Page 10 of Don't Scare Me, My Love

“Jack,the Ripper?” I said, biting my lip because I couldn’t keep it in. I shook his hand and my head. “Sorry. I can’t keep my mouth shut when I should.” I let go of his hand. “So, you're a handyman?”

Ignoring my comment, he nodded and pulled a business card out of his coat. “Home Service Expertis what I like to call myself. I do everything. I can fix things, clean your house, walk your dog, go shopping for you—whatever you need. If you live in Ashbourne, that’s fine too. I can come anywhere within an hour's drive.”

I took the card and looked at it. It was the second one I had been given today and also the second one I had ever received from anyone. They must still be popular here because of all the old people. I held it up and smiled at him. “If I ever own a house, I’ll call you.”

The rain intensified, now accompanied by tiny hailstones. For another minute, we stood side by side, staring at the weather. Jack pulled out his phone again and, after looking at it, whimpered like a dog that had to go outside. Not knowing if my presence or something else was bothering him, I took a step away, just in case.

He slid his phone back into his coat and sighed. “I’m sorry about this morning. It was a stupid thing to say.”

“Again, don’t worry about it. You were just trying to encourage your friend. And if it helps, I would have said yes if he had asked me.”

“I knew it.” Jack slapped his right hand onto his leg. “The way you talked to him? That wasn’t just straight guy-talk.” Hedropped his head, shaking it from side to side. “Damn.But I understood it right that he didn’t ask you?”

“Well, to be fair, I didn’t ask him either.”

“I don’t understand why no one takes their chances. It’s not like you get them every day. Especially not around here.”

His words struck me like a punch in the gut. My last date had been a couple of months ago and ended before we made it to the restaurant because the guy got a text from his roommate that their cats were sick, and he decided that this was a higher priority than me. The older I got, the harder it became to even meet someone, let alone just bluntly ask someone out. “Well, we’ll see what tomorrow will bring.”

Jack narrowed his eyes. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were planning on coming back here tomorrow.”

Now that I had taken the job at the gas station head over heels, it was more like I wasn’t leaving. “Does it sound that ridiculous?”

“Unusual would be a better word. For most people, it is: Once you’ve seen Seastone, you wish you didn’t.”

The rain subsided, and as if the sky was mocking us, a streak of light broke through the clouds, creating a glowing rainbow over the buildings.

My hand automatically lifted my phone and snapped a picture. “I guess I have to stay for a while to find out if I’m going to be one of them.”

Jack took in the natural spectacle in front of us. “Or if you get sucked into this place like we did and never leave again.”

His words were cryptic, and at the same time, they weren’t.

Who knew what the future would bring?But one thing was for certain. My gut now screamed that Seastone had more in store for me than it was letting on, and I was excited to find out why.

It wassix thirty-two in the morning when Jason’s white Honda pulled into the parking lot behind the gas station. I had been up since five and arrived just after six. I spent the last half hour eating a banana for breakfast, worrying about what kind of impression I would make today, and debating whether or not to ask Jason to meet me after work. So far, I hadn’t come to any conclusion, and seeing him didn’t miraculously stop me from pondering as I had hoped it would.

I stepped out of my car at the same time as Jason. It was cold outside, but at least it wasn’t raining today.

Jason’s red company shirt under his open jacket matched the color of the leaves on the one maple tree that held its ground among the pines.

He wore a brown eye patch today, which perked up a bit when he wrinkled his nose. “Not many people would be on time this early on a Monday morning.” Surprise colored his voice and face, catching me off guard.

“Didn’t expect to see me?” I asked as I walked up to him.

“No offense, but you can’t even imagine how many people who had applied before ghosted me once they got an offer.” His breath crystallized into a white haze as he spoke. “But I had a hunch you wouldn’t be one of them when you sent me your resume like you promised.”

“All I have is my word. So I have to keep it.”

He hid his hands in his jacket pockets. “And I will keep mine.” He nodded toward the back door. “Let’s not waste time on small talk. Yesterday was slow enough for me to talk to you at length, but in half an hour, a gas truck will come around the corner, and I want to show you around first.”

For the next fifteen minutes, I became his shadow as he went through the morning routine, explaining every little step. He was completely focused on the job—no furtive glances, no sly comments, no flirting.

I liked that.

Concentrating on the task at hand was hard enough when the guy teaching me was such a handsome man. I didn’t need fate to test me any further. This was a job, after all, and I wanted to make a good impression, just like I would in any other workplace.

He showed me where all the light switches were, where all the merchandise was stored, and how to turn on the pumps and the coffee machine.

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