She heard a key in the front door. Thank goodness she’d given Jake a spare before he’d left.
“Lily?” he called as he opened the front door.
“Up here.”
She took another step down as he walked into the foyer.
The entrance area was raised up, giving him a dry place to crouch and stare at the water. When he raised his gaze to hers, she wasn’t sure what he was thinking. Then the corners of his mouth turned up.
“This would only happen to you,” he said.
“Tell me about it. Any guesses?”
He tested the water with his fingers. “It’s warm but not hot. I’m going to go with the water heater causing this. So where’s the main shut-off?”
She folded her arms under her breasts and sniffed. “You probably think I don’t know, but I do. It’s in the mudroom behind the kitchen. Your key will open the back door if you don’t want to wade through.”
“I’ve walked through worse,” he told her as he crossed through to the kitchen. Before he disappeared, he turned back to her. “Stay there on the stairs until I see what’s going on.”
“Promise.”
In less than five minutes he’d turned off the water and checked out the water heater, which was ripped open and on its side.
“Was it bolting for freedom?” Lily asked as she stared at the twisted hunk of metal. “Should I take the defection personally?”
“It was older than both of us. I think it simply fell apart from age.”
“Something we can all look forward to,” she murmured feeling more numb than upset. “What will the insurance cover?”
“Most of the damage. You’ll need to call them first thing in the morning. We can get a crew out to dry the place. I’m guessing the hardwood floors will have to be refinished. The carpet’s a goner.”
“I’m glad I didn’t like it.”
He put an arm around her. “The good news is the water went through fast and didn’t have a whole lot of time to soak in. I doubt the drywall will have to be replaced. You’ll get a new water heater out of it.”
She tried to get excited about that, but all she could think was that she’d owned the house for less than twenty-four hours and she’d already had a really big thing go wrong.
“You don’t think this is a sign, right? I mean no one is trying to tell me I should have stayed in my apartment?”
He rubbed her back. “Are you okay?”
She tried to stay strong, but it was difficult when surveying the damage. “I haven’t even been here a whole day.”
“Come on.” He led her through the kitchen to the stairs. “Go pack a few things. You can stay with me until this is all sorted out.”
“You want me to leave?”
“I had to turn off the water. You don’t have a water heater and your entire downstairs is soaked. Do you want to stay?”
She shook her head, afraid that if she tried to speak she would cry. This wasn’t really happening. It couldn’t be.
“Hey.” Jake touched his index finger to her chin. “It’s going to be okay. I’ve seen a lot worse.”
“I know. I’m really lucky.”
He smiled. “I don’t think lucky describes your situation, but you’re safe, this is all fixable and you’ve got a place to stay.”
She sniffed. “You’re a good friend.”