Page 30 of Chasing Shelter

This time, she let out a soft snort. “I’m getting the death glare because of you.”

I could picture Madison’s pinched face as she stared at Sarah in derision. “Later, sweets.”

“Later.”

I shoved my phone into my pocket and scanned the street as I approached the house. No one sat in a vehicle watching my place. No one even walked the sidewalk. I wasn’t under surveillance. And in a month or two, Bradley would move on—hopefully, to someone who had the same boring life plan he did. Someone who wouldn’t trigger the sort of violence in him that I had.

My stomach twisted. Why did that feel like a lie?

“I’m sorry, Ms. Pierce,”the woman in her mid-forties said as she straightened from where she was crouched in front of my oven. “This baby is toast.”

I groaned. “I worried you might say that.”

“We offer a discount on new appliance purchases when we can’t fix something. Ten percent off.”

“That’s nice of you,” I mumbled. “Could you point me in the direction of an oven that’s not going to break the bank but is also a similar value to this one?” Mrs. Henderson didn’t deserve to have me putting something crappy in her house.

“Depends. How much of a chef are you?” Mel, the repairwoman, asked.

“Well, I set an oven on fire trying to cook a frozen pizza.”

Mel burst out laughing as she grabbed her tablet from the counter. “I got you, girl. Solid basics is what you need. None of this starting-your-oven-from-your-phone baloney.”

“Dear God, no. I’d blow up the house for sure.”

She flipped the tablet around. “Here are the three I’d recommend.” She tapped the screen. “But this is the brand I get the fewest callouts about.”

“That’s the one, then. I feel like I should always buy from appliance repair people. You have the inside scoop.”

Mel grinned. “We do see the good, the bad, and the ugly. You want to buy it now?”

I nodded, moving for my bag and pulling out a credit card. This would put a dent in what I’d saved. While my job paid pretty well, New York was an expensive city to live in, and I didn’t have buckets of cash squirreled away. My stomach cramped as I thought about how easily I’d let Bradley pay for things. Our condo. Trips. Food. Even my tab at Neiman’s.

The cramping sensation turned to nausea, a feeling that came from shame. I’d let it all happen. Allowed myself to become everything I’d promised Linc I wouldn’t.

“Ms. Pierce?” Mel asked, concern bleeding into her tone.

“Ellie, please,” I croaked. “Sorry. One of those days. Here you go.”

She took my card. “I know how that is. Hopefully, it’ll get better from here.”

“I’m sure it will.” Because I was manifesting that shit.

“The install team will call you in the next twenty-four hours to get you on the schedule, but here’s my card in case you run into any issues.”

“Thanks, Mel. I really appreciate your help.”

“Anytime.”

I led her toward the door, holding it open as she headed out. With a wave, I shut it behind her and slid to the floor. A headachepulsed through my skull. I knew I should think about making myself something for dinner, something that didn’t require an oven or stove, but I couldn’t find it in me to push to my feet.

Maybe I should just crawl into bed and start fresh tomorrow.

A knock sounded, sending a startled shriek out of me since it was right above my head. I scrambled to my feet and opened the door, expecting to see Mel saying she’d forgotten something. But what I saw had me wanting to slam it right back in place.

A towering array of white lilies stood opposite me, a delivery guy struggling to keep them upright. “Ellie Pierce?”

I wanted to say no. To lie. But that wasn’t fair to the poor driver. “Yes,” I croaked.

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