Always My Home (The Aster Lake Series Book 2)

by Alora Kate

  “Okay, I get it? Kind of. I mean, I’ve only had one relationship and I’ve never experienced what you’re going through, so I’m letting that slide. Now, tell me what happened in New York?”

  Suddenly it hit me and it all made sense.

  Isaac kissed me last night. In the hallway. But there was no one else there. We got off the elevator and we walked to my door. I wasn’t sure how long we had been standing there before he actually kissed me, but Rocco was there. One minute. One fucking minute would have made a difference.

  “Isaac,” I stated.

  “Who’s Isaac?”

  “It’s why Rocco was pissed off in the first place.” I decided it was time to come clean with Adalyn. I told her the details of my day, about my apartment, which makes me homesick more than I am willing to admit. I told her about the vans that take us to the junk yard, and who sits with whom. I told her all about Isaac, from our first meeting to our first, and last, kiss. I skirted around actually discussing the show, but she begged for at least one detail. I told her my color was pink, that I loved my workstation, and that Nicole was a mega-bitch.

  “I can’t wait for the first episode to air,” I said with a smile, feeling much better than I had hours ago.

  “I saw the previews! It was just a glance at the contestants but you looked great, Madi.”

  “It was very last minute because I was a runner up.”

  “They made it work by only introducing one person at a time,” she pointed out. “No one will know you were a runner up.”

  “True. So anyways, we’re all going out tonight at the club Raymond works at.”

  She sighed, “I need to experience that sometime.”

  “You will.”

  Adalyn lived a sheltered life before moving to Aster Lake. Her parents hid her from the world because someone wanted to kill her. That someone, a sick twisted asshole, showed up in town after she had moved and beat the shit out of her. But she survived. She’s married, adopted two kids, one of which was Rudd’s, and now she was having their first baby. She’s strong. She’s brave. She’s got her shit together and is a wonderful friend, mother, and wife.

  Unlike me. I’m a shitty friend. I’m also a shitty friends with benefits.

  “Go out tonight,” she said breaking the silence. “Have fun. I know you just did and I don’t want you to have that much fun, but relax. Rocco will be fine. I’ll let him know you’re trying to get a hold of him.”

  “Maybe I should just let Rocco cool off.”

  “It was a misunderstanding.”

  “I kissed Isaac back.”

  “For like a second.”

  “Long enough for Rocco to think something was going on.”

  “I’ll talk to him,” she insisted, and I wasn’t going to keep going back and forth with her.

  “I should get ready, Addy.”

  “Send me a picture of that dress!” she demanded but I could hear her smile through the phone.

  “Of course. I’ll send one of all of us so you can see Steph and Sam.”

  “I’d like to meet Isaac also,” she tossed in.

  “Bye, Adalyn.”

  “Love you.”

  “Ditto.”

  Chapter 7

  “That picture is hilarious,” Isaac laughed, while stealing my phone from me. We were in the van headed to the junk yard for our next challenge and we decided to look through the pictures we took the other night. “You couldn’t even sing when Raymond brought you on stage.”

  “Stop laughing,” I told him grabbing the phone back.

  “One of the best nights I’ve had, but not as good as the night I kissed you.”

  “Jesus, Isaac,” I muttered shoving my phone back in my purse.

  “I love Rocco,” he sang in a high-pitched woman’s voice.

  “You sound stupid,” I teased, cracking a smile. I never mentioned to Isaac that Rocco had seen us kissing. This mess was something I needed to figure out on my own. I wasn’t sure how since I was so far away, but I would keep calling and texting and hope for the best.

  He stretched out his arm on the back of the seat and said, “Just because you have immunity doesn’t mean you can slack off this week.”

  “I won’t slack off.”

  Isaac wouldn’t let me forget that. Neither would Steph, Sam, Raymond, or anyone else that joined us that night. Isaac told everyone about the immunity even though he wasn’t supposed to, but he blamed it on the alcohol. I wasn’t too worried about it since the camera never followed us away from the junk yard, and I wasn’t the one who told them.

  A few of the guys in the back were arguing again about the next challenge but I tuned them out. Isaac was the only one I liked talking to, not that I didn’t like the other contestants; they seemed fine, but I just didn’t feel any kind of connection with them.

  “Showtime,” Isaac announced as the vans came to a stop. I mentally prepared myself for the cameras that I would never get used to. My hair was still fabulously straight and I wore my solid dark blue dress today, with my workout shorts underneath for a little extra warmth. We were outside for a little over an hour so I wasn’t going to freeze, and I wore my black rain boots because it snowed the night before. My heels were in my purse so I could switch them out once we were inside.

  “I’m sure you look great on camera,” Isaac said when we made it to our spots on the line. Everyone was in position: Matt, Cole, and that whiney bitch. When she thought no one was looking, I got dirty looks from her; I wasn’t sure why she didn’t like me but she can kiss my ass. Today was worse. Probably because of my new hair style. I decided to flip my hair over my shoulder just to piss her off. I have immunity, so she wasn’t getting rid of me for at least a week.

