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“Well, I live in the cabins I’m renovating.”
“So she’ll have to move every couple of months?”
That didn’t sound great for her. “It’s been the easiest thing to do while I’m working.”
“But Elisa will be moving out here,” Mel pointed out. “She’ll want to bring her furniture and her things. Will she have to put them in storage? Look, it’s something to work on for the future. She’s going to want a proper home, and that’s why I think you should consider moving into the bunker.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
“It’s real nice. Cassidy put in a hot plate and everything,” Mel explained. “If you move some of the supplies around, you’ll have room for Elisa’s furniture.”
“I thought the bunker was for alien invasions.”
Mel nodded. “And when the feds come to town. And when I don’t want to talk to someone. And there’s always the threat of thermonuclear war and the zombie apocalypse. Honestly, that bunker works for any apocalypse. Maybe not one where the giant land worms take over the Earth. I have to think about that, but the good news is we have you around to do renovations when we need them.”
His life pretty much passed before his eyes. He would be trapped in a small space with the love of his life—not so bad—and her de facto parents and their CB radio monitoring everything that could go wrong with life itself—super bad. “I think you and Cassidy should keep that… You’re fucking with me again, aren’t you?”
A laugh filled the cab. “You’re fun to tease, Hale. Cassidy told me I had to go easy on you, but I’ve never had a son to needle before.”
Hale felt his hands grip the steering wheel tighter. He hadn’t considered the fact that he wasn’t merely getting Elisa out of this. He was getting a family. “Well, I’ve never had a dad who cared enough to tease me, so don’t be surprised if I take most of what you say at face value and work my hardest to please you.”
Mel reached over and patted his arm. “Like I said, you’re a good man, Hale. You need to understand that you have value, and you’re part of the community here in a way I don’t think you’ve ever been before. You have friends here. I think you’re going to find your family here. Be patient with Van. He’s not as smart as you are.”
Hale snorted, taking the switchback with the utmost caution. He still had to get down this mountain, drive across town, and then up another mountain, but suddenly that didn’t seem so bad. Suddenly it seemed like it might be nice to talk to Mel about something other than aliens. “Van has always been the smart one, and you might have been teasing me, but you make a good point. I don’t have the money for my own cabin. I’ve talked about buying one, but I would be taking out a loan with the purpose of flipping it. We would still be moving around.”
“I think you’ll find Elisa has done far better than you have financially,” Mel said. “I talked to her about moving here, and she’s planning on buying a cabin when the right one comes up for sale.”
“She mentioned that to me, but I don’t want to…”
Mel cut him off. “Do not say you don’t want to mooch off her. Women don’t like it when you take their efforts for granted and play the wounded male. Her comfort is worth more than your ego.”
“I don’t have much of an ego. You’re right. If she wants to buy something, I’ll put in the work to make it perfect for her, and I’m starting to make real money. She can teach me how to handle it. Van’s always been the one to handle what little we had. But man could he make a dollar go forever. He’s always been good with money.”
He glanced down and noticed the tire pressure light had come on.
“I think my girl is pretty frugal, too. I wish I had a big inheritance to promise her, but unless she manages to make it to Leira Seven, I’m afraid that old ramshackle cabin is all I have. Now if she does, she’ll find out she’s their version of a billionaire,” Mel began.
The words kept flowing, but Hale’s mind was laser focused on the road now. The tire pressure gauge often went wonky in the winter, but he thought he could feel a slight pull to the passenger side. Like the tire was slowly but steadily deflating.
He’d recently had his tires checked. The SUV had been looked over by Long-Haired Roger and declared ready for the wintertime. It was an older model but solidly built, and the tires were fairly new.
Had someone screwed with his tires in the parking lot at the lodge, knowing he would have to deal with this dangerous road? Had they screwed around with the water heater knowing he would be the one Lucy called out?
