Randy kept looking at her beneath his lashes. “What?”
Randy sighed, looking Sophia directly in the eye. “I know it’s none of my business. How’s it working out with living with your cousin? I know Susan. I know where she lives. Her house isn’t big.” Sophia went to say something, but Randy held up his hand to stop her. “Before you say anything, I’m asking because I inherited my grandparent’s property. Well, if you want to get technical, I inherited it over two years ago. They had a huge farm. While I renovated the original farmhouse, I stayed in a double-wide trailer the caretaker stayed in. I’ve since moved back into the farmhouse, renovated the double-wide. I guess what I’m saying is if you ever need a place of your own, I have the double-wide available.”
“Show me.” Sophia barked out. She looked at her watch. “We have an hour lunch, show me. I can move in today.”
“Ah, all right.” Randy told Scott he was leaving for lunch and might be a little late getting back.
Sitting beside Randy in his truck, Sophia looked around. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in this direction.”
“If memory serves, your cousin lives on the same road the shop is on, on the outskirts of town.”
“Yes, I’ve been the other direction to a car dealership and the mall. How far are you from the shop?”
“Twenty miles. It’s all open fields on each side. In the summer they’ll be full of corn. The blowing snow is a bitch in the winter. If you plod along, don’t panic, you should be able to make it. If it gets too bad, you can ride into work with me.”
“Is there storage for my bike and camper at your place?”
“Yes, the double-wide has a two-car detached garage.” Randy downshifted his truck before he pulled into a long drive. “This is the entrance to your property. Mine is the next one down the road.”
“Not next to each other?”
“No. You can’t see each other. Not even in the dead of winter with all the bare trees.” Randy swore when he hit a pothole. “Remind me to call to have some gravel delivered to fix it.” Sophia grinned, bouncing in the seat beside Randy. Breaking through the trees, the land opened. Sophia sucked in her breath at the sight before her. A deep porch ran across the whole front.
The driveway split off. You could either go to the garage, or pull in beside the house. You could even park in front of it. Sophia sat there staring. She could see herself sitting in a rocking chair or a porch swing in the summer. Sipping her glass of bourbon. The house itself was pale green with darker green shutters and trim. The trees they’d driven through were vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows. Sophia bet in the middle of summer the huge trees would make for some great shade. Right now, they were at their peak fall colors. She laughed, watching a small breeze blow leaves across the yard.
“Let’s get out, walk around.” Randy got out, went around to help Sophia, she had already jumped down. The first thing she wanted to see was the garage. Opening it, she walked around. Plenty of room for her car, bike, and the camper. Outside the garage, Randy paused, turned in a circle with his arm out. “There are twenty acres, the trailer sits on three. For now, I’ll continue to come over to mow. I can do it this weekend. It will probably be the last time this year. I’ll even sweep up the leaves. Don’t worry about the snow, I’ll swing by on my way to and from work to plow you out. I don’t have it on now, if I hear snow’s coming, I can put the plow on my truck. Now, let’s go inside.” Randy indicated for Sophia to proceed him up the steps. He pulled a key from his pocket, and unlocked the door, allowing Sophia to enter first.
“It’s a three-bedroom, two bath-house. Eat-in kitchen, dining room, living room, the front porch, a back deck. Both are covered. The master with its own bathroom is at the end of the hall, away from the kitchen and living room. Here are the two bedrooms with the spare bath.”
“So, the bedrooms are on each side of the house.”
“Yes.” Randy nodded. “As you can see, it’s furnished, go ahead, walk around.” Randy stood in the kitchen. Sophia did as he said. Thirty minutes later, she met him in the kitchen.
“How much? What about utilities?” Sophia had walked through the house, she wouldn’t need to buy anything except for food and personal care products. Everything else she would need was there. As she walked around, she saw that nothing was missed. All the bedrooms had beds, dressers, and linens. The kitchen had everything from a table that sat four, to the silverware. The living room had a couch, loveseat, two lounge chairs, and a TV mounted on the wall. If the price was right, she could move in today.
