Chapter Four

 

 

SHEP

 

“Where is she going?” I asked the empty truck. “This isn’t anywhere near her apartment.”

I was going to pick up my phone to call her when a thought struck me. We were headed toward the diner. Maybe she forgot something and wanted to grab it before we went home. Not a big deal, it’s not like I have anything else to do, but it wasn’t exactly a surprise either. It didn’t matter. The less time I spent at the hellhole I live in, the better. The motel was starting to grate on my nerves since the owners sold it a few months back and the management decided to stop renting the rooms as long-term stays. Other than those of us who were there when they took over, the rooms have been transitioned into nightly rooms, which meant we had hookers, drug dealers, and little kids running around the place on any given night. It was starting to affect my sleep, and I couldn’t let it continue. I would have to find a new place, but finding something I could afford would be a trick. I might have to move home with my mom until I could find something. God help me. Talk about leaving myself open to dating advice.

I snapped to attention when Ivy drove around the back of the diner instead of the front. I followed her and parked behind her car in the driveway of a hulking, darkened, two-story house. I jumped from the truck and ran to her as she climbed out of her car. “What are we doing here, Ivy?” I asked, taking her elbow protectively. “I don’t think it’s smart to be out here with no lights.” She handed me a flashlight and I flicked it on, relieved when the area lit up around me.

“What’s got you so jumpy?” she asked.

“I’ll tell you later. Why are we here?”

She dangled the key in her hand. “I wanted to show you something. Grab the pie.”

I did as she asked and then walked her to the door, keeping the flashlight swinging widely around us. She unlocked the door and turned on the porch light, effectively dispelling any goblins or bad guys waiting to attack. The house was empty except for a few random chairs and a table in the kitchen. I set the pie on it and glanced around the room. “Why are we in Miss Bevvywetter’s house and where is her furniture?”

“They moved Lucille’s things out today,” she answered.

I raised one brow. “Lucille? Now you’re on first name basis.”

She punched me in the shoulder and I grasped it, laughing while saying ouch even though it didn’t hurt. “She signed the letter Lucille, so I guess we are.”

“You still haven’t answered my question. Why are we here?” I reminded her.

She lifted her arms out to her sides. “I signed the contract today, Shep. This is my house now, and the diner,” she pointed toward the back of the ancient building designed to look like an old-fashioned train car complete with a giant metal coupler, “is also mine.”

I grabbed her shoulders in excitement. “Ivy! You signed the contract? Why didn’t you call me?” I asked, enveloping her in my arms and holding her. She was almost trembling from excitement and as I held her, I noticed a light flowery scent. I buried my nose in her neck and inhaled deeper, the scent intoxicating and invigorating at the same time.

She sighed as she laid her head on my chest. “I wanted to surprise you, doofus,” she said, laughing with contentment. “You won’t believe the story I have to tell you, but I want to show you the house and hear about your day first.”

I released her and took her hand. “I’ve seen the kitchen, show me the rest.”

We toured the first floor of the home, which consisted of the galley kitchen, a formal sitting room, half bath, and den. It was more than big enough for a family, but she would be rattling around in it alone. It made me nervous to think of her here by herself, backed up to woods and a busy highway. Someone could hurt her, run through the woods, and hit the highway before anyone was the wiser.

We climbed the stairs to the second floor and the fourth step up groaned. She squeaked when it gave way and her foot went through the board.

“Ivy,” I yelled, grabbing her before she fell backwards and broke her damn leg. “Don’t move. Grab the railing and I’ll free your foot.”

I took two steps down and inspected the wood where she went through. Her ankle was scratched, but didn’t look too worse for wear. I pushed the jagged wood out all the way round her foot and slipped my hand down into the hole, tugging on her shoe until I was holding it in my hand. “Okay, point your toe down and bring your heel out first.”

