3. A Jack Of All Trades

THREE

A JACK OF ALL TRADES

My hand reached out from under the covers and dug deep into Maggie’s soft fur. She had joined me in the guest room last night, and when I woke up ten minutes ago, she was still there.

Snowflakes turned the window white, and even though the sun was already up, I couldn’t tell the sky from the roofs of the neighboring houses.

I had slept like a log. Normally, I can barely get my eyes closed on the first night in an unfamiliar bed. Not to mention the fact that it was hard to get any rest at all the last few months, even though I was tired all the time. But yesterday, I went to bed, closed my eyes, and woke up nine hours later with the sun already up as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Maggie’s head snapped around. Her ears pricked up, searching for a sound that wasn’t there. I lifted my head to get a better look at her and followed her gaze through the ajar door into the hallway. The faint click of a key turning in the front door downstairs made her sit up—and me, too.

Were the McCormacs back already? Had their flight been canceled?

The sounds of the street echoed through the house for a moment as someone came inside.

Maggie rushed out of the room and downstairs, either to attack whoever was intruding or to get them to pet her.

I jumped out of bed. I couldn’t go downstairs in just my briefs. I slipped into my black joggers, grabbed my shirt, pulled it over my head, and stumbled into the hallway. I’ve never tried to get dressed as fast as I did at that moment.

“Well, look who it is.” A deep male voice echoed through the house—not Mr. McCormac’s, but as familiar. “Aren’t you a good girl?”

A shiver ran down my spine as I followed the voice downstairs. I turned the corner into the living room and could already see Jack in the kitchen, cuddling with Maggie, who was trying to lick his face.

“Jack?” I asked at a sight that was both sweet and unsettling. Last night, I had dreamed of meeting him again, but now that he was standing in front of me, I didn’t know what to make of it.

Jack craned his head up, holding Maggie down so her tongue couldn’t reach his face. The two looked as if they’d known each other for a long time. Her tail wagged gleefully as she gave up trying to lick Jack’s face and closed her eyes, surrendering to his pats.

When he noticed me, his eyes went as wide as mine. “Noah? You’re the dog sitter?”

I shook my head since I wasn’t the one with some explaining to do. “What are you doing here?”

“Didn’t they tell you I was coming today?”

“Who?”

“The McCormacs?”

“Why would you come here if they weren’t home?”

He pulled back his open jacket and pointed to a small logo on his shirt that had his name on it. “I’m the Home Services Expert,” he said with a smile that quickly faded when my confused expression didn’t change. “As in, I’m here to clean the house? Judging from your expression, they didn’t mention I was coming over.”

“You got that right,” I replied more harshly than I wanted to. Nothing in his demeanor told me he was lying, but it wasn’t like I’d known him for years and could trust him blindly.

To Maggie’s utter displeasure, Jack let go of her and fumbled his phone out of his jeans. “Please call them so they can confirm this.”

“Don’t take this the wrong way,” I said. “It’s not that I mistrust you. This just comes as a surprise.”

He held his phone closer to me. “No. Please. For both our sakes, please call them.”

I nodded toward the stairs to signal that I’d rather use my phone, and he replied with an understanding smile.

Three minutes later, I walked back to the kitchen, still clutching my phone from the call with Mr. McCormac.

Jack was sitting on the kitchen table, his jacket now hanging over the chair. His shirt was a little too tight around his chest, revealing his brawny arms. His face was so soft that it almost contradicted the rest of his body. He was patting Maggie again but jumped up when he noticed me. “Sorry, whenever I see her, I can’t stop myself from patting her.”

“The good news is, one , they landed safely in Aruba; two , Mrs. McCormac is very excited about a sunset sail; and three , they forgot to tell me about your arrival.” I pursed my lips. “Sorry for being so suspicious.”

“No. You’re right. Better to be safe than sorry.” His eyes went briefly to Maggie, who was scratching his leg, begging for more cuddles. “I would have knocked or rung if I’d known. I even reminded them yesterday morning to inform whoever was taking care of Maggie.”

“Don’t worry.” I tried to take a softer tone. “It’s not your fault they forgot.”

