“Why don’t you just sell the damn thing?”
I balled my hands into fists. “Ugh. Now you sound just like your brother.”
“Well, there’s a first. You mean my big brother and I actually agree on something?”
I shook my head in frustration. “I have to go. Is there anything else you needed to discuss?”
“No, I’ll call Alex in the next few days.”
Sure you will. “Whatever.” I didn’t bother to say goodbye before swiping my phone off. Honestly, he was lucky I didn’t hang up on him the minute he told me about the bounced check.
I drove home with a giant knot in my neck, grumbling a string of curses about the Miller men. If there were ever a day I was entitled to an afternoon glass of wine, it was today. And since Alex wasn’t being dropped off until later, that’s exactly what I was going to do—sit on the couch, prop my feet up on the coffee table, and let the wine take the edge off. Yep, that was my plan.
At least it was until I walked in the door and promptly slipped and landed on my ass…from the flood.
***
“What the fuck?”
“Don’t just stand there!” I yelled. “Find me another bucket!”
Levi disappeared back out the front door. He jogged in ten seconds later holding a garbage can and shook his head. “Really? You couldn’t find anything else?”
I’d been using Alex’s football helmet to catch the water pouring from the ceiling. This was the third leak that had sprung in the half hour since I’d gotten home. I was starting to worry that the entire ceiling was going to crash down on my head. Since the helmet was almost full, I pulled it away, and Levi slipped the can into its place.
He looked around at the disaster I’d been dealing with. “What the hell happened?”
“I have no idea. I walked in the door and fell on my ass. The ceiling was leaking in two places. It finally started to slow down, and I’d just finished mopping the floor when this third leak started pouring water.”
“And the best thing you could find to catch it in was a football helmet?”
“It was the closest thing I could grab!”
Levi thumbed out front. “Got six empty cans right outside.”
This day had really gotten to me. It had chipped and chipped at my sanity, and I finally lost it. I stood and glared at Levi. The look on my face must’ve forewarned him that I’d snapped, because he smartly took a step back.
Though I followed and jabbed a finger into his chest.
“I’m.” Jab.
“Doing.” Jab.
“The.” Jab.
“Best.” Jab.
“I.” Jab.
“Can.” Jab.
Levi held his hands up. “Okay. Okay. Calm down.”
“Calm down! You’re telling me to calm down?!”
The six-foot-three man of muscle actually looked a little scared. “Just…take a few deep breaths. Everything is going to be fine.”
I growled at him. Literally growled.
Levi’s eyes widened.
Feeling like I might explode, I did what I always did—though usually, my self-calming breathing technique was reserved for the other Miller brother. I shut my eyes and took a few deep breaths, inhaling through my nose and exhaling through my mouth. When that didn’t help, I decided a much stronger remedy was in order.
I stomped to the refrigerator and whipped open the door. Inside was an almost-full magnum of white wine. Using my teeth, I uncorked it and spit the top on the floor. Then I swigged straight from the bottle.
Levi didn’t budge as I continued to glare at him while I drank.
When I finally stopped chugging to take a breath, he raised a brow. “Bad day?”
I cocked my head. “You think?”
He motioned toward the ceiling. “I’m going to go take a look at what’s going on upstairs with the pipes and turn off the water in the house. You got everything under control here?”
I waved the wine bottle around like a crazy person. “Doesn’t it look like it?”
I saw a hint of a smile threaten at the corner of Levi’s lips, though he did his best to hide it. He disappeared to God knows where, while I continued to slurp wine from the bottle and watch water drip into buckets and cans.
Ten minutes later, my cell phone rang. The last thing I felt like doing was answering, but since it was a local number, and Alex wasn’t home at the moment, I had no choice.
“Hello?”
“Hi. Miss Sullivan?”
“Yes.”
“This is Jeremy Brickson. I run the football camp you signed your son, Alex, up for last week. We met at registration.”
Great. Just great. I knew what this was going to be about. When it rains, it pours—through the ceiling apparently. “Yes, sure. Hi, Jeremy.”
“I’m really sorry to bother you. It’s just that the check you gave us for Alex’s camp tuition… Well, it bounced.”
I shut my eyes. “Yeah, I just found out about that a little while ago. I’m very sorry. I’d planned on calling you to apologize and find out if I could replace the check or if it would be possible to redeposit the one I gave you a second time, but I got sidetracked.”
“We can deposit it a second time. That’s no problem. But I thought I’d let you know about a program we have for kids who can’t afford football camp, just in case that’s something that might help you out. I know you just moved here and all.”
The anger I’d felt a few minutes ago morphed into something else. Why did he have to be so nice about it? Why couldn’t he be a dick like Tanner and Levi? That I could deal with. But him being kind brought me to a new breaking point. The taste of salt filled my mouth, and a large lump lodged in my throat.
I struggled to swallow it down. “No, that’s okay, Jeremy. Thank you for the offer, but I don’t need any help. I just…I was supposed to move money from one account back to the other, and I didn’t. That’s all.”
“Okay. Well, I’ll hang on to this check for a few days before we redeposit it to give you a chance to do what you have to do. I’m sorry for bothering you.”
I’d bounced a check, and he was apologizing. I definitely wasn’t in New York anymore. “Thank you, and I’ll cover whatever bounced-check fees you incur.”
“No need. It’s fine. You take care, Miss Sullivan. We’re looking forward to seeing Alex in action. Rumor around town is he’s got the Miller arm.”
I smiled sadly. “Yeah, I think he might.”
“Bye now.”
After I hung up, I felt defeated. I didn’t even have the energy to wipe the tears that started to flow. I just let them fall from my cheeks to the wet floor.
“Everything okay?”
Shit. How long had Levi been standing there?
I wiped my face. “Everything is fine.”
“Didn’t sound too fine. Sounded like you’re in some financial trouble.”
“I’m not. It was just a little mix up.”
“Uh-huh.”
You know what? Fuck it! He wants to poke his nose into my business? Let him. But he’s going to hear the truth.
I straightened my spine and pulled my shoulders back. “If you must know, your brother bounced a check that’s caused a ripple effect now. He owes me about four months of the measly child support he pays, and even though he only paid me half, he still bounced it. Again. I didn’t know the check wasn’t good when I wrote a check for Alex’s football camp.”