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“What’s that?” she asked as he came to the narrow swath of gravel between their driveways.Our DMZ, she thought, remembering what he’d said the other night.
“This is a fuel pump for a mid-90s Pontiac Sunfire. I told you I could help you out with your car.”
Siena stared at the box. She’d almost forgotten that he’d also offered that help. And he’d bought the part? Without asking if she could afford it? The whole reason she was driving a car that had to be convinced to keep going was that she couldn’t afford to have it looked at, let alone repaired.
Recognizing that her thoughts had turned down a path which would lead to her getting mad about an offer of help, she stomped on her mental brakes and said, “That’s a really nice offer, but ... I can’t afford to pay for that.”
He frowned. “I told you I’d help you out. I got it.”
“I don’t want ... we’re not friends, Cooper.” Whether that was true because she was a bitch or he was an ass or both, it was true. “I don’t want to owe you.”
Now he took a big, deep breath, the kind that carried the message that his patience was fragile and nearing its breaking point. “I didn’t say you’d owe me. I don’t want you to pay me back. I’m not doing it to get you on some kind of hook. Fuck, Siena, I don’t know what to do to show you I’m really not a piece of shit.”
“I just don’t understand why you’d help me. Everything we know about each other is bad.” Only conflict had passed between them since the night he’d moved in.
But Cooper said, “That’s not true. At least not on my side. I know you took on raising your sister, and I know you’re working hard to do a good job at it. That’s admirable. If I can do a little to help you out, I’m glad.” He took a step back. “Last night, you asked if we could talk today. You want to come in and do that now?”
She thought of the mess of his house the last time she’d been in it. But she didn’t want to let him into her house. What would they talk about anyway? Was she going to let him fix her car?Lethim. Like the chance to give her hundreds of dollars’ worth of free car repairs was a privilege she could bestow on him.
Was she going to take him up on his offer? How about his offer for self-defense training? Was she really going to do it?
I’m a better man than you think I am, he’d insisted. He was doing a pretty good job proving it.
Siena was tired. That was what it came to. She was alone and tired and just couldn’t do everything by herself anymore. Cooper was the one offering her help here at the end of her tether, so she took the help she could see.
“Okay. Let’s talk.”
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~oOo~
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“Do you want somethingto drink?” Cooper asked as he closed the door behind her. “I can brew some coffee quick, or there’s orange juice. Or water. There’s beer, too, but—”
“Too early for beer, yeah. I’m okay, thanks.”
Siena looked around his living room. It was a mess, but no bigger mess than the last time she was in here. An empty pizza box lay open on the coffee table; several glasses, empty beer bottles, used paper towels were strewn around it. A recliner was heaped with a mountain of clothes, and two pairs of boots, a pair of sneakers, and a pair of Adidas slides had obviously been taken off and tossed indiscriminately. But it wasn’t a total pigsty. Didn’t stink, no actual filth. She could see a drainer full of clean dishes in the kitchen. She knew he had a dishwasher, so he must have washed by hand what hadn’t fit in the load.
He was a slob, not a swine. Typical dude.
As she thought that, he grabbed up the mountain of clothes from the recliner and dropped them on the floor. “I’m not much of a housekeeper, but I’ve got a service coming starting next week.”
Not knowing why he should care what she thought of his housekeeping skills, she shrugged. She envied his ability to hire a service, though.
“Have a seat,” he said, indicating the recliner.
That recliner and a matching sofa were the only seating options in the room. Rather than assume she’d sit on the sofa with him, he’d cleared off the recliner. That seemed ... respectful. Like he understood she’d be more comfortable at a distance.
Siena put her bag down beside the recliner and sat. Cooper took a seat in the middle of the sofa.
“I got something going on tonight,” he said, “but if you’re off today, I could do your fuel pump. And if you’re interested in some BJJ moves, we can work out the when, too. We don’t need too much space—I’ve got a room we could use. I’m guessing you wouldn’t want to train at Tri-State.”
A caustic laugh escaped her. “No. That guy’s an asshole.”
“He was last night, maybe, but he’s a good guy.”
“To you, and to my friend who recommended him, but not to women, apparently.”
