“Morning.” He nods. “Need more wood?”
“Yes, please. And I’m happy to pay you for it.”
He frowns. “No. Serena pays rent and this is part of it. She’s a great tenant, so we’re happy to make sure she and Joey are comfortable.” He pauses. “You two serious?”
Oh, fuck.
How do I answer that?
The last thing I want is to make her seem like the kind of woman who invites strangers into her home and bed. Not that I give a shit, but this is Georgia, and out here in the rural areas, people can be a lot more conservative.
“It’s new,” I say instead. “I wouldn’t have stayed over if not for the storm.”
He nods. “She’s a good girl. Joey’s daddy did her dirty—don’t hurt her, okay?”
I’m taken aback.
I don’t even know this guy.
But it’s nice to know she has someone looking out for her. Even if he’s not herperson.
No, that’s me, apparently. It was kind of a joke when I said it, but in retrospect, I meant it.
“No plan to hurt her,” I say casually.
“Good, good.” He clears his throat, as if embarrassed by ourconversation. “Anyway, I don’t think we can get to that tree today. Still sleeting and, to be honest, I’m too old to go slipping and sliding down the driveway.”
“No problem. Just tell me when.”
“Thanks. Uh, Gemma and me, we’re gonna grill some burgers and hot dogs tonight. Tell Serena ya’ll are welcome to join us. Gemma has some potatoes she’s going to try baking on the grill too. We’ll see how it goes. But some of the food in the freezer is thawing so we need to eat it.”
“I’ll talk to Serena, but I’m sure she’ll be grateful. As am I.”
“There’s dry wood in the barn.” He points to a smaller building behind the house. “Take what you need.”
“Thanks.” I slip and slide over to it, grab as much wood as I can carry and make a handful of trips. If we’re going to eat with them later, I can get what we need for tonight then.
For now, I’m curious how she’s done with the bagels.
“Hey.” She looks up when I come in. “I think toasted bagels are going to happen.”
“Excellent.” I relay the dinner invitation to her.
“Oh, that sounds fun. And it’ll be nice to have something grilled.”
“I wonder how long the electric will be out.” I pull out my phone, grateful that it’s still at fifty percent. I do a search but the news isn’t good. The power company is overwhelmed. Half of the Metro Atlanta area is without electricity, and there’s now no timetable on when it will be fixed in our area.
Damn.
I don’t know what’s going to happen with hockey either. There’s supposed to be a game tonight but I saw the notification that the game is postponed, new date to be determined. Usually, when this kind of thing happens, they add it to the end of the season, but it can get complicated with the playoffs.
That’s above my pay grade, though.
I send a quick text to Bodi.
WEST: Hey! I don’t know how much longer I’ll have battery on my phone. So, I’m staying off of it as much as possible. Can you try to keep me updated on things with the team?
BODI: Absolutely. You sure you don’t want to try to get home? The generator is still going strong and there’s plenty of fuel in the garage.