She did as I instructed and I did the same with her shoe, holding it so she could put it back on. “Lance said the house needed some work, but he didn’t say it was structurally unsound,” she whispered, disappointment in her voice.

I helped her the rest of the way up the stairs and told her to wait at the top. I inspected the stairs with the flashlight and none of the others were as worn or had deep grooves the way the one she broke did. I stepped over it, taking the stairs two at a time and met her at the top. “I think I found the problem with the stair.”

“I think it’s kind of obvious. Now I’m afraid to use them,” she admitted, rubbing her ankle.

“Don’t be. Look at the stair you broke and then look through the railing. What do you see?”

She stooped and did what I asked from the top without going down the few stairs. “It has a clear view of the living room through the railing?”

I nodded. “Exactly. Remember in the old days when adults would have parties and entertain instead of watch TV in their sitting rooms?” She nodded and I motioned toward the room. “I think that particular step was a perch for a little one’s bottom over the years and it weakened the wood enough that now, years later, it gave out. All the rest of the stairs are solid and have no indentations the way that one does.”

“Great theory, Shep, but all the owners of the diner have been single with no children.”

“The owners of the diner yes, but Lucille bought this house right before you started working at the diner. It wasn’t part of the property before then. Old Mr. Hinderliter and his wife lived here and raised six kids. When his wife died he decided to move to Arizona to live with one of the said six kids. When the house went up for sale, Miss Bevvywetter bought it and moved in.”

“How do you know all this?” she asked, leaning against the wall.

“I work for the city. There were some sewer problems before the property was sold and they had to do some work on it before the sale could go through. I was a new hire at the time and went with the crew to see how tree roots were removed from sewer pipes. I’m a year older than you, remember?”

“True, I didn’t think about when she took possession of the house. How do we fix it? We can’t leave it because the cleaners are coming tomorrow.”

I rested my hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. “Show me the rest of the house and I’ll find something to fix it with. If there’s nothing here, I’ll run over as soon as the lumberyard opens in the morning, grab a board and bring it over. I can do a fast fix on it and this weekend I can replace the whole tread.”

She shook her head. “I’ll hire someone, Shep. This isn’t your responsibility.”

“Seriously, Ivy, it’s not a big deal. I don’t want to be home any more than I have to be anyway.”

I motioned with my hand down the hall and she reluctantly led me through the rest of the house. There were three bedrooms upstairs, all of them good sized, and a full bath resting between two of them.

“Great tub,” she said, spinning around in a circle, “but I haven’t seen a shower yet in this place.”

I strode to the tub and inspected the fixtures, tilting my head up to look at the ceiling and then the other side of the tub. “I think there’s enough room to install a freestanding shower rod and shower head here. The kind with the curtain that goes all the way around inside the tub. It will be tight since the roof slopes, but we could do it. Have you been in the basement?” I asked and she shook her head. “There might be a shower in the basement, sometimes there is.”

She lifted one side of her lip. “I’m not a basement person. I’ll pay you to put a shower up here. After all, it will benefit the both of us.”

“Benefit the both of us?” I asked and she nodded, taking my hand and leading me back down the stairs, being careful of the broken one.

“Sit, we’ll have pie,” she said, motioning to the table. I plopped down in an old kitchen chair and she opened cupboards, finding a full set of dishes still sitting there waiting to be used. She grabbed some forks and a knife from a drawer by the sink and brought it all to the table.

“You’ve been here before tonight,” I said, not as a question but as a statement.

“After I signed the contract I stopped over, yes. The movers asked me what I wanted them to leave; apparently Lucille had in her will to donate all her furniture. I kept quite a few pieces, but they’re in the garage until the cleaners finish. I don’t have a lot of furniture to fill a home this size, and Lucille’s things were classic and comfortable. I didn’t see any reason not to take advantage of her willingness to share. They left the dishes and a few things in the kitchen too since I’m not exactly Suzy Homemaker at my apartment.”

