Page 11 of Fighting for You
Brooks’ light, flirty tone from before is gone, serious now as he says, “It’s unlikely the small hardware store in town will have it, I’ll have to order it and hope it gets here quickly.” He pauses while his words sink in. “Why don’t you give me your number, and I’ll text you when I have it so I can come back and install it for you?”
I bite my lip and nod, holding out my hand for his phone. I program my name and number in. “Thanks for doing this. I know it’s out of your way. I appreciate it,” I say as we head to the front door.
“Anything for you, Doc,” he says and climbs on his motorcycle before it rumbles to life under him. He lights a cigarette, places it in his mouth, and with one last glance in my direction, he’s moving down my driveway.
I grab the front of my sweater and air it out. The temperature feels like it’s rocketed up twenty degrees all of a sudden, or maybe it’s just the memory of his dark blue eyes undressing me.
“Oh, fudge nugget,” I grumble as I remember the laundry I had running before Brooks got here, and it acts as a bucket of ice water to my overheated thoughts. I trudge up the stairs, praying it finished before the water shut off.
Chapter Five
Brooks
Ilied. And I’d like to say I feel bad about white-lying my way into getting Margot’s number, but I don’t. I saw an opportunity, and I’m taking it. It’s obvious she wants nothing to do with me, so I needed the in. Any hardware store—even our mom-and-pop shop in town—should have shutoff valves and cold supply lines. Lucky for me, she has zero clue about plumbing and didn’t question me.
What are the fucking chances Hayes’ sister is the same girl I haven’t been able to get out of my head for weeks? I was aware he has a sister. Everyone is. He’s made sure to let everyone he knows she’s off-limits. I didn’t know her name though. He calls her “Booger” or some shit, which only makes me laugh now that I know who she is. I guess I always assumed she was a teenager.
But fuck me, I can’t have the hots for Hayes’ sister. She’s probably barely old enough to drink. Plus, he’ll murder me. Not in the funny-ha-ha-I’ll-kill-you sense, he will actually gut me alive. I’ve seen what he can do in The Pit, and I don’t want tobe on the receiving end of his wrath. I’ve been trying to focus on that fact, keep it in the forefront of my brain, but every time I try to push her out, the vision of Margot in those fucking thigh-highs is front and center again.Fuck me.I feel like such a creep.
I slam the gear into first right in front of Billy’s Hardware and turn off the bike. As I push through the glass door, the bell above it dings.
I don’t see Billy, but I hear him down an aisle yelling, “Welcome in. If ya need somethin’, holler.”
The parts are so common, I don’t even need to ask Billy if he carries them or where to find them. As I pass by the aisle he’s in, I say back, “Nah, I know where it is. You having a good day, Billy?”
At the sound of my voice, Billy stops stocking the items in his hands and turns to me. “Brooks, my boy. It’s been a little bit since you stopped in, thought I maybe scared you off with all the crazy stories I jabber on about.”
A low chuckle falls from my lips, Billy’s stories aren’t crazy, but he does talk a-fucking-lot. He’s lived a tough life—fought in Afghanistan, lost his wife to cancer, and almost lost his store a couple years back.
“Takes a lot more than some war stories to scare me off, Billy-Bob.”
I start to walk away when he says, “Brooks, wait.”
Taking a step back, I peer into the aisle he’s standing in. “What’s up?”
He looks down at the ground, fidgets a bit, then eventually clears his throat. “I umm… I never told you how sorry I am about your folks. It’s real sad what happened, and I just want you to know I’m… well, I’m here if you need to talk.”
You’d think it was his parents who’d just died less than a month ago. I give him a nod of appreciation before saying, “Thanks, Billy. I’ll keep it in mind.” We both know I won’t betaking him up on it, but it was nice of him to offer. I walk away without being stopped this time, and I’m in the plumbing section grabbing what I need within seconds.
As I walk back toward the front of the store, I yell, “Yo, Billy, I’m ready to check out.”
After a minute or so of him shuffling down the aisle and setting down everything he’s carrying, he comes to the register.
“Uh-oh, you got a broken sink?” he asks as he scans the shutoff valve.
“Fixing a friend’s actually. Small problem, big mess, if you know what I mean,” I say laughing a little to myself as I think back on the flooded bathroom and the way she looked terrified to go into the basement.
He shakes his head in understanding. I hand him the cash to cover the parts, knowing it’s more than the total he’s yet to tell me. Grabbing the bag, I turn to walk away as he’s still counting the bills.
I’m almost to the door when he yells, “Damnit, son, you and I both know this shit don’t cost fifty dollars!”
The bell above the door goes off again as I exit the store. “Sorry, Billy. Didn’t catch that! I gotta go, see ya next time!”
“Hello?” even on the phone, she sounds so suspicious.
“I’m back. Wanna let me in?” There’s a bit of shuffling on her end like she jumped up from wherever she was sitting.
“Back? Why? You said the parts would have to be ordered,” she huffs.
