Page 9 of Trophy
After a few minutes she shook off the disappointment and checked the job listings in the newspaper again.
There were only a few jobs listed at all, and most of them were ads for skilled workers like electricians or car mechanics. There was a fast-food restaurant hiring, but it was a half hour away from where she lived, and she hated the idea of driving that far for such a terrible job. In the suburbs outside of Asheville, there would be restaurants and shopping centers, but those jobs wouldn’t be much better, and she suspected the cost of gas for her Cadillac would eat up most of her earnings.
Maybe something would pop up in the paper tomorrow. She gave up for the moment and headed for the hardware store.
It was called West Hardware, and it was the largest store in town, taking up half a block of the four blocks that made up downtown Fielding. Behind it, backing up to the river, was an enormous yard with huge stacks of lumber and piles of gravel and dirt.
She experienced an involuntary shudder of anxiety as she walked down the sidewalk toward the door. She’d never been in a place like this before, and it was surprisingly intimidating.
Her only other choice, however, was to ask Rob to fix her toilet after she’d told him she could do it on her own, so she squared her shoulders and walked in.
The place wasn’t nearly as large as a big-box store, but it was big enough to be confusing. There weren’t any helpful signs to tell her what aisle the plumbing stuff was on, and she had no idea where to start. She looked around blankly with another cold rush of anxiety.
What the hell was she even doing here?
“The flappers are three rows to the right,” a male voice came from behind her.
She jerked slightly as she turned around to see Rob standing right in front of her. It was as if her thoughts had conjured him. Did the man have to hang out everywhere she went in town? “Excuse me?”
“You’re here for the flapper for your toilet, right?” He gave her a half-questioning smile. “They’re over here. I’ll show you.”
“Oh. Thanks.”
She followed him over to the aisle and couldn’t help but notice that he was even better-looking today. He’d shaved and was dressed in khakis and a blue button-down with the sleeves rolled up. He even smelled kind of nice—not expensive like Arthur always had but clean and faintly masculine.
They stopped in front of a huge selection of toilet parts that all looked mostly the same to Allison. Rob was reaching for something when a young woman came up to him.
“Rob, I need you to sign this,” she said with a smile that Allison could recognize very easily. The woman was young and cute and was obviously looking at a man she was interested in.
Rob silently signed the paper on the clipboard she handed him and turned back to Allison.
“You work here?” she asked, finally realizing what should have been obvious.
The corner of his mouth turned up. “Guilty.”
“You didn’t tell me yesterday that you worked here.”
“I thought maybe you wouldn’t come in if you thought you’d see me here.” His voice was dry, surprisingly clever.
She suddenly felt like an ass for being so surprised by his cleverness. There was no reason why this good-looking, laid-back man wouldn’t be smart and have a good sense of humor. He might work with his hands, but that had nothing to do with his intelligence.
She always hated it when people judged her, and yet she’d done the same thing to him.
The smile she gave him was more real than before. “I wasn’t that prickly yesterday, was I?”
He looked briefly startled but then chuckled. “Just a little prickly, which is totally understandable when some strange guy comes along and invites himself into your house.”
For the first time in days, she heard herself laughing too.
He grabbed the part she needed, which was fortunately only a few dollars, and carried it over to the counter against the front wall.
“Are you settling in okay?” he asked as he rang up the price and slid the part in a plastic bag.
“Yes. So far, so good.”
“I can come over this evening and help you with this.” He passed her the bag as she handed him a twenty-dollar bill.
She was tempted but then remembered she wasn’t going to start relying on a man again. It had given her nothing but heartache and helplessness. She was in this town for the next year or two to learn to be independent. “That’s okay. I can do it. Thanks, though.”
