Small Town Girl Read Online Free

words snottily, “ Hence , the responsibility falls to me. I have no use for it, so I’m selling it. Is that enough information for you?”
    He didn’t turn to look at her, but as he started down the stairs, he said simply, “No disrespect meant.” He flipped the light switch, and she followed him into the dimly lit basement, unable to keep from noticing how his muscles rippled under the cotton of his T-shirt. “Shouldn’t have trouble selling this place. It’s a nice old house with plenty of land. I always liked it. All it needs is a little fixing up.”
    Nice? Lauren looked around. Maybe after a crew spent a year here. She thought of Charles’s apartment on Central Park West. The four-thousand-square-foot penthouse apartment with its long, regal windows overlooking the vista of the brilliant city. The apartment that would become her home in just a few short weeks.
    “It was nice when my grandmother was alive. I actually stayed here quite a bit during the summers with her. It’s neglected now. I’m just going to sell it as is,” Lauren found herself babbling. Caleb made no reply as he descended the stairs.
    The cellar was typical of the old houses in the area. It was damp with a stone foundation. The floor was dirt except for the poured cement slab where the furnace, water pump, and water heater sat. Caleb went over to the furnace, seemingly unaware of her presence behind him.
    “What is it?” she asked. He didn’t answer her, but flipped a switch on the wall instead. The furnace kicked on, in spite of the warm temperature outside. It rattled for about thirty seconds and then shut down. Caleb repeated the motion with the same results.
    “Well?” she prodded.
    “Well, what?” He didn’t look at her, engrossed as he was in the workings of the furnace.
    “What the hell is wrong with it?” she protested impatiently. “Why can’t I get any hot water?”
    This time he turned to her. “Keep your shirt on,” he said with a friendly smile, and as he said it, his gaze dropped to her breasts. Lauren was once again uncomfortably aware of the undone buttons. And maybe her khaki shorts were too short. “The water’s heated off the furnace,” he explained. “There seems to be enough fuel in the tank. For some reason, these pipes here are hot, but the water in the tank is cold.”
    “These pipes here?” Lauren reached up to touch the copper pipes attached to the low ceiling of the cellar. Instantly, Caleb had his hand over hers.
    “Careful!” he commanded sharply. “This is oil-fired forced hot water heat. Those pipes are red hot. You’ll burn yourself!”
    She did not pull back from his hand. Instead, she was aware of a moment, a moment of pure physical contact in which something passed between them. Something warm, something pleasant. Something intimate. Lauren was sure Caleb was aware of it, too. It was as if she was suddenly off balance, and now she was slightly confused. Why did this man, this plumber, have such an effect on her? She looked at him. His eyes searched her own for just a second, then Caleb slowly opened his hand and released her. He looked away quickly. “Sorry,” he said. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
    “I’m not scared of you,” she said, bristling, making an effort to ban her confusion. “Hey, maybe it’s this valve here.” She reached up toward an overhead valve.
    “Please, just stand out of the way,” he reiterated, leaning forward in a gesture to move her back a safe distance. His eyes were on her so he didn’t see the pipe wrench until he stepped on it. He was thrown off balance, stumbling backward. In an instinctive effort to right himself, Caleb threw up his hand. His forearm smacked loudly against the red hot copper pipe. “Arggh!” he cried, clapping his scalded arm to his side.
    Caleb doubled over, clutching the burn. Lauren rushed to him, mortified. It had been her fault! “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she cried. “I didn’t mean to get in your way! Are