  “I’m sure you do also,” I said softly so no one else heard me. The cameras were not rolling yet because Matt was still talking to Cole and the bitch. The bitch kept glancing at Isaac and tossing her hair over her shoulder. Classic move, but it looked stupid when she did it.

  “Why does she keep looking at you?”

  He cocked his eyebrow and immediately replied, “Because I’m good looking.”

  “So full of shit,” I muttered and went back to focus on the task at hand. A few of the crew members brought our wagons out and placed them behind us. I tossed my purse in and turned back around. It wasn’t as cold as I thought it would be since the sun was trying to shine through the clouds, but there was still a cold breeze in the air.

  “Alright people,” Matt yelled. “I hope you had a good break because we’ll be at it for a few days. I hope you enjoyed the makeovers, you all look great.” There was no emotion in his voice. The words were just coming out of his mouth like he was reading from a script. “New challenge, same rules. Keep to the green aisle, don’t talk about your project. You’re not allowed inside each other’s containers. One of them,” he gestured to the hosts, and again Nicole flipped her hair over her shoulder, “will be giving you the details of the challenge, I’ll be in the back.” He motioned behind us and walked off.

  “He seems pissed,” Isaac muttered and I mentally agreed. He didn’t make eye contact at all, but he didn’t interfere that much with the taping of the show so I wasn’t going to worry.

  I just wanted to start already and get my mind off my life and on the challenge.

  “Let ‘em roll!”

  The cameras were all in place and after a few seconds, Cole spoke, “Welcome constants to your next challenge! As you can see, your wagons are behind you. Make sure you utilize the space you’re given. You’re only allowed what you can get back to your container.”

  That was a clear hint.

  “Your challenge is to build a book case,” Nicole said and I cringed. Seriously how can they allow her to be a host on a TV show? “It must be at least five feet high and no more than two feet wide.”

  “Use anything you can find,” Cole took over. "Multiple pieces. Mix pieces. Make sure its sturdy, we’ll test it during judgment. Any pieces that break or fall
over will be penalized greatly.”

  I totally got this but wished it were a different challenge, one that I didn’t have immunity on so I could kick ass and win. Damn it. I wish I could use this immunity at my discretion.

  “Same drill as last time,” Nicole started. “You get an hour to get your junk, then you’ll head to your container.”

  Cole took over again. “Someone will come and get you for your daily confession sometime today before you leave. We’re giving you two full days and one half day for finishing touches.”

  They paused but were still smiling and looking at us like we were supposed to do something. There was light chatter behind us but I was afraid to turn around. Isaac wasn’t though.

  “Shit,” he said under his breath and then dropped his attention to me. “He’s pissed.”

  I heard the horn blow and we grabbed our wagon and headed out, dismissing whatever was going on with the crew. I had work to do.

  “I’m trying a new aisle,” I informed Isaac.

  “Right with you.”

  “We both can’t use the same aisle again.”

  “Why not? It worked out well last time.”

  I couldn’t argue that so I kept my mouth shut. I needed wood. Or heavy pieces of metal. Or if they weren’t heavy, I could attach them to the wood to make them sturdier. I didn’t have any luck with metal the first time around, so I didn’t think I would now and I’d never make anything that fell down either.

  The snow mixed with the mud and made it difficult to walk but the wagon glided across the top behind me. Isaac stopped in front of me and stared down the aisle, so I joined him. I wasn’t sure what he was looking at, so I glanced around to see if I could use anything. More car parts. Too many fucking car parts.

  “Seriously, more car parts,” I muttered

  “Most yards are full of them.”

  “We can’t build a bookcase with car parts,” I stated.

  “Why not?” he asked, kneeling down enough to push shit around but not get his knees in the snow.

  He looked up at me and brushed a fleck of mud off his cheek. “We only have an hour, Madi,” he reminded me.

  “No shit,” I replied

  “Don’t slack off.”

  “I should push you over,” I said putting my hands on my hips. “I’m not going to slack off.”

  He glanced up at me, then looked behind me. “Shit.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  I glanced behind me and saw two men with their cameras pointed right at us. I gave my best smile and turned back around to Isaac. “I’m going to walk down a little more, look around.”

  I left my wagon so I could browse and not have to deal with it. If I found the jackpot, which I highly doubt would happen, I’d go back for it. Even though I was wearing my pink gloves, I tucked my hands into my coat pocket to keep them warm. A few feet away, I saw a round piece of metal sticking out of a pile of scrap metal. It was long and skinny, had round edges on each end, and to my surprise, had no dents. I wasn’t sure what I could do with it but it’d fit in my wagon. I dug around for any other pieces but just found broken up pieces of crap. I blew out a frustrated breath, all useless.

  I carried it back and placed it in my wagon. Glancing at Isaac’s wagon, I noticed a few small pieces of wood that could be promising.

  “Let’s go to the end,” Isaac suggested and I followed. He walked faster, like he was on a mission, and I struggled to keep up. He must have found something good. When I caught up to him he said, “It’s like half a car.” Isaac pried open the trunk of the car open with a random rod he must of found earlier. The car looked like it had been cut in half. “Sometimes there’s lots of shit left in cars after accidents.”

