Page 102 of Safety Net
"Then why are you doing it?"
"I need the set pieces."
"The ones I asked you to pick up last week?"
"I'll owe you big time." I stepped back from the door ring camera to make sure he could see the promise in my eyes. "And this'll never happen again."
He was quiet for a second. Just when I started considering whether I should have asked for forgiveness instead of permission, he told me, "There's a spare key to my workshop taped on top of the door frame. You can start loading up. Give me a minute to get dressed, and I'll come and help."
"Thank you, thank you," I said. "And don't worry about it. You've done more than enough."
"Trust me, you're going to need help… There are some things I need to explain to you. It gets a little complicated."
I frowned. "Complicated?"
"I'll explain."
His ominous warning left little room for confidence. But I refused to panic too much before seeing what he meant.
I shot Lucas a thumbs-up before heading to the back of the house to Aaron's workshop. I got a splinter when grabbing the key. The pain of it barely registered as I unlocked the door and remembered how large the set pieces were. They were all scattered, unpainted wooden blocks that resemble children's toys.
"What happened to the…" I folded my fingers together as Aaron came in. "Easy assembly."
"That's what I have to explain," he said, still adjusting a half-on sweatshirt. "For easier transport, I took the pieces apart. It's how the original designer made them, so it wasn't difficult. Fortifying was the difficult part. As I was adding in all your notes."
"You added them all in?" I asked in awe.
"It was a nice departure from everyday work." He tugged at a sheet covering the main parts of the balcony. "You're going to have your work cut out for you when it comes to reassembling. Your friends here, too?"
"It's just me." I held my splintered hand to my chest while running my finger over the floral-engraved detailing on some railing. "This is incredible."
"Just you?" he asked at the same time.
I ignored the concern in his tone, too over-extended to manage any panic outside of the ticking clock in my head. "Tell me what I have to do."
"This is a four-person job at best."
"Well, I'm a one-person operation today, so lay it on me and I'll figure out the rest."
He stared at me for a second but eventually shrugged and went into detail on how I'd have to reassemble everything. It was mainly about clicking things into place and tightening them. Lots of pieces and lots of screws that were vital to the entire operation.
"Whatever you do, don't rush through it," he warned. "One mistake and this whole thing could come toppling down."
I nodded. "I got it."
There was no room for any mistakes. I couldn't afford them, and I would do everything in my power to ensure the results were perfect. I would do everything to show Celeste that letting her down wasn't a habit I planned to form.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
LINCOLN
It took us an hour to load everything back into the rideshare. Lucas helped after I ended the current ride with a substantial tip and promised to do the same once he took me back into town.
"You sure you got this?" Aaron asked before I could hop back into the SUV and hurry back to Tinsel.
"Not at all." I flashed him a smile and cracked open my last water bottle. The buzz of alcohol had worn off, replaced by a headache akin to what I'd imagine the sensation of someone drilling directly into my skull would feel like. But I was still standing and still committed.
"I'm going to give it one hell of a shot," I said. Celeste was my main driving force, but there was also a small hope I could prove myself wrong. That I wasn't a lost cause.
