6

 

After the last couple of days, waking to the sound of rain wasn’t much of a surprise. The soft, warm body molded to his side was a different matter.  The shock of red hair covering his chest was all the clue he needed. Everything flooded back. The tarp, huge gray eyes, freckles, bloody toes, sanding drywall and talking until the sirens wailed. After the twister barreled through they’d gone upstairs to check the windows and brought the air mattress back down with them. Listening to the weather reports, they’d shared a light dinner of salami and cheese on crackers and just talked. He had never talked that much to anyone. It was easier to share with someone who’d been there. Cali didn’t judge.

Jarek smiled. Apparently, she did cuddle though. As if sensing his amusement, she shifted, rubbing her face against his chest. Her nose wrinkled cutely and she reached up to brush away one of the drawstrings from his sweatshirt. Suddenly she stiffened. He didn’t try to hold her when she jerked upright. Struggling with balance on the air mattress she kept herself from face-planting with a hand on his stomach. She yanked it back as if burned. Scooting away, she sat up awkwardly and ran a shaky hand through her hair. He waited while the situation slowly come back to her. Some of the tension left her tiny frame.

He wanted to ask if she’d slept okay, but not wanting to put her on the spot he settled for a simple, “Good morning.”

Her smile was shy and unsure.

“Good morning.”

“I’ll double check the breaker box, but it looks like the power is still out,” he said, motioning to the dark bulbs above them.

“At least the wind isn’t howling like yesterday.”

“That’ll help, but I hope this rain lets up by tomorrow. The construction business is always booming with blue roofs and boarding jobs after a storm.”

Jarek rolled off the mattress with practiced ease but the loss of his weight made it tip dangerously to Cali’s side. Flailing wildly, she leaned forward. Dropping his knee back down on it catapulted her toward the middle. She sprawled spread eagle, every muscle tense. Jarek couldn’t help it. He started to laugh. Shooting him a dirty look she very carefully righted herself.

“I’m sorry,” he chuckled.

“I can tell,” she muttered, scooting until she could get her feet on the floor.

Taking her elbow, he straightened, helping her up.

“I honestly didn’t realize it would do that,” he said sheepishly.

“I guess you’ve had a bit of a dry spell since Alyssa,” she said, nudging his side as they climbed the stairs.

Slam or not he couldn’t deny the truth and her smirk was cute.

“As a certain smart-ass pointed out, this place is beyond bachelor pad pathetic. I don’t even have a leather couch to make out on. Women are not exactly beating down my door at the moment.”

Cali groaned. “If your ex stole your black leather furniture, glass tables, and game console, she did your ass a favor.”

“Stereotype much?”

“You started it, bachelor boy.”

“I promise my taste is not that bad,” he said dryly.

“Your choices in building materials show promise, but I’m going to have to see more furniture than bar stools to form an opinion,” she tossed over her shoulder before the bathroom door closed behind her.

Grinning at her snark, he wandered into the kitchen, looking out the window to assess the damage. His gas grill was on its side. The Jeep’s tarp was gone this time, and a large section of the neighbor’s tree covered the garage roof. The basketball hoop that had hung above the walk-in door was now on the ground. He winced. The side that had taken the trunk was crushed and part of the roof was caved in. Thank God, his truck was parked out front.

Moving to the front of the house, his eyes widened and he was on the porch before he realized he had opened the door. The mangled remains of a decent sized fishing boat were wrapped around one of the sturdy maples lining the sidewalk. The outboard had broken free and joined the hostas planted along his foundation. Leaning over the end of the covered porch he could see damage to the brick and mortar where the motor had hit.  

“Holy shit,” Cali whispered beside him.

“Uh-huh,” he muttered, moving off the porch to check on his truck.

Circling the ’77 Ford f250 he breathed a little easier. No significant damage. Old man Murphy had helped him restore the blue and silver beast. Besides being reliable as hell, it held a special place in his heart. Cali was looking back between the houses at the garage when he stepped back up on the porch.

“You didn’t get as lucky back there,” she said grimacing at the large tree limb. “It doesn’t look like it got your Jeep.”  

“I was more worried about the truck.”

“I don’t know much about cars, but isn’t the Jeep newer?” she asked with a frown.

“Yeah, but the Jeep’s not mine. Well, it is, but … It’s a long story. If I can’t have coffee let’s see if we can at least get a bowl of cereal.”

They were in luck. The milk was still chilled. Raisin Bran wasn’t the breakfast he’d planned, but it did the job.

“The Jeep belonged to a buddy of mine that’s doing time,” he said around a mouthful. “He was desperate for cash, so he sold it to me dirt cheap with the understanding that he’d buy it back when he got out. That’s not going to happen now. He got into a fight inside and killed a guy.”

