Fix Me Not Page 20
As far as I remember, they all still like strawberry milk. I set up an assembly line of cups, powder, and the milk on my island, before kicking the door to the fridge closed.
The floor shaking groan that answers, is not normal.
“Aidan, turn down the volume!” I shout.
Ethan, white-faced, tip toes toward the opening of the kitchen. “He hasn’t started the movie.”
The floor beneath my feet shifts again, my entire house moving with it.
My eyes lock on his wide, scared eyes.
Aidan and Connie rush up behind him, each grabbing onto one of his arms.
“Auntie Abby, is this an earthquake?” Connie asks.
Before I can answer, movement out of my left eye catches my attention. Turning my head, I watch in horror as the back right corner of my dining room starts sinking.
“Oh my God!”
Both Connie and Aidan scream.
“Move!” I order, skirting around my island and ushering the three of them into my garage.
They aren’t even buckled as I hit the garage door opener and start to back out. Once I reach my street, I park in front of my neighbor’s house.
“Ethan, call your father.”
He nods and pulls out his phone.
I twist in my seat to face Aidan. “Do you have your phone?”
“Uh huh,” he says, pulling it from his back pocket.
“Can you text Uncle Noah and Uncle Gideon, and tell them all to get over here?”
He looks down, his thumbs already moving.
“Dad, you need to come to Aunt Abby’s house right now,” Ethan says into his phone.
Turning back to look at my house, I open my door.
“You’re not going back in there!” Aidan shouts from the back seat as Connie quietly cries.
Cringing, I close my door and look toward my house. As much as I want to go make sure Emo is okay and grab her, I can’t leave these kids right now.
“Dad wants to talk to you,” Ethan says, passing me his phone.
“I’m on my way,” he says the moment after I say, “Eli.”
“Thank you,” I reply, switching the heat up when I notice Ethan rub his arm.
“I couldn’t understand what Ethan was saying. Did something happen to your house?”
I gulp. “The floors moved. I thought it was my surround sound at first but then the walls started shaking and the back corner of my dining room was sinking.”
“Where are you now?”
My eyes move up and down my street. “We’re all in my SUV, I’m parked in front of my neighbors’. Whatever happened seems to only be affecting my house.”
“What makes you say that?”
“There are lights on in the other houses but we’re the only ones sitting outside in my car,” I reply.
“That makes sense. Okay, hang tight. I’ll be there soon.”
“I had Aidan text Noah and Gideon,” I say. “Hopefully they’re on the way too.”
“They are,” Aidan replies from the back seat.
I look over my shoulder to smile at him.
Connie presses her hands to her stomach. “I’m hungry.”
“Hey Eli, I need to go.”
“Okay, see you in a few. Promise me you and the kids will stay in your car.”
I glance back at my house. “I promise.”
Passing Ethan back his phone, I shift in my seat to lean an elbow on the console, my back to my steering wheel.
“As soon as your dad gets here, I’ll see if I can grab the pizza,” I say.
Her lower lip sticks up. “But, I’m starving.”
“Want a mint?” I ask, praying the tin I have isn’t empty.
She starts to cry. “I want pizza.”
Well great.
“Let’s try thinking about something else. Is there anything any of you guys were curious about? We can play twenty questions until your dad and uncles get here.”
“Why don’t you have a boyfriend?” Ethan asks.
I cough. “Huh?”
“Yeah,” Aidan pipes up from the back seat. “Why don’t you?”
“Um, well…”
Connie wipes away her tears and blinks at me. My eyes move over each of them as they patiently wait for an answer I don’t know.
“It’s complicated,” I reply.
“You’re not ugly,” Aidan says, matter-of-factly.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I close my eyes. Not ugly, awesome.
“Well, thanks for that buddy,” I say, opening my eyes.
“So, why don’t you have a boyfriend?” Connie gets in on the fun.
“I haven’t met the right guy,” I answer honestly.
Ethan fiddles with his phone. “My football coach is single.”
Fantastic, I’m getting set up by a twelve-year-old kid. I decide against asking if my mother put him up to it.
“That’s sweet,” I start to say but then abruptly stop when I realize who he’s talking about. “Hey, isn’t he in his fifties?”
Ethan blinks at me. “Well how old are you?”
“Coach Ferrao is funny,” Aidan offers from the backseat.
Would it truly be such a terrible thing if my house swallowed me up whole?
Forcing sweetness into my voice, I say, “I’d like to eventually date someone who is closer to my age and I hate to break it to you guys, I’m not anywhere near fifty yet.”
“I’ll marry you Auntie Abby,” Aidan replies.
He’s getting whatever he wants for Christmas.
“Aww, thanks for the offer honey but I think there’re laws against that.”
“Laws?” Connie asks.
As ridiculous as the conversation is, I’m grateful it’s distracted her from wanting pizza.
“Yes, sweets, we’re related because your daddy is my big brother.”
“Does that mean I can’t marry Uncle Gideon?”
A laugh escapes me at her horrified expression.
“Yes, Connie, you can’t marry uncle Gideon and you wouldn’t want to even if you could because he burps and farts so much.”
Her expression morphs as she begins to giggle. She covers her mouth and points at Ethan.
“Ethan has really loud farts.”
“Shut up Connie,” he snaps.
Resting my hand on his shoulder, I shake my head. “Please don’t shout at your sister.”
Frowning, he glares at her but reluctantly, nods his head.
Aidan points out the window. “I think that’s Dad’s truck.”
He’s right.
One gigantic pro of living in the same small town as the rest of my family does means it doesn’t take long to get to each other in a crisis. “Okay guys, hang tight in here. I’m going to talk with your dad for a minute.”
“I’m hungry,” Connie whines.
Ugh. I had hoped she’d forgotten.
“Let me check with your dad and see if I can grab the pizza.”
It strikes me then that I’ve been so concerned with the kids I haven’t even thought about what I’m going to do with my house.
“Okay Auntie Abby.”
One step out of my SUV and I instantly start freezing my ass off. It’s December in New Hampshire and I’m not wearing shoes or a coat. I didn’t have time to grab either before we all raced out of the house.
Eli shrugs off his coat and passes it to me the second he’s near me. “Do you have any shoes you can put on?”
“I might have a pair of sneakers in the back.”
Leaving me, he goes to look. Luckily, I was right. I belong to a gym but am hit or miss about going there. I started keeping a set of workout clothes ready just in case.
While I pull them on, he checks on his kids, opening Connie’s door to give her a kiss.
“I’m so sorry about this,” I say once he’s sure they’re fine.
“Shut up, you didn’t cause this. Brooke will be here in a couple of minutes to get the kids.”
With his warmth from
his coat seeping into me, I look up at my brother. He’s a giant grouch and pisses me off on a regular basis.
But, like every single time I’ve ever needed him, he’s here. Eli has never once let me down.
“But I interrupted your evening.”
His shoulders sag. “Don’t worry about it. I was already screwing it up all on my own.”
“What did you do now?” I demand.
He grins at me. “Just being my lovable self, I suppose.”
We both turn when we see Gideon’s truck pull up behind Eli’s.
“What the fuck happened?” He asks, the second he’s within earshot.
Eli glares at him. “The kids are in the car, asshole.”
I assume he’s pissed because Gid cussed and decide against pointing out asshole is also a cuss word.
“Shit, sorry,” Gideon says and I suppress a giggle.
Eli clenches his fists and I wonder if he’s thinking about punching Gideon. A full minute goes by before he says anything.
“Wait here, we’ll go check inside.”
Slipping off his coat, I pass it back to him since I can wait in my car. “If it’s safe and you can grab Emo, will you please bring her to me?”
“Sure thing, you know pus—”
Eli smacks Gideon on the back of the head before he can finish his sentence.
“Hey!” Gideon exclaims, rubbing the back of his head.
Eli ignores him, putting his coat back on while walking around the left side of my house. Gideon trails after him and I get back in my SUV.
“Where are they going?” Aidan asks once I’m inside.
Ethan gestures out the window. “You’ve got eyes. They’re going to look in Aunt Abby’s house.”
“Yes, I have eyes,” Aidan pouts.
Connie pipes up next. “I don’t want daddy going in your house. It’s scary in there.” Great, now they think my house is scary.
“They’re going to see what made all that noise and shaking.”
Connie presses her hands to her belly. “Will they get the pizza?”
Crap, I should have asked them to grab it too. “Ahh—”
I’m saved from answering when I see Noah’s truck turn onto my street, Brooke’s Highlander behind it. “Hang tight kids.”
Noah reaches me first, giving me a hug. “Fin’s grabbing you a blanket.”
“Finley came?”
He looks down at me. “Like I could stop her from coming.”
Brooke parks and beelines it for my SUV. “Are they okay?”
Finley joins us and hands me a fleece blanket. I nod while Noah settles it around me.
“They’re hungry, and their coats and shoes are still inside. We dashed out so fast I didn’t have a chance to grab anything.”
“I have stuff they can snack on in the car until we get home.”
With Noah and Finley’s help, we piggyback all three to her SUV. Ethan wasn’t thrilled, but he was less thrilled about the idea of walking in snow in just his socks.
“I hope your house is okay Auntie Abby,” Connie says, unwrapping a granola bar.
“Me too honey,” I give her a smile and hug before making sure she’s buckled up.
Once she leaves with the kids, Noah, Finley and I, head to my backyard.
Eli and Gideon are walking out of my garage when we get there, Emo in Gideon’s arms.
I reach out my arms for her. “Hey baby. Are you okay?”
Gideon passes her to me. “Let me know if she answers you.”
I barely suppress my eye roll.
“Did you figure out what happened to the house?” Noah asks Eli.
Eli looks right at me. “It’s a sinkhole.”
My head jerks, my fingers freezing mid-rub on Emo. “A what?”
“A sinkhole,” Gideon replies.
“I heard him, I just didn’t believe him.”
A couple of seconds go by as I wait for one of them to start laughing and tell me it’s a joke.
Eli’s eyes soften. “Abs.”
Apparently, this is no joke.
“It can’t be a sinkhole. This is New Hampshire, we’re the friggin’ granite state.”
“There was one a couple of years ago that shut down 93 near Concord.”
My eyes move to Noah. “That isn’t helpful.”
He lifts his hands and grins. “Sinkholes are rare here, that’s for sure, but I just wanted you to know they can happen.”
Pressing my face into Emo’s fur, I hold her closer until she meows in protest.
Lifting my head, my eyes travel over my brothers and Finley. “What am I going to do?”
Finley wraps her arm around me. “You and Emo are coming home with us tonight.” Her eyes move to Eli. “Is it safe enough for her to get anything from inside?”
Eli and Gideon exchange a glance.
“Well?”
It’s Gideon who answers which isn’t a surprise because, out of all of us, being a landscape architect, he has the most knowledge on the subject. “Problem is we don’t know if the sinkhole will get any bigger. It needs to be tested and that isn’t going to happen tonight.”
My eyes widen. “I don’t think my homeowners’ insurance will cover this.”
They all frown, my gaze shoots to Noah since he does contracting work. “Can a sinkhole be fixed?”
“Sometimes, but only a geologist will know for sure and they aren’t cheap.”
With Emo still cuddled in my arms, I turn to look at the cute little Cape Cod I’ve called home for the last three years. The moment I saw the listing I knew it was the home for me.
My brothers are trying to sugar coat this to avoid hurting my feelings. They’ve done that my whole life and I’m sure if my other brother Asher was here, he’d be telling me white lies as well.
Three years of lovingly updating this place all down the hole, literally.
“There are things in there I need.”
Eli moves in front of me. “Tell me what you need and where it is and I’ll go get it.”
Gideon pushes past him. “No, I’ll go. If the sinkhole gets me it’s not like I have kids.”
Noah coughs. “That we know of.”
Normally, I’d laugh. Right now, I’m kind of too busy dealing with the fact that I’m pretty much homeless.
Also by Carey Heywood
The Fix Series
Fix Her Up (Finley & Noah)
Fix Me Not (Paige & Asher)
Fix My Fall (Abby & Spencer)
My Perfect Fix (Lucy & Gideon)
A Fix Fling Novella (Heather & Malcolm)
* * *
Him & Her Series
Him (book 1)
Her (book 2)
Them (book 3)
Sawyer Says (spin off)
Being Neighborly (spin off novella)
* * *
Carolina Days
The Other Side of Someday (Courtney & Clay)
Yesterday’s Half Truths (Lindsay & Luke)
Chasing Daylight (McKenzie & Mitch)
* * *
Love Riddles
Why Now? (Kacey & Jake)
Why Lie? (Sydney & Heath)
Why Not? (Reilly & Trip)
* * *
Standalones
Better
Stages of Grace
Uninvolved
A Bridge of Her Own
* * *
Audiobooks
Him
Her
Better
Acknowledgments
My dad was born and raised in New England. Growing up, in Virginia, my family would pile into our station wagon, for road trips to visit his side of the family. New England, and New Hampshire in particular, was a second home to me.
I was recently in New Hampshire for the sad occasion of saying goodbye to a loved one. I’m eternally grateful to my extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins for a lifetime of happy memories. This series is set in New England because I love them, and that place so much.
To
my editor Jennifer Van Wyk, my cover designer Hang Le, and my proof reader Vanessa Brown, I will be forever thankful for the opportunity to work with you all. Each of you help me take what I have and craft it into so much more.
To my earliest readers, Aimee, Ashley, Kimberly, and Christine. You read me at my roughest and still asked for more. Your support and feedback means so much to me. To the members of my Keep Calm and Carey On Facebook group, thank you not only for all of your support, but your recipe ideas as well.
To the members of FTN. We rise by lifting others. I am honored to (hopefully) lift and be lifted by you. To Heidi, Melody, and Katy, thank you for all of the ways you empower me. To Ena, with Enticing Journey Book Promotions, thank you for helping new readers discover my words.
Lastly, to my family, thank you for my happily ever after.
About the Author
New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author. She was born and raised in Alexandria, Virginia. Supporting her all the way are her husband, three sometimes-adorable children, a mischievous black cat, and their nine-pound attack Yorkie.
She loves to hear from her readers!
* * *
www.CareyHeywood.com
info@CareyHeywood.com