Nothing Else But You

by Elle Wright

  “Well, he’s going to be a junior, so it’s doubtful.”

  “No harm in asking.”

  No harm in trying to pass along a phone number hoping to get in between Gio and me.

  From Mrs. B’s frown, she had the same thought.

  A minute later, Gio came up the nail aisle at top speed, rounded the counter, and stood next to Natalia as if he wanted her to protect him.

  He leaned down and whispered, “She’s a fuckin’ viper.”

  Yep. Protection.

  Melanie came up the aisle a moment later, took one look at Gio standing next to Natalia, kicked out her hip, stuck out her chest, and sighed. “I don’t bite, G.” Like Natalia wasn’t even there.

  G?

  “And I don’t give out my number to randoms.”

  That got her back up and she glared. At. Natalia. Who smiled sweetly and asked, “How’d that pink paint work out in your dorm room?”

  “Come on, Mom,” Melanie huffed. “There’s nothing here worth looking at.” Then she turned and swung her ass so hard when she walked out, Natalia thought the girl was going to throw her back out.

  Mrs. Reynolds waved like her daughter hadn’t behaved as badly as she just had, and followed her out the door, minus the hip swing.

  “I’m so sorry.” Mrs. B looked like she was going to cry.

  “Pshaw.” Natalia shook her head. “You had nothing to do with how that girl acted. That’s on her.”

  Gio said, “Don’t be upset. Some people don’t like taking no for an answer. Trust me, I’m already a memory.”

  Mrs. B looked frazzled. Time for a permanent fix.

  “I’m saying this once, and it’s good for the rest of time. Gio has a conscience. If he doesn’t want to be with me anymore, he’ll tell me before he goes out with someone else. If girls throw themselves at him, he’s not responsible for that, and I’m not going to get bent out of shape about it. Okay?”

  Mrs. B took a deep breath and seemed to have calmed a little. “Okay. I’m going into the breakroom to make myself a cup of tea. Can I get anyone anything?”

  “Thank you, no,” Gio said.

  Natalia shook her head.

  After Mrs. B left, Gio turned Natalia around to face him. “I’m saying this once, and it’s good for the rest of time. There will never be a minute of my life that I won’t want to be with you. Got it?”

  Puddle Natalia had a hard time nodding and slipping her forefinger into the front of his jeans. She rested her head on the center of his chest and breathed him in.

  “Baby,” he whispered into her hair.

  “I’m good,” she said.

  He stepped back, put his hand beneath her chin, and lifted her face. “Oh yeah, you are.”

  She straightened, resolved to keep it together. “Later.”

  “Lunch.” Then he walked toward the storeroom.

  Twenty minutes later, about the time Natalia’s heartbeat had returned to normal and she had processed the undying love declaration as best she could, given that she felt the same way, Mrs. Gusk, Eddie’s mother, burst into the store, her expression a picture of abject fear.

  “Stan,” she hollered. “Stan.”

  He came running to the front from the storeroom, Gio on his heels. Natalia had never seen Stan do more than saunter. “Mrs. Gusk. What happened?”

  Mrs. B came running in from the breakroom. “Sheila. What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “Eddie. Stuck. Hot water…” She started to cry.

  Natalia stepped around the counter and guided Mrs. Gusk to the bench seat then squatted down in front of her.

  “Let’s start again. Deep breath. That’s right. Now. What happened?”

  “The hot water heater blew up.” She started to sniffle.

  “Okay. Got that. What next?”

  “I called Eddie. Phil is at the cardiologist. His six-month checkup.”

  “You’re doing great. Keep going.”

  “Eddie came over with Bao and went to check on the heater. I don’t know what happened, but the strap broke away and it fell on him.”

  “Did you call nine-one-one?”

  She nodded.

  “They were able to get the heater off him, and they took him to County General.”

  “Where’s Bao?”

  “I took her next door to Felicity’s.”

  “Okay. Now what do you need Stan to do?”

  “We need a new hot water heater, new straps, and an electrician.”

  “An electrician.”

  “It’s why I didn’t call. When the hot water heater toppled over, it fried the electrical system in the house somehow.”

  “Do you have a cell?”

