“It didn’t.” He shrugged as if it were nothing. “I was waiting for someone I halfway liked to fix it.” He gestured to me.
“Nice compliment,” I said. “I’ll save the lecture because of that.”
“Since when does being nice get you anything?”
“Since the beginning of time, Hugh.”
“Sounds like a scam,” he muttered.
I only shook my head to hide my smile and got to work. As I did, Hugh vanished to do something else. I had to run to my truck a few times, but I was able to get it in working order in just a few hours.
“I suppose you wanna be paid, huh?” he said when I was done.
I had a feeling he didn’t have a ton of money lying around. “It’s fine. Call it a favor.”
“I don’t take handouts, boy. Stay right there.”
I wiped my hands and sighed. My rates were higher than hecould probably afford—not that I’d charge that to most of the people here anyway. I would accept a crisp one-dollar bill if it made him feel any better.
But Hugh didn’t give me a one-dollar bill. He actually walked out of a back room with a huge wad of cash in his hand. “Here.”
He threw it at me, and I had to make sure they didn’t fly everywhere. At first, I thought it was a pile of ones, but when I looked closer, I saw what it really was. Twenties and tens.
“What? I don’t need this much.”
He shrugged. “Well, I have it. And you’ll need it when I kick your ass in poker.” Hugh nodded and turned away, but then he paused. “So, you and Grace. You’re in it for the long haul?”
Oh, here it was. “Yes, sir.”
“I guess you owe me a thank you,” he said. “For the hotel mix-up.”
I’d putthatout of my mind, not wanting to relive seeing him naked. But I did know that staying with Grace had pushed us together.
“It was more of a bad circumstance, but I suppose I do owe you a thanks.”
He laughed, which was an odd sound from him. “I knew you’d call her. And I knew she’d let you stay. Never have I ever been so glad I know how to bribe, boy.”
That gave me pause. “Wait a minute, what did you just say?”
“You think that hotel is ever full?” He shook his head. “I know the girl at the front desk. She’s saving up for a car. I helped her along and she gave me a key.”
“You are unbelievable.”
“It worked, didn’t it? And I made it back on my bet. Enjoyyour girlfriend, kid! Just remember it was me who made it happen!”
This time he truly walked away, and I only had confusion and a wad of suspicious-looking cash to show for it.
This town wassofucking weird.
And yet, a smile made its way onto my face as I left to go to the bank.
After getting a raised eyebrow from a teller, I deposited my crumpled-up cash into my account and got a few things to work on the front yard of Grace’s house. She wasn’t much of a gardener, so the front was overgrown and the grass was getting tall. It was a warm day, but a decent one, so I figured I’d take care of it.
After finding an old mower that worked, I got the grass cut down before I trimmed the bushes. The sun beat down on me, and eventually, I pulled off my shirt to cool off.
Grace found me right as I was finishing up.
“Oh myGod.” Her jaw was on the ground as she got out of the car.