The Lost Days (Prairie Town Book 3)

by T. E. Ridener

  “Who would want to be friends with me? I’m an infamous asshole around here, aren’t I?”

  “Devin, listen to me.” The doctor knelt before him and stared up at him, his eyes becoming kind and gentle. “Everyone deserves redemption—Everyone. I need you to do this. You’re going to walk out of here and start over. Take the life you’ve been given and make something of it. Help people. Help yourself. Show them all that you can be a better man.”

  “I don’t know how to show them that,” he admitted quietly. “I don’t even know how to show myself that.”

  “Time, my boy.” He rested a hand against his shoulder and squeezed it. “Time.”

  Chapter 3

  Kelly

  Later that night as she prepared for bed, she couldn’t get those eyes out of her mind. There was such overwhelming sadness in Devin’s eyes and it reminded her of someone.

  Herself.

  Learning to live without her husband and the father of her children had never been easy—it was never easy for anyone. The hard times that fell on their household after Patrick’s death were a complete nightmare for her, but thankfully she’d gotten back on her feet with the help of friends.

  Maybe that’s all Devin needed, too.

  Do I want to be his friend? She ran the brush through her hair and gazed at her reflection. Concern and hesitation stared back at her as her lips anchored into a frown.

  Everyone deserved a friend, didn’t they? Even though she’d lost touch with hers over the years, they had come back. What if Devin didn’t have anyone like that in his life?

  It was such a depressing thought; he was about to be released into the world and maybe he just didn’t have anyone he could turn to.

  But maybe he deserves it.

  She scoffed at the terrible things her mind could come up with and rolled her eyes. That was most certainly no way to be thinking when the poor man was so lost.

  But why was she taking it upon herself to help him? Why did it have to be her?

  “Mommy?”

  She placed the brush on her dresser and turned around to see the keeper of her heart standing in the doorway, dripping from head to toe as he clutched a towel around his scrawny little frame.

  “Justin.” She bit back a laugh and opened her arms to him. He quickly ran into them and buried his sopping wet head against her nightgown, soaking it. “What on earth are you doing? I thought I taught you how to dry off after bath time?”

  “You did, Mommy. But there’s a monster under the sink and he scared me.”

  Her smile instantly disappeared when she realized he’d been crying. Protective-Mama-Bear mode went into full effect as she wrapped him up in her arms and comforted him.

  “A monster, you say? Hm.”

  “Uh huh. It’s making the most awful noises.” He mimicked the growling noises he’d heard and try as she might, she couldn’t help but to laugh again.

  “Those noises, huh? Well, maybe I should go take a look.”

  “No! Are you crazy?” He tilted his head back to stare up at her, absolutely horrified. “He might eat you and then I will be an Orkin.”

  “An Orkin?” She knew good and well what he meant, but knowing that her son was scared of becoming an orphan ripped her to shreds on the inside. “No, baby.” She knelt before him and pulled him back into her arms again, squeezing gently. “That will never happen, Justin.”

  “How can you be so sure? Bradley Rose said you might die and I’ll have to go live in an orkinage place. What will happen to Jamie? Who will take care of her? Who will fix me pancakes for breakfast?”

  “I will.” Her voice became firm as she gripped his arms and stared at him. “And you tell Bradley Rose he better keep his mouth shut about such things or I’ll pay a visit to his father.”

  “Yes, Mommy.”

  She should have known a Rose was responsible for filling her son’s head with such cruel thoughts. That stupid Charlie Rose—oh, he was going to get an earful from her.

  Not that it will do any good...

  Deciding that it was probably a bad idea to befriend Devin, she led Justin back into the bathroom so they could get rid of the ‘monster’.

  But it was much to her surprise that there actually was a very frightening sound coming from beneath the sink—at least for a little boy. It was an awful grinding noise and she worried that the pipes were about to burst.

  “I want you to get your hair dried and then put on your pajamas, sweetie. I’ll take care of the monster.” Kelly patted the top of his wet head and sent him off, hurrying back to her bedroom to call the local plumber.

