He answered on the fourth ring. “What now?” he clipped.
I stiffened but kept breathing, struggling to keep my tone calm. “Bernie’s here looking at the water heater.”
“You’re welcome, by the way. That’s going to cost me two hundred bucks.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. “He said the water heater needs to be replaced. That it should’ve been done years ago.”
Silence reigned on the other end of the line, then came a slew of curses. “He’s just trying to upcharge me. I’m not paying for a new unit. That’s ridiculous. You probably just messed something up.”
My back teeth ground together. “Rick, I have never touched that water heater. I have no reason to. It’s your job to keep this building in working order, not mine. So?—”
“Put Bernie on the phone,” Rick snapped.
I gripped the device tighter but stepped back into the tiny storage room. “He’d like to talk to you,” I told Bernie with a sympathetic look as I extended the phone to him.
Bernie groaned but took it. “Stop being such a dipshit and let me fix the nice lady’s water heater.”
My brows flew up. Apparently, Bernie was used to Rick’s runaround. I could only hear one side of the conversation, but it was clear Bernie was giving as good as he got. At least I hadn’t thrown him to the wolves unprepared.
“Yeah, yeah,” Bernie said and then handed the phone back to me.
I took it, pressed the device to my ear, and stepped outside again. “Rick?”
He grunted across the line. “I’ll get the water heater, but it’s going to take me a few days. I don’t have that kind of cash just lying around.”
The hell he didn’t. I’d driven by the massive house Rick lived in, had seen the car he drove. Everything about his existence was over the top. You didn’t run two dozen rental properties without having an emergency fund for them.
“Please, Rick.” Shame washed over me at having to beg. But it was the last day of camp for the week. Luca would need to shower this weekend, and I wouldn’t put him under freezing water.
“That’s the best I can do.” Rick hung up without another word.
I gripped my cell so tightly it was a miracle the screen didn’t crack. Slowly, I pulled it away from my face and stared down at it. What the hell was I going to do?
The pressure behind my eyes pulsed in angry beats. A burn lit with each flare, tears demanding to break free. But I couldn’t let them. Because if I broke now, I might never get back up again.
The back door swung open, sending light and noise cascading into the hallway.
“Mom!” Luca yelled. “You won’t believe it! We had our first scrimmage, and I scored! It was the awesomest!”
I forced a smile to my face but felt my cheeks twitch with the effort. “That’s amazing, baby. I can’t wait to hear every detail.”
Cope moved in behind him, a grin tugging at his lips. “I definitely think we’ve earned some cupcakes. What’s the special today?”
Cope had driven Luca to and from camp every single day since he offered, but the only payment he’d agreed to take was cupcakes. And he had a thing for my more creative ones.
“How do you feel about orange Creamsicle?” There was a slight tremor to my voice I hoped like hell Cope couldn’t hear.
His gaze narrowed, scanning my face. As he did, I saw a flutter in his jaw muscle. “Speedy, why don’t you go tell Walter about your goal? I’ll come meet you for cupcakes and milk in just a second.”
I opened my mouth to argue. Luca was my buffer, my safety blanket. I knew Cope wouldn’t push to know what had happened with Luca present. But my kid was off like a rocket at the promise of telling someone else about his day’s triumphs.
Cope moved closer to me, making the hallway feel as small as the storage closet. “What happened, Warrior?”
The nickname was a knife to the heart, slicing through with vicious pain. The pressure behind my eyes threatened to break me wide open. “I’m not a warrior. Not even close. I’m barely holding it together.”
Cope moved in even closer, his hand slipping under my hair and kneading my neck. “Talk to me.”
He was the last person I should’ve been sharing any of this with. The last person I needed to lay my burdens on. But I found everything tumbling out of my mouth: the string of bad apartments, the run-in with Trace, him telling me a building wasn’t safe, Rick’s assholery…
