Page 18 of Chalk It Up

I also move to look under the hood as if any of it makes sense to me. He moves things around and takes things off and puts them back on, before looking under my car where he lets me know he’s found a puddle of…something.

“Coolant. Your car is leaking coolant.” He says standing back up and brushing his hands off. “Looks like you’ve been skipping some regular maintenance. Do you have a water bottle in your car?”

He’s thirsty? I mean, okay. It was a long walk.

“Yeah, of course I do.” I round back to the driver's side and pull out a water bottle that is much larger than necessary that I’ve also not drunk from all day. It’s the thought that counts. Osmosis, right? Humans are basically plants. “Here.” I hand it over to him and he starts pouring it in the car, and sees the confused look on my face. Honestly, I would know more about this if I had someone who actually raised me to know the basics of car maintenance.

“The water is a temporary coolant so you can get back home. Hopefully after work you get it topped off and you can save what’s left of your head gaskets.” It’s all a foreign language, but I trust him and plan to take my car in. Eventually. “I’m serious. You’ll destroy your engine if you don’t get coolant in here.”

“Consider it done, Billionaire.” I salute him and he drops the hood of my car back down.

“Has anyone ever told you that you have quite the attitude?” He’s much closer to me now. He keeps backing me into tight places. But the more I get to know August the less nervous I am, and the more I start to feel something much more enjoyable. I bump back into my car without realizing how close I was to it. August brackets his hands to the car on either side of me. But this cage he’s created doesn’t make me feel trapped, it makes me feel secure. I meet the fire in his eyes with my own and I know he has my heart racing in overtime.

“Does it bother you?” I ask, half playful and half nervous. My anxiety doesn’t automatically go away, and my conscious and subconscious are battling it out right now to determine if he’s a threat. I know he’s not.

August bends down to my height before he whispers, “Not even a little bit, Princess.” He straightens up entirely and I’m certain his hand slides over mine in the process, but my brain is goop under my car along with my coolant. He moves around to the side of my car and opens my door for me. That’s good too since I’m positive I don’t have the strength in me to do that either.

I get comfortable in my seat but he doesn’t close my door. “Thank you again for helping Adeline tonight. I appreciate it.”

“Well, I don’t think I was given much of a choice, but I’m happy to regardless.”

“Evangeline, you always have a choice.” Those words feel like a blanket and it’s that thought that reminds me I still have his jacket. “Oh hey, here’s your jacket.” I turn and grab it, pushing it in his direction.

“You keep it.” He guides it back toward me. “In case you refuse to listen to me and break down again.”

“Oh, well, thank you.” Is all I manage to say and set the jacket in the back seat. “Thank you, August, for the help. Have a good night.”

“Anytime.” The promise hangs heavy in the air. “Drive safely, Evangeline.” He’s about to close my door when I realize I rudely haven’t asked if he wants a ride back down his driveway.

“Hey, do you need a ride back?”

“Nah. I need to cool down.” With that simple statement he closes my door and heads back down the driveway. He didn’t even break a sweat and it’s freezing out here. I don’t want to think about the implications too much or I’ll need to cool down too. So I let it go.

Maple and I make it back home safely and I try to work out the two Augusts I saw tonight. The night honestly felt so perfect. It’s irrational to think but it felt like I fit in at dinner tonight, Addie made great progress, and I had butterflies the whole time. I might be a little blinded by hope, but it seemed like August was enjoying my company as well. That is, until he turned right back into a jerk at the end of the night, seemingly erasing all the steps we seemed to have taken to be amicable. But then he also came to help me with my car when he didn’t have to. And to top it off, he called me Princess. His emotions give me whiplash.

I stick my leftover containers from August in my fridge for lunch tomorrow, turn around and stare at my living area, dining room, and kitchen, and am crushed under the weight of feeling entirely alone. There is so much life in August and Addie’s home and I guess it never really hit me what it truly feels like to live in complete solitude. If I died, how would anyone even know aside from the fact that I wouldn’t show up for work? The morbidly intrusive thought drives me to draw a bath full of lavender salts to assure that I fall asleep in bed easily.

The next day, I woke up with the feeling of his hands still cradling me and arms securing me to his broad chest. I let those emotions keep me on a high all day. We have our first evening working on the set tonight and I’m so excited to see this vision come to life. This feels like a temporary replacement for not picking up my camera anymore. Some type of creative outlet. Something beautiful that I can create, with a lot of help, of course. At the end of the school day, Mrs. Johnston and I have a last-minute video chat with some Von Logging employees to finalize the materials they need to bring in order to start on some small parts of the set.

The main employee spearheading the project is Emmett Morgan. I don’t know much about Emmett except that, like me, he’s also not from here. I do know that he’s really close to the Von family, like an adopted brother of sorts. He seems to be the brawn of the operation at Von Logging and something of a creative genius. I’m really excited to work with him.

We disconnect the successful video chat, and I head home to feed and walk Maple before I need to come back to bring some of the set to life. I throw my hair into a high ponytail, change into some comfortable grey sweats with a white tank top tucked in and a matching baggy grey zip up. I head over to the school, eager to start creating.

What I don’t expect when I pull into the school is August’s commanding black SUV to be parked in front of our multipurpose room. Emmett said we’d be working with him and some people underneath him so I very safely assumed I would be August-free for the evening. That doesn’t seem to be the case. I grab my sketch pad and nerves and head in.

Heaving open one of the double doors, the first set of eyes I find are a gorgeous green. I shouldn’t be surprised at this point. And truthfully, I’m not even a little upset about it. August is a dedicated father, a wise businessman, a talented cook, and not the least of all, extremely hot. He is all man at well over six feet tall, with perfectly broad shoulders, and muscle… everywhere. Trying to deny that I’m attracted to him on multiple levels is a fool's errand, but I’m smarter than to act on it. Look, don’t touch.

He and Emmett, along with Mrs. Johnston and her wandering-eyes, are talking and pointing at different spots in the room.

I insert myself into the group because even though I feel irrationally intimidated by each one of them, I remind myself that this Christmas program is my baby and will have my name on it. I want everything to represent that well.

“Hey!” I greet, meeting each person in the eyes except for August. I don’t know why my brain refused at that moment, but I didn’t miss his not-so-subtle perusal of me when I walked up. Like he’s remembering all the places he held me last night. It makes me squirm just a bit. “Sorry, I had to walk my dog and change. I’ve got my sketch pad and plans.” I add. “And I already know August since he’s Addie’s father, but I’d love to formally introduce myself.” I reach my hand out to Emmett unnecessarily, it’s a small town and everyone knows everyone. But I’m trying to be polite.

“Emmett.” He introduces. “Nice to formally meet you, Evangeline.” He smiles with a kind of familiarity that says introductions are not in order.

“Just Evie is fine. Thanks for helping us out.”

“Thank you for finally joining us.” Mrs. Johnston chides. This woman constantly exasperates me. I’m hardly late. “We were just discussing the height of the Christmas trees and the stands that will need to be built to accommodate their height, but now that you’re here you can help Emmett and August visualize the big picture and see what can be accomplished tonight. There’s no rush, as we have a few weeks until the program, but it's better to stay on top of things.” She turns to head out of the door and it takes all of my self-control to not make a comment just like hers about leaving for the day. But I digress. I have a gorgeous man standing here waiting for my command.