We stared at each other for a moment, and only then did I realize that the chance I had hoped for had come, almost as if Santa Claus was real and could make such things happen.

“So, um…”

“Let’s just pretend this didn’t happen,” I replied.

“Okay.” Jack’s right hand rushed to the back of his head as he nodded, his eyes sweeping the floor. “Deal.” He took his jacket off the chair and hurried out of the house through the living room.

I watched him leave, and Maggie joined me, equally confused. We could see him through the window in the door as he put his jacket back on, cleared his throat, and turned back to us.

A bell rang through the house.

Maggie ran to the door, barking like a security system, and I followed her, laughing. Jack rang again, then pretended to see me through the window and waved with a broad smile.

I opened the door for him. “Yes?”

“Good morning. Sorry to wake you so early. I’m Jack, the Home Services Expert.”

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” I played along and stepped aside. “The McCormacs announced your early arrival, and we—Lady Maggie and I—have been expecting you.”

Jack walked past me, and I closed the door behind him. Maggie’s head turned back and forth between us, not understanding what was going on.

This was so silly that I couldn’t stop smiling. “I guess you know your way around the house?” I asked, returning to my normal voice as I shuffled back to the kitchen.

“I’ll stay out of your way as much as possible. Promise,” Jack said, hanging his jacket on the hook by the door and then following me. He pointed to the cupboard under the sink. “I just need to get my stuff.”

I stepped aside and let my eyes wander around the room to see if there was a coffee maker somewhere, but as Jack crouched down and leaned forward to get the cleaning supplies out, his shirt slid up a bit, giving me a perfect view of his firm butt in his jeans.

“You, uh, want some coffee too?” I asked, unable to take my eyes off him.

“Thank you. I didn’t have the time to get one today. So I wouldn’t say no to that,” he replied, pulling out a gray bucket, a scouring pad, and four bottles of cleaner.

Maggie joined us in the kitchen as well, and as soon as she realized the cupboard was open, she lunged at Jack. I tried to grab her by the collar, but she was faster than me. However, Jack seemed to know what she was up to because he reached out to stop her before she could get in.

“Come on, Maggie,” he said. “I understand you like to eat, but is food the only thing on your mind?” He nudged her away from the cabinet and closed the doors, putting the childproof handle back on. “She’s a good girl but insatiable.” He took the bucket and walked to the bathroom, the sound of water being poured into it reaching my ears.

I watched Maggie trudge to her bed, moping about being denied access to her favorite cabinet before I looked around the room to finally get the coffee going. I stretched my head to every corner, but I couldn’t see a coffee maker. I opened the upper cabinets but found only plates, cups, baking utensils, and coffee powder, which I placed on the counter.

“Looking for the coffee maker?” Jack asked when he came back and noticed me turning the kitchen upside down.

I pulled out a drawer that was full of cutlery as if it could be there. “They have one, right?”

Jack stepped behind me and leaned over the counter, pulling up a hidden wall in the backsplash that revealed several kitchen utensils. He didn’t touch me, but for a moment, he was close enough to make my heart beat a little faster, and the images I’d created in my head yesterday flashed through my mind again. My face grew hot. “Thank you,” I said, keeping my eyes down so he wouldn’t see me blush.

“You’re welcome,” he replied, took the blue cleaning bottle, and poured some of it into the water bucket. “So you’re the dog sitter, huh?”

“M-hm,” I replied and opened the ground coffee. Somehow, I was expecting a snarky comment about how happy he was that he wasn’t the only one who didn’t become a vet, but nothing of the sort happened.

“That’s very nice of you. They had a hard time finding someone to take care of Maggie while they were gone. I told them it would be difficult around the holidays, but they wouldn’t listen.”

“Mr. McCormac called me literally two minutes after I had sent them my application.”

“You wouldn’t believe how excited they were. They asked me first, but since I couldn’t get here as often as Maggie needed me, I helped them put the ad up online. No one applied for over a week.”

It crossed my mind for a moment that maybe he’d set me up, but that was plain stupid. He had no way of knowing that I’d even see the ad, not to mention that, as far as anyone knew, I was just taking some time off to travel.