  “This is all I need,” she mumbled as she fumbled with the receiver and grabbed the phone book. Other people probably viewed her as prehistoric for still having a house phone, but she had always been paranoid about what would happen if the towers ever went down. Why didn’t other people worry about that?

  “There’s no way I can afford to have the pipes fixed right now.”

  It was hard enough keeping up with the car payment, the insurance, the utilities, and everything else. Worrying about stupid plumbing wasn’t going to do her mind a bit of good.

  Her thumb flew over the numbers and she lifted the phone to her ear, listening as it began ringing.

  “Laveau of All Trades, this is Nick speaking.”

  She was taken aback by the deep, downright sexy voice she was greeted with. That was the kind of voice that made a woman’s knees quiver—which hers were totally doing.

  “H-hi.” Swallowing her nerves into place, she felt her face heat up, and she cleared her throat to try again. “Um, hi. This is Kelly Spencer. I live on Chutley Street, and I think I may have a bad pipe or something in my upstairs bathroom. I know it’s terribly late, but I was wondering if—”

  “If I’d come by and take a look?” He laughed.

  Oh, God. What a laugh.

  How was it possible for a laugh to cause her body to respond in such a way? What if it was a terrible idea to let this man in her house?

  Stop being so shallow! Her mind screamed.

  “Yes,” she replied calmly after a few seconds of contemplation. “I understand if it’s too late, and I can wait until tomorrow if need be. Do you have an opening tomorrow?”

  “I have an opening now. Do you want me to come over, Miss Spencer?”

  “It’s Mrs.,” she said out of habit, and immediately winced.

  “Oh. I apologize. I’d be happy to come take a look tonight if you want.”

  “I’d like that very much if you could, Mr., erm, Laveau, is it?”

  “Mr. Laveau is my dad,”—there was that laugh again—“please call me Nick.”

  “Nick,” she echoed, biting her lip like a teenager ogling over her boy band crush. “I’m Kelly.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Kelly. Do you mind giving me an exact address or should I just take my best guess when I get there?”

  “Oh. Oh, god. I’m sorry.” Her face became hotter than fire as she quickly rattled off the address and mentally kicked herself in the ass. How much more pathetic could she be?

  “Perfect. I’ll be there in about forty-five minutes.”

  “O-okay then. Thank you, Nick.”

  “You’re welcome, Kelly. I’ll see you soon. Goodbye.”

  Dropping the receiver back onto its base, she stared at the phone as if it had suddenly sprouted wings or something.

  Did that really just happen? She nibbled her bottom lip and furrowed her brows, wondering what on earth had gotten into her.

  Had she flirted with him? Had he flirted with her?

  I’m going to let this man into my house. If his voice is capable of getting me revved up, what will seeing him in person do?

  “Oh, God.” Releasing a loud groan, she fell back against the bed and covered her face with her hands. “What have I gotten myself into?”

  —————

  It was the ringing of the telephone that pulled her out of a very deep sleep and she felt distorted as s
he felt around blindly for the phone.

  What time was it? Who was calling? When, exactly, had she fallen asleep?

  Grasping the long neck of the phone, she lifted it from its base and pressed it to her ear.

  “Hello?” She mumbled sleepily.

  “Hi. Kelly? It’s me, Nick.”

  That woke her up faster than any cup of coffee ever had. She practically leapt out of bed and damn near killed herself trying to avoid getting tangled up in the phone cord.

  “Nick?” Her heart hammered against her ribcage and she tried to smooth her fingers through her hair. Glancing at the clock on her dresser, she groaned inwardly. “Oh my god, how long have you been trying to get a hold of me?”

  “Only a few minutes. I had a little bit of car trouble on the way over. I’m really sorry about that—are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. Everything’s fine. Are you here?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I’m standing on your porch and I think one of the neighbors might be calling the police.” There was amusement in his voice. “Would you mind letting me in?”

  “Oh, God. Yes, of course. I’ll be right down. Just a minute.”