  “Hopefully something we can use.” And hopefully no one got hurt during the accident that left the car in half. “I’m surprised we haven’t had to use any tools out here yet.”

  “I’m sure they stock parts and pieces in here for us to find.” The metal scraped against the trunk and I plugged my ears, it was like nails on a chalkboard. As soon as it popped open, he tossed the rod aside and we both looked inside.

  Metal!

  “Jackpot!” he cheered, pulling out a few pieces of metal. They were in the shape of feathers.

  “Looks like they might have been parts of a ceiling fan,” Isaac commented and I pulled out the other two pieces.

  “There’s only four of them,” I stated, flipping them over and checking to see if they were all in good condition, which they were.

  “They didn’t say how many shelves we had to have. Just the height and width.” He tossed them in his wagon, and then I tossed the two I was holding into his wagon also.

  “You can have those.”

  “No,” I said, “you need them more than I do.”

  He reached for them and I smacked his hand away. “I’m not slacking off but I have immunity, you don’t.” I cracked a smile. “Use them wisely.”

  He said nothing, grabbed his wagon handle, and motioned for us to move it along.

  I looked around, quickening my pace. “We probably only have thirty minutes left.”

  “Let’s get to it then.”

  We stayed focused and by the time the horn blew, giving us our warning that we had ten minutes to get to the line, our wagons were full. I found a broken up entertainment center and was able to get it in my wagon but had to hold it with one hand on top of the pile so it didn’t fall out. I had broken glass pieces, among broken pieces of wood that I was hoping to make five feet tall. I had some other odd and end pieces as well, and was trying to come up with a design while I pulled my heavy ass wagon behind me, which was now difficult in the snow-mud mixture, but I managed.

  Isaac found two flat pieces of cardboard that he added to his wagon. I saw him toss some more random parts in there as we were walking back to the line. I hoped what I had was good enough. I knew I had the width, but the height might be a problem. I’d have to get creative and remember what Isaac said. They never mentioned how many shelves it had to have. I’d have to use lots of empty space.

  We made it to the line in time, everyone did. They filmed what they had to film, then excused us to our containers. We waited in front of our door so they could film us standing there, then entering, where I’m assuming the other camera was already on and awaiting my arrival.

  “Hey, Cody,” I said pulling my wagon to the same spot as last time but with more difficulty.

  “Need help?” he asked.

  I chuckled, “I got this far.”

  I took my coat off, then my gloves. I switch out the boots for my black wedges and decided I need to get a pedicure soon. I started taking apart the mangled pieces that were overflowing in my wagon. I broke some pieces off and then pulled the rest of the mangled pieces up on my table so I could deal with the rest of it. The metal rod was still in the wagon and I decided to leave it there until I could figure out what to do with it. There were also some random smaller pieces of metal and plastic that I didn’t put in there.

  Isaac.

  He must have slipped them in there when I wasn’t looking.

  “How was your time off?” I asked Cody while looking for a Philips screwdriver to take out the leftover screws that were holding the pieces together.

  “Not bad.”

  “Is this your only job?”

  “Yes.”

  I grabbed the screwdriver, my safely goggles, and headed back to my table to start my first project; pulling this jumbled mess apart and putting things in piles. I’d had to cut pieces down and apart and make it five feet high. I felt better as the pieces came apart that I was going to meet the requirements.

  I glanced at Cody who was texting on his phone and it reminded me to check mine. I dropped the screwdriver and went to my purse which was still in the wagon. I had no messages from Rocco, just Adalyn saying that Rocco wasn’t going to be at the house for a few days because of work. The next message was from my mom, letting me know they were thi
nking of me and wished me luck. I typed a quick reply back and my phone went off with an incoming text, from Isaac.

  How’s your wagon look?

  Still tearing it apart. And before he could reply back I send another one. I’m not slacking off, and thx for the extras.

  My phone went off again. Don’t feel obligated to use them.

  I texted back, We’ll see what happens.

  Would you like to have lunch with me today? ;)

  He was trying to be funny and as lame as it was, I smiled.

  See you later, I sent back and tossed my phone back down.

  “You have a boyfriend?” Cody asked and I saw he had put his own phone away.

  “Nope.” I pushed my goggles back up my nose and started taking the screws out again.

  “You look like you have a boyfriend.”

  “Just a friend,” I told him tossing another screw in the pile. I got one of the legs off and set it back in the wagon and went to take another leg off. This particular entertainment center had six legs on it, which will be very handy. They had to be at least two feet tall. I was doing the math and thinking of what it could possibly look like in my head. After it was all pulled apart and in piles, I’d measure the pieces and start drawing it in my book. I’d have to sand down the pieces so I could stain them or paint them because they were in rough shape.

  I went to the phone and picked it up. “Do we have wood stain? Paint?” I asked when Cole answered.

  “Yes, we have two paint booths set up.”

  “When can I use it?”

  “You’re the first to ask, do you want it now?”

  I wasn’t ready for it yet. “Can I use it after lunch?”

  “Sure, one p.m. will be fine.”