Page 41 of Always a Roommate
I nodded, trying not to let it show how much I’d needed something to keep me busy, to keep me from going home.
Maybe Tanner had known.
We finished our coffee, and I followed him over to the Hut in my truck. I hadn’t been here since our night during the storm, and it looked even worse than I remembered.
Tanner joined me near the front door as I peered up at a blue tarp over a section of the roof. “I was up there yesterday and found some damage.” He sighed. “But I guess we’re just lucky it held.” One of his hands landed on my shoulder. “Come on.”
Inside, large industrial fans blew cold air through the store to dry out the wood shelves and prevent mildew. Much of the merchandise had been removed, but there were still plenty of items lying around.
The power had come back on the day after the storm, meaning Tanner was able to get started drying it out right away. And I knew he had. I’d offered to help, but until now, he hadn’t let anyone. I thought it was something he had to do himself.
Walking into the storage room, I stopped when I saw the three loungers facing each other. Tanner walked up beside me. “I haven’t made it back here yet, except to turn on the fans to dry out the drywall.”
A blast of chilly air hit me, but I didn’t move.
Tanner gave me a sheepish grin. “That was some night, wasn’t it?”
“Something like that.” I rubbed the back of my neck, turning back into the main store. “What do you need me to do?” I asked.
“We should take the wood down from the window. I want to get a tarp up over it until insurance comes through to fix it.”
I nodded, reaching for a hammer on the counter and walking outside. It felt wrong somehow, pulling these wooden signs down that Rae and I had risked so much to put in place.
Shaking my head, I realized that was ridiculous. They’d done the job of protecting us from the storm and were no longer needed. I got to work prying them free and hauling them to the dumpster out back.
It felt good to work, to sweat. As the hot Florida sun beat down on my neck, my spirits lifted, and I started to feel like myself again.
After a while, Johnny showed up with his roommate, Aiden, and the four of us worked in tandem.
For the first time in days, I didn’t think about that kiss.
But eventually, it was time to leave, to return home, where all I could do was think about it. Where I would sit in my room, listening for any sign of Rae.
When I walked through the front door, I stopped. There was a group of women crowded into our small living room. My eyes found Rae immediately. She sat on the couch beside Lola, with a binder open on her lap. Finley perched on the arm of the couch, but she rose when I entered and pulled me into the kitchen.
“I stopped by to see Rae and got to meet both Lola Ramirez and Piper Hayes Evans.” Her grin spread wider. “How cool is that?”
I lifted one brow and opened the fridge to pull out a soda. “I’m not sure who Piper is.”
Finley rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Only the best songwriter there is. And she’s married to Ben Evans.”
“And that would be…?”
“Oh my gosh, Shane, do you live under a rock? Even Knox listens to the band Fate, and he’s not really a fan of that kind of music. Ben is the lead singer. Piper is one of Lola’s bridesmaids along with Melanie.” She pointed to the blonde leaning over to see something Rae was showing them. “Jo Jackson is the other, but she’s on tour right now, so she couldn’t come today.”
Jo Jackson. I did recognize that name.
“So, I take it Rae is busy?”
Finley laughed. “Just a bit.”
“Good.” Relief flooded through me. I hadn’t been up to talking to her. It didn’t escape my notice that I’d once gotten on her case for avoiding me, and now I was doing the same thing.
Finley gave me a strange look. “Where have you been anyway?”
“With Tanner.”
Her smile fell. “I feel so horrible for him. I wish I could help.”
