboard in the background.
“Yeah. This is my personal cell. Oh, and Terrence, could you bill me directly for any work done instead of the shop?” I added. Marc was stressed enough about finances, and I didn’t want him worrying about this on top of everything else.
“You got it. I’ll get your details for that later when I have information about the crew for you.”
I audibly sighed. “Thanks, man, you’re a lifesaver.” We said our goodbyes, and I focused on getting dressed.
I was tugging my shoes back on when yet another unexpected noise downstairs had me lurching to my feet. For a fleeting moment, I hoped it was Marc coming back, but I recognized that for the fantasy it was. Plus, it sounded too big to be a single person.
As much as I would have loved to race down the steps, my knee was having none of it.
I’d be icing it for sure. Later, though, when I’d dealt with the latest catastrophe fucking up what had been a spectacular day.
I was a hundred percent limping by the time I made it to the front of the shop and grimaced with each pained step.
What I found immediately froze me in my tracks.
My anger spiked as my gaze landed on Brody Beechum Junior standing in the middle of Marc’s devastated storefront. “Oh, hell no. If you’ve come to be nasty, you can get the fuck out right now.”
He spun around wide-eyed, glancing behind me, no doubt looking for Marc. “Where’s—”
“Not here, and I’d like to know why you are.” I crossed my arms over my chest, fully aware that it made me look intimidating as fuck combined with the full-force glower I aimed at him. “I’ve endured enough bigotry from your asshole family for one day.”
To my surprise, he winced. “Yeah, I, uh, heard about that. It’s actually why I’m here.
” He put his fingers to his lips and let out a shrill whistle.
I arched an eyebrow, but before I could say anything, five people, all wearing protective gear and thick work gloves, stepped into view.
Brody Jr. fired off a list of instructions at them I didn’t quite catch, then turned back to me.
“What’s this about?” I asked when he walked closer.
He looked abashed as he rubbed the back of his neck, and I realized he was also wearing heavy-duty work gloves.
“Look, it’s no secret Marc and I don’t get along.
Some of that’s because of my family and some is shit from way back, but that’s between me and Marc.
What my dad did, though, is way outta line.
Regardless of what he thinks about y’all’s relationship,” my jaw tightened and rushed on, “we’re a community and that comes first. I don’t have to like Marc to know this shop is good for the town.
And even though it burns my biscuits to hear everyone and their damn grandmother excited to have it open again, I have to agree with them. ”
I slowly uncrossed my arms and darted a look past him to where the people he’d brought were working on sawing the tree limb into more manageable parts. “You’re really here to help?”
He let out a heavy sigh. “I really am. Just, you know, don’t tell Marc I was the one to put this together. I have a rep to protect.” He flashed me a grin that was closer to a grimace, and I was tempted to say that wasn’t a rep he should want to protect, but I held my tongue.
If he was here to help, I wouldn’t stand in his way.
That didn’t mean I trusted him though, so I stayed there until the entire limb had been dismantled and the rest of the destruction cleared out.
I felt a bit like an ass for not helping more, but my knee was officially swollen and it didn’t look like the anti-inflammatory I took was doing a damn bit of good.
No sooner had his little crew finished up and gone than another, more professional one arrived.
“Well, damn, so much for getting here as fast as I could. Seems you’ve gone and got started without me.” Terrence placed his hands on his hips and grinned at me. My relief at seeing a friendly face was palpable.
I limped toward him to shake his hand. “Hey man, good to see you, and I appreciate you getting here so fast. What happened to calling?”
“Eh, some things worked out, and I figured I’d just talk to you in person. Assuming you’re still good for us to continue?”
“Oh, God, yes. What do you need from me?”
It was late into the afternoon by the time Terrence and his crew wrapped up boarding the front of the shop.
While they’d been working, we’d hashed out what all I wanted done, which amounted to “whatever it takes to put it back the way it was.” Luckily, I’d taken plenty of pictures—mostly of Marc looking cute as fuck while working—and we were able to compile a comprehensive view of how the shop had been before nature had taken offense.
The whole while I kept glancing at my phone, hoping that at any second Marc would call or at least text.
He did neither, and my cell remained depressingly silent.
By the time they left, I couldn’t take it anymore.
In the dark of the shop, I tried calling him.
When I only got his voicemail, I switched to text and got a big fat nothing.
While I understood that Marc put distance between himself and others when he was upset, this felt like more than that.
The way he’d told me to go once my leave was up didn’t sound like he planned on coming back.
I hoped like hell I was wrong, that we could weather this storm together—literally and figuratively—it wasn’t like I had done nothing to deserve the silent treatment.
God, how could I have said those things to him?
I treated him like a subordinate. It was one thing to play with that in the bedroom, where it was understood that we were equals, that regardless of what happened, he was the one in control.
It was another to act like we were back in the army and he was being a mutinous soldier.
While it wasn’t entirely fair to place all the blame on the asshole sheriff, it didn’t stop me from heaping a heavy dose of it on him.
Whatever happened between me and Marc, I’d make sure that man was never in a position to so much as inconvenience Marc again, even if it meant using all the influence I swore I never would.
Sheriff Beechum may not realize the power that came with the Gallagher name, but he would learn.