Page 43 of Carver
I sweep her up and tug her into me. She lurches forward, catching herself by slapping her palms against my bare, soaked chest. I turn my face and drag my wet hair over her cheek and mouth before I kiss her. Not timidly. Deeply. Tasting more of that delicious chai tea on her tongue when I stroke hers with mine. This time, I go past when it hurts. Nothing is going to stop me from holding her, from tasting her, from sipping those sweet sighs directly off her lips.
“I love you,” I breathe, dripping all over as I bow my head above hers. “That doesn’t answer any of your questions, but it’s the truth.”
Her smile is so wide that both her cheeks dimple. My heart crumples, but not like a wadded up piece of paper. Crumpling can be a good thing. This is. “That’s a really good answer to all my questions. Really, really good.”
Chapter 12
Bronte
The former garage doesn’t look like any studio that I’ve ever seen or imagined, but Kael clearly used her imagination when she sent us the listing, and the longer that we’re here, the more I can envision what the space could be.
When we got here, we were running late until we weren’t. I was paranoid about having to make anyone wait for us and got myself into a panic that resulted in us rushing out the door, forgetting our diaper bag and me looking a bit haggard, and after all of that, we ended up arriving early. Kael and the agent didn’t get here for fifteen minutes. We just sat parked in the truck. It might be a sunny day, but it’s not overly warm, so we didn’t roast while we waited. We unrolled the windows to let a nice breeze in. Ellie fell asleep about a minute after we got in the truck.
We just walked through the lower half of the building and now we’re standing in the back, Dom beside me, while Kael walks the top floor with the agent. The younger woman took one look at us and decided it was probably safer just to talk to Kael. I’m going with the fact that Kael called her and set this whole thing up and they’ve probably been communicating, and not the fact that Dom’s face makes her uncomfortable.
I don’t know what’s worse. The avoidance of it, pretending like it’s not a thing, or the people who are going to point it out and ask questions. I guess the latter would be worse if the questions were mean or turned to mockery.
I know I sure as heck braced when we walked in here. Dom didn’t, but he’s like that. When he doesn’t want people to know what he’s thinking, they have zero chance of picking his brain apart.
I don’t mind that he’s standing right beside me, his hand resting lightly on the small of my back, his shoulder and hip pressed up against mine. I just hope that he’s doing okay. He’s been quiet this whole time.
Dravin isn’t here with Kael, and I got the immediate vibe that Dom wished he was. Dravin’s developed a sort of shield against dealing with the world. Not walls necessarily, and not a coping mechanism. He’s protective of the people he loves, and that makes him somewhat wary, but he also carries himself with grace. I’ve seen how Dom watches and studies him.
Kael’s kept a pretty good poker face about the building. It used to be an old gas station, but the pumps were removed a long time ago and it was used as a mechanic’s garage. The two huge bays with the big overhead doors are still there, though the entire space is empty. There’s an office part attached with a few rooms upstairs as well that were used mostly for storage, so the entire thing is wide open.
She chats the agent up until we’re back on the main floor, asking questions about taxes, permits, zoning, and building inspections. When the agent asks if Kael would like to put in an offer, she shakes her head.
“I’m not sure the place is right for us. I have a lot of concerns about the mediation of the place, if there’s been any harmful chemicals stored, what insulation was used in here, and the cost of renovations. I don’t know if we have time to do all of that. I might have to keep looking, but either way, I need to talk to mybusiness partner, and I’ll let you know.” She turns and winks at us over her shoulder.
I guess Dom’s her business partner. Sort of?
I want to hug her right now for including us so obviously in the decision when we haven’t been given a second glance since we got here.
The agent shows Kael out and we follow. She locks the place back up and waves in all of our general direction before taking off in a sports car that is so low and fancy, it’s probably a hazard to drive it around on the crumbly streets in this area.
“I’m fucking sorry,” Kael explodes the second the agent is gone. “That was awkward as hell. She’s the listing agent, but if I knew someone personally, I wish I could have used them. She didn’t even talk to you guys.”
“It’s…” I want to say that it’s okay, or that it’s not Kael’s fault, but Dom points to his face.
“She was just uncomfortable. It wasn’t her fault. At least she was somewhat professional.”
“It most definitely was her fault!” Kael argues. She crosses her arms, jutting out her chin. I’ve seen her give Dravin that look before, but not us.
Part of me wants to laugh and part of me wants to cry and another part of me still wants to hug her for being so offended on our behalf.
“It’s okay,” Dom repeats. “I’m prepared for people to pretend I’m not there, so they don’t have to look at me, or because they’ve been taught that it’s rude to stare. That’s fine. I get it. I wouldn’t know what to do either.”
“Bullshit. You would so.” Kael gasps when Ellie turns her head, blinking at her with sleepy eyes. “Sorry. I thought she was out.” She claps a hand over her mouth. “I promise I’ll watch the language,” she mumbles from behind it. “Avoidance is worse than asking.”
“Is it?”
“I think so. Don’t you?”
Dom sighs. “I don’t honestly know. There’s only one thing that would truly bother me and it’s if someone calls me out in front of my daughter.”
That word.Freak. Monster. Words he’s used on himself. I don’t know what I’ll do if I ever hear them. I’m frightened of the murderous rage that builds inside of me.
Kael shakes off her annoyance and draws an air circle to encompass the building behind us. “I know it’s a little bit industrial and at least twenty minutes from your house, but it does have the shop space that you’d need to work. The big doors could be taken out, or one could be left in. It might be easy to move stone in and get statues out. Where that door is…” She points right at the other big overhead bay door. “That space could be a wall or become a few different windows. The office area would need a ton of renovations to be usable as a gallery, but I could make the upstairs work for a studio.” She purses her lips. I’ve noticed she tends to do that when she’s thinking hard. “It’s a yes from me, but if it’s not your thing, that’s okay. We’ll find something else. I want you to be happy in whatever space we choose. You don’t have to worry about the money. We have it.” She holds up a hand to cut off Dom’s protests. “I know you’re going to say that you can’t just let us go all in on the building. We could either make it a loan until you sell your land, or if you wantto pay rent here and have me own the building, that’s okay too. We can talk the boring financial stuff with Dravin if we decide the space is right.”
