Page 20 of Salty, Spiced, and a Little Bit Nice

Alone at last, I redirected my brainpower onto the day ahead and went through my plan again. Despite my show of confidence earlier, I had (less than) zero faith in my power-tooling abilities. Give me a balance sheet and a cash flow statement any day, but this was foreign territory to me. Not that I would ever admit it to him—I’d rather bite my own tongue and disappear into the ether. But I had to give it my best shot.

Because what other choice did I have?

“I’m leaving.” Alec jogged down the stairs a few minutes later, dressed in a dark suit and a crisp white shirt, sans glasses. Grabbing his keys, he shoved his phone into his back pocket. “I’ll be back late tonight. Give my regards to the squirrels.”

“So I don’t have to wait up?” I yelled as he slammed the door behind him.

CHAPTER 6A Deal with the Grumpy Devil

Fifteen minutes later, I repeatedly kicked the tires of my formerly dependable CR-V, venting out my frustration. My sweet old car had decided to die on me. I didn’t have time to service the car before I left home, and this was my payback.

Walking it was, then. Google Maps estimated it should take no longer than fifty minutes to Port Benedict Plaza, plus another ten for a quick stop at a nearby Home Depot.

Two hours later, I was huffing and puffing as I unlocked the door to the shop and flicked on the lights, thankful the electricity was at least working. I dumped the box of cleaning supplies and tools on the floor, then took several minutes to catch my breath, before straightening up and glancing around the place. And despite the dreadful, dystopia-lookalike scene in front of me, a spark of hope bloomed inside my chest. I still had a long road ahead, but this—no matter how atrocious things might seem right now—was still one step closer toward my dream.

I rolled up my sleeves and donned my new protective gear. My goal was to chop up and remove the fallen tree by the end of theday, cover the hole in the roof and clear the rest of the debris by tomorrow, and figure out how to fix the leaky pipes on the third day. It might be a tad ambitious, but I was confident I could finish everything before the contractor came in.

Taking out my brand-new chainsaw from its box, I sat on the floor and read the user manual from cover to cover, then looked up a YouTube video on how to safely operate one. The woman on the instruction video sounded positive and encouraging, so my confidence was at an all-time high. With my phone propped up and the YouTube tutorial playing, I picked up the chainsaw and turned it on.

It took me a few—okay,a lotof—tries before I could finally get the hang of it. But still, it wasn’t as easy as I thought it was, and by the time I stopped for a lunch break, I’d only managed to cut up a very small section. Either the tree was larger than I’d expected, or my power-tooling skills just weren’t up to scratch. At the rate this was going, I’d be lucky if I could remove the tree by the end of the month.

As I slumped into a defeated heap on the floor, I blew out a long breath, wondering if my mother was right, that I couldn’t survive unless my family supported me. Maybe she knew me better than I knew myself, because she had never trusted me with bigger responsibilities. Because she’d already foreseen what was going to happen: that I’d probably fail and come crawling back home, with my tail tucked between my legs.

After all, mothers always know best, right?

Enough with the sarcasm, Ellie. Lowest form of wit, remember?

As if on cue, my phone vibrated with an incoming text. My mother was still sending me messages and emails, demanding to know where I was, and livid that I’d been ignoring her. This latest one was short but not sweet, with a not-so-subtle threat saying that if she didn’t hear from me by the end of the week, I’d be hearing from her lawyers.

I had to read the message three times before finally registering her words. Was she threatening tosue me? On what grounds? What was she expecting to achieve by doing that? Did she really not know when to back off?

Anger—and a healthy dose of fear—gnawed at my brain. I couldn’t afford to wait four weeks for Alec’s contractor, because who knew what other kinds of nasty, horrible damage she might be able to pull off in that time?

Fueled by new resolve, I deleted the message, then went back to my chainsaw and the tree. I yanked the starter several times, but no matter how hard I tried, it still refused to start.

It was a brand-new chainsaw. Why wasn’t it working?

Groaning with exasperation, I Googled the symptoms, and found that it was most likely flooded. The solution, according to an arborist chat forum, was to “remove the air cleaner, the spark plug, the bar and chain,” and that was when I stopped reading, because they could be speaking in an alien language for all I knew.

With my frustration bubbling over, I reached for my phone and called Naomi. She picked up on the second ring, her familiar voice instantly cheering me up.

“Ellie! How are things going out there?”

“Could be better, but I shouldn’t complain.” I told her about the store and felt myself begin to relax. “How have you been? How’s my favorite brother doing?”

“We’re good. I’ve been busy with work, and Eric has been running around getting the new brewery ready for opening.”

“Tell him not to work too hard. Even the Golden Child needs a break sometimes.”

Naomi snickered. “I’ll tell him that. You know how much he hates that nickname.”

“Make sure you do. Hey, um, have you heard from George?”

“Saw him last week,” she said. “He’s fine, if that’s what you’re wondering about. You did the right thing, and it’s better for both of you in the long run.”

This was why Naomi and I had been best friends for so long. We always supported each other, no matter what. She was with me when I was diagnosed, when I went through my first heartbreak, and I had consoled her when she broke up with her first girlfriend. She had always stood behind every decision I made, good or bad, not even flinching when I told her I was moving to Port Benedict, because she knew how long I’d been wanting to chase my dream.

“Eric said Alec’s helping you with the repairs. How’s that going?”

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