“No! I couldn’t have. I’m not that much of an idiot. I know what day it is.” She slammed her towels back on the floor, swirled them around and hauled them, dripping, to the sink. The water level was receding. She could start wiping down walls after a few more swipes. “There’s no way it’s November fifteenth.”
“Look it up. Want to see it on my phone?” He extracted a phone from his back pocket and thrust it at her. Just squeeze the side button and you’ll see the date.
She stared at him, hoping he was mistaken. He couldn’t be right. Absolutely no way. Reluctantly, she took the phone and pressed the button and stared at the screen. “No,” she whispered and dropped her arm to her side. “No way.” She wasn’t ready to open, not even close. Where had the time gone? How had she misplaced an entire week? She still had two suites to empty of her aunt’s belongings and prepare for guests. Plus, she had groceries to buy. More holiday decorating to do. She hadn’t even ordered the furniture and gym equipment for the basement. Okay, maybe that one wasn’t necessary, yet.
“Yes way. Don’t worry about it. Is the room habitable?” he asked kindly, but with a hint of skepticism in his voice.
“More or less. I mean, I just have to dust it and put the bedding on. But I’m not ready to feed you yet. This is supposed to be a bed and breakfast. I have no food.” Her voice trembled and she bit her lip.
“Hey, no worries. We can work something out. I’m not stressing about it, and neither should you. We can make a deal. Maybe a reduced rate and I’ll find my own breakfast.”
“You could stay somewhere else.” Her hand flew to her mouth. “No, wait. Forget I said that. You can stay here. I’ll clean up this disaster and go for groceries. I can do this!” She should keep her mouth shut. Think before she spoke. No sense letting guests know she was inept.
“You know what, Miss Clara? I believe you can. Let’s do this. Is there a rental place in town, somewhere we can get an industrial fan? We’re going to want to dry this place out as fast as we can.”
“Uncle Robert might have one. He’s got just about every tool ever invented. I’ll call him.” She handed Zane his phone. “But I want to get this water cleaned up first.”
They worked in unison, wiping down walls, checking the cupboards to ensure nothing was wet or damaged. Luckily, only a small amount of water had seeped into her walk-in pantry.
“I can’t believe how much water there is,” she complained from her perch standing on top of the counter as she dried the wall overtop the white cupboards.
“It’s not much at all. I remember when my toilet cracked while I was on vacation. It ran for days, flooding the suite below me. My landlord finally came in and shut off the water. Luckily, insurance covered the damage. But my water bill that month was insane.” He chuckled. “You’ll want to contact your agent if anything is destroyed. But I think you’ll be okay. I didn’t see any sign of water damage in the basement ceiling.”
“That’s good.” She wondered how he’d had time to assess the ceiling in the seconds they’d been down there. He was quick. He moved fast and he seemed to take everything in at once. Unlike her. It took her ages to make decisions, and jobs which required thinking took her twice as long as anyone else. Her father used to tease her about being thick. Jerk.
She pushed her father from her mind. He had no power over her anymore. She was through with him and his negativity.