I laughed and accepted the pie from her. “You mean you don’t want to keep your mismatched plates and spoons once you move? Not to mention your blue plastic glasses.”

She swatted me on the shoulder before she sat down. “It’s called kitschy kitsch, I’ll have you know.”

I lifted one brow. “I thought it was called thrift store delight.”

She laughed and for the first time I saw the spark in her eyes that used to be there when we were kids, back when her mother still took care of her. “Tell me about all of this. I’m dying to know,” I encouraged her.

She started in with her story, relating how she’s now the owner of the diner and the terms of the contract. I waved my hand to stop her. “You mean there’s no monthly payment on the house or the diner?”

She shook her head. “None. The only stipulation is I have to keep up the house, and as you saw there are a few things that need updating. The roof will need to be replaced; apparently there’s a plumbing issue in the kitchen, and now the stairs.”

I shrugged. “I can fix the plumbing, and the stairs. You can hire someone to replace the roof once you save the money. Is it leaking?”

She shook her head. “Not according to the paperwork completed for transfer of the home. Apparently, the inspector related it’s old and the shingles are curled. He recommended the roof be replaced in the next year.”

“Doable. If you aren’t paying rent, you save the money you usually pay in rent and in a year, you have the cash to have it done.”

“A regular customer of mine is a roofer. He promised to give me an estimate today. Said it would be between four and six grand, but he would have to measure to know for sure. He said the house is big, but the square footage of the roof isn’t, so it won’t be too expensive. Since the garage is detached, and newer than the house, I don’t have to touch it.”

I laid my fork down and chewed thoughtfully. “I’m still sitting here in shock, Ivy. The whole thing is surreal. You’re the next Florence Nightingale.”

She threw her head back and laughed, her excitement and happiness spilling from every pore. “You might be taking it a little far, Shep. Florence Nightingale I’m not, but I love the diner and this city, so I’ll give it my everything. It’s what I’ve always dreamed about. Owning my own business and giving back to the people of Bells Pass.”

I reached across the table and squeezed her hand, a genuine smile of happiness on my face. “I’m over the moon thrilled for you, sweetheart. You’ve worked hard, dug in, stepped up, and worked long hours to get where you are. You deserve this and I’m glad Lucille recognized your potential all these years. Did Lance think this is all on the up and up?”

She nodded, releasing my hand to finish her pie. “Lucille was his client, but all the owners use one specific law firm for the transfer of the diner. However, he still knew about the history of the diner through Lucille. I signed the contract with Lance and the notary from the bank, so it’s official. I’m a small business owner.”

I grinned. “I can’t tell you how proud of you I am. You never let any of the knocks against you hold you back, and there were plenty of them.”

“Truth,” she agreed, rolling her eyes heavenwards. “Hey, you were supposed to tell me why you were so jumpy earlier.”

“I’m not into standing around in the dark outside a house I’m not familiar with. Nothing more,” I answered, using my firm voice and hoping she would let it go.

“I don’t believe you. You’re not some delicate flower.”

But she’s not going to.

“Earlier, the reason I suggested leaving my apartment and going to your place, and the reason I’ve been coming to your house all the time, is because mine isn’t safe anymore. The new management is renting out rooms by the hour and the night. I’ve got johns, hookers, and drug deals going at all hours of the night. I don’t like going home after dark and I’m always a little bit afraid a bullet is going to come flying through a wall while I’m sleeping.”

“Shep, I had no idea,” she said quietly. “Why didn’t you say something before now?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “To what end, Ivy? I don’t have anywhere else to go right now. Until this job is decided, I won’t either.”

“Did you talk to the Mayor?"

I pushed the plate away and sighed, resting my elbows on the table. "This morning. They received my application and George's letter of recommendation."

"But?" she asked as if she knew there was one. 

"But they are accepting applications for three more days then they will schedule interviews." I shrugged as if to say it was completely normal and went silent.