  Hanging up, she fled to the mirror and stared at her reflection in horror. Her makeup was a mess; her hair was an even bigger mess; she was wearing a nightgown that didn’t belong on the body of a 27-year-old woman.

  “Shit.” She grabbed her robe that was hanging on the bedpost and quickly wrapped it around herself, tying it as tightly as possible before scurrying out of her room.

  Justin!

  She was really trying to make a run for Mother of the Year, wasn’t she? Peering into his room, she realized he was already asleep—thank God. But it made her feel guilty that she hadn’t even said goodnight to him. The poor fellow probably fell asleep wondering if she was going to defeat the monster beneath the sink or not.

  I am a terrible mother.

  She tiptoed past Jamie’s nursery and then hurried down the stairs, narrowly avoiding a Lego—Justin’s fault—and then dashed to the front door.

  Please don’t be cute. Please don’t be cute.

  Unlocking the deadbolt, she pulled the door open and was met by a most magnificent sight.

  He definitely wasn’t cute; he was drop dead gorgeous.

  With dark black hair shaved close to his scalp and perfectly shaped eyebrows that must have been drawn on by God himself, he stared down at her with irresistible brown eyes she was already getting lost in.

  He was going to be nothing but trouble.

  “Evenin’.” He tipped an imaginary hat in her direction and revealed two rows of beautiful white teeth. He had such a dazzling smile!

  “Good evening.” She ran her fingers through her hair and stepped aside. “Won’t you please come in?”

  “Don’t mind if I do. Thank you.”

  Her eyes raked down his muscular back and she drank in the sight of his biceps as he walked past her. His simple gray shirt strained across his body and it caused the most sinful thoughts in her mind.

  Calm yourself! He’s here to fix the sink and that’s it. Good Lord Almighty, Kelly.

  Capturing her bottom lip between her teeth, she slowly shut the door and turned around to face him, surprised to find him staring at her.

  Releasing the tender flesh from the death grip of her teeth, she toyed with the belt to her robe and smiled rather shyly.

  He smiled back.

  Oh, Lord. It had been a long time since a man had gotten her heart so out of sorts. She felt guilty for feeling attracted to him, like she was somehow cheating on Patrick, as images of being taken by the man standing before her ran through her mind.

  “Do you mind to show me where the sink is?”

  “What?” She blinked.

  “You said your sink was making awful noises—can you show me where?”

  “Oh.” Her desire to hide from the world had never been stronger. “Right. Yes, this way, please.”

  Leading him up the stairs, she quickly turned and pressed a finger to her lips. Nick’s perfect eyebrows shot upwards, but he nodded in understanding. He carefully walked behind her until they got to the bathroom and then she turned on the light, stepping aside so he could listen.

  “Ah,” he said after a moment. “Yeah, I hear it.”

  “Well, do you by chance know what it may be? It terrified my son and it’s really creeping me out, too. But I think I’m more scared of how much it’s going to cost to get it fixed.”

  “I actually don’t think it’s going to be a hard fix if it is what I think it is.” There was that damn smile again. “If I’ve learned anything in the ten years I’ve been tinkering in this business, it’s that I don’t know what it is until I can get in there and check it out. Do you have a basement?”

  “I do.” She hugged her arms around herself and did her best to ignore the sparkle in his eyes. God, he was a beautiful man. How could such a hunky guy be in the plumbing business? “Do you want me to show you where it is?”

  “I’m sure I can get down there myself.” He grinned.

  Oh my god. Is...is he flirting with me?

  “And I’ll be quiet. I don’t want to wake up your kid or your husband.”

  “There’s no husband,” she said a little too quickly. “I mean...he passed away. My husband did, I mean.”

  “Oh.” His smile vanished as he gazed at her, his eyebrows pinching together. “I’m sorry to hear that. I wasn’t trying to be insensitive or anything.”

