Page 31 of Under Daddy's Spell

Chapter Eleven

BY CLOSING TIME ONSaturday, five of the six companies she’d called, all promising twenty-four-hour emergency service, had yet to get back to her. One hadn’t sent her to a machine, but the woman she spoke to hadn’t been kind or helpful. She explained if Tessa had read the small print in their ad, she would know the around-the-clock emergency service applied to customers who purchased maintenance agreements. They received priority service, and, since she didn’t have one, she’d have to wait in line with everyone else in the Greater New Orleans area who called out of the blue demanding same-day service, in August, in the middle of a heat wave.

Tessa felt a little sick when she asked the woman about fees. The diagnostic was several hundred dollars and didn’t include parts and labor for whatever they found.

The two additional box fans she brought in on Sunday morning helped very little. Mostly they circulated the hot, heavy, humid air. She tried propping open the doors as a last resort, hoping to get a little relief from cross ventilation, but there was no breeze to be had, and it only made matters worse. The customers who ventured in didn’t stay long, and her sales were practically nonexistent.

Tessa left three more urgent messages for Mr. Thompson. She figured it was an exercise in futility, but she had to do something. When she checked out the Channel 4 weather and saw the forecast for record-setting heat, she knew it was going to be a long week.

The moment The Body Shop opened Monday morning, she was there to swallow her pride and beg a favor. Jordan was out of town again, so she had to do her begging with Seth.

His eyes widened in surprise when he saw her. In place of her usual silky blouse, skirt, and heels, she dressed for coolness in a sundress and sandals, no makeup, which would melt off her face anyway, and wore her hair gathered in a high ponytail to keep it off her neck.

A slow grin transformed his expression from stunned to amused.“Jordan is going to be sorry he missed this.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you look—” He stopped suddenly, maybe because he thought better of what he was going to say or perhaps from the narrow-eyed glare she gave him. “No reason,” he eventually said with a chuckle.

“It’s supposed to be close to 100 today,” she told him, focusing on the problem at hand rather than his amusement at her expense, apparently.

“I heard that. But this is summertime in New Orleans, so that isn’t unusual.”

“No, but it’s miserable and terrible for business when you don’t have A/C.”

“Still?” His goofy grin turned upside down. “You called Thompson, didn’t you?”

“About a million times. He is unreachable, as usual.”

His frown deepened into a scowl. “I’ve heard that from some of the other shop owners. I’ll call and see if he’ll answer me.”

“That would be great, but what I really need is some relief. Before I lose every customer I have.”

“How can I help? I know nothing about that antique HVAC system he’s got out back.”

“Could you turn the thermostat down a few more notches?”

He hesitated.

“Please.” This was the begging part. “It’s only until I can get a repairman out here. I’ll pay any extra on the bill.”

“It’s not the money, Tessa. One thing I do know about A/C is that if it’s set too low, the unit can freeze up. Especially if it’s not working right or, worse, has a coolant leak. Then both businesses would swelter.”

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