Page 40 of Catching Sparks

“You know my Abbie. Ever the creative genius,” he says before heading into the dark, musty room where the hot water tank sits.

I follow close behind, eager to get to the bottom of my freezing water situation. “You can thank her mom for that particular trait.”

“It’s one of the only things I’ll ever thank that woman for,” he replies, now on his knees in front of the tank with a flashlight in hand.

I don’t have a clue what he’s looking for, but this is exactly what brothers are for. To fix all the problems you don’t know how to, even if it’s the last thing they want to do.

“That and for bringing my beautiful niece into the world.”

“I thought that one was a given.”

I kick the sole of his shoe. “Alright, smartass. Let me know if you need any help. I swear, I don’t know what I’ll do if you can’t fix this. My landlord is being such a jerk.”

“I can have words with him if you want,” he offers gruffly.

“He’s too old to be roughed up by you, but thank you.”

“It’s unfair of him to use this as a way to punish you for what you do. You pay him rent every single month. I’d have thought that would be enough for him to stick a sock in his mouth.”

I exhale heavily, done with this battle. It’s a request for a plumber, not an entire interior renovation. Next, he’ll tell me that he’s raising rent and that I can get lost.

“I know. Trust me, I know. But there isn’t much more I can do. Sure, I can call the rental board, but I doubt they’ll help enough to make the effort worth it.”

“You could ask Bryce to talk to someone at the city office?”

Shaking my head, I lean over him and look where he has the flashlight aimed. It’s all pipes and knobs and switches that I don’t know much about.

“Not yet. I don’t want to drag her into this battle.”

“Alright.”

There’s a beat of silence before I ask, “Are you good here for now? I’m going to clean up from this morning.”

“There’s a set of curtains and a rod in my truck. Can you bring them in for me first?”

“Are you planning on fixing the hot water with curtains?”

“Nah, they’re for another problem.”

I set my hand on my hip, curiosity nipping in my chest. “Care to elaborate?”

He tosses a hand behind him, a useless gesture in this small room. “That damn window of yours. I’m covering it up.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. I’m tired of listening to the whole fire station chomping off about you.”

My lips pull firm as I blink down at my brother. A piercing flare of anger zips up my spine, some stubborn, proud part of me flinching.

“You’re not covering my window, and it was an asshole move to even suggest that you are. If your buddies can’t keep their eyes to themselves, then that’s their problem. Not mine. Suck it up.”

He stares at me over his shoulder, his eyes swirling with frustration. “Yeah, it is their problem, but I’m still the one hearing about it all the time. The last thing I want to hear when I get into work is how you look in those stupid shorts you like to wear.”

“Again, you can suck it up. This is my space, and I won’t censor myself because of a few horny men.”

“Poppy,” he huffs, clicking off the flashlight and pushing to his feet. “They’re nice curtains. Abbie helped me pick them.”

“Nope. You aren’t dragging your daughter into this. Play fair or not at all.”

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