  She nodded. “I couldn’t find it. I thought, it’s only five minutes to the store, so I took Bao to Felicity’s and came right over.”

  “One last thing. Does Blake know?”

  She shook her head.

  Stan said, “Gio and I’ll get the heater and the straps loaded on the truck. Mrs. B, call Roberts Electrical and ask them to send Karl Booker over.” She nodded and headed to the office.

  Natalia put out her hand, got up, and moved to sit next to Mrs. Gusk. “I’ll call Blake.” Gio gave her his phone then turned and followed Stan. Natalia asked Mrs. Gusk for Blake’s number.

  The line rang twice before she heard, “Blake Henry-Gusk. How can I help you?”

  “Hi, Blake. This is Mirabelle.”

  “Hi. Is everything all right?” She relayed the story, and when she finished, he told her calmly, “Since Bao is in good hands, I’m going to the hospital. Should I call this number to let you know how he’s doing?”

  “This is Gio’s phone. Best to call the store.”

  “Right. I’ll be in touch soon.”

  “Okay.”

  He hung up.

  She turned to Mrs. Gusk and told her Blake was on the way to the hospital.

  Ten minutes later the truck pulled out front and Gio got out. Natalia met him on the sidewalk. “You better call Tommie and tell him what’s doing.”

  “Yeah.” He took his phone and walked a few feet down the walkway. Natalia could barely see the grill of the SUV down the block parked under the big shade tree. When he came back, he told her, “He’s staying put, but he’s not happy about it. I promised I’d check in every half hour.”

  She let out a deep breath. “Okay. Be careful and call me when you can.”

  “I will.”

  She squeezed his hand. “Later.”

  When she went back inside, Mrs. B had Mrs. Gusk drinking a glass of iced tea. They were sitting on the bench seat, and Mrs. B was talking about whether the town needed a quilting bee.

  Natalia leaned against the counter and looked up at the big Gusk’s clock over the front door. Ten forty-five. It felt like ten hours later since she’d arrived. Within a few minutes two customers came in, saw Mrs. Gusk, and they all got to talking. She wound up helping one while Mrs. B helped the other, and for the next fifteen minutes, things seemed to return to normal.

  When the phone rang, Natalia presumed it was Blake. “Gusk’s Hardware. How can I help you?”

  “Natalia.”

  Oh shit.

  “Hello, Mr. Di Caro.”

  “Please explain what’s going on.”

  Shit, shit, shit.

  “The store owner was injured helping his mother, whose hot water heater broke and fell on him. He’s in the hospital. His mother is here, shaken up. Gio went with Stan, the most experienced employee, to help put in a new hot water heater. I don’t know what Gio said to Tommie, but if I had to guess, he was concerned it would be difficult for him to remain inconspicuous in a residential neighborhood.”

  “Thank you for being so succinct.” Silence. More silence. “We’ll talk later.”

  The line went dead.

  Holy shit. The man was nearly three thousand miles away, and she’d felt his power as if he’d been standing right next to her.

  Before she could pull
her thoughts together, the phone rang again.

  “Hi, Mirabelle. It’s Blake.”

  “Hi. How’s Eddie?”

  “They’re releasing him now. He has a bruised rib, but otherwise, he’s fine.”

  “Such good news. Hold on. Let me get Mrs. Gusk.” She ran to the back of the store, got Eddie’s mother, and took over helping the customer.

  When they got up front to check out, Mrs. Gusk was on the bench seat, looking a little less stressed. After the customer left and said his good-byes to Mrs. Gusk, she told Natalia, “Blake is taking Eddie home. I’m going to get Bao at Felicity’s and head over to Eddie and Blake’s since I don’t have any water or electricity. In case the boys haven’t reached Phil, I’ll stop by my house and tell Stan and Gio what’s going on.”

  “Are you okay to drive?”

  “Yes. Now that I know Eddie’s going to be all right, the rest will get fixed, and we’ll go back to normal.”

  Nothing about this place is normal.

  A few minutes before noon, Gio and Stan came back and unloaded the truck. Stan went to lunch, Mrs. B went to lunch, and Natalia and Gio were left minding the store.

