Close to You

It’d be dry by
the time she opened, and no one would be the wiser.
    Except in the kitchen the water was at
least a couple inches high, and it only got higher toward the
back.
    Anxiety gripped her chest, but she
forced herself to breathe and stay calm. This wasn’t so
bad.
    Yes, it was, she admitted when she saw
the water damage on the walls. The water had seeped in and the
moment she touched the drywall it crumbled away, leaving a hole in
the hallway.
    “ Shit.” She
ran—carefully—back out front and looked at the walls. The water
damage didn’t go all the way to the front, but in the back it was
definitely noticeable.
    All the ramifications hit her at once.
Daniela Rossi would surely notice the damage and feel that it
wasn’t up to her standards. She was a chef, and chefs were
exacting. Meaning Eve would have to get it fixed.
    It’d cost money—a ton of money. Even
her inexperienced eyes could see how bad it was.
    She didn’t have money.
    She’d have to call her
father.
    Groaning, wanting to cry, she put her
head in her hands.
    Wait. She lifted her head, frowning.
It hadn’t rained. Where had the water come from?
    Slogging through the water, she went
to the back door, where it seemed to be higher. She opened the back
door and flipped on the light.
    The water hose was running, streaming
water into the area where Treat had warned her the water would
pool, under the door, and into her shop.
    “ What the
hell? ” She padded to the outlet and
wrenched it shut. The water slowed to a trickle and then
stopped.
    Eve glared at the hose. How
had it turned on? She hadn’t done it.
    But she was left to take care of the
mess it’d made. She winced, imagining telling her father, and went
out front to face the piper.
     
     
    Disaster.
    She watched her father pace back and
forth as he yelled into his phone. She didn’t know whether to be
really pissed or to put her head onto the counter and
cry.
    A hand touched her shoulder. She
turned to find Allison holding out a cup of coffee. “For
me?”
    “ You need sustenance.” Her
barista glanced at Charles, her usually expressive face guarded.
“He’s talking to the insurance?”
    “ Yes.” She sighed, trying
not to dwell.
    “ They’ll cover the damages,
won’t they? It was vandalism.”
    Eve frowned. “It was a hose left on. I
can’t necessarily prove it was vandalism.”
    “ Crap,” Allison said
succinctly.
    “ I know.” She was losing
today’s revenues and had no idea how much it’d take to fix it all.
Her father said he thought the water had seeped into the flooring,
which meant new floors as well as new drywall.
    Where was the money coming
from?
    And even if insurance covered it,
she’d have to close a couple days to get the work done, and even
then it was iffy whether it’d get done in time for Daniela Rossi’s
visit.
    She was screwed.
    One thing at a
time. Calming herself with a sip of coffee,
she forced herself to focus on the moment. “There’s no reason for
you to stay, Allison. Go home.”
    “ Are you sure?” She glanced
at Charles again. “You may need reinforcements.”
    “ I’ve been dealing with him
a long time,” she said with a wry smile. “Besides, nothing really
buffers his impact.”
    “ Okay,” Allison said
reluctantly. “But I can come back if you need me.”
    “ Thanks.” She gave her a
hug.
    “ Eve,” her father barked,
putting his phone away.
    “ Good luck,” her barista
murmured, giving her a last squeeze.
    She was going to need it. Taking a
deep breath, she went to see what her dad wanted. “Did you talk to
the insurance agent?”
    “ They’re going to send
someone out to survey the damage.” He glared at her. “I’m going to
have a hard time selling this as vandalism.”
    She frowned. “You don’t
think I left the
hose on?”
    He gave her that implacable stare he
gave his employees when they’d screwed up. It didn’t help that she
was barefoot, with her jeans rolled up. She felt like a kid who’d
knocked over her milk.
    “ Excuse me,” a deep voice
interrupted.
    With a small gasp, she turned to see
Treat walking towards them.
    Her first reaction was pleasure and
relief. But then she remembered Charles was there and tensed up.
She didn’t want Treat to hear her father extol all her
failures.
    Probably noting her quizzical
expression, Treat said, “Allison let me in. She told me what
happened.”
    “ Who are you?” Charles
barked, squaring off with hands in his pockets.
    “ Treat