“Well, I’ll try to stay out of your way as much as possible. I’ll have to hurry anyway because I’ve got a lot of other houses to take care of today, and I don’t want to bother you anymore,” Jack said, grabbing the bucket and heading for the living room.

“I’ve never had anyone but myself clean my house. Please be around me as much as possible so I can feel rich for a second.”

“You’re still as funny as ever, Noah,” Jack replied, his eyes searching for something on the floor.

He thought I was… funny?

Jack took a deep breath as if he wanted to say something but didn’t know if he could. “I could also call you s ir if that makes you feel like a rich person.” He looked up, his cheeks now completely red. That was probably the kinkiest thing he had ever said to anyone, judging by his expression.

“Call me Noah. Anything else would be weird.”

He stared at me, and I stared back at him, neither of us doing what we were supposed to do.

“Didn’t you say you had a lot to do?” I asked.

“Right. Sorry. I’m so used to chatting with my clients that sometimes I feel like that’s what they’re paying for.”

“Do you call them all ‘ sir’ ?” I teased him.

“They’re all over sixty. So, yes,” he explained, still standing there as if he had all the time in the world.

“Come on,” I said, motioning for him to get to work. I turned to the coffee maker. “Or I’ll make you call me ‘sir ’ for real.”

“Yes, sir ,” he replied with a grin, picking up the bucket.

I took a deep breath. This wasn’t good because it would only create more dirty images in my mind.

Twenty minutes later, I was sweating.

I stood in the living room and tried to stop myself from panting.

Jack was on his knees in front of me. With my right hand, I held myself steady on the shoe cabinet while my left hand dug deep into Jack’s shoulder. It took all my strength not to get lost in feeling his muscles through his shirt. I lifted my right leg and slipped into the boot he was holding up.

I had put on half of the clothes I had with me to go outside with Maggie as the thermometer now read a frigid ten degrees below zero. It wasn’t until I got down to the shoe closet that I realized I couldn’t bend over with three shirts tucked into my jeans and two sweaters on.

“This must be so weird for you,” I said, staring at the ceiling.

“It’s closer to my regular workdays than I’m proud to admit,” Jack laughed, tugging so hard on my shoe that I wobbled. I tightened my grip around his shoulder to keep from falling over. When the boot finally swallowed my foot as it was supposed to, Jack sat it down, tied the laces, and looked up as he finished. The smile on his face brought new images to my mind that weren’t at all appropriate for this situation, and I forced my gaze outside.

“Don’t be embarrassed. I bet you would have done the same for me.” He got up and returned to the fireplace and his feather duster.

Of course, I would have gotten down on my knees for him, albeit for very different reasons.

“Thank you,” I said, turning to Maggie, who was standing at the door, her leash already attached to her collar by Jack. He had wrapped it around the doorknob so I wouldn’t have to ask for his help again. “And excuse me for taking more time out of your busy day.”

“I’m thirty minutes ahead of schedule,” he said, dusting off the sideboard. “So, no worries.”

I pulled the door open, and a blast of cold air rushed inside. There was no snow yet, but the clouds were dark, and everything outside looked like the least inviting winter landscape I’ve ever seen. The wind had blown some snow onto the porch. Maggie looked at the white stuff for a second, but now that she had seen it, she didn’t move an inch.

“Come on,” I told her, but she glared at me with a face that questioned if I was serious. I sighed and spread my legs to climb over her. I walked down the four steps to the front yard, hoping she would follow me, but all that happened was that her leash was now taut across the porch.

“Looks like she doesn’t want to,” Jack laughed, standing in the open doorway wearing only his shirt.

“Aren’t you cold?”

He pushed his lower lip in front of his upper and shook his head lightly. “I don’t get cold that fast.”

I tugged on the leash, but Maggie turned her head toward Jack as if to ask him if he thought I had gone crazy, too.

“Sorry, girl. It’s for your own good,” Jack said, pushing her out onto the porch and quickly closing the door behind her, still watching us through the window in the door.

Maggie looked back at him with an expression of utter betrayal that made him knit his eyebrows together as if he were about to cry.