“The utilities are on and they’re in my name. We can leave it, or you can switch over into your name.” Randy mentioned what he would charge her for rent. Sophia gave him the stink eye, he quickly amended. “If it’s too much, I can drop it.”
“No, are you sure you want to charge that? It’s less than what I paid in Florida for renting a room, paying for half of everything.”
“No, it’s the going rate around here. Don’t forget, we’re rural, we are in the middle of nowhere. With the cost of living and the jobs available in the area, people don’t pay a lot on rent.”
“Would you want first and last month’s rent? A lease?”
“How about the first month, security, no lease. I’d expect you to give me notice. I won’t tie you into a lease.”
“I’ll take it. Can I move in today? Can you take me to Susan’s after work? I’ll drive here, drop off my car, go get my bike. Everything I have at Susan’s will fit on the bike and in my camper.”
“You don’t have to talk it over with Susan first?”
“Nope.” Afterward Randy drove them back to the shop. After work, before driving out to the new house, Sophia had Randy follow her to the bank. She withdrew the money for the rent. Afterward she drove to the new house and jumped into Randy’s truck. Sophia paid close attention to the way to Susan’s. Sophia waved Randy away, making sure she had his phone number before entering the house. She wasn’t surprised to see Connor. She was shocked to see Susan standing there like she had been waiting for her.
“We need to talk,” Susan said with her hands on her hips.
Sophia held up her hand. “I’m sorry for running out on you this morning, I can’t deal with what you said. If it makes me a bitch, so be it. Tomas put me through hell. It’s time I took control of my own life. I think it would be better for me to move out. I found a place. I’m sorry for any inconvenience I’ve caused you.” She brushed past Susan, going upstairs. She removed all her items out of the bathroom. Up in her attic bedroom, Sophia packed. It took all of fifteen minutes.
Back downstairs, she went to Connor and hugged him. She told him once she was settled, she would call him. She actually hugged Susan, told her thank you for letting her stay. Susan followed Sophia into the garage.
“Is it because of what I said about Sean?”
“Partly.” Sophia began packing the things on her bike. “I won’t lie to you, Susan, it hurt. I know it was years ago, I know we are all grown-ass adults, but it still hurt. How can I talk to you about our date? I’d be wondering if you are comparing my date to the ones you’d been on with him. Judging us? Judging me? Being jealous? Sophia paused in her packing and glared at her cousin. After she exhaled a deep breath, she continued. “I know it’s stupid of me to be hurt and angry. I know it was in the past. It’s something I have to work out. I found a place to live. So I’m moving into it now. Don’t worry, it’s a home and not my camper.” She indicated the camper she’d just hooked up to her bike. “Once I calm down, I’ll call you.” Sophia didn’t waste any time in donning her helmet, starting her bike, and leaving.
Susan kept her mouth shut. Something she should have done this morning. Sophia had been talking about Sean possibly being dominant. Susan had been jealous. How Sophia had described the time she’d spent with Sean made Susan realize she hadn’t had that with him. She wanted it. Not necessarily with Sean, but definitely with someone she clicked with. She knew she’d gone about it the wrong
way. Yes, she wanted what Sophia described, but she didn’t want Sean. She stood there and watched Sophia pull out of the driveway. For almost fifteen minutes, she continued to stand there. She pulled her phone and dialed.
“Kilduff.” Came the gruff voice over the phone.
“Sean, it’s Susan.”
“Is everything okay? Oh my god, is it Sophia? Connor?”
“No, I fucked up.”
“How?”
“I told Sophia we had slept together. She’s hurt and pissed. She went into work early to get started on your bike. I blurted out we’d slept together. I’ve been a nervous wreck all day, coming up with different ways to apologize to her. I was already home. I didn’t see who dropped her off, Sophia packed all her stuff. She left. She said she found a new place to live. She moved out. Not before telling me she was hurt. I don’t know if she will ever forgive either one of us. I thought I’d give you the heads up in case she bows out on your next date.”
