Would he just let it go already? “No comment. Let’s just find the leak, okay?” Thankfully, Linc let the topic drop. Just as well, because Jesse didn’t want to start thinking of a relationship between Hailey and himself. With the animosity between their parents, there was no way it would ever work out. Behind the second last machine, the drywall was wet considerably higher up. “I’m going to have to open the wall. I need a drywall saw.”
Linc rummaged in the tool box. “Don’t have one. Want me to get one?”
“No, we’ll keep our trips to a minimum.” He stood and kicked the wall. Water gushed out. Yanking on the edges of the hole he’d created, he pulled away enough sodden sheetrock to see inside.
“Here it is.” He examined the pipe. A huge, four-inch long split ran along the pipe. It was deeply corroded, covered in calcium and lime deposits. “It was leaking a long time before it burst. Fortunately, this is an outside wall. Most of the damage will be contained in this room and to the lower portion of the walls.”
“What’s first?” Linc peered over the washers to see the damage. “I think we can do a quick splice with solderless connectors.”
“Good plan. That’ll get the water back on. Luckily, it looks like the water stayed low enough to have minimal effect on the basement electrical. We’ll get an electrician in to be sure. We’ll tackle the drain next.” He called Miss Jasmine who sent a female guard to escort Linc to the truck and back. He returned with a toolbox of supplies.
Jesse fixed the leak while Linc located the drain and cleaned it with a plumbing snake. “Baby socks?” he exclaimed as he pulled a clot free. The water surged into the drain, disappearing rapidly. “How do baby socks get into a drain?”
Jesse heard Linc thumping around.
“The floor drain cover is warped and doesn’t fit. Add a new cover to your supply list.”
“There really should be more maintenance funds for places like this. A few dollars here and there would reduce costly repairs like this one. You up for some hard labor?”
“Got nothing else to do,” Linc responded.
“Call Miss Jasmine. Tell her we need a dozen laundry baskets.” He pulled half-washed clothing from a machine and wrung the water out of it. He set it on the adjacent machine and grabbed another item. They’d accumulated a large stack when a small female voice intruded.
“Excuse me?”
Jesse looked up. A petite brunette stood in the doorway, a large stack of baskets in her hands. Her gaze darted from him to Linc and down to the floor. She was shy. Nervous.
“Miss Jasmine said you needed these?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Thank you…” Jesse trailed off.
“Milly. I’m Milly.” She blushed prettily and ducked her head.
“Hi Milly. I’m Jesse. That’s Linc.” He reached for the baskets. “Thank you.” It couldn’t have been easy for her to come down. She looked terrified.
“Do you need help?” She stared at Linc.
“Only if you want to.” Jesse hid his smile. “It’s not much fun to wring out soaking wet laundry.”
“I’ll help.” Her eyes didn’t leave Linc who continued to crush water from clothing.
“Jesse handed his friend a laundry basket. “Can you start on the dryers? They won’t be working either. They’re probably all ruined.”
“They didn’t work well anyway.” Milly moved just close enough to reach into the first washer.
“We’ll get some new ones here as fast as we can.” Linc said, smiling at Milly. “At least one or two until we fix the walls and floor.”
“Today?” The question was hesitant, as if she feared reprisal. She bit her lip.
Anger fused through Jesse. No woman should be afraid to ask a simple question. Whoever did this to her should be punished. Nobody deserved to be physically harmed.
“By tomorrow for sure, or later. But don’t worry. I’ll take all this to the laundromat and have it back in a couple of hours.” Linc promised.
“Oh, thank you.” She beamed at Linc, making him blush. “You don’t have to. We can wait.”
“It’s no trouble. I wasn’t doing anything anyway.” He dumped some damp towels into a basket.
Jesse stared at his friend. Lincoln Brave, in a laundromat. That’d be the day. He lived alone and had a cleaning lady. And not busy? Insane. He was a rancher, there were always plenty of chores to occupy his rare spare time. Something was up. He stared at his friend. Linc split his attention between the dryer and Milly, a silly grin on his face.
