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Buck up, buttercup, she told herself.You’re a tough girl. A little—or big—hurricane won’t shake you.
Colby found the hammer and a box of nails and was standing on the porch, trying to figure out what exactly she should nail the plywood to when she heard Nate’s voice.
“Colby? What are you doing?”
She spun to face him. He was on the sidewalk in his uniform. A range of emotions flew through her, starting and ending in anger. But in the middle there was attraction—he looked adorable in his uniform—and also the briefest urge to ask him for help. She may not be completely desperate for love, but she might be just a little desperate for help.
“What does it look like I’m doing?” she said. “I’m getting ready for this stupid hurricane. I’m surprised the mail is going out.”
“You know the mail,” he said grinning. “It’s supposed to go out no matter what. Probably this will be the last time for a few days at least. Depends how bad the storm is. Do you, uh, know what you’re doing?”
“I’m boarding up the windows,” she said.
“Clearly. But I meant, do you know how to do it? No offense.”
Of course, she was offended. Even if she didn’t know how to board up the windows. She square off her shoulders. “You just get the plywood and put it here…and then I’ve got a hammer…”
“Uh huh. And then you hammer it to…the brick?”
Colby could see him holding back a laugh and wanted to be angry, but found herself giggling instead. She really didn’t know what she was doing. “I don’t know how to attach this. I mean, do you hammer brick? I feel dumb even asking that. My friend’s husband wanted me to board up the windows. They were hoping I could just do a few things to get the house ready. Do you know how I’m supposed to attach these boards?”
Nate eyed the area around the window. “I haven’t done that before, but I think I could figure it out. Could I drop by after my shift here? I have a few more streets and then I’m done for the day.”
She hesitated. If he helped her, she would owe him, and she didn’t want that. Why did he want to, anyway? Maybe he felt bad about what happened in college and wanted to make it up to her. He should. Maybe she should let him just because he owed her. He totally did. She wanted help, but she really really wanted an apology. Maybe if she let him stick around, she would get both.
“Yeah,” she said. “That would be great.”
Nate smiled. “Seriously? You’ll let me help?”
“I don’t know why you want to, but sure. At this point, I’ll take all offers for help. No matter who’s offering.” She couldn’t help at least one passive aggressive dig.
The corners of his mouth turned down briefly and he looked away. “Let me finish up and I’ll be back. Do you need anything else? Supplies? Food? Water?”
“I don’t know. I have water, but I haven’t really checked out the food situation. And I didn’t want to get a bunch of things that might go bad if the power goes out and we don’t have a fridge. I’ve been kind of panicking and just sitting here.”
“Ice? Do you have ice and some coolers?”
“I’m sure there are some in the garage.”
Nate scratched the side of his beard. “Okay, look. I’ll be back in a bit. Probably two hours. We’ll still have light outside. Don’t worry about this part. Go inside and just make sure you’ve got some water. Fill the bathtub if they have one. Put some big pots with water on the stove. Make sure you’ve got matches and candles, flashlights—”
“Just go. I’ll take care of things,” Colby said. He was giving her almost the same list as Liz had.
He walked closer and she found herself backing up. “I’m just giving you the mail, Colby. Figure I’d hand it to you since you’re right here.”
“Oh, right.” She took the mail from him, trying to avoid his eyes.
“I’ll see you in a bit,” he said.
“Okay,” she said. She tried not to watch him jogging away. He really did look cute in the uniform. Especially from behind.
“Get a grip, girl. You’re an idiot and he’s a jerk. You’re only letting him help you because he owes you big time,” she said, out loud this time.
She saw movement from the corner of her eye and realized that one of the neighbors, close enough to have heard her talking to herself, was unloading jugs of water from his car in the driveway next door. Her cheeks flaming, Colby left the hammer and nails on the porch and took the mail inside. She really was an idiot.
But her nerves were only growing wilder as the storm drew closer. The last thing she wanted was to be alone. Even if that meant spending some time with Nate.