  “No, it’s fine. I understand. I didn’t think that at all, Nick.” Heat rushed into her cheeks again as he stepped closer, but he was only getting so close because he was trying to get out the door—a whiff of his cologne infiltrated her nostrils and her pulse accelerated.

  “Pardon me.” His honey-smooth voice was like music to her ears. “I’ll just go check out your basement now. It shouldn’t take me long.”

  “Okay.”

  Watching his retreating back and listening to his quiet steps against the stairs, she sighed in relief and slumped against the doorframe.

  Dear God, I’m in trouble. Her eyes slid closed and she willed her heart to slow down. What right did she have to be ogling the plumber? What would Patrick think?

  Worst. Wife. Ever.

  Reaching down to toy with the wedding band on her finger, her heart suddenly felt heavy.

  It was so easy to forget she wasn’t a wife anymore.

  Nearly ten minutes had passed by and there was still no sign of Nick, so Kelly mustered up her courage and wandered down to the basement, carefully pushing the door open to peer into complete darkness.

  “Nick?”

  “Be right there!” He called back to her. “I’m just looking over your pipes and I think I may have found the issue.”

  Please don’t be an expensive fix. Please don’t be an expensive fix.

  His heavy boots hit the stairs as he ascended them and a bright flash of light temporarily blinded her.

  “Shit, I’m sorry.” His cold fingers touched her arm, sending a bolt of lightning straight into her chest. “I didn’t mean to do that. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” A nervous giggle escaped her as she shook her head, her fingertips brushing against his chest unintentionally.

  Dear God, his muscles were as hard as stone.

  “Easy there. I’d hate for you to slip. That would be a hell of a fall.”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time.” It was an embarrassing confession, but true. She could be clumsier than the average person sometimes. “So, what’s the verdict?”

  “Well, it looks like one of the walls in your basement has been collapsing and some of the bricks have landed on the pipes. I think that’s causing a lot of pressure and it may be affecting the upstairs, too. At least that’s my guess.”

  “It’s collapsing? Ugh. I told Patrick to start renovating years ago. I told him. That’s why we had holes in our roof and everything went to shit the first time. I don’t know why he never listened.”r />
  “Because he’s a guy?” Nick chuckled. “Sometimes we just have one track minds. It’s nothing personal, I promise.”

  “I believe it.” She laughed in spite of the aggravation she felt, and when she met his gaze again, the stress of the day didn’t seem as heavy as it had only moments ago. “So, how much would you charge to fix it?”

  “What, the wall? Not much. It’s mostly just getting all those bricks off the pipes and putting some new ones up. It would only take about five hours tops.”

  She nodded.

  “And maybe dinner sometime?”

  Her head shot up and she stared at him in surprise. Did he just...?

  “That was probably too bold of me. I’m sorry. I, uh, I’ve been known to speak before thinking in the past. It gets me into trouble sometimes.”

  “I...no, it’s fine. I...dinner? I can do dinner.” God, why was her brain suddenly so stupid? The man was just asking for a meal and that’s something she made on a daily basis, three times a day. It wasn’t difficult.

  “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to impose.”

  You can impose on me anytime.

  “It’s really fine. I’d be happy to fix dinner for you, Nick. It’s the least I can do—you’re working overtime tonight, aren’t you?” It was awfully late at night.

  “It’s honestly no problem. I actually take this route to get home every night—we’re practically neighbors.”

  “We are?”

  “Yes, ma’am. I live about six houses down. Just moved in about a month ago.”

  “Oh.” How had she not seen such a delectable being until now? She really needed to get out of the house more. “So you’re new to Prairie Town?”

  “Not really. My dad’s lived here for years, but I grew up in Virginia, with my mom.”

  “Oh.”

  They were standing on the porch before she knew it. Nick’s soft gaze rested on her face as another smile played at the corners of his mouth—his very kissable mouth.

  She couldn’t help but imagine what it would feel like to have those lips pressed to hers, to feel those hands on her body, to feel...

  “I’ll be back tomorrow evening to start fixing that for you, if you’d like,” he interrupted her dirty thoughts.