Page 16 of Atlas & Miles
“Miley? You there?”
I blinked. I’d somehow managed to drive to my next appointment without even noticing, and given Claudia’s questions and her tone, I’d missed what she’d said, too. “Yeah, sorry. I got in my head.”
I could hear the smile in her voice. “You are prone to that.” She chuckled. “So are you going to do it or not?”
I turned into the parking lot of Jeb’s Landscaping, pulled into a spot, and shifted my truck into park. “Sorry, Cloudy. Can you repeat what you said?”
“I’ll text you the details, but Gomillion High’s assistant principal, Vanessa, said they could use some help setting up for the reunion. I told her I’d ask if you would help.”
I sighed loudly, not at all worried about hiding my disdain. Claudia knew I hated this kind of shit. “Aw, Cloudy, you know I don’t want to do that!”
She didn’t answer right away, and my gut clenched. She was working up to something I wasn’t going to like. “Miles, you are lonely. I can see it. Hell, Ophelia can see it. And we don’t want that for you. This could be a way to get into town life.”
“I like my life the way it is, Cloudy,” I shot back instantly, but it didn’t feel true, not anymore. Not after meeting Atlas in January, despite never seeing him since.
Somehow, my meager, largely solitary existence had lost its appeal. I’d been clinging to it, but if I was honest with myself, I felt like I was wearing a jacket that no longer fit. Iwaslonely.
Claudia might’ve been right.
“Fuck.” I scrubbed a hand down my face. “Okay, I’ll give her a call, see what she needs. But no promises.”
She shrieked on the other end of the line. “Gah, thank you, Miley! This will be good for you, I know it.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I gazed up at the low, one-story building before me and blinked a few times. Seeing the name of the business on the lighted sign on the roof pricked something in the back of my mind, but I wasn’t sure why. “Listen, I’ve got another appointment. Send me her number, and I’ll connect with her.”
“Will do, Miley.”
“Love you, Cloudy.”
“Love you, too. Later, big brother.”
She hung up, and I took a deep breath. Could I do this? Did Iwantto do this? Surely reaching out for more information couldn’t hurt.
But that would wait. Because right now—I double-checked the request on the app—I had a wall to repair inside. Time to get back to work.
***
All too often, I got suspicious calls to fix something. Wall repairs could be some of the oddest, and I never really knew what I was walking into, even if they’d attached a picture to their request. In this case, the photo they’d sent made it appear to be a simple hole in the drywall, which I should be able to repair quite easily.
I hoped it was that easy, anyway. It had already been a long day, and I was ready to go home, have a cool shower, and chill with a cold beer while bingeing my favorite TV show. As per usual.
Shit, Claudia was right, wasn’t she? At thirty-eight, my life had gotten boring as fuck.
I climbed out of my truck, sliding on sunglasses as I squinted against the bright sun. I’d chosen a simple navy-blue T-shirt that stretched across my pecs nicely if I said so myself and a pair of dark-wash jeans that were easy to wash should they get dirty—and they always did. It was inevitable.
On every job, before grabbing any supplies, I went inside to talk to the person who’d submitted the ticket to get the lay of the land. I’d assess the damage, determine what I needed to fix it, then go back to my truck to get the necessary equipment. Nine times out of ten, I had the right tools on hand, but I had a great relationship with Joe, the middle-aged—fuck, he was my age—man who ran the hardware store downtown, and I could grab anything I was missing fairly quickly.
No offense to Joe, but with a bit of luck, I wouldn’t have to do that today.
The bell chimed as I strode through the glass door into a small waiting room with a low ceiling. What I could see of the room was pleasantly decorated, with hallways opening in several directions to other parts of the building—offices, showrooms, maybe a warehouse? The spaces to my left were hidden behind some large panels beautifully advertising their services.
I didn’t see anyone right away, but in no time at all, I heard the telltale click-clack of heels hurrying toward me from the hallway directly across from the front door, and I cleared my throat as I prepared to speak with whomever came from the back.
When they appeared, my heart got stuck in my throat.
Atlas.
“Miles?”
