Page 4 of Summer Heat
When we were almost finished, Kinsley appeared.
"You get everything taken care of?" I asked her.
"They want to assess the damage. I called and left a message about that."
I hated that she needed to rely on her landlord to get what she needed from the insurance company. "When I pick up your car, I'll take pictures. You've got the emails about the requests to fix the pipe?"
Kinsley nodded. "I always followed up my calls with an email message."
"We can build a case without him. He shouldn't hold this up for you."
Her shoulders lowered. "Thank you for your help. You didn't have to do any of this."
I smiled. It was one of my charming ones women loved. "Sure I did. Now what do my ladies want for dinner?"
Maya rushed toward the door. "Can we have drummies?"
I looked at Kinsley in confusion.
Kinsley's lips twitched. "She wants chicken drumsticks."
"I might need to run to the store for those."
"You shouldn't have to go out of your way."
"I've been playing the part of butler, and we haven't stopped playing yet. Isn't that right, my lady?" I said to Maya."
Maya nodded. "Shep's my butler."
"Maya—" Kinsley began.
"I'll get your car, take pictures, and get food while you make yourself at home." They'd been through enough today.
"Mommy, you didn't pick a room yet." Maya ran into the room next to hers.
I stepped closer to Kinsley. "I have a feeling she's going to do that for you."
She smiled. "Every room is beautiful, like something out of a fairy tale."
"I'm glad that Maya's enjoying this new adventure and not dwelling on our flooded house."
"Me too."
"I meant what I said. Make yourself at home." I slipped past her, trying not to think about what it would be like to have these two in my home for the indefinite future.
In the truck, I contemplated calling Hudson, knowing he would come if I asked. But he'd have questions I wasn't ready to answer.
Why was I moving an employee into my house? Could I handle living with a five-year-old?
I didn't want to hear the concern in his voice, so I called one of the guys on my crew. I knew Jimmy wouldn't ask any questions. At the end of the day, I was his boss.
I got there before him and took a ton of pictures, depicting the damage in every room. I also grabbed anything that was salvageable and stuffed it into another garbage bag. I hated that Kinsley and Maya's life had been reduced to a few plastic bags. It wasn't fair, and it was all because her landlord didn't do his job.
But for now, she was safe with me. I'd make sure they were taken care of. And maybe, if I was lucky, she'd finally see that I was more than what people said about me.
Chapter Two
Kinsley
