Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 117443 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117443 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
She finally nodded and he held out his hand. Slowly, she slid the duffel off her shoulder and put the strap over his palm.He held the bag with one hand and put his other arm around her, guiding her back to the bar.
***************************
Chris tossed her duffel into the back of his pickup and opened the passenger side door for her. She climbed in. It was beautiful inside. Nicer than any car she’d ever been in, with black leather seats to match the black exterior. He stepped on the clutch, though she couldn’t see how he had room with his enormous boots. He cranked the engine, shifted into first and rolled out of Maria’s lot. They rode in silence for a while when, curious, Hayley asked, "What happened?"
He frowned at her. "What do you mean?"
"You said you had a bad day at work. What do you do? The card said custom builds."
"I own a garage. We do regular maintenance and repair and we also build custom bikes and cars. I got two orders due in August for Sturgis and my parts supplier is telling me they're back-ordered. They're both high dollar orders, but I won't get paid if I don't finish them both by the deadline."
She nodded, looking out the window. "It's tough having to rely on other people. So much is out of your hands."
"Exactly."
"I hope it works out."
"Thanks."
He pulled into his driveway and killed the engine. He hopped out, rounded the front of the truck, and took hold of her elbow as she climbed down from the truck’s precarious height. He pulled her duffel out of the back and headed toward the little blue house, fishing out the extra set of keys.
"Wait," she said. "We didn't talk price. I don't make a lot working days."
He turned to her. "Well, I figured $100 a week. At this point I just want to get it rented and start getting back the money I put into it for renovations. And I'm busy at work, like I said, I don't really have time to shop around for tenants."
"I can do a hundred a week. Do you want me to pay for this month since it's only the second week?"
"Can you do that?" he asked.
She nodded as he slid the key in the lock and opened the door. "Just give me a minute, okay?"
"Sure," he said, stepping in and holding the door open for her.
She decided to head straight to the bedroom with her duffel and tossed it on the bed. She rooted through it and counted out three hundred dollars and set it aside. Then she reached further into the bag and pulled out another two fifty. She zipped the bag, re-locked it with the tiny padlock and slipped the key for it into her pocket.
She headed back out to the living room with the cash and found Chris waiting in the living room. She held out the stack of bills to him.
He knitted his eyebrows looking down at it. "That's more than three hundred," he observed.
"You said a two fifty security deposit," she reminded him.
He counted out the two fifty and handed it back. "I was having a bad day that day, Slick. Don't worry about that."
She hesitated then took the money back. "Do you have bad days a lot?" she teased.
He chuckled. "Not really. No." He handed her the keys. "Still. No seriously crazy parties. Okay?"
She smiled at him. "You and the people at Maria's are the only people I know."
He grinned. "Don't let Maria fool you. You get too much tequila in her and she'll bring the house down."
Hayley smiled and Chris made his way to the door. "Let me know if you need anything. Anything at all," he told her.
After Chris left, she took a long look around her new digs. The first time she'd been here, she'd been more worried about being alone with Chris than actually looking at the place. She'd had male friends in the last five years, but she hadn't spent that much time alone with any of them, and when she did she'd known them for at least a few weeks if not months.
The house was clean and smelled just a bit like fresh paint. It was beige which wouldn't have been her first choice for color. Or even her 75th choice. But it was a nice, clean place and it was much better than the Rainbow. She walked through the house slowly, making a mental note of everything she'd need to pick up at the store later. The kitchen was small but set up in a way that made sense with cabinets flowing into a stove then rounding the wall to a sink and the fridge. No TV but she didn't watch much anyway so it didn't matter. She looked at her beige walls and her beige carpet and her brand new white kitchen and smiled.