  Gusk’s Hardware

  Fiddler’s Rest

  Gio

  “So, how’s your first day going?”

  “Before I answer that, how’s Eddie?”

  “At home by now. Bruised rib, nothing else.”

  “Good news.” He pulled her against him and kissed her delicious lips and plundered her wonderful mouth. “My day so far? Better. Much.” He smiled and nipped her bottom lip. “What a fucking mess. Water everywhere. Guess who was mop boy?” She pressed her finger against his chest. “After we cleaned up, getting that sucker in was no joke.” He rolled his shoulders. “I’m going to have to start running or something to keep in shape. I felt like an old lady while Stan, who’s gotta have twenty years on me, barely broke a sweat.”

  She pouted. “And here I thought I was giving you a workout every day.”

  “Best kind, Ace.” He smacked her ass.

  They pulled apart, which was a damn shame, and he said, “Stan’s going to have to go back later today or tomorrow after the electrician is finished. We couldn’t test the thing because the flame ignition is electric.”

  “Look at you, Mr. Hardware.”

  “I’m expanding my horizons.” He arched his back then hunched. “For real, I’m creaky.”

  “If you matriculate, you can use the gym at school.”

  “You reminded me. I gotta call them.”

  “There’s another call you need to make first.”

  He tilted his head.

  “Your father called a few minutes after you left.”

  “Muthafucka.”

  “No. It was fine. He was polite and calm.”

  “He’s always polite and calm. Don’t let that shit fool you.” He pointed to Eddie’s office and she nodded.

  His father picked up after the first ring. “Giovanni.”

  “Dad. You called.”

  “Natalia was kind enough to give me a recap.”

  As if she had a choice.

  “I’m back at the store now, and everything is fine.”

  “The store’s owner?”

  “A bruised rib. The hospital sent him home.”

  “Good. We’ll talk soon.”

  The line went dead.

  Gio didn’t want to waste any more brain space than he had already on his father’s shit and went about the business of calling the school to find out if he could matriculate.

  A few minutes later he went to the breakroom and got his iPad from his backpack. He joined Natalia up front, leaned against the counter, and went onto the college’s website and followed the directions he was given to get into the classes legit.

  When he pulled out his credit card, Natalia said, “It’s a go, then?”

  “Yeah. Gimme a minute.” When he finished, he turned to her. “Done. At lunch we can go over there so they can take my picture and give me my student ID.”

  “What about Sofia and Aurora?”

  “Shit. I forgot. Lemme text Soph and put off the call ’til tomorrow.”

  “No need. We’ll talk to them in the car going over, and while you’re inside doing your thing, I’ll keep up our end of the convo.”

  “You’re a great wingman.”

  She did a hand sweep of her body. “Does this say man to you?”

  He grinned. “Nope. But wingwoman doesn’t work.”

  “How about partner?”

  “Sounds too cop buddy movie. How about…mine.”

  She did that slow blink thing when she got emotional but didn’t want to show it. Every little thing she does is magic. From the moment he’d seen her, he’d been able to read her moods, and in so many ways, he felt like he’d known her forever.

  Before he could kiss her again, a customer in painter’s overalls came in, and Gio took the guy to the paint section in the back of the store.

  Stan came back from lunch first and a few minutes later, Mrs. B walked in. “I went to Eddie’s house to check on him, and he’s fine. His parents are there, waiting to hear from the electrician so they can head home, and Blake went back to work. Eddie said he’ll be in tomorrow regular time.”

  Natalia said, “Great news,” then went to the breakroom to grab their backpacks. When she came back, Gio took her hand and they left.

  After he dialed Sofia, Gio handed Natalia the phone.

  “Hey, Gio.”

  “Hi, Soph. Ro. You’re on speaker so Natalia can join the conversation.”

  “Hi, Natalia,” Ro called out. “Nice to meet you. Our nonna loves you.”

  Gio pulled out away from the curb smiling. Everyone in the family was going to love his girl.

  After he got his ID, Gio came around the building from the opposite side of the main entrance. He’d left Natalia sitting on a bench under a big tree, and though it was sneaky, he wanted to listen to his girl talking to his sisters. Hiding behind the tree’s thick trunk, he eavesdropped.

