Page 11 of Jingle Bell Jilt
I’m so embarrassed. I can’t believe I acted like such a jerk. If Shay leaves a terrible review on the rental site, I’ll totally understand. She probably hates me after the way I accused her of forgetting to turn off a faucet.
The water makes the plastic garbage bags slip in my hands.
She comes down the hallway with her backpack slung over one shoulder and carrying her carry-on like it’s a briefcase.
“Ready?” I ask as she approaches.
She nods. “Yeah.” But then she ducks into the bedroom. She grabs an ugly green blanket off the bed and wraps it around her neck like a big, fluffy boa. She bends over and picks up a pair of slippers. They drip with water. She glances up. “I guess I’ll be washing these too.”
“Sorry. You probably weren’t planning to do all your laundry on your first day here.”
She shrugs. “There’s a lot of things I didn’t plan on lately.” She looks up at the sky as we walk out the door. “That’s another point for you, Universe.”
Is she some sort of holistic person who uses crystals and talks to animals? I may need to question Nathan about that.
I open the door to my house and step to the side so she can go first. I set the plastic bags on the entryway floor. It’s tile, so if water leaks out, it won’t be a huge problem. I motion upstairs, just realizing for the first time that I’m not wearing a shirt and she’s in her pajamas. Or at least I think they’re pajamas. My sister wears leggings and a t-shirt to bed more times than not. And I can’t imagine Shay bothered to change her clothes before she came to get me earlier. How could she? They were all soaked with water.
“The washer and dryer are in the closet in the upstairs hallway. There’s soap and dryer sheets in the half-closet next to it. Feel free to get started when you’re ready.”
She nods. “Then I’ll start calling around to find someplace to stay. I obviously won’t be staying over there.” She drops her head to the side toward the other townhouse.
“I’m really sorry. I’ll cover any extra expenses you have to pay.” I can’t believe this is happening. When I pictured spending Christmas with Nathan and his wife, this hadn’t even been in my periphery.
“You don’t need to worry about it. It wasn’t your fault.” She pulls a pair of flip-flops out of the pocket of her suitcase and holds them up. “Do you mind if I wear these or are you a no-shoes-in-the-house kind of guy?”
I’m exactly that kind of guy, but I don’t have the heart to tell her that. Not when she has no clean clothes to wear. “It’s okay if you want to wear them.”
She looks at me, squinting slightly. “Youarea no-shoes-in-the-house kind of guy. I can tell.” She leans down and pulls a pair of socks out of her carry-on. “No problem. These will be better anyway. My feet are kind of cold after being in wet socks.”
“It’s really okay,” I say, feeling like I should be the one making accommodations, not her.
“Hey, no worries. You don’t need to change just because I’m homeless.” A hint of a smile turns her lips but she stops it midway. “Sorry. Nothing about this situation is funny, yet.”
I’m not sure what to think about her. From what I saw yesterday, I’m surprised she even asked about the shoes. From the way Nathan described her, she seemed like a her-way-or-the-highway type of girl. And what’s with her using socks instead? She isn’t acting like I thought she would.
“It might be a few days—or years—before it’s funny.” I smile even though I’m not really feeling it. The weight of what has happened is only now dawning on me. I mean, I have insurance. But my deductible is high. And, well, I’m fairly cheap. That’s why I have as much money as I do. I don’t waste it. “I better make that call. If I call them right when they open, then maybe there’s a chance they can make it out today.”
She nods. We seem to do that to each other a lot. She bites her cheek. “Do you mind if I shower first? I still feel like I have airport germs all over me.”
Airport germs? I’m pretty sure they aren’t a thing. But I understand what she means. “Sure. But I thought all your clothes were wet.”
She lifts up her carry-on. “My dad always tells us to pack a spare set of clothes in our carry-on when we check luggage. Just in case our luggage gets lost.”
Her father seems like a smart man. Normally, I would say that he should just tell her not to check bags at all. But it feels like that lesson may not resonate this morning. “There’s a spare bedroom upstairs with its own bathroom.” I motion to the one right next to us. “Or there’s this one.”
She glances up the stairs. “Maybe I should take that one so I don’t bother you while you’re on the phone.”
“Sounds good.” I head down the hall but stop and look back over my shoulder. “There’s soap and shampoo in the shower.”
She lifts her carry-on. “I brought my own, but thanks.”
I nod. She probably thinks I’m a complete idiot.
“Oh and—” She frowns. “I’m sorry, but if you told me your name yesterday, I completely forgot it.”
Does that mean that Nathan didn’t tell her about me? I can only hope. Or this will be a really long morning. “Evan. Evan Barrington.”
She smiles and I’m struck again by how pretty she is. Not in a striking Gal Gadot inWonder Womankind of beautiful. But more the girl next door that you secretly crushed on all through high school kind of way.