She leaned forward and copied my posture. "Shepard James Lund, do you expect me to believe that? What did the Mayor actually say?"

I should have known I couldn't fool her. She probably knows me better than I know myself. "He said they don't have any other applicants and aren't expecting any. Finding public works directors in this day and age is nearly impossible."

She clapped her hands together once. "See, you're a shoe in!"

I held up my hand. "Not so fast. Let me finish. Mayor Tottle also said he's not sure about hiring a twenty-six-year-old kid for the job."

She started to sputter. "But, but, you've done the job for six months! And, and, George has recommended you!"

I took her hand to calm her down. "I know, Ivy; believe me, I know. The thing is I can see where he's coming from. The public might be worried I can't handle the job if some disaster were to strike Bells Pass."

She jerked her hand from mine and stood, pacing the floor. "Maybe, but we know you can more than handle this job, so does Orlando Tottle! What does it matter anyway? If there's no director then there isn’t a soul to stem any problems arising from a disaster. Someone at the helm is important even if they don't have twenty years of experience. You have over ten working for the city, it should count for something."

She sat, exhausted and rubbed her temples. "I can't believe what idiots they are." I was silent for several minutes pondering what she said. When she glanced up at me she touched my arm. "What are you thinking?"

"How you're right. Someone doing the job is better than no one doing the job and I can’t believe I didn’t think of it myself. I’m the idiot.”

She covered my hands with hers. “No, you’re not an idiot. You’re close to the situation, which makes it hard to think on your feet. Especially when you’re blindsided.”

“I guess I’ll have to show them I’m prepared, educated, and have a vision for this city,” I said, my voice determined.

“What are your plans?” she asked, forking a loose cherry from the pan and popping it between her pink lips. I was transfixed for a moment by the glistening of her lips and the way they puckered as she chewed. God help me, but I wanted to kiss those lips until they were plump and red.

I forced my mind back to the discussion. “I’m going to put together a presentation for the interview committee. If there is no interview committee, I’ll present it to the mayor and the city council. No one else is going to apply for the job. Not when they can go to a big city and find a better wage. The only reason the council has held out this long with George being sick is because I was there to pick up George’s slack. Being willing to do that, and learning on the job, should count for something. They want to underestimate me, I’ll prove them wrong.”

She lifted her fist and I bumped it, a sign of solidarity between best friends. “You got this. As for your living situation, I’ve got it. You can have your choice of rooms here. After the cleaners leave tomorrow, you can move in. Tonight, you’ll crash on my couch at the apartment. You’re not going back there except to move out. I work early, so I’ll be done by two. We’ll move you tomorrow and move me this weekend.”

I sat back hard against the seat. “Are you serious?”

She threw her hands up and motioned around the house. “What do you think? I don’t need a three-bedroom house all to myself. Besides, it freaks me out a little being here alone. I know I’ve always lived alone, but there were other people surrounding me who would hear me scream for help. Here there’s no one.”

I nodded. “I was worried about the same thing when we pulled up. I hate to think about you being here alone. I would worry constantly.”

She smiled and grabbed my hand. “I asked about roommates and Lance said there are no rules, as long as I live in the house, too. I can rent out the rooms or not, it’s up to me. If you’ll be my handyman, then you won’t have rent to worry about.”

I waved my hands at her. “No, I have to pay rent, Ivy. I have a job.”

“Listen. I don’t have to pay rent either. I can extend the luck that’s come my way. We’ll share utilities, taxes, and food. I’ll start a house fund and we can each put half what we were paying for rent in it every month. When there’s enough in it for the roof, we’ll have it replaced. Then we’ll readdress the fund. Fair enough?”

I shook my head dazed. “No, it’s outrageously generous of you. I didn’t know what I was going to do.” I jumped up and grabbed her, hugging her to me. “You’re the best bestie a guy could have.”

She laughed and rested her forehead on my chest. “I’m always going to look out for you Shep, the same way you do for me.”