Page 35 of Within Striking Distance
“Yo, Logan. What’s up? I thought you were on placement.”
“Yeah, I am. I’m at Tinsley’s school?—”
He curses. “Is she okay? I’m on my way. What happened?”
“Whoa, hey. She’s fine. Youdon’t need to come here. It was one of her classmates. But she’s a little shaken. She wants to talk to you.”
I hand her the phone.
“Rett?” she says in a small voice. He must be speaking because she’s quiet for a minute, and my heart aches for her when she says in a small voice, “I want Mama.”
She pauses again, nodding her head, and then says, “Okay,” and passes the phone back to me.
“She’s okay, man,” I reassure Everett, giving Tinsley another pat on the head before following Jack back out to the ambulance where Melissa’s waiting for us. “Just a little rattled.”
“Thanks for calling,” he says. “I’m picking her up anyway. She was supposed to come back to ours, but I think I’ll drop her home. I might stay there for dinner if Juliet doesn’t mind, just to make sure she’s okay.”
“No worries,” I tell him. “Catch you later.”
“All good?” Jack asks from the driver’s seat as I climb into the passenger side.
“Yeah. Just reassuring my housemate’s kid sister.”
“Are we good to go?” he calls to Melissa in the back. She confirms, and he starts the engine, driving carefully back to the hospital with our little patient on board.
Chapter 11
Juliet
Poor Tinsley was terrified of going back to school after what happened last week, but I’m beyond grateful to Everett’s housemate for calling so Tinsley could talk to her brother. That’s twice he’s been there for her.
I convinced her to go to school today, bribing her with the idea of her friends having cake and singing her happy birthday—I need her out of the house; her new bedroom furniture is arriving this morning. She’ll be so surprised by her new fairy princess bedroom.
As soon as I get home, I rush to throw together dinner, placing all the ingredients for a ratatouille in the slow cooker before moving her old furniture to the garage until I can sell them. Then I dust and vacuum before hanging the new curtains. They’re pink, threaded with tiny silver stars that catch the light when I pull them into place.
I’m rolling out her new rainbow rug when a knock sounds at the door. Tying my hair back, I let the delivery guys in. There are four flatpacks and her new mattress,so I tell them to dump them in the hallway just outside her bedroom.
After they leave, I stare at them wondering where to start.
The chest of drawers and bed feel way too complicated and overwhelming, so I start easy with the two bookshelves.
I’m proud of myself when an hour later, they’re both erect and sturdy. Smiling to myself, I move them out of the way, and with my renewed confidence, I tackle the chest of drawers.
Unfortunately, confidence doesn’t equal ability.
I spread everything out on the carpet: wooden panels, dowels, screws in nearly identical sizes, and one tiny allen key. There’re so many pieces. I stare at the instructions, blowing a stray hair out of my face.
Come on, Juliet. You can do this. You’re a strong, independent woman.
Sitting cross-legged, I squint at the diagram. Step one goes fine. Step two is… ambiguous. By step four, I realise I might have stuffed something up, but I’m too stubborn for my own good.
Almost an hour and a half later, the chest of drawers is standing, but I’m flustered because while the top drawer slides beautifully, the second sticks halfway, and the third doesn’t seem to fit at all. With a groan, I try to shove the middle drawer in further, but it’s definitely jammed against something.
I rub my hands over my face. This is a disaster.
Tinsley finishes school in three hours. There’s no way I have time to pull this apart, fix it,andput her bed together. Tears sting my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall.
Mystomach rumbles as I search for my phone, but I don’t have time to stop and eat now. Ally and Quinn are both working, and would be just as hopeless as me, so I try Rory first, but he’s finishing a job in the next town over and won’t be able to get here for at least three hours. Kris doesn’t answer his phone.
