by Iris Blobel
“Shame you didn’t tell me about your shelving before. My neighbour next door is a carpenter. Ely’s always got brilliant ideas and is an excellent carpenter.”
Jeri clung to the phone as if it were a lifeline. As her eyes swept across the plastic cover in the room, she felt a lump in her throat and an ache in her heart. She remembered his name clearly: Ely. It was an uncommon name, and she was sure there weren’t two Elys working as carpenters in Hobart.
What would the odds be on that?
“Your neighbour from last night?”
There was a long pause. “That’s him,” Olivia whispered. “I haven’t caught up to him, yet, but I still believe he’s got a solid reason.”
And suddenly, Jeri was very much interested in that reason.
“Honey, I’ve got to go. I'll see you tomorrow.”
Gone was the smile on her face. The smile he’d been responsible for putting there. Mr. Sex-on-legs could stick his magic wand up his backside.
Chapter 2
Without noticing the time, traffic, or any annoying drivers around him, Ely parked the car in the hardware store carpark only a few minutes later. His mind had still been occupied by Jeri, and the good thing about it was that it had taken his mind off his blind date.
At least something positive came out of all this.
After stocking up on more wood and a new bubble level at the hardware store, Ely grabbed a sandwich at the milk bar before heading back to Jeri’s gallery. A smile tugged at his lips when he thought about their conversation earlier in the morning, especially the magic wand. He shook his head in amusement.
Ely entered via the back door again. There was no sight of Jeri and a small flash of disappointment cut through him. It surprised him. His attraction to her surprised him. She wasn't his type. Not that he could say he had a type exactly, just that she wasn't it.
He spent the next few hours working in the little room, creating a shelf paradise. When he was almost finished, he went in search for Jeri to discuss a couple of small ideas. She was in a little room across the hall on her laptop. Ely smiled when she looked up, but all he got was an icy glare.
Raising an eyebrow, he said, “Done. Will you need—”
She shook her head. “Just send me the invoice for today. I appreciate your help.”
Stunned by her reaction, he backed away and packed up his tools, all the while wondering what had happened. He replayed the last conversation they’d had. Did she take the liar comment the wrong way? Or hadn’t she heard him saying “only a fool would mistake you for a man”? He wasn’t able to figure it out, but in the end, it was just another job.
Although disappointed by her change of moods, he reminded himself that it probably wouldn’t look good anyway to flirt with a customer. And after all, she wasn’t his type.
He was in the middle of making a couple of notes for billing purposes when his phone rang. He checked the caller ID. It was Cara, his sister.
“Hi, sis.”
“Hey, Elly.”
He winced at her nickname for him. She’d called him Elly since she’d been able to speak. His parents had tried over and over again to teach her how to pronounce his name correctly, but in the end gave up. By the time she was a toddler, she’d figured that it was something she could annoy him with.
“What’s up?”
“Are you still at the gallery?”
“Yup, but just finished.”
He heard the sound of paper in the background. When Ely had decided to start his own business, he’d nearly drowned in paperwork and bureaucracy. Cara had quit her job to be a full time mother and while visiting Ely with her little baby son, she’d seen the mess on his desk.
A night of babysitting as payment was all it took for her to accept his plea to assist him. And for a small salary she’d managed it ever since, of which he was more than grateful for.
Sometimes payment involved special favours to her friends as well. He had a feeling she was about to ask him for one.
“Dee’s kids jumped up and down the bed, breaking a few slats. Her husband is useless when it comes to fixing things. Can you drive by and help out?”
He checked his watch. It was late in the afternoon and he didn’t have any other jobs on his list.
“Will do. Text me the address.”
“Thanks Elly. I owe you.”
Ely disconnected the call and packed his tools into the car before heading back to see Jeri.
* * *
Jeri heard the noise of Ely packing up his tools and everything inside her tensed. Shaking her head, she let out a sigh. She didn’t know him and couldn’t believe how much he’d occupied her thoughts over the last couple of hours.
When the echoes of his steps in the hall brought her back from her thoughts, she stood and walked towards the door, hoping she didn’t make a fool of herself.
“I’m sorry, Ely.”
He stopped, then shrugged. “No probs. You don’t need—”
Jeri shook her head slightly. “It’s not that.” She let out a long breath. “By any chance, were you supposed to meet someone at the Main Street Restaurant last night?”
The change of expression on his face said it all. The smile vanished and was replaced by a look of guilt.
“Crap.”
She nodded. “Agreed.”
Warily he asked, “You?”
“As in, was I the blind one? It seems yes, in more than one way.”
“How did you find out?”
“Does it matter?”
Ely raked a hand through his hair. “No, I suppose it doesn’t.” He met her gaze and said, “Not my finest moment, right?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know of any of your moments, but I agree.”
“Look—”
Suddenly his excuse wasn’t important anymore. She sighed. It was important, but deep inside she was too afraid to hear the reason. Jeri could live without knowing, but she’d been hurt so often lately, she wasn’t sure whether she’d cope with him hurting her.