“Son of a bitch.” Sean swore, slamming his hand on the steering wheel. Kilo sat up to put his head on Sean’s shoulder, whining, giving him comfort. “Thanks for the heads up, Susan. Did she say anything about where she moved to?”
“No, all I know is she packed all her stuff here, which wasn’t much, it all fit in one suitcase the size of a carry-on, and one backpack. Her car wasn’t even here. She packed her bike. She left with the bike and the camper.”
“You don’t think she lied? That she’d go park her camper someplace, live in the camper, do you?”
“No, she said it was a house and she wouldn’t be sleeping in her camper. I believed her when she said she’d found a place.” Susan said, shocked. Once she thought about it, she realized Sophia might do it. “I don’t think she’d do that, then again, I don’t really know. Why don’t I talk to Connor, have him talk to Justin, him to Curt?”
“Too many people involved. I’ll call Curt directly, see if he knows anything.”
“You’ll let me know?”
“I will.” Sean sighed deeply, hanging up. He took several deep breaths before he dialed.
“Bannerman.”
“Curt, it’s Sean Kilduff.”
“Oh, hey Sean, how’s it going?”
“Good, I have a question for you.”
“Shoot.”
“How did Sophia seem today?”
“Quiet, productive. Your bike is torn apart, lying in several areas of the shop.”
“What!” Sean demanded, sitting up straighter. “What the hell, Bannerman, why is it all in pieces? We never agreed to that.”
“I’m sorry. I was under the impression it was a total re-paint job with the new design.”
“It was. Why the hell is my bike torn apart?”
“Let me ask you this.” Curt chuckled. “How do you expect the frame to be re-painted to match the rest of the bike with the motor and tranny still in it?”
“Oh, shit, I never thought of that.”
“Exactly, Sophia tore it down, to get all the parts she needed to paint. By tearing it down, she was able to get the frame.”
“Wow, never expected it would take all that work.”
“Why didn’t you call Sophia with your concerns?”
Sean drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “Susan called me. She said that Sophia came home, packed up all her belongings at Susan’s house, and loaded her bike before she left. She said she had a new place to stay. But she didn’t tell Susan where it was.”
“Why the hell would she do that?” Curt demanded. “I didn’t hear anything at work.” He wasn’t about to admit he didn’t listen to gossip, being too busy trying to do his work, answer phones, run the business.
“No clue, Susan said she had told Sophia she and I had a thing.”
“You and Susan? When the hell was that?”
“Four years ago, we actually dated a couple of months. Slept together a total of three times. We knew we’d be better friends than lovers. Susan said Sophia freaked when she found out.”
“So, what does that tell you?” Curt laughed. He knew Sean couldn’t see his expression; he shook his head at how obtuse Sean was being.
“Nothing, it does make me wonder if she is going to park her bike and trailer someplace to camp out in it.”
“Naw, I don’t think she’d do it. Why don’t you call her and ask her?”
“What if she won’t talk to me?”
“Keep calling her until she does.” Curt shook his head at his wife, rolling his eyes. She giggled. He did it again and the men hung up. Curt glanced at Dana. “That was Sean Kilduff, it seems he and Susan had a thing a few years ago. Susan let it slip. Sophia moved out of her house. Showed up after work, packed her things, rode away on her bike, pulling her camper behind her.”
“Did she say anything to Susan?”
“Sean said Sophia had said she’d found a place. Sean seems to think she might be going someplace to live in her camper.”
“What do you think?”
“I think the three need to sit down and talk, especially Sean and Sophia. I know Sophia has trust issues after what happened with her ex. Maybe I should call Sean back to tell him to back off, not to pressure Sophia.”
“You could, or you could sit back to watch what happens?” Dana giggled.
“Yeah, sounds like a plan.” Curt said, he pulled his wife into his lap kissing the side of her head. Making his way over to her mouth. Several minutes passed before he’d allow her to stand. He grinned when she wobbled.
