AllFreeNovel
Share Us
On Monday, Miles called her at school so many times, filling her voicemail with protestations of innocence and excuses, she had to block him. That afternoon, he broke up with her on Venmo—leaving a message for all of her contacts to see that indicated she’d been the one at fault for being so cold and frigid. Meaning, she hadn’t put out. Miles had charged her on Venmo for every dinner he ever paid for. So classy.
“It’s nothing interesting,” she said, backtracking. “But in Lark Springs everyone knows everyone else’s business. You’ve been gone too long if you don’t remember that. I bet you were glad to leave small-town gossip behind.” Or at least she hoped he was. “You’re above all that now.”
“Why don’t you spare me the trouble of asking the grocery store checkout lady about you and just tell me why the guy dumped you?”
She folded her hands in her lap. “Don’t bother. It’s not as intriguing as I imagine your love life is.”
“You’re imagining my love life?” The corner of his lips lifted into a smirk. “Well, we all need hobbies.”
“I just meant that you have actual groupies. I bet if you look on the internet, someone has tattooed your face on her tush.”
He snorted. “No need to search the internet. I’ve seen that firsthand.”
Olivia wasn’t sure if he was serious or not. Butewww. Also, this conversation had quickly gone off the rails. “Maybe you’re right about small talk being a bad idea.”
His smirk turned into a smile. “I’m just helping you imagine my love life.”
“No need. I learned all I needed to know about that in high school.” He always went for the cheerleader type, and he dumped them quickly. No one lasted more than a couple of months.
“Really? I don’t remember teaching you anything about my love life in high school.”
“And yet it was still enough.” She picked up her phone. “I’m going to call my father. Maybe he’ll be able to come to your cabin and help as well.”
Carson didn’t tell her not to call which she took to mean that he would accept her father’s help. She punched in his number. He probably wouldn’t answer right away. It usually took several tries to get a hold of him.
He picked up after the fourth ring, speaking too loudly. “Leelee-bug! How’s my girl?”
Was he drunk? Well, that didn’t matter. He probably was still sober enough to understand what she was saying. “I’m fine but Matt is in some trouble, and I hope you can help.”
“Yeah, he already told me. I gave him some names of places that might offer him work. Couldn’t do more than that. I’m behind on bills myself.”
“Actually, youcando more than that. Carson Clark is short-staffed now. I told him I would help but you’re much better at renovations—one of the best in the state.” Compliments never hurt.
“What sort of renovations?” her father asked.
She realized she didn’t know what needed to be done on the cabin besides the flooring. “Carson’s here with me. He can tell you about the project.” She put the call on speaker and turned to him. “What still needs to be done?”
“Demoing the tile in the bathrooms and laundry room. Prepping the floors and installing the hardwood flooring. Replacing the trim work and door casings. Painting the interior, tiling the bathrooms, and putting the backsplash in the kitchen. Replacing the toilets and all the light fixtures. And a few other things.”
There was silence on the phone.
“Dad?” she asked.
“That’s a lot of stuff. What’s done now—just the framing and the drywall?”
“That’s why we need your help. Carson needs it finished by July fourteenth.”
More silence on the phone.
“So can you help?” she asked.
“Matt never should’ve taken that money. That’s the honest-to-honest truth.”
Yep, her dad was drunk. “Right. We’re agreed about that. But he needs your help now.”
“Iamhelping. If the ‘thorities ask where he is, I’m not telling. I ain’t seen him. I ain’t heard from him.”
Olivia raised her voice and annunciated clearly. “The authorities won’t need to look for him if Matt pays Carson back and you help us finish the house. Can you do that?”