Jeri held up her hand. “You had your reasons, and they’re yours and none of my business.”
“It is your business,” he replied. “After all, I left you hanging.”
There was a moment's silence before she met his gaze and said, “You owe me twenty bucks for the wine.”
He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
“I waited for a long while,” she explained with a shrug.
“Shoot.”
“For the twenty bucks?”
Shaking his head, he said, “The long while.”
The whole conversation turned awkward, and Jeri wished Ely would leave as he had intended to. She noticed how he studied her face and she felt vulnerable.
“When Olivia told me about you—” He paused, and Jeri's attention was on his words Olivia told me about you. She’d told him what? What on earth could be so bad that he’d decided to not show up after all?
She held her hand up again. “Please spare me.”
He took her hand. “Let me explain.” Shrugging his shoulder, he said, “It was pure arrogance and the lesson learnt from this is, don’t judge people by—”
Jeri removed her hand from his and raised one of her perfectly curved eyebrows at him, expecting him to finish the sentence.
“The age,” he whispered.
Her mind was spinning processing those two words. The age what? Frowning, she stared at him not understanding, until she remembered what he’d said before: Don’t judge people by — and it dawned on her.
“She told you?” Her voice was high-pitched, it even sounded extreme to herself.
Closing his eyes, Ely shook his head. “No, her mum did. But in all fairness, she dropped that piece of information without knowing that I was the date.”
In all fairness? Was he being serious?
Jeri wasn’t one for putting importance on age. She loved the motto ‘You’re as old as you feel’ and according to that, she was young. Even younger at heart. Especially so si
nce she’d separated from her husband before she’d moved to Hobart. She loved to live the day to the fullest and do whatever she wanted to. Wearing the latest fashion. Have her stylish haircut. Go and watch a children’s movie. On the spur of the moment, invite friends for a barbeque.
But being stood up because she was too old?
Good grief — she was in the prime of her life!
* * *
Electricity surged through Ely’s body as he felt her finger on his chest and his eyes flew open. He tried his best to read her expression, but she played her cards close to her chest. His throat tightened at the thought he might have been the reason for her tears earlier that day.
“You judged me by my age?” she asked through gritted teeth.
“As I said, I’ve learnt my lesson.”
Tilting her head, she asked, “And what makes you say that?”
Ely grinned as he took her finger from his chest. “You know the answer to that.”
She stared at him for a long moment. “I frankly have no idea whether to kick you out of here or assume that was some sort of awkward flattery.” Letting out a long breath, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ve had a lot of unfortunate dates. I had the guy who needed a woman to have his children. Then there was the guy who asked me for a loan. The most interesting date, though, was the guy who needed a lift to the Emergency because the ‘men’ pills didn’t agree with him.” A smile spread on her face. “But my age? Can’t say that it’s been a problem so far.”
Ely did his best not to grin, but failed miserably. “Men pills?”
His grin faded when her expression changed.
The moment’s silence broke when Jeri’s phone buzzed. She took it from her jeans pocket and as she did, she said, “Anyway, nice meeting you after all, Ely. If you could mail me the invoice, that’d be much appreciated.”
Before he was able to reply, she’d answered the phone and walked down the hall. He stared after her and for a second or two he wished he could turn back time for twenty-four hours and go to the blind date. Even if it were only for her to have one good date. Simply for the sake of her not losing her faith in finding someone one day.
But turning back time only happened in movies. The same with magic wands. A smile tugged at his lips, but he was quickly hauled back from his thoughts when he heard Jeri cursing and screaming in the distance.
Everything inside Ely stilled. With his hands dropped by his side, he gazed down the hall where Jeri had walked down to the other end of the building only seconds earlier. Letting out a big sigh, he blinked a couple of times before he stared at his feet. But his feet didn’t want to move—neither to the door to his car nor to follow Jeri to find out the cause of her cursing.
Ely closed his eyes, Jeri’s voice in the distance drowning out sounds of everything around him.
Until there was complete silence, except for the sound of water.
Raking his hand through his hair, he turned, walked down the hall, and soon found the reason for her cursing.
He took stock of the situation. It wasn’t good and possibly the last thing Jeri needed. She stood in the middle of the room, transfixed, staring at the disaster around her. The floor was covered with water and only a faint hissing noise indicated it came from a broken pipe, slowly seeping out from somewhere.
“Where’s your main water tap?”
She whirled around. “What?”
Ely repeated his question and added, “The water needs to be turned off.”
Something flickered in her eyes and she slapped her hand against her head. “Of course!”
Surprised by the change in her sudden awareness of the situation, he couldn’t help but smile. And then his smile turned into a full on grin when he heard her shouting instructions at him as she rushed out of the room.
“Get towels from the kitchen, the bucket from the little bathroom to the right. There should be a mop somewhere as well. Go and get it.”