“How much time did they tack on?”

Jarek grimaced. “He’s not getting out.”

Scraping sugar from the bottom of her bowl, Cali nodded, the purse of her lips regretful. A loud knock broke the silence. Slurping down the rest of his milk, Jarek put his bowl in the sink and went to answer the door. He spent the next forty-five minutes standing on the porch talking to the owner of the boat and then the tree guy. Nice way to meet the neighbors. When he finally went back inside the house was quiet. The bathroom door was open. A glance in the laundry room found the basket he’d used to carry things downstairs on top of the dryer with the sweats he’d loaned Cali in it.

Frowning, he hurried through the mudroom. There was no sign of her out back, but she had a head start. Why would she take off without a word?

“I brought most of the stuff up from the basement, but I’ll need your help with the mattress.”

He whirled away from the window, startling Cali back a step or two.

“Sorry. I folded the blankets and pillows and put them in on top of boxes in the bedroom.”

“Thanks.”

His voice sounded awkward to his own ears. She was back in the clothes he’d washed for her. Had she realized he was looking for her?   

“Did you want to get the mattress then?”

He blinked. She was standing in front of him, waiting. What in the hell was wrong with him?

“Sorry. I don’t function well without coffee,” he mumbled and waved for her to proceed him down the stairs.   

“I used your phone and left another message for Nat,” she said, looking back over her shoulder. “I’m beginning to wonder what’s up with her. It’s not like her to be so flakey in returning calls.”

“I could drive you over there if you wanted.”

“No need. The rain’s letting up. I can catch a bus.”

“There’s no point in you getting soaked. You don’t have shoes, and what if she’s not there?”

“I won’t melt and if Nat’s not there her mom probably is.”

Grabbing the handles on the end of the air mattress he flipped it up on edge and started backing up the stairs. She wasn’t his responsibility. Most people would say he’d gone above and beyond in helping her out already. That didn’t wipe away the feeling of unease crawling up his nape.

“Where does she live? I want to go out for coffee anyway.”

His heel caught on the top step and he stumbled, yanking the mattress out of her hands. Reaching out with one hand, he caught himself on the wall. She laughed.

“You seriously need some coffee.”

Heat crept up his face, the tips of his ears on fire. It was a damn good thing this wasn’t a woman he was trying to impress.

“I do,” he said, shaking his head. “I wasn’t lying when I said I don’t function well without it.” 

“I’d appreciate the ride then.”

“I’ll grab my keys.”

The short drive to the closest Dunkin Donuts was enough to make Jarek think he might need something stronger than coffee. He’d got off lucky. On his street alone there was one brick home with the front wall crumbled and two houses completely missing their roof. He didn’t go around the block to find out where they’d landed. Everywhere you looked buildings were damaged, trees were uprooted, shingles and siding littered the streets, and anything that hadn’t been secured down was no longer in the yard it belonged in. It was scary how the tornado had skipped around, demolishing one house only to leave the next one whole.

The drive-thru line at the donut shop wrapped around the building and spilled into the street. He wasn’t the only one desperate for caffeine. Thank God for generators.

“This is crazy,” Cali whispered.

He glanced over to see if she was talking about the wait or the destruction. The slightly haunted look on her face said the second. He couldn’t blame her. It was a lot different than seeing random footage on TV. This was their neighborhood. He nodded as he pulled up to the speaker. After paying for a couple of large coffees and two croissant sandwiches, they headed for Nat’s.

“Oh shit!”

Automatically slowing at her exclamation, Jarek looked around for the cause.

“Can you turn around?” she asked, turning to look over the seat. “Actually, just turn here and go around the block.”

Checking his mirror, he switched lanes and turned the corner without question. Cali leaned forward, craning her neck to look at something. When he came around the other side she pointed.

“Pull in there.”

Turning into the parking lot his eyes narrowed on the pile of bricks, twisted metal and broken glass in front of them. He looked around trying to remember what had been there.

“I guess I don’t have to worry about a uniform for tonight,” Cali muttered. 

“Shit. This is where you work?”

“It looks like that’s past tense now,” she said, her forehead falling against the side window. “Son-of-a-bitch.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, knowing it was lame but not having anything else.

She took a deep breath and straightened. “Maybe I’ll get lucky and find something closer to where I’m renting.”

He admired her attitude and strength. “Sometimes shit happens for a reason.”

She gave him a half-smile at the use of her words from last night.

“Nat will be happy. When they fired her, she walked out screaming she hoped the shithole burned to the ground.” Her smile widened into a grin. “I think this will be close enough.”

Shaking his head at her evil grin, he pulled out of the parking lot.