Page 46 of Welcome Home to Ivy Falls

‘That’s not necessary. My soon-to-be sister-in-law is a contractor. She can fix it.’

‘When? Because unless she can come over in the next day or so, you’re not getting a shower.’

‘There’s a tub. I’ll take a bath.’

He rubbed at the dark stubble on his chin. ‘Are you always this stubborn?’

‘Yes,’ I admitted.

‘Let me help you out, Bird. It’s the neighborly thing to do.’

There was that nickname again. I hated that it was sort of growing on me.

He arched an eyebrow, waiting on my answer. If I called Torran, she’d bring Beck. There’d be a dozen questions and then getting my brother to leave again would be an ordeal.

‘Okay. Thank you.’

He left and, as soon as I heard the door close, I raced back into my bedroom. In one of these boxes or bins there had to be my towels. My hair was still sopping wet and I didn’t want to keep dripping everywhere.

I wrenched open several plastic containers until I found a hand towel mixed in with my perfume and lotions. Quickly I squeezed out most of the water from my hair and tossed it up into a messy bun. When I raced back into the bathroom, Ford was already covering the hole with what looked like children’s glue.

‘A doctor and a handyman?’ I teased.

‘You’d be surprised at how basic skills can be helpful around a house.’

‘Did your father teach you?’

The lines in his forehead pinched.

Okay. Maybe not a great question.

‘My father is more of a hire-someone-to-do-it-for-you kind of guy. I learned about drywall and plumbing from one of the guys on the ship. My cabin had a broken door handle and Kip, who handles all the maintenance, came by to replace it. I asked a bunch of questions and he showed me how to fix it on my own. Whenever he had other jobs to do, and if I wasn’t on shift, he’d let me tag along and learn.’

‘The next time you see Kip, tell him thank you for me.’

He gave an approving nod and went back to work. It was hard not to watch his biceps flexing up and down, the intense set of his full lips as he concentrated. The question I’d been wanting to ask since last week ping-ponged inside my head. I guess there was no time like the present.

‘Any word on Mrs Vanderpool’s tests?’

He stopped mid-spackle and pulled in a heavy breath.

Shit. That wasn’t good.

‘I can’t say much besides she’s getting the care she needs.’ He pushed up those cute Clark Kent glasses. ‘You two seem close. Have you been friends a long time?’

‘Mrs Vanderpool is one of the weirder twists in my life and I’ve had some doozies.’

‘Really?’ That damn grin was back. ‘Do tell.’

‘When I came back to Ivy Falls, a lot of people weren’t sure how to treat me. Mrs Vanderpool always scared me when I was young. Kids at my school even made up stories about how she was a witch. Liked to boil kids in her backyard if a ball was hit on to her lawn.’

‘That’s damn morbid.’

‘For a long time she was our version of the bogeyman. Then I moved away and when I came back…’

I could still see her piercing blue eyes the first time she ran into me and Beck at Minnie’s Market. Everyone knew what I’d done to the house on Huckleberry Lane. Whispered about my third trip to rehab. Mrs Vanderpool marched right past the fruit and vegetables, a box of bran cereal tucked under her arm, and said a sentence to me I’ll never forget.

It’s easy to get lost in the dark. Let Ivy Falls be your light.