Ely did exactly what she’d demanded, glad he hadn’t been a no-show again. He rushed down the hall to the kitchen and after pulling out most of the drawers and checking cupboards he found what he was looking for – bucket, mop, and some towels. Once he got back into the room, he surveyed the damage. The floor would possibly show some water damage, but none of the photos, paintings, or displays seemed to be wet. Without any further hesitation, he threw as many towels on the floor as possible before he started mopping, attempting to soak up the worst of the flooding. When he saw Jeri at the door, he ignored the tears she was trying to hide so desperately and handed her the mop.
“Mop away.”
She stared at him, mouth wide open, and admittedly he enjoyed that for a split second. He could be bossy, too.
Ely grabbed his phone and dialled his friend’s number.
“Mate, I’ve got an emergency here. D’you think you could head over?” He explained about the water, the exhibition, and the fact that he owed the customer a small favour.
After he hung up, he turned to look at her. “You’re not mopping.”
A small smile played on the corner of her lips. “A small favour?”
Ignoring her, he took the mop and said, “Look, this is how you—”
Jeri grabbed the mop. “I know how to mop.”
“Good,” he said with a grin. “Mop away. A guy called Scott will come by within the hour. He’s a plumber and will help.”
“This is not my week. There’s got to be some luck coming my way,” she muttered.
A stab of guilt went through Ely as he wondered whether he was part of the bad week. He was pretty sure he was, but then again, he had no idea what else had happened to her. Cursing, she mopped and squeezed, mopped and squeezed, and for a moment he couldn’t help himself but watch her. Her determination to get this under control was visible in every inch of her toned body and fine curves.
“I’ll be back this afternoon to help out more if needed. I’ve got another job to go to.”
“I would’ve been capable of getting this all organised without your help.”
Ely raised an eyebrow and laughed when she frowned in disagreement. Then he placed a kiss on her cheek and whispered into her ear, “You’re welcome.”
* * *
Jeri nearly melted into a puddle despite trying her best to be annoyed with Ely. But with him so close, his mouth nearly touching her face, her pulse went into overdrive. His blue eyes darkened as a muscle twitched in his jaw.
Shaking her head, she watched him leave as she grabbed her phone and dialled Olivia’s number. Time to concede defeat and ask for help.
“Honey, I need you to come over now. I’ve got a burst pipe here with water everywhere.”
“Are you kiddin’?” Olivia replied.
Jeri rolled her eyes. “Kidding would be something along the line: your blind date showed up here this morning.”
There was a loud sigh at the other end of the line. “I owe you big time for that. I’m still convinced there was a good reason for it.”
My age, Jeri thought, but didn’t want to get into that. She’d tell her niece at the right time. With her feet in water, now wasn’t that right time.
“Good. Get your behind into gear and come over. Bring your mum as well.”
“Do you have someone to look at the pipe?”
Jeri fumbled with the mop. “Sweetie, honestly. I have half the gallery under water and you want to chit chat? Of course I have organised a plumber.”
She hung up, smiled, and got started with the mopping. No need to tell her niece how she’d ‘organised’ a plumber coming to help.
Jeri mopped and mopped, trying not to panic about the exhibition that weekend. She kept telling herself it’d all be okay, and she would get through this as well.
After all, nothing could be worse than starting all over again after leaving a marriage of almost seven years behind.
Yet, despite all the obstacles, she had.
And successfully so.
She’d moved from
sunny Brisbane to the most southern capital of Tasmania after her divorce to create some distance—literally with nothing but a few hundred dollars and her clothes. But if she wasn’t anything else, she was a fighter and determined.
After talking to Georgia she’d decided to move to the southern island — and hadn’t regretted it since. Although they’d only met a few times over the years, Georgia and Jeri had become very good friends since living so close to each other. And as Olivia grew older, their relationship from an occasional babysitter had developed into a friendship as well. She smiled as she thought of the many afternoons she’d sat on the porch listening to Olivia’s heartache.
“Excuse me?”
Jeri dropped the mop and shot around to look at a handsome man she assumed to be the plumber. The man in front of her sported a massive smile on his face, which made her feel at ease straight away, but the rest did something to her that she couldn’t quite figure out. Her pulse was up, her hands slightly trembling. Her legs felt like jelly, but the worst part was, her mind was completely blank.
He raised a hand and slowly pushed up the brim of his cap with one finger and said with a smooth, masculine voice, “I’m Scott. Here to fix the pipes.”
Scott looked down at Jeri through eyes the colour of chocolate brown. She stared at him. He was about the same height as Ely, his hair was a dirty blond rather than dark and the ends curled up around the edge of the hat.
She thought Ely had been the highlight of her day, but Scott evidently came from the same gene pool. Or at least a similar one.
Jeri was still unable to speak, but when she noticed him raising his eyebrow, she forced herself to shake his hand.
“Thank God, you’re here,” she said with a croaky voice.
He smiled again, and she nearly had to hold on to something or at least lock her knees.
She continued to stare at him as he took in the situation.
“Any major damage?” he asked
She blinked, and her jaw dropped. That was the moment she stopped comparing him to her carpenter. Her stare turned into a glare and with hands on hips, she said, “Not at all. I simply wanted to meet you.”