Page 18 of Wildfire
Chapter Ten: Renée
Cole is the kindest man I've ever met. I want to do something nice for him, to show him how much I appreciate everything he's done for me.
I think about writing him a song. I could record it on my phone and send it to him before I leave.
After I shower and put on my pajamas, I sit on the bed and start strumming my guitar. When I am alone in the quiet, I can lose myself in the music, and tonight, the stars are aligning. I feel a melody, and the lyrics emerge as I close my eyes and think of how much my life has changed in less than forty-eight hours.
I have a quiet, safe home on a lake. I have a job with a great boss who treats me with respect. I live next to a sweet guy who is a whiz in the kitchen. Seriously, I could get used to that. And I will be living my dream in just a couple of weeks.
I stay up later than I should, working on the song before I crawl into the cozy bed and pass out from exhaustion.
Early in the morning, I hear a gentle knock on my door. I crawl out of bed and open it, knowing it's Cole.
He's holding a tray with a pot of tea, scones, butter, jam, and two hard-boiled eggs.
"Want to come in for a minute?" I step aside to let him in.
"I shouldn't. You look like you just woke up, and I want to give you a chance to get ready."
I grab the tray and thank him, watching him walk down the stairs leading to the path connecting the garage and hishouse. Just before he mounts the stairs of his home, he turns and looks at me.
His piercing dark eyes find mine, and I feel a zap of energy hit between my legs. I smile and slink inside my apartment.
The scones are warm, melting the butter before I scoop thick raspberry jam on top. Sitting at the tiny kitchen island, I pour some tea and review my lyrics, making a few notes while cracking my eggs and peeling them. The words aren't quite what they could be, but it's a good start.
When I'm done eating, I throw on my clothes and pull my hair up in a high pony to keep it out of my face while working.
I head down the stairs and walk the distance to Callie's house. When I arrive, there's a truck in the driveway that wasn't there the last two days. It's old but sleek. It looks like a classic, with a candy apple red coat of paint. I don't see anyone around, so I get closer to admire the details. As I reach out to run my finger down the chrome, I hear a booming voice behind me.
"You touch it, you polish it."
I swing around to see a large, handsome, gray-haired man walking toward me with a broad, welcoming smile. When he reaches me, he sticks out his hand to shake mine.
"I'm Buzz. You must be Renée."
His grip is firm but not crushing.
"Nice to meet you, Buzz. I heard you were at a robotics competition."
"Gotta stay busy in my retirement. Otherwise, the buzzards will come for me." He winks, and I wonder again where he got the name Buzz.
"That's really cool. I don't know anything about it, but I'm sure the kids love it."
"Gives them something to do besides taking shop class." He puts his hand next to his mouth to pretend to tell me a secreteven though he's still speaking at full volume. "Don't tell my wife I said that. She'll kill me."
"What did you do?" Callie walks toward us with her safety glasses propped on her forehead. When she reaches us, Buzz looks at her like she hung the moon, and I feel a tug in my chest.
"Ready to work?"
I nod in response and bid Buzz goodbye over my shoulder before I follow her to the garage, where we're working on the gazebo.
"You did a good job yesterday with the cutting and fitting. Let's sand down these pieces before we start to assemble. Don't want anyone getting a splinter, now do we?"
I smile and set to work, and Callie turns on the same music I heard at Cole's.
"Is this the band that's playing on the opening night?"
"It is. You heard of them?"
