Page 12 of Room 1003

My eyes darted down to where he was twisting his wedding ring around and around. “You miss him,” I said simply. “This makes you feel like he’s still here.”

Shane offered me a gentle smile. “Yeah, I guess.”

We both started when the front door opened, and we turned to see Shane’s dad, Zack, come in. “Oh! Ben, good to see you again,” he said, offering me a wide grin. Then his gaze shifted over to Shane, taking in his son’s red-rimmed eyes and tear-dampened cheeks, and his smile melted. “Everything okay?”

In response, Shane pointed up at the ceiling. Zack followed his direction and looked up, hissing as he saw the damage. “Oh boy.”

“Yeah,” Shane moaned, dropping down onto the sofa.

“I’ll get the vacuum,” Zack said, disappearing down the hall. If sucking up some of the mess made him feel more in control of the situation, then I was all for it, but I suspected the mess was about to get a lot worse.

I didn’t like towering over Shane, so I lowered to the couch beside him. “Where did you want me to start?” I asked softly. “Maybe if I loosen the damaged plaster, I can check out the extent of the damage, and we should definitely double-check that whatever was leaking is fixed. Then while the ceiling is open, I’ll rewire the living room, before we fix the plaster. How does that sound?”

“That… sounds like a good plan.” He seemed to have regained control of his emotions, and when he looked up at me, he actually laughed, his eyes focused somewhere above me. “Come here,” he said, reaching for me. “You look ridiculous.”

I got the gist about what he wanted, and I bent forward. He ran his fingers through my hair, loosening chunks of plaster from my locks. I nearly moaned at the sensation of his hands on me, no matter how innocent it was intended to be. I closed my eyes and basked in the attention. No one had touched me in too long, and I wished it could mean so much more.

Too soon, my hair was clear of debris, and he pulled away. I blinked my eyes open and tried my best to appear unaffected, though I could’ve sworn he looked a little unsettled too.

With a clatter and stomping feet, Zack returned, with the vacuum cleaner cord disappearing into the dining room where the plugs were working. “Well, let’s get to it, shall we?”

Shane looked grateful, and he stood up and began rolling up his sleeves. “Just tell us what to do, Ben. Put us to work.”

So, I climbed up the ladder and got to work on the demolition, while they stayed below and kept the mess under control, Zack with the vacuum and Shane putting the larger chunks in a garbage bag. While I typically worked alone, I had to admit, this was kind of nice. We chatted about nothing in particular, then Zack propped his phone in the corner and put on some music, and I laughed watching the two of them dancing away. I may have even sung along to a song or two.

I told myself not to get used to this kind of teamwork, but I could feel a shift happening. Too soon, this job would be finished, and then it would all be over. And I already missed them.

7

Shane

Iwasachinginplaces I hadn’t even known could ache. I was dusty and sweaty and hungry. It had been a long day, and it wasn’t anywhere near over yet. There was still dinner to make and my son to play with, plus the bedtime routine, of course. And since I hadn’t gotten any work done today, what with the unexpected living room wall and ceiling demolition, I would have to squeeze in some work before finally crawling into bed myself. I still had hours left to get through, and the mere thought of it was exhausting.

Despite being such a catastrophe, the day had been… kind of nice, actually. Beneath the panic, the stress, the overwhelming depression, there was this peace that settled over me. Working with my dad and Ben, laughing and dancing, it was almost familiar somehow, and it worked its magic on me, like a kind of therapy.

It had helped that Ben finally gave me some good news. Once the damaged plaster was down, he was able to inspect the full extent of what was going on, and he said the structural support was stable. The water damage was probably part of the cause for the wiring issues in that section of the house too, so it was good we were getting it taken care of.

I’d given Dad the first shower, then he went to pick up Kit from school. Now it was my turn at last. “I’m just going to run upstairs for a quick shower. Are you okay for a few minutes?” I asked Ben.

“Yeah, for sure. If it’s all right with you, I’d like to keep working for a little while. I’m pretty close to getting you some light for this room.”

“So I can get a clear look at the gaping ceiling?” I sassed, raising an eyebrow.

He chuckled. “In that case, maybe leave the lights off for another few days. Don’t worry, we’ll get there, probably sooner than you’d think.”

It felt good to be able to joke about the fiasco. If I didn’t laugh, I’d cry. “I’ll be right back,” I told him with a wave, then jogged up the stairs, the risers complaining with creaks and groans with each step.

The bathroom was actually huge, and I could imagine how beautiful it would be one day, but for now, it was just kind of sad. There were tiles missing from the floor and walls, probably part of the water damage from downstairs, and while it did have a massive clawfoot tub, it was stained and chipped.

My poor aching body was craving a scalding-hot spray. I scowled at the narrow showerhead, clogged with limescale, knowing the chances of either hot water or a decent spray were slim, but I wasn’t ready to give up just yet. My dad said it was fine.

I pulled across the shower curtain and cranked on the tap, keeping my fingers crossed. With a clank of pipes from somewhere beneath my feet, the water sputtered and chugged but eventually came up with something resembling a shower. Blowing out a sigh of relief, I got undressed while waiting for it to warm up.

The heavy cast-iron basin was so thick that when I climbed in, the metal was still chilly under my feet, but at least the water was hot. I blew out a long sigh, feeling some of the tension release from my shoulders.

Well, Kit said he wanted an adventure, and this house was certainly turning into exactly that. Embry would’ve laughed so hard at everything that was going wrong. It was like a row of cascading dominoes, one thing after another. I could almost hear it, his wheezing giggle when he really got worked up, tears spilling down his cheeks. He had a great laugh. Ben had a nice laugh too, but it was deeper, a rumbly kind of vibration in his chest.

I nearly gasped at how easily my mind had taken me from one man to the other. There was nothing similar about them. Besides, I had no business thinking about Ben in any way, shape, or form other than how qualified he was for the job. He was the electrician, and that was it.

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