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I tilt my head, the name of the company sounding familiar. “Davidson Construction?” He nods and I pull out my phone to look at the picture Jared sent me last night. Sure enough, that’s the name of the business he gave me. “I was actually just about to call you guys on my break. I have a leaky roof issue that I was hoping to get fixed soon.”
His mouth turns down in concern. “Is it bad?”
“Not terrible, but I have to use a bowl so the water doesn’t ruin my furniture or floor. I’m more worried about it getting worse. It's an older house and it hasn’t had much work done since it was built.” He nods and opens his own phone, tapping around on the screen for a while.
“I have an opening at three today. Does that work?” he asks after a minute of silence.Oh.I blink.
“You’re going to come check it out? Not Dan?” I have Dan’s business card, the head contractor and business owner.
“Yeah, Dan has a full schedule today, but I’m free.” He seems to go a little red under the shade of his hat. “Unless… Unless you want to wait for Dan. He might have something later in the week. I get that I’m new, so you might be more comfortable with him since you know him.” He scratches his bearded cheek.
“No!” I exclaim. Then, more calmly I say, “I mean, no. I don’t know him either. A, uh, friend gave me the number, so I’m not loyal to anyone in particular. I’ll have to leave work a bit early, but it shouldn’t be a problem.” I smile in a way that I hope reads more reassuring and less serial killer.
He smiles warmly in reply, showing off straight, white teeth. “Great. Can I have your number and address? I’ll need it to bill the job.” I rattle off both as he inputs them into his phone. He glances up at me and seems to look directly at my chest, which quickly flushes red under his gaze. I hear him mumble, “Summer,” and realize he was looking at my name tag. I suddenly feel ridiculous for assuming he was looking at me with anything more than professional curiosity.
“My name is Ryan, by the way.” He sticks his hand out with a grin.
I grip his large, warm hand in mine and give it a solid shake. “Summer,” I offer, even though he just wrote it down. He’s still smiling at me, holding my hand in his for a beat longer than necessary when I gently tug it away. “So what brought you in today? Aside from getting a new customer,” I joke.
“Right, I definitely didn't just come in to meet the pretty bank teller.” He looks at me and winks. Before my brain has a chance to process that information and reboot, he says, “I actually came in to open an account. I wanted to set up a direct deposit with work as well.”
I carefully sidestep the “pretty bank teller” comment because I’m sure he flirts with anything with legs. He’s the most handsome man I’ve ever met, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to fall at his feet over a single compliment. I currently have at least one morsel of self respect fighting my desire to be flattered for dominance.
“Okay, let me get that started for you, Ryan.” After a few clicks on my computer, I print out the forms for him and show him where to sign.
“Thanks so much. I’ll see you at three?” He backs up, rolling the papers before shoving them in the back pocket of his well-worn jeans.
“Yes, see you then. Thank you for doing this on such short notice,” I say, happy that this is one more thing I can tick off my to-do list.
“No problem. It’s supposed to rain the rest of the week, so we should probably get it looked at sooner rather than later.” He gives me a wave while opening the door, letting in the heady scent of petrichor. “Bye, Summer.”
CHAPTER 4
Ryan
Istep out into the rain, leaving the shelter of First Bank of Lakeland behind. My heart is still thudding irregularly from meeting Summer. I thank whoever is listening for her leaky roof, because I’ll take any excuse to see her again.
Even though I spent a good chunk of my childhood in this town, I don’t think we’ve ever met. There are a few grade schools and middle schools that all filter into the same high school, but since my family left at the very beginning of freshman year, I never got the chance to bump into her. I feel certain I would have remembered her.
Driving through Lakeland brings back so many memories. I’ve only been in town for a week and most of that time was spent unpacking and getting my house livable. The days I had free before I started work were marked with frequent Target runs with my sister, Layla, to get all the essentials.
After having her son, Hudson, a few years back, she’ll take any opportunity to get out of the house kid-free. I appreciate her readiness to help me make my place a little more homey, because without her it would have been the stereotypical single man’s house. Not a picture frame or throw pillow in sight. She evenconvinced me to buy a blanket for the couch and a floor lamp to use instead of the overhead lighting.
On my way back to work, I pass my old karate studio where I spent every Thursday in sixth grade learning how to kick the shit out of other kids. I snort at the memory of accidentally kicking my friend, Luke, in the mouth and knocking out his already loose tooth. Safe to say that was the end of my karate career. Maybe one day I’ll have a little Ryan who will be better at karate than me.
I think about how unsettled I’ve felt moving from place to place over the last few years. It felt necessary at the time, but Lakeland feels like home to me already. I missed having a sense of community and solid friends. I’m ready to dive in and build my little village here.
Moving from place to place did satisfy my desire to see more of the world and meet new people. When my then-girlfriend, Lydia, went to finish a master’s degree abroad, I figured I might as well take the time to do some exploring myself.
I always thought that when she had her degree, she would come back to me and we would make a home together somewhere. Didn’t exactly work out that way. As I pass through the small town of Lakeland though, I’m sort of glad it didn’t. Lydia was never one for pastoral backdrops; she felt more comfortable being dwarfed by skyscrapers, and I felt most comfortable making her happy, so we never would have ended up somewhere like this. This place is idyllic and quiet with rolling hills and a mountainous backdrop.
Once I get back to the office, I finish the last of the administrative work I need to get done for the day. But really, I know I’m just puttering around until I can leave for Summer’s place. Being that I just got started here, it probably isn’t the best idea that I moved a new client to tomorrow to make room for her in my schedule, but I couldn’t resist.
I try to justify it to myself: A leaking roof is a more immediate concern than installing new overhead lighting for Mr. and Mrs.Webber. Plus, Dan won’t actually care. When he hired me, he knew that I had been working independently for the last few years, so he promised to be mostly hands-off as long as I got things done.
It finally hits 2:45 p.m. and I can’t wait any longer. I grab some tools and materials I think I’ll need for the job and head out into the rain again, pulling the hood of my sweater up to shield my face from the storm.
After putting Summer’s address into my navigation app, I hit the road. While driving to her house, I realize she lives fairly close to me. It would take me ten minutes or less to walk from my house to hers. I choose to ignore how happy that makes me when I park my truck. She didn’t seem to enjoy the compliment I gave her at the bank, so I need to remain professional. For all I know, she’s married with a bunch of kids. Didn’t see a ring though. I grunt in annoyance at myself before hopping out of the truck and into the cold rain.
