Page 23 of An Unexpected Turn
Maybe this was what I’d been seