Chapter 32

Things had settled into a good rhythm. My usual Monday clients had let me change some things around so Brittany didn’t have to clean on her own and now had long weekends during the summer. We’d arranged to make up for it during the week to catch up on the cleans we missed on Mondays.

She’d offered to come to the Manor with me, but I’d turned her down. I kind of enjoyed having the Paynes to myself when I came out here and Brittany hadn’t argued, still wanting to see the inside of the house but not so badly that she’d insist on coming here to clean it.

When I arrived at Styles Manor on Monday morning, my car sputtered to a stop and a suspicious plume of smoke drifted from under the hood like a departing soul. I scrunched up my nose as a vaguely acrid scent filtered into the car itself, bringing with it a sense of dread.

As it was, I’d barely made it down the winding, forest-lined road from town to here, where the Manor sat at the opposite end of the lake. The hood was smoking in earnest now that I’d come to a complete stop. I climbed out and hoped that Scott would be able to come pick me up later.

I doubted I was going to get home with my car in this state. Not until Scott patched her up again. I couldn’t worry about that now. I was already late thanks to having to take it slow just so I could get here with it in one piece.

Hurrying around to the trunk, I collected my cleaning supplies and looked up just as Landon came out. He smiled at me, but then he seemed to notice the smoke, and his face fell.

Breaking into a run, he flew down the stairs and looked me over as soon as he was close enough, evidently assessing me for any trace of injury. “What the hell happened? Are you okay? Did you get in an accident or something?”

“Or something,” I said, smiling so he’d know I was okay. “It’s just old Sasha protesting again. It’ll be fine.”

He arched both eyebrows at me but nodded, raking his hands through his hair and dragging in a deep breath. “Thank God. I think my heart just almost gave out. If you’d gotten hurt while coming here to clean for us, I’m not sure I’d ever forgive myself.”

I chuckled through the dread pooling in my stomach. Smoke was still pouring from the under the hood. I’d thought it would stop now that the engine was off, but that hadn’t happened. At all.

“Let’s take a look, shall we?” Landon suggested, moving around to the front of the car.

“You don’t have to,” I started saying when he reached for the metal. Then he yanked his hand back as soon as his fingertips brushed it.

“That’s hot.” He reached for his shirt and pulled it off by grabbing it at the collar behind his neck.

I swallowed hard, knowing that I shouldn’t have noticed how hot that move was when he did it, but shit. I’d rather be thinking about a sexy client than the possibility of Sasha finally having kicked the bucket for good.

Wrapping the shirt around his hand like a glove, he reached for the hood and opened it, releasing yet another cloud of smoke. Carefully leaning over to peek around it, he grimaced and cursed under his breath.

“I hate to tell you this, but I think Sasha has said goodbye. For good.”

I groaned out loud. “Well, that’s just great. Scott has a way with her, though. Maybe he’ll be able to breathe new life into her. Like Frankenstein.”

He shot me a dubious look, glancing back at the engine. “How about this? I’ll tinker with it while you work. Maybe I’ll be able to work some magic on her.”

“You really don’t have to do that,” I said, a little flustered at the offer. “You’ve already fixed her up once.”

“Let me take a look,” he said as if it was nothing. “Colten’s reading his chess book anyway and I don’t just want to laze around.”

“That’s kind of what you’re supposed to do on vacation,” I replied, giving him a playful smile. “You do know what a vacation is, right?”

He laughed. “I do, but it’s not like this is work. Believe it or not, I quite enjoy working on engines.”

“In that case, you’re welcome, I suppose.” I gave him another smile, still feeling somewhat flustered as I headed inside.

Thankfully, the routine I’d fallen into while cleaning the Manor distracted me enough that I stopped feeling guilty about Landon working on my car on such a beautiful day. Colten was in his bedroom with the book that seemed to be glued to his face whenever he was in here, but he smiled at me when I walked in and immediately set it down.

“I’ll help you pick up,” he offered, hopping off the bed and getting started before I could tell him to relax.

It seemed the Paynes both had issues grasping the concept of vacation, but I was glad for the company as I continued my normal housework. Once I left Colten’s room, I put on music on my headphones, allowing that to drown out the worries about my car.

All weekend, I’d been looking forward to today. To seeing them again while they were still here and now this might just be the last day I’d be able to come to the Manor. If Scott couldn’t get my car fixed, a bruised heart was going to be the least of my problems, but I chose not to focus on that, letting the music carry me away completely as I swept and cleaned.

Later in the day, Landon came back inside covered in grease and smelling like oil. As soon as I saw the look in his eyes, my stomach plummeted. “It didn’t work, did it?”

“It didn’t,” he said, that intense green gaze cloudy and dark with remorse. “I’m sorry, Jewel. I tried everything, but I didn’t have any luck, so I called a tow truck in town. I’ll drive you home later myself.”

“Or,” he added casually when I didn’t respond. “You could stay the night and I can drive you into town tomorrow. There’s a lot of house to go around.”

My mouth fell open. “Spend a night in the Styles Manor? Yes, please! Imagine that ‘yes’ in all caps, but only if you’re sure it’s okay with you.”

“It’s okay with me,” he said, his dirty face breaking out in a smile that made his teeth seem even whiter than ever before.

Colten walked in and he must’ve overheard what we’d been saying because he was suddenly extremely excited, grinning as he spoke a mile a minute. “You’re staying here tonight? That’s great. Will you play some chess with me? I’ve learned a few new strategies today and I’d like to try them out.”

“Of course.” I laughed, not even my broken car getting me down right then.

Hopefully, they’d tow it into town and Scott would still be able to fix it. If not, well, I’d worry about it then. I wasn’t going to let anything mar the memory of my first—and probably only—night here.

After I finished with the floor in the kitchen, I glanced at the fridge and smiled. “How about I whip us up something for dinner? I can get it started before I grab a quick shower. What do you feel like?”

I stowed my mop in its bucket and strode over to the sink to wash my hands. “Maybe I could even try something more sophisticated this time,” I said over my shoulder. “But before we get ahead ourselves, I should probably check what you have. You know, since I can’t pop to the store to get anything else.”

Overwhelmed by the prospect of sleeping in the Manor, I rushed over to the fridge when my hands were dry, cracking it open and inspecting the contents. Once again, it was fully stocked, but I suddenly realized that the boys had fallen quiet.

“Guys?” I asked as I closed the fridge and turned to them. “What do you think? Will it be okay if I cook for you? Do you have any requests?”

“Don’t cook,” Colten blurted out, the tips of his ears turning red.

Landon pushed Colten behind himself, stepping forward and smiling at me. “What he means to say is that we already had plans to order pizza tonight. There’s no need to cook, especially since you’ve already spent the entire day cleaning. How about we just relax and keep it simple tonight?”

“That actually sounds really good to me,” I said, and although I’d never admit it out loud, I was glad they’d already had plans.

While I certainly wouldn’t have minded cooking for them, it would be much better to kick back and relax after the day I’d had. Landon nodded and headed for the stairs, grinning at me over his shoulder.

“I desperately need a shower and I’m sure you do too. If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you the spare bedrooms and you can choose whichever one you like. Almost all of them have adjoining bathrooms and there are towels in them, so you should have everything you need.”

“Yes, I cleaned all the empty rooms the first time I cleaned,” I said, excitement sending my pulse into overdrive as I followed him up the stairs. Not only was I getting to spend the night in the Manor, but I was going to be doing it while he was here too.

If it hadn’t been for my broken car outside, today would’ve gone down in my personal history as the day some of my most wonderful daydreams had come true.