AllFreeNovel
Share Us
8
Jackson
“I’m sure she can do without it for one day,” I say to Dad, who is looking at me with a determined stare.
“Sure, she probably could,” Dad replies. “But maybe, just maybe, she’s going out of her mind wondering where it is. If I had lost my wallet and didn’t know where I’d left it, I would lose my mind for sure.”
“Then why don’t you just call her and tell her to come collect it?” I press.
“I’m not going to get her to come here on her day off, Jackson,” Dad blurts. “The poor woman spends enough time in this house as it is. Come on, son. I’m not asking for a miracle. I just need you to return her purse.”
I don’t trust him. Not one bit. It wasn’t his doing, of course. It’s not like he had hid Bree’s purse just so he could manufacture a situation where I would have to go return it to her. But still, after yesterday, I know he hasn’t given up on his matchmaking ambitions.
Dad knows full well that there’s a fridge in the barn, and that I have plenty of cold drinks to choose from. Sending Bree out to me yesterday was a ruse to get us talking. It had made me wonder whether Daniel had opened his mouth, but I had dismissed the thought as quickly as it had arrived. He had promised he wouldn’t, and I trust him. No, it had just been Dad’s way of trying to get us to interact with each other.
And he is now at it again.
He’s not going to give this up, and no matter what I say, he’ll have a counter argument ready. Eventually, I relent.
Throwing the small tan purse into the passenger seat, I take the truck over to Carter’s cottage. It’s Bree’s cottage now, but it’s been known as Carter’s cottage for so long, it’ll take some time for anyone who lives in Sharon Springs to get around to calling it that.
It takes about seven minutes for me to reach her house. Her car is parked outside, so I know she’s home. Taking a deep breath in, I grab the purse and slide out of the truck. I’m probably the last person she wants to see, but at least the air between us is better after our little talk in the barn. I would have hated coming out here had that not have happened.
The front door is open, and I rap the screen door with my knuckles. It vibrates noisily. After a minute, there’s no answer, so I rap again. Still no answer. I peer through the screen and try and see inside, but there’s not much to see. There’s only a small porch visible with a doorway off to the left, but there’s no way for me to see any farther than that. As I strain my ears to catch any sounds, perhaps her approach after me knocking the second time, there’s a strange sound that doesn’t really seem normal. Like gushing water. I knock one more time, and wait.
Nothing.
I look down at the wide step I’m standing on. I could just leave the purse here for her to find. Bree is so far out in the wilds here, it should be safe enough. Only, when I return home, I have no doubt Dad will want to know what Bree said, and whether she’s doing OK. He would not be pleased that I left the purse out here for anyone to pick up.
Fine!
Pulling the screen door back, I venture inside. It feels wholly uncomfortable and I take the first couple of steps slowly. The poor woman could be running around here naked for all I know. My mind goes to that place it shouldn’t, and I shake my head to knock the thought off.
Behave, for heaven’s sake.
The sound of gushing water gets louder, and even though I can’t see it, I know it doesn’t sound right. I hear Bree panting. She sounds distraught and I realize something is wrong. Lengthening my step through the cottage, I arrive at the kitchen doorway.
She’s certainly a sight to behold. Soaked to the skin, her hair is plastered to her face and her body. She’s standing in a good centimeter of water, as more of it is gushing out the pipe like a burst fire hydrant.
I can’t help but smirk. Clearly, this is why she was in the hardware store the other day.
“You know, it’s usually better to put a paddling pool outdoors. I know it’s hot and all, but…” I shrug, smiling.
She turns at the sound of my voice, and now stares at me, her face a mixture of surprise and panic, and utter despair. Even looking like a drowned rat, my stomach still churns at the sight of her. I watch as her surprised eyes flick over to the purse I still hold in my hand.
“You left it at the house yesterday. But,” I say, tossing her purse onto a chair, “I believe we currently have more pressing matters at hand, don’t you think?”
Without really thinking about it, I stride into the kitchen and drop to my knees, opening the cupboard beneath the sink.
“What are you doing?!” Bree screeches. “You’re going to get soaked.”
I can already feel the water hammering down onto my back and my head. The water seeps into my jeans at the knees, but it doesn’t really matter. It’s only water, after all. I reach my hand inside the cupboard and turn the stopcock. The sound of the battering water lessens, followed by a strange gurgling sound as the air is sucked back down the pipe with the receding water.
“Is that it?” I call out, while also lifting my head to look at the faucet.
“Yes,” she replies breathlessly. “Thank you.”
I get back on my feet and look down at her, before looking down at myself. I can’t help feel some amusement at the state we’re both in, and suddenly, I burst into laughter. At first, Bree only stares at me, but a second later, she’s laughing with me. I can feel the tension leaving her body as she does so. This is clearly funny now, but she likely wasn’t having too much fun before I arrived.
“You’re quite mad. Do you know that?” she says, the laughter eventually waning.
“Hey, I’m not the one who tried to fix the faucet without turning the mains off,” I reply with a smirk, gesturing to the faucet.
Her faces flushes and she looks embarrassed. “Yeah, well. Maybe Mr. Shilliday was right, after all.”
I frown in confusion, but she just shakes her head. “Never mind. I’ll go and get you a towel.”
“Thanks. I’ll finish up here,” I say, lifting the wrench from the counter.