  “I know,” Ro near shouted. “He’s got too many tats. Not hot when you can’t see bare skin.”

  Gio’s brows went up. Ro was fifteen for fuck’s sake.

  “Shawn Mendes is the ideal,” Sofia said. “I know it’s boring, but he’s TDH and hot without the whole thug thing.”

  “Ugh. You’re so vanilla.” Ro sounded disgusted.

  “Don’t get me wrong, I get the whole hot guy thing –”

  “Well, yeah. You’re with my brother.” Ro. Shit.

  Natalia chuckled. “True. But it’s how a guy treats you that’s the most important piece.”

  “Amen to that.” Soph, sounding like she wanted to cry. Gio heard enough.

  “Ladies,” he said as he came around the tree, sat on the bench, and put his arm across the top so his hand rested on Natalia’s shoulder.

  “Buzzkill’s back.” Gio hadn’t known Ro was such a tough chick. He’d have to keep his eye on her.

  Natalia gave him wide eyes, smirked and mouthed, “Buzzkill.”

  “Nice, Ro. I’m feeling the love.”

  “You gotta keep him on a tight leash, Nat, or else he’ll be as bad as Dad.”

  He mouthed, “Nat.”

  Natalia said, “I’m the buzzkill, Ro. We have to head back to work. But we’ll do this again soon.”

  “Okay,” Ro chirped.

  “Bye, Gio,” Soph said. “Love you.”

  “Back at ya, Soph. And you too, Ro.”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  “Later,” Natalia said and hung up. “You don’t have to worry about Aurora. It’s the rest of the world that needs to be warned.”

  Gio laughed. “I’m getting that. How’d Soph sound?”

  “Fragile.”

  “Shit.”

  “Her world exploded and she was yanked out of familiar territory. She needs time to get her footing.”

  “I’ll call her tomorrow.”

  She nodded. “I sense she cou
nts on you to keep her steady.”

  “Yeah.”

  They went back to Gusk’s, and the rest of the day was all about work. No new drama. Eddie called around four to tell them to close up at six. They stopped at home to grab some food, stuffed their faces, then headed to Bio 101.

  Tonight Natalia hung back during break, and Gio headed to the rest room. When he walked back into the classroom, he froze. And saw red. A tall, built dude in a tight white t-shirt and low-slung jeans had his hand wrapped around Natalia’s arm, his head dipped down to hear what she was saying.

  Gio knew this muthafucka. This was the shitheel who was all set to get up on Gio’s girl and do the grind. The farmer. Gio felt the growl come up his throat as his fists tightened at his sides. His jaw hinges started to hurt and he knew he had to dial it back or else he was going to be wearing cuffs courtesy of Deputy Two Trees. Imagining the look on Natalia’s face when he was perp-walked away, Gio shook out his hands and told his legs to take it slow as he moved toward his girl.

  She looked up as he approached, a wide smile on her beautiful face. “Hey.” She motioned him over. “I was just talking about you.” He put his arm around her waist and gave her his full attention. “This is Quinn. Our resident Hemingway.” Now Gio looked up and saw the dude’s gaze was trained on Gio’s hand resting on Natalia’s hip. That’s right, fucker. She’s mine. And your farmer’s ass better not forget it.

  Gio stuck out his hand and said, calm as you please, “Hey, man. Heard about your writing skills.”

  Quinn lifted his head, and Gio had to admit, the dude was a looker. Quinn shook Gio’s hand quick and easy. “Surprised the shit out of me.”

  “A hidden talent.” Natalia. Gracious as always. “Quinn’s taking business accounting across the hall. He thought we’d like to stop and have a drink after class one night.”

  Of all the people to have popped into Gio’s brain at that moment, his father made a guest appearance. And Gio knew why. Calm and polite. No matter what he was thinking or feeling, remain calm and polite. “Sure. Maybe next week.”

  Quinn might be a farmer boy, but he was no idiot. He stared Gio straight in the eyes when he said, “Looking forward to it, man.”

  The bio professor came in and Quinn waved off as everyone took their seats.

  The moment class ended Gio grabbed Natalia’s hand and led them out of the building, wasting no time beating feet to the car.