Page 6 of Trouble with the Mountain Man
Our eyes hold for a long moment.
"I should get back to work," I say finally, though leaving her is the last thing I want to do.
"Flint?" she calls as I reach the door.
"Yeah?"
"Electrical work really is a safety issue, isn't it?"
I turn back to her, seeing the question behind the question. She's asking if I lied to get rid of Derek, if I overstepped boundaries that shouldn't be crossed.
"Box is too close to the excavation site," I say honestly. "Could be dangerous if we hit a water line. Needs to be moved."
Relief crosses her face. "Okay. Thank you."
"Anytime."
And I mean it. Derek wants to take her back to Vancouver, back to a life that didn't value what she had to offer. But I see her worth. I see the strength it takes to raise a child alone, to maintain a home with limited resources, to build a life in a place where people matter more than money.
Derek thinks this is a dead-end town with nothing to offer.
He's wrong. This town has Maple Webster.
And I'll be damned if I let anyone take her away.
five
Maple
Thesoundwakesmeat two in the morning: a loud crack followed by the crash of something falling. I bolt upright in bed, heart hammering, as the smell of dust fills the air.
"Mommy?" Ally's voice, small and scared from her room down the hall.
"Stay put, sweetheart. I'll check it out."
I grab my robe and a flashlight, padding carefully through the house. In the kitchen, disaster greets me. A section of the ceiling has collapsed, bringing down chunks of plaster and a light fixture. Water drips steadily from the broken pipes above, pooling on the floor.
"Oh no," I breathe, surveying the damage. "Oh no, oh no, oh no."
This is worse than the foundation. This is immediate, urgent, and completely beyond my ability to fix. I don't even know where to start.
My phone. I need to call someone, but who? At two in the morning, my options are limited. Jake would come if I asked, but what could he do? A plumber would cost a fortune for an emergency call, money I definitely don't have.
Almost without thinking, I dial Flint's number.
"Hello?" His voice is alert despite the hour, as if he wasn't really sleeping.
"Flint, I'm so sorry to wake you, but there's been an accident. The kitchen ceiling collapsed and there's water everywhere and I don't know what to do."
"I'll be right there."
The line goes dead. No questions, no hesitation. Just the promise of help when I need it most.
He arrives in less than ten minutes. His hair is mussed from sleep, but his eyes are sharp and focused as he surveys the damage.
"Water pipe," he says immediately, dropping to his knees to examine the broken pipes. "Old galvanized steel. Probably corroded from the inside out."
"Can you fix it?"