Several miles away, Sean looked at Kilo sighing. “What do I do, buddy? Should I call to confront her? If I let her know Susan called me, it might make her even more upset. Should I drive around? Look for her? Check out all the campgrounds in the county? Most are closed for the season, but you never know. Or should I call her like I know nothing, checking to see how her day went?” Kilo woofed, Sean, sighed, pulled his phone, dialed.
“Hello?” Sophia sounded breathless. Sean didn’t say anything for a moment.
“Hey, it’s Sean, I’m on a break. I thought I’d call to see how your day went.”
“Good.” Came the quick reply. Sean leaned his head back, frowning at the phone. Before he could comment, Sophia said. “Sorry, you caught me at a bad time, can I call you back?”
“Um, sure.” Sean heard a dial tone, looked at Kilo. “Okay, decision made.” Sean made sure Kilo settled, he started on the closest campsite to his current location. By the end of his shift, Sophia still hadn’t called him back, he’d gone through four of the six campsites. In one, he found a bunch of teenagers making out. He chased them away before he continued with his search. Punching out at the end of his shift, Sean made a mental note to go to the other two campsites when he started his next shift. Once home, he was restless. He hooked Kilo up to his leash, and together they ran ten miles. Returning home, he fed his dog, showered, and climbed into bed. He fell asleep, his dreams filled with horror, imagining Sophia in several different situations. Sean woke in a cold sweat grateful it was just a dream.
15
Sophia looked up at a knock on her office door. “Scott, what’s up?” She sat in her office at work, waiting for the paint she’d applied earlier to dry before she could airbrush. She was about to call the next person on Curt’s backlist.
“Nothing, was wondering if you wanted to help in the shop today?”
“For?”
“Something to do?” Scott grinned. Sophia snorted.
“Let me guess, you have a wiring job you need doing. Your hands are too big. Along with everyone else’s in the shop. Am I close?” Sophia laughed, as Scott’s cheeks turned pink. Both looked up at Curt’s knock on the door.
“Scott, how’s the wiring coming on the Baxter job?”
“He’s trying to convince me to come out to do the wiring since my hands are smaller.” Sophia laughed.
“They are, you can help if you want. I need you for a few minutes first.” Curt grinned then asked. “Scott, why don’t you join us?”
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br /> “For?”
“The receptionist job, Connor’s the only one who knows of anyone. I talked it over with Justin. I’ve come to a decision. I’d like to call Ginny in for an interview.”
“Who is Ginny?” Scott asked with a frown.
“Ginny Alexander, her daughter is in the same class as my son Justin. According to Justin, her father walked out on them. I know there’s Ginny, her daughter Alyssa, who’s twelve, and I believe there might be a son, I’m not sure.”
“So, he walked out?” Scott scowled at them. “What the hell? Does she have a job already?”
“According to Susan.” Sophia spoke then. “Ginny’s husband is the type to provide for the family. It was his job to work outside the home, pay for everything. He believed the woman’s job was to stay home, take care of the family, along with the house.”
“Wow, he left, leaving his wife and kids high and dry?”
“I don’t know.” Curt shrugged. “Let’s call to offer her the job.”
“If we hire this person, I can stay in the back, do my job?” Scott scowled as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Yep.” Curt and Sophia answered as one.
“What’s her number?” Scott grinned as he reached for the phone on Sophia’s desk. “I’ll call her.” They all looked toward the door when someone knocked on it.
“Come in.” Sophia called out, no one answered. “Is anyone there?” She called when someone knocked again. “Enter.” She looked at the men, who shrugged. The three of them watched the door as someone knocked again, then a black tail wagged in the doorway. Scott started to say something. Curt grabbed his arm, shook his head. He used his eyes to indicate for Sophia to handle it.
“Well hello, do you want to come in?” Sophia laughed as she saw the tail, a hairy butt with two legs wagging furiously. The dog continued to back up, to the doorway, Kilo sat on his haunches and looked in. Sophia swore the dog grinned at her. His tongue hung out while his tail swept the floor. He wouldn’t come into the office, which Sophia appreciated. She looked over the dog’s shoulder, she couldn’t see into the hall, she asked the dog, “Are you alone?”
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