Mirror of Shadows (5 page)

“Hey,” she greeted him enthusiastically.

He nodded in acknowledgement as he went to the kitchen sink seemingly to check that the water was working. It sputtered a bit and the first bit of water that came out was a horrible rust color, but it started to come out more clearly with time. He held his hand under the water for a while to check that the hot water heater was working. When he was satisfied that all were in working order he turned off the water and spun toward Ella, drying his hands on his jeans.

“You want to go into town with me?” she asked.

“No. I have work to do,” he replied.

“Oh, come on. It’ll be fun,” she coaxed.

“I don’t have time for fun. I’ve got a lot to do before I call it a day,” he explained, not unkindly, but sternly.

“I could really use your help; besides, aren’t there a few things you’ve found that you need for repairs? We can stop at the hardware store first,” she said trying to persuade him. She could see that she had hit a chord—he undoubtedly had come across some things he needed.

“We could get some food and bring it back—make a meal out of it to show you my appreciation.”

“You don’t need to do that; you’re already paying for my services,” he said bluntly.

“Please. I’d like the company,” she pleaded.

The statement seemed to surprise him and he looked up from restlessly fiddling with his gloves.

“Seriously? Aren’t you from around here? You must know plenty of people in town that you can go shopping with,” he said sharply.

“Actually…I may be from Dead Oaks Hollow, but I was never very popular. I’ve always been rather…quiet.” This caught his attention and she wasn’t sure, but she almost thought he started to laugh.

“Liar,” he retorted. Her face went expressionless. “I mean,” he quickly interjected as if realizing he’d offended her, “I find that hard to believe,” he said more kindly.

“It’s true. Ask anyone. I’m not very social and I’m usually pretty quiet. There’s just something about you…maybe it’s your reticence…that makes me open up to you. I can’t really explain it, but…”

“Hmm,” was all he said, but somehow it seemed as if he might agree with her thinking.

“So will you? I’d really like your opinion. I’ve never bought appliances or dishes, or anything for a home of my own. All I own is in that bag in the foyer, the contents of my purse, a few items at my mother’s, and my laptop. I’d really love the company.”

“Really? Why? You don’t even know me,” he asked, seemingly puzzled.

“You seem to need a friend about as much as I need a friend; I mean what can it hurt?” She smiled coyly.

She felt silly pleading with a complete stranger, but she felt some kind of connection with him that she herself did not quite understand. He certainly wasn’t the most friendly guy she’d ever met and she wasn’t even sure he liked her, but there was definitely something there that had brought out a part of her she’d never known existed. He piqued an interest in her she’d never experienced before. She’d never really opened up to anyone but her grandmother in all of her life, but with this complete stranger she couldn’t seem to keep quiet and it felt nice—really nice. She wondered if he felt the same.

She saw in him the social awkwardness that she often felt in herself. His sometimes harsh, short responses caused by being out of practice with communicating with others—she’d had this problem herself in college. Many thought her to be snobbish or arrogant when she spoke, but it was a lack of confidence and social skills that kept her from having many friends. Knowing this about herself, she could see, as plain as day, the same traits in him.

Her smile seemed to melt his icy exterior and a slight curl of the lips, a smidgen of a smile, was all she needed to know she had hooked him.

She exclaimed, “You’re driving.”

As they exited the house he argued, “Why? Why am I driving?” to which she only giggled.

*****

During the ride down the hill, Ella spoke nonstop and it wasn’t until they got into town that she realized this.

“I’m sorry…I’m not usually so talkative, especially with strangers, but for some reason when I’m with you I can’t seem to hold my tongue.”

“Lucky me,” he said sarcastically and without much emotion.

“No, really. I’m sorry, it was rude of me. I guess just so much has happened in the last couple of days with the funeral and the house, I’m just not acting like myself.”

“Hmm,” was his only acknowledgement as he parked the truck in front of Hal’s Hardware Depot.

“So what do we need to get here? I didn’t make a list of things to get at the hardware store, except some spare light bulbs and some cleaning supplies,” she asked as she pulled out a wad of papers and rifled through several sheets until she came across one that was obviously for cleaning supplies.

“I need to get some putty for the holes around the windows and some bearing grease for the generator mostly, but there are a few odds and ends for the plumbing and electrical problems I will most likely find in such an old house.”

“Right. I’ll meet you back at the checkout counter in 20 minutes. Here,” she said, shoving an envelope into his hand.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“Money,” she replied offhandedly.

“Why are you giving it to me?” he said uncomfortably as he looked in the envelope. He waved it in front of her for her to take it back, which she refused to do.

“Because you are going to need it for repairs and what not. Marlin has set up an account for you here, but you’re not going to be able to get everything you need here, so this is for you to get whatever you need…that includes tools. You can set up shop in the shed I saw over near the boathouse. I mean, this is a big job. Do you think that shed will be big enough for you to work in and house your tools and supplies?”

“Well, yeah, the shed will be fine, but this, this is too much money. I’d rather not be in charge of this kind of cash,” he admitted.

“Then stick it in the cookie jar in the kitchen, whatever; I’ve allocated this money for repairs. You are doing the repairs so it’s more or less for you.”

“But I haven’t even said yes to this job yet,” he pointed out. “I’ve only just met you. I haven’t even looked over the entire house yet.”

