Fixing Christmas by Peggy Jaeger

Author:Peggy Jaeger
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Peggy Jaeger
Published: 2021-11-09T00:00:00+00:00

“OKAY, I TURNED THE hot water heater back on. Give it a few minutes to get up to temp. Then you can finish your shower,” Bree told her when he came to join her in the kitchen.

“Ugh. It can’t come back to temperature soon enough. My hair is getting fixed and hard because the conditioner is drying into it. Here, sit.” She pointed to a kitchen chair and handed him a plate with the sandwich she’d put together.

He waited until she was ready to sit before he did so.

After their little interlude in the sitting room, Bree got to work—with a smile on his face—while Abra tossed on a pair of yoga pants, socks, and pulled a sweatshirt over her towel-wrapped hair. Luckily, Bree had a replacement for the broken handle in his truck. He installed it, telling her he’d order the same one that had broken from the hardware store, but at least this one would work in the interim. After that, he set out to find out why the water had gone cold.

“The water heater is old. At least thirty-five years by my estimate. The pilot light is weak and there’s a lot of sediment coating the filaments and the heating coil. I cleaned them off as best as I could, but the unit’s gonna need to be replaced. Soon.”

“Do you think it’ll go on the fritz again while I’m here?”

“Probably not, but if it does, call me. Since I know what’s wrong, it’ll be a fast fix.”

“I’ve got half a mind to call Jimmy Marley and ask for my rental deposit back. In full. This place has been nothing but a pain in the neck since I arrived.”

“I can’t say I blame you.” Bree bit into his sandwich. “It’s not his fault, though,” he added after swallowing. “The Copperfields should have had the place inspected before deciding to rent it out while they’re in Florida. Most of the problems could have been seen to before you ever arrived.”

Goodness, had that only been two weeks ago?

So much had happened in such a short amount of time. And not all of it had been bad. Her gaze slid to his face.

Case in point.

“Are you going back to writing after lunch?” Bree asked.

She shook her head. “I’m taking the afternoon off since I wrote from the time I left your house until five this morning without a break.”

She almost laughed at the expression on his face. With his eyes bugged wide like a frog, the sandwich stopped, mid-rise to his mouth; said mouth dropped open.

“You’re kidding,” he said.

“Not even a little.”

“Without stopping once?”

“Just to make coffee and go to the bathroom.”

“That’s—” he looked over her shoulder then back at her—“over forty hours.”

Abra took a sip of her water. “When an idea comes to me, I have to get it all down, all worked out and perfect before I can stop.”

“It’s a wonder you don’t go around in a perpetual state of exhaustion.”

“I don’t do it all the time. Just when inspiration strikes.

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