Page 30 of Asher's Assignment
“Why don’t you set up the Bluetooth and the cloud stuff? I can attach the bracket.”
“Oh. Are you sure?” Asher tipped his head to the side.
“I can handle a doorbell.”
“All right, then.” He shrugged and walked over to the workbench along the wall and picked up the doorbell box, opening it. “Here you go.” He handed her the mounting bracket and some screws. “You’ll need the drill.”
She nodded once, then picked up the tool.
“What email address do you want me to attach this to?”
She told him.
“Do you have a specific password in mind, or do you want me to make up something?”
“Just make up something.” Tools and parts in hand, she left the garage.
Standing in front of her door, she studied the doorframe. She wasn’t quite sure how high to put it. It needed to be high enough to catch people’s faces, but not ridiculous. The fisheye lens would help with that.
Esther set her things down, then walked up to the door like she was going to knock. Closing her eyes, she raised her hand to where she thought the doorbell would be, then opened them. That was a good height.
With the sharpie from her back pocket, she marked the spot on the frame, then set about screwing the bracket into place. Once she had it mounted, she stepped back to admire her handiwork.
Not bad.
“Are you ready for this thing?”
Esther jumped slightly, not having heard him approach. She spun around, forgetting about the flowerpot behind her. At the last second, she saw it and tried to avoid walking into it, but failed. She kicked it and lost her balance.
“Oh!” Arms windmilling, she lurched to the side.
“Whoa, there.” Asher’s arms clamped around her and his hands splayed over her back, hauling her into his solid chest.
She grabbed hold of his biceps. “Thanks.” She looked up.
Hello.
Deep, dark brown eyes stared back at her from a face that was closer than it had ever been. Her gaze flicked to his full lips, then back to his eyes.
Color stained her cheeks, and the heat spread south, warming the rest of her.
“Are you all right?”
“Um, yeah.” She pushed against him, needing some space before she let her inner wild child do what she wanted to do and kissed him. “I’m good.” She turned to the bracket she’d installed. “Does that look okay?”
He walked toward it. “Looks fine.” Raising the camera, he slid it onto the mount. It clicked into place. “Do you have your phone? You need to download and log in to the app.”
Esther pulled her phone from her back pocket. He walked her through the process, and soon she could see what the camera saw.
“That’s cool.” She glanced up. “Thank you.” And she meant it. Until now, when she actually saw it in action, she hadn’t given much thought to how having the camera would make her feel. But it gave her a small sense of security to be able to know who was at her door before she opened it. If Asher hadn’t come—hadn’t hauled her to the store and picked it out—she probably never would have installed it.
“You’re welcome.” He winked, then turned and leaned over, moving the flowerpot she’d kicked back into place.
Esther picked up the drill and empty packaging.
“Esther?”
“Hmm?” She glanced at him. “What are you doing?” He was leaning down, looking at the ground on the other side of the porch, behind the shrubs.
