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Nia
The following morning I come into the store and discover a leak. There’s water dripping out from under the sink and when I look, I can see it’s dribbling from the pipe.
Great.
A call to my landlord doesn’t yield anything. He tells me it’ll be tomorrow before he can get out to me, and if I want it sooner, I should call a plumber myself.
I don’t have any tools here, but I’m sure the garage across the street will have some I can borrow. Maybe the pipe just needs tightening. I have no idea. Plumbing really isn’t my thing.
I leave the store and jog across the street. For some reason, as I approach the garage, my heart rate starts to quicken and when I see Jared leaning over the hood of a car, it’s practically racing.
He looks so good in those coveralls that it should be illegal.
“You okay?” a man I don’t recognize asks.
He must be Beanie, the guy they were talking about yesterday—the guy on the tow.
“Oh, I’m Nia. I own the store across the street. I was wondering if I could borrow some tools. I sprung a leak and I don’t have any with me.”
My eyes slide toward Jared, then Slider, who is watching with amusement dancing in his eyes. Jared seems a little more tight-lipped, which I don’t understand.
“I’ve got this, Bean,” Jared says, pushing around him to stand in front of him.
Beanie holds his hands up in supplication and heads back over to the vehicle he was working on, but I see a look pass between him and Slider that I don’t understand.
“You’ve got a leak?”
“Yeah, in the little kitchen out the back. It’s dripping everywhere and my landlord can’t get out until tomorrow. He wants me to turn the water off, but I can’t go the whole day without water. I’m still cleaning the store up ready for the opening on Saturday.”
If I lose a whole day, I’m not going to get everything done in time. I bite on my bottom lip as I try, and fail to come up with a solution.
“Do you know how to fix it?”
My mouth opens then closes.
“I take that as a no,” he says.
“I’m sure I can figure it out.” How hard can plumbing be?
“I’ll take a look,” he says.
I blink at him, then shake my head. “Oh, really, there’s no need. I can manage. I just need the tools.”
“I know you can manage. You strike me as a woman who can do anything she puts her mind to, but I know a thing or two about plumbing, if you want my help.”
I really do want his help. I know absolutely nothing about plumbing.
“I don’t want to take you away from your job.”
“It’s fine. Bean and Slider are here.”
I probably could fix it, with enough time, but time is not a luxury I have right now.
I chew my bottom lip again. “If you’re sure.”
He moves over to the tool cabinet and pulls out a few different sized wrenches and some other tools. Then says, “I’m sure.”
Together, we start across the street and I’m hyperaware of his proximity to me. I shouldn’t be having any feelings for him, but try telling my brain that. It’s in full lust mode. I need to rein myself in.
