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Chapter One
“WHERE ARE YOU?”
“I’m driving past Marine Parade, Ash. I can practically see your house from here. Would you calm down?”
“I AM CALM!”
“Of course you are.” Luke pressed harder on the gas and swerved down the lane. “How did you bust your kitchen pipe anyway?”
“Okay, first of all, I resent the insinuation that I’m at fault here. All I did was lift the faucet so I could wash some dirty dishes and the whole thing came off in my hand. Next thing I knew, there was a fountain in the middle of my house.”
“Why didn’t you call your dad or, you know, an actual plumber?”
“Because my dad is in Caye Caulker enjoying the last of his Singles Cruise and the plumber would charge me a hundred bucks just to come down here on a Sunday. One hundred, Luke. Do you know what I could do with all that cash?”
“You could get a professional to fix your pipe,” Luke grumbled.
Ash’s tone turned cajoling. “Why would I do that when I have a strong, capable friend to help me?”
Luke saw through her flattery like it was wrapping plastic. “I should turn back and go home.”
“Fine! Go ahead. Throw twenty years of friendship down the drain. I don’t care.”
He spotted the red-trimmed roof of Ashanti’s bungalow and parked the car in her cobbled driveway. “It’s too late. I’m here.”
“Thank God.”
Luke hung up and threw his door open. His feet pounded up the wooden stairs to her verandah.
Potted plants swung from tiny lengths of rope. Exotic blooms thirstily drank in the Caribbean sunshine. Purple chimes sang from the middle of the post, their metal tails banging a chaotic melody.
Luke threw himself toward the front door seconds before it flew open. Ashanti appeared, chest heaving and black curls wild about her face. Her pink T-shirt was soaked and clung to her lean body.
Sharp, brown eyes dipped to his empty hands. “Where’s your toolbox?”
“Toolbox?” Luke breathed hard. “You didn’t say anything about a toolbox.”
“I explicitly told you to bring one since I didn’t know where Dad’s was.”
He frowned. “You could have said that earlier!”
“I thought you heard.”
He brushed her aside and walked into the house. “We’ll deal with that later. For now, let’s check out the problem.”
Ashanti swept her arms toward the kitchen. “After you.”
As Luke marched deeper into the house, he heard the gushing flow of a pipe that had gone berserk. He passed the dining room and stopped at the doorway to the kitchen.
It looked as bad as it sounded. The sink was filled to the brim with water that sped down the sides of the drawers and crashed to the ground.
His eyes skirted past his shirt to his shoes that were about to slog through the flood. Just great. His new kicks would be ruined in the tide.
The things he did for Ashanti.
Luke glanced over his shoulder. “Ash?”
Silence met his call.
Luke turned fully around, his gaze scanning the expanse of the redwood cabinets, the stainless steel refrigerator and the open cupboards.
Where did she go?
He shook his head and approached the pipe, squinting as the force of the spray shot water droplets at his face. Since he wasn’t a plumber, he backed away and pulled out his phone to ask Google what he should do.
He was skimming through an article when Ashanti returned, lugging a big, rusted box with her. Her slender fingers held the handles in a death grip and her back curved with the weight of it.
Luke scrambled to her side and relieved of her of the box. “This your dad’s?”
“I happened to find it.” She nodded to the sink. “Do you know what to do?”
Luke wiggled the phone in her face. “It said I should shut down the main valve so it stops feeding water to the pipe.”
Silence swept between them as Luke stared pointedly at her.
“What?” Ashanti narrowed her eyes. “Do I look like I know where the main valve is?”
Luke sighed but said nothing as he headed outside to find the valve. After shutting it off, he returned to the kitchen and inspected the sink.
Ashanti’s head poked close to his. “How bad is it?”
“You’re gonna need a plumber.”
“Dammit!” She pulled her bottom lip in with her teeth. “How much is that gonna cost me?”
“Does it matter?”
She sulked but didn’t say anything.