“We’ll go back inside as soon as you’ve done your thing,” I told Maggie, but she demonstratively turned her head away from me as if I was the one who had put him up to this. “Don’t give me that. It snowed yesterday, and you were fine. Besides, you were the one who wanted to go out in the first place. Come on, I promise you’ll get another one of those dog biscuits you liked.”

She still didn’t look at me, but as if that was a deal she could accept, she plodded across the yard. A minute later, she was done, and without waiting for anything, she made her way back to the front door, whimpering, ready to go back inside.

“I hear you,” I said to her as I stomped up the stairs to get most of the snow off my boots.

The door opened, and Jack had a towel ready to wipe Maggie’s paws. Knowing the routine, she lifted her feet and let him clean them, but not without still avoiding looking at him.

“She knows I get cranky when she leaves her footprints all over the floor,” Jack said. “And I don’t have time to clean everything twice today. Mrs. Candice is waiting for me and some of your other friends, Maggie.” He tried to get his face in front of hers, but the further he went, the more she turned her head. When her head was twisted almost 180 degrees, Jack gave up. He looked up at the sky and narrowed his eyes. “Oh, shoot.”

A handful of snowflakes floated through the air.

He jumped up. “I must hurry.”

I sat on the porch steps and lifted my legs to take off my boots, not wanting to ask for his help again. “If you have so little time, you don’t have to finish. The house looked pretty clean to me before you started.”

“Oh, that’s okay. I like to keep my word.”

“I won’t tell the McCormacs. For all I care, you can come back before they get back, and we’ll just tell them you cleaned twice.”

He stared at me with a frozen smile. “As tempting as that sounds, it wouldn’t be right. The McCormacs have been nothing but generous to me.”

I felt a sting in my neck. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to talk you into anything?—”

“I know you meant well.”

He let go of Maggie, who stomped off to the kitchen. I pulled off the second boot and leaned in to place it directly on the boot tray. The difference in temperature as I closed the door behind me was crazy. It was like going from a freezer to a sauna. I slipped out of my jacket and hung it on the coat rack.

“So why the rush? Is there someone you need to be with tonight?” I asked. It was Christmas Eve. I knew my question sounded like small talk, but I needed to know if he had a family, a girlfriend, or maybe even a boyfriend. Either way, I wanted to make sure I wasn’t doing anything inappropriate if he was in a relationship.

“No. It’s not that. I’m pretty worried about the blizzard. A lot of the people I help are very old.”

“How thoughtful of you.” Just knowing how much he cared about his community made me like him ten times more. Still, I couldn’t ignore the fact that he didn’t tell me what I wanted to know. “So does that still mean no plans for tonight?” I had wished for the chance to see him again, to ask him to meet me. I couldn’t just let it go.

Jack shrugged. “Falling into my bed when I’m done.”

“You live alone?”

“Yeah.”

That was as good as it got. “How about we meet for that drink you offered yesterday?” It was probably a bad idea. As far as I knew, he was just being cordial, and his offers to meet were purely friendly. “I could also whip up some food for us. I’m a little out of practice, but that would be a good enough reason to get back into it.”

He twisted the cloth in his hands a little too much for my taste, but after a moment, he smiled. “I would love to. If the weather still permits. But I only live a mile away. It should be fine.”

I couldn’t believe how easy it was. Sure, it didn’t mean that anything I had imagined would happen, but at least I had the chance to find out if it was possible.

“Just let me know when you can be here. Oh, that reminds me. Let me give you my number.”

“Is it still the same one you had in college?”

“I haven’t changed it since then, no.”

“Then I still have it.” Jack blushed.

Damn, that was cute. But now I felt even worse because I didn’t have his number or his card.

His eyes darted to the fireplace, eager to get back to his work.

“I’ll wait for your text. And now I’ll stop distracting you.” I motioned to the kitchen. “A certain lady is waiting for her breakfast. And I need to get something besides coffee into my system as well.”

I shoved some scrambled eggs into my mouth and watched more snow fall through the safety of the kitchen windows. The snowflakes were coming in droves now, making it impossible for me to see any further than the trees behind the house.

