As I pulled to a stop, Luna unbuckled herself from her booster seat and bounded out of the car.
“Luna!” I called out. “Stop!”
“He’s friendly.” A familiar male voice called down from the heavens.
I looked up, not sure of what I expected to see. My eyes widened when I saw Hank standing on my roof. And he was wearing a tool belt. His massive frame appeared even larger and more imposing from that angle. Hank Comfort was the epitome of ruggedly, tall, dark and handsome. The sun setting behind his back also magnified the optical illusion. He looked like some sort of construction man angel.
Luna’s giggle snapped me out of my momentary trance. I’d completely forgotten that she’d run up to a strange dog. I looked back at her and saw the dog licking her face. Luna had always wanted a dog, but I wasn’t allowed to have them in my condo thanks to a prickly HOA. I’d felt guilty about it and even considered moving.
“What’s your name?” Luna asked through her giggles.
“Sherlock,” Hank called down. “He’s my brother Jimmy’s dog.”
“Sherlock!” Luna hugged Sherlock’s neck tightly as the dog continued to shower Luna with affectionate, slobbery kisses.
It was clear the two had become fast friends, so I turned my attention back up to the gladiator on my roof. Lifting my hand to my forehead, I shielded my eyes from the sun. “What are you doing up there?”
“You had a leak.”
Hank had mentioned the night before that he wanted to work on some repairs, but I’d barely heard him because I thought he was going to kiss me. My brain had deleted the wanting to do repairs detail to make room for a constant loop of the moment I thought he was going to kiss me.
“Um, yeah, I was going to call someone about it.” As soon as I made enough money that I could pay them, that is.
“Now you don’t have to.” Hank smiled, really smiled, down at me before walking out of sight, hammer in hand. My insides did flips, my knees went weak, and I felt myself get light-headed.
Hank Comfort not smiling was next-level, record-braking, panty-melting sexy. Hank Comfort smiling was so dangerous he should have to register it as a lethal weapon. Because I was feeling like I might just keel over.
As I gawked up at the space that Hank had just occupied, I remembered what Billy had said, that I was the one to put a smile on his brother’s face. And what Mrs. Birch had said about me putting a pep in his step.
Were they right?
Was there something between us?
Could he possibly be feeling what I was?
I was still recovering from the smile-sighting when I walked up the porch steps to the front door in a daze and opened it. Luna and Sherlock were right behind me.
“Can Sherlock watch my movie with me?” Luna asked.
“I don’t know if he’ll want to go inside.” Before I even finished my sentence, Luna had jumped on the couch and Sherlock was curled up beside her.
I flipped on the movie and did my best not to think about the man that was up on my roof or what the implications were that he was there. He was being neighborly. That was it. Just like the trolley ride was not a date.
Nerves rattled through me like a loose penny in the dryer. They were dinging off the protective armor I had around myself. I paced around the living room, then the kitchen. I needed to call Ashley back, but I didn’t want to do it while Hank was here.
Unpacking. That would keep me busy and be productive. So, I started in on the bathrooms and my clothes. Unfortunately, unpacking boxes and putting away my clothes was not the distraction I’d hoped it would be. My mind was wandering to the man on the roof.
Why was Hank here?
Was he just being neighborly?
That was one plausible explanation.
Mrs. Birch had insisted that I not worry about the childcare rate when I pressed her on the subject before we left. She’d said that she had scholarships from investors, whatever that meant, and that even if she hadn’t, she’d watch Luna for free because she was such a “hoot.”
And in Seattle, Milly had befriended me the day I moved next door. I was eight months pregnant at the time and hadn’t had enough money to hire movers. Milly noticed me trying to wrestle boxes up two flights of stairs, introduced herself, and then called in for backup.
She rounded up the teen boys that lived in the complex and bribed them with fried chicken and hazelnut brownies to finish the move. At the time, I remembered thinking it was strange that four teenage boys would give up their Saturday for home-cooked food, that was before I’d tasted Milly’s cooking. I’d give up a month of Saturdays for her chicken and brownies.
That was another spur-of-the-moment move. In a span of three hours, I’d found a place to live, packed up all of my belongings and started a new chapter of my life. And both times it had been because of Richie’s actions. I thought once we broke up, I would be untangled from his life. But that was naïve considering I had his child. I wondered if I’d ever be able to truly distance myself from him and more importantly his choices.
I jumped when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I looked down and saw it was a message from Ashley.
Ashley: It’s been hours. I’m dying here. Call me.
Hours?
I looked at the clock and saw that while it hadn’t quite been hours, it had been about a half an hour. Ashley was prone to the dramatic. I hadn’t wanted to speak to her while Hank was here, but I knew that although she wasn’t dying, she was probably worried.
So when my screen lit up and I saw that she was calling it, I answered. “We have to find a new code word. Gravy has been compromised.”
CHAPTER 15
Hank
After finishing up the roof and loading my tools and ladder back onto my truck, I went to let Skylar know that I was done and to grab Sherlock. I hadn’t seen the hound dog since Skylar and Luna had gotten home. I figured he must’ve ingratiated himself to them. I couldn’t blame him because I sure as hell was trying to do the exact same thing.
When I approached the screen door, I saw that my suspicion had been correct. Luna was watching TV; Sherlock was curled up on the couch beside her. The sight caused my heart to squeeze in my chest. It was a snapshot of what I’d thought my life was going to be once upon a time.
I’ll never forget the moment Melody told me that I was going to be a dad. A love like I’d never felt before flooded me. Not for Melody, but for my unborn child. My reaction probably wasn’t what most eighteen-year-old guys would’ve felt finding out their girlfriend was pregnant, but I was actually happy.
It made sense that the things a teenager would normally feel didn’t apply to me. By then I’d been raising my little brothers for five years. My life wasn’t my own and hadn’t been for a long time. I was already responsible for other people, for running a household, and even a business.
There was no fear. None. Just the hope of having a family that I could make sure wasn’t fucked up like mine was.
Then it all went away. I asked Melody to marry me and with her response, I found out that I was no longer an expecting dad with a pregnant fiancée. I was a single teenager. It devastated me almost as much as losing my mom had.
Pushing down the emotion that was starting to well inside of me, I lightly knocked on the doorframe. It got Sherlock’s attention and he lifted his head. But when he saw it was me, he lowered it back down onto Luna’s lap.