“Oh,” she said rather put aback. It had never even crossed her mind that he wouldn’t be doing the work. “Right.” She felt terrible for not having thought along those lines. She had assumed too much and suddenly felt very uneasy for putting him in such a position.

After a moment of thought she said, “I’d really like it if you would help me with the house…”

“Jeremy. My name…it’s Jeremy. Jeremy Hickey,” he interjected.

“Right. Jeremy. I’d really like it if you would help me with the house, Jeremy. I’m Ella. Ella McKaye,” she said suddenly slipping back to her old shy self as she reached out to shake his hand in greeting.

“Nice to meet you, Ms. McKaye. Not to be unappreciative of your offer, but why me? You haven’t even talked with anyone else about the job. You don’t know what my rates are, my qualifications, or anything about me. I could be a serial killer—you don’t know. You just hand me a wad of cash and say, ‘Buy whatever you need’? Are you insane? That’s just trouble waiting to happen,” he lectured.

“Wow. You’re right, I suppose. I hadn’t really thought about it like that.”

“Well, you should. There are a lot of bad people out there that would surely take advantage of you. You need to be more careful,” he said firmly.

He was right. She had been naïve. She’d never had money like this and no doubt there would be those who would take advantage of that. His concern revealed to her that HE had been taken advantage of and hurt somehow. His concern had revealed more of him than he probably wanted, but it only assured her that she had found the right person for the job.

“How about this? We go to the diner next door, talk a bit, and go from there,” she said insistently.

“Fine,” he conceded.

*****

They both were seated and orders had been taken when Ella finally broke the silence.

“I’m sorry that I assumed that you were going to work for me without really asking. I guess when Marlin had sent you, I thought you had already been hired.”

“He asked me to get the lights on and make sure the house was sound to stay in—beyond that we hadn’t discussed anything.”

“If you couldn’t tell, I’m a bit new to all this. I never even knew my grandmother had the house, let alone that she was giving it to me. When I got the news about her dying, I was packing up my things at college. I just graduated and was about to come back home.

“I suppose all this house stuff is good, though, it’s kept me rather preoccupied with it instead of balling up in bed and mourning the loss of my grandmother.”

“You were close?” he asked.

“Very,” she answered.

“What about the rest of your family?”

“All I have now that Grandma is gone is my mother, and she threw me out of the house this morning before I could even get dressed.”

“That explains your attire this morning, but why would she do that?”

“I guess she felt the money should have been hers, when my father died, but when I told her Grandma didn’t include her in the will she went berserk. She started insulting my grandma and I just couldn’t have her doing that.”

“Why didn’t your grandmother leave any money to your mom?”

“She did—she has. She’s been supporting my mom since my dad died a long time ago. Her house is paid for and she gets a monthly check to live on. Above and beyond that, though, is a bit more strained. My mom had some trouble with drugs after my dad died, and Grandma felt if mom had money lying around, she would indulge again.”

“Hmm. Drugs. That’s messy business.” He sounded as if he had some knowledge in this area.

“Right. So here I am, with no family, just this big old house.”

“And what exactly do you want to do with the house?” he asked.

“Well, it must have meant a great deal to my grandmother since she refused to sell it after all these years. I think I’d like to get it back into shape and live in it. I think that’s what Grandma would have wanted.”

“Isn’t it kind of big for just one person?” he asked.

“Yes. It is, but I’d like to think I won’t be alone all my life,” she joked, but with an air of truth.

He smiled a bit at this comment. He had obviously understood her meaning.

“So you now know my name and MY story, so what is yours? How does Marlin know you?”

“I’ve done some side jobs here and there over the last few months for Mr. Howard. He’s been pretty kind to me, throwing jobs my way here and there,” he said.

“You’re not from around here are you?” she commented.

“No. I don’t really have any one place I call home.”

“No family?”

“No.”

“Where’d you grow up?”

“All over the place.”

“That’s pretty vague for someone who suggested I get to know who I’m hiring,” she remarked.

“It is,” he admitted but gave no sign of giving any more info.

“And that’s it? You’re not going to tell me anymore?”

“Pretty much,” he said bluntly.

“Are you in trouble? Like with the law?”

He shrugged his shoulders and stared at the glass of water in front of him. Dew had formed on the glass and dripped down its sides, puddling at its base. His eyes were full of remorse and blue as a faded pair of jeans, when he said, “I have been.”

“Is that how you know Marlin?”

He nodded. She could see he was ashamed by this fact.

“You didn’t kill anyone or hurt anyone did you?” she whispered across the table.

“No. I didn’t kill anyone,” he said heatedly, but in a low voice so as not to let the whole diner hear.

She smiled at him when he finally looked up at her. She could tell he was not happy about revealing his past troubles to her, but based on his reactions, he had been truthful with her no matter how vague and that meant a lot to her. She knew from experience it was not easy to divulge such intimate parts of oneself to another, especially a stranger. He had won her respect.

She knew he would not tell her much more than he already had, so she changed the subject to something she felt sure he would be more comfortable with.

“So what are your qualifications?” Ella asked him as the waitress set down their food.

“Well, I’ve been working as a handyman and carpenter for as long as I can remember,” he answered munching on a fry.

“Are you licensed?” she asked, while applying catsup to her open-faced burger.

“Yes,” he said before taking a large bite of his burger.

“Have you worked on old houses before?” she asked, assembling her burger, then cutting it in half to make it more manageable for her small hands.

“More than I can recount.”