Maggie had made herself comfortable on her bed and was taking her time chewing on the dog biscuit. The bribe worked wonders because she was looking at me again.

“I’m leaving now,” Jack said, poking his head into the kitchen. His yellow jacket rustled as he waved to me. “Thanks again for the coffee.”

It was only a little after ten. How did he clean the entire house all by himself so quickly? It would have taken me at least until late afternoon.

“Let me walk you to the door.” I jumped up, and with me, Maggie. We both followed him to the living room and watched him slip into his worn-out sneakers, which seemed like a terrible choice for weather like this.

He put his hand on the doorknob. “I’ll text you later. Hopefully, I’ll be done by seven.”

“Looking forward to it.”

Without zipping up his jacket, he unlocked the door and stepped out onto the porch. The snow, now driven by the wind, blew sharply toward us.

Since that wasn’t to anyone’s liking, we merely waved at each other, and I closed the door behind him, watching through the window as he walked to his pickup truck. The white hell that was the outside didn’t allow me to see much further than the end of the front yard, but I could tell he made it safely to his car.

I turned to Maggie, who was wagging her tail and tilting her head, ears pricked up, still focused on the door.

The sound of an engine starting and an exhaust puffing found its way inside but stopped a second later. I looked through the window in the door again. The dying sound of the engine came twice more, and by now, it was obvious what was going on. I opened the front door again, giving the snow a chance to fall onto the freshly mopped floor.

I clenched my face. Going out there wasn’t something I was eager to do, but I wanted to see if he needed any help. I slipped into my jacket and boots, skipping the sweater and three extra shirts, which I regretted the moment I stepped off the porch. I hurried across the yard, and when I reached his car, he jumped out. “What is it?” I asked as if I didn’t already know that his car had broken down. “Do you want to come back in?”

Jack looked distraught. Snow was hitting his exposed face and chest because his jacket was still open. I grabbed his arm and pulled him behind me toward the porch so at least we wouldn’t have snow in our faces while we talked.

“Things like this always happen at the worst of times,” I said as if that would brighten the situation, but Jack seemed lost.

“I’m going to...” He didn’t finish his sentence but pulled out his smartphone and pointed at it. He dialed a number and brought it to his ear. “Dany, it happened again. Yes... I suspect the exhaust... Are you sure? No...” He glanced at me. “No, it’s okay. I understand.” He hung up. “He says the storm is only going to get worse from here. It’s impossible for him to come with the tow truck because he’ll get stuck, too.” His eyes darted from side to side. He took a deep breath and buried his face in his hands.

“Do you want to come in?” I asked him again as the cold slowly crept under my clothes.

“I can’t. I still have Mrs. Candice’s groceries. I can’t let her get snowed in without food.” His brows furrowed as his eyes already pleaded with me. He opened his mouth but then looked away.

There was a way out of this. “Would you like me to drive you there?” I asked, not because I felt obligated, but because I genuinely wanted to help. His reasoning was sound, and I didn’t want to be responsible for an old woman going hungry on Christmas.

“I feel bad asking you to do this. What if we get stuck in the storm?”

“I understand that a big tow truck might have problems, but if we’re quick, we should be fine for at least another hour or two.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” I wasn’t. Winter was only my fourth favorite season. Sometimes, I even feel cold when it’s ninety degrees outside. Driving in this weather probably wasn’t a good idea, but helping him was. He seemed like a guy who cared more about others than he probably did about himself. It was the day before Christmas, and he was running around so everyone else wouldn’t have to. “All I have to do is put on some more clothes, and then I’m ready to go.”

He nodded. “I’ll pay you for your time.”

“That’s not...” I didn’t want his money, but I felt like if I refused now, it would only get us into a discussion that would cost us valuable minutes. He looked like the kind of guy who would insist. “We can discuss this later.”

His face was more hopeful now, and that alone seemed like a sufficient form of payment. “I’ll get ready. You get whatever you need from your car, okay?”

“Thank you. I owe you a Christmas present,” he said, hurrying back down the porch.

This wasn’t at all how I had imagined my time in Seastone, but all of this made me feel warm in my usually cold chest. Maybe coming here was the right idea after all.