Page 8 of The Friendly Fall

“Yeah, I know, Frank,” she spits back, rolling her eyes. “Just help me get my granddaughter free.”

“I’ll give it my best shot,” he says with a shrug.

I watch as he limps up the ramp, and I realize that he’s in no better shape than Granny is.

There’s no way this is going to be smooth sailing.

“Well, no wonder she fell through,” Frank grunts as he pulls my bags away from me. “What you got in here? Rocks?”

My shoulders slump as my cheeks redden. “Books.”

Granny and Frank spend a good fifteen minutes trying to finagle me out of the hole, but nothing works, and now, my entire leg is numb.

“You sure are stuck, Eliza,” Frank huffs, wiping the sweat from his brow. “Gonna have to call the fire department, I’m afraid,”

“Alright, I’ll run inside and give them a shout,” Granny says with a nonchalant shrug. I facepalm myself again, severe humiliation settling in.

This isnotthe first impression I was hoping to make on the town.

Minutes tick by as the three of us hang around and wait—me hanging literally, of course. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, a red, one-ton pickup truck with flashers pulls up outside of the house.

And onlyoneguy gets out.

This is the fire department? One guy and a truck? Better hope I don’t have a house fire.

“Hello, Nick!” Frank greets the so-called fireman who’s dressed in pants and a white t-shirt. I don’t pay attention to his immaculate physique, his sharp jawline, or the bright baby blue eyes dancing over me with amusement.

Nope, I don’t pay attention at all.

I’ve sworn off love and men.

“What’s happened here?” His deep voice sends a jitter of evenmorehumiliation down my spine.

“Well, clearly, she’s had a bit of a fall.” Granny laughs, gesturing to me. “Nick, this is my granddaughter, Eliza Kate; the one I told you was coming here to start over.”

Oh no, she’s told the whole town I’ve hit rock bottom.

“Sure is nice of you to come here to help your grandma.” Nick’s attention shifts to me as he kneels down, his eyes level with mine.

I nod, appreciating that he left out the fact that I had no other choice. “Thanks. Not quite the start I was hoping for.”

He chuckles, his chocolate wavy locks shiny beneath the sun. “Well, this ramp needs some TLC, that’s for sure. You’d be surprised at how often things like this happen.” He assures me. “Alright, let’s see if I can pull you out. Is that okay, Eliza?”

I meet his gaze, and I realize my hazel-blonde hair is all up in my face right now. I quickly push it away and nod, hoping like heck he doesn’t notice how red my face is right now. “Just get me out of here,” I mutter.

For some reason he finds that funny as he stands to his feet. “Alright, I want you to grab onto my wrists, and I’ll hold onto yours.”He reaches down, offering out his hands. “I think I can pull you straight up and out of that hole you’ve made.”

Great.

I do as he says, ignoring the way my stomach is doing flip flops.

It’s just the embarrassment getting to me.

This situation is ten times as bad now that I’m stuck in the presence of ahandsomefireman.

Why couldn’t Frank have been the fireman?

Right, because then I’d be stuck forever.

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