I snapped out of my daze. “Sorry. What?”
“The sanders are down there.”
As I trailed after him, I whispered, “He’s drunk, isn’t he?”
After a beat, August nodded.
“Isn’t it . . . dangerous?” I gestured to all the heavy-duty machinery around us.
“I got one of my guys keeping an eye on him.”
“Is he often like this?”
“Liquored up? Yeah. But not usually while he’s at work. Today’s his wife’s birthday. Every year, Dad tells him to take the day off, but he says it’s easier to spend his day here than in his home where everything reminds him of her.”
August’s words made my heart hurt. “I’m not sure I could keep living if everyone I loved died.”
“You’d find new people to love,” he said.
“I don’t love very easily.”
One corner of his mouth tipped up. “You’re telling me.”
Realizing what he was saying, I added, “I still love you.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not. Not if you think otherwise.”
“Ness . . .” He sighed.
Why couldn’t I have returned to Boulder at twenty-one? I dragged my ponytail over my shoulder and toyed with the ends. “You’re one of my two favorite people in Boulder.”
A small groove appeared between his brows. “Who’s the second one?”
“Evelyn.”
As August watched my coiling blonde locks, I wondered where I stood in his favorites list. Had I been relegated to the bottom? Was I even still on the list?
Even though the warehouse was alive with noise, in the shade of the tall metal shelves, away from everyone else, it felt as though August and I were enclosed in our own little world, a world as fragile as a soap bubble.
He closed his eyes and took a step back, bursting the bubble. When he lifted his lids, he was staring at something behind me. He cleared his throat. “You’ll need a big drum and an edging sander. And a vacuum.”
“If I can borrow all of the above, it would be really helpful.”
He nodded and stepped toward the rack, his arm brushing mine. Even though he seemed absolutely unaffected, I jerked from the contact. As he grabbed both tools, I thought of what he’d told me . . . that he never did anything by mistake. Which led me to wonder if he’d meant to touch me and test the durability of my nerves.
“The vacuum’s at the end of the aisle.” He canted his head in the direction.
As I spun, my sneakers’ rubber soles squeaked on the concrete. I hurried to grab the vacuum; then together, we walked out of the warehouse and back toward the van. I shifted my hold on the contraption in order to pop the trunk open, but August loaded everything in the bed of his pickup.
As he eased the vacuum from my arms, he said, “You need a generator, or do you have electricity?”
“Jeb said we have electricity.”
“And windows?”
“And windows.” I smiled at his observance and thoroughness, and then I gestured to his truck. “Why did you put the stuff in your car? It’ll fit in the van.”
“I was going to help you set up the equipment.”
“Jeb’s at the house.”
“And he’s familiar with sanders?”
“Probably not, but I sort of remember how to use them.”
“I’ll give you a refresher course.”
“You surely have better things to do with your time . . .”
“It’s my lunchbreak.”
“Well then, eat lunch.”
“Not hungry.”
Okay . . . I started toward the driver’s side of the van. “Remember the way?”
Sadness glinted in his eyes. “I remember.”
He was probably wondering why I’d want to move back into a house filled with ghosts. Or maybe I was wondering this and just projecting my qualms on him. Should I have sold it and moved on?
I shook my head.
I’d make new memories in it.
Fill it with new laughter and new scratch marks.
Besides, this was a good project for my uncle, who would’ve gone stir-crazy sitting at home, plotting his revenge on Alex Morgan. It was keeping him sane and safe.
Jeb came out of the house when I drove up, white wifebeater stained and damp with sweat. “We should be done with the plumbing by next week,” he said as I hopped out of the van.
The overhaul had gone fast. It helped that one the elders’ sons was an electrician. It also helped that Jeb was so hands-on.
August parked next to me, then got out and went to gather the equipment. “Hey, Jeb.”
As Jeb wiped his hands on a rag that looked dirtier than his palms, he narrowed his eyes. “We got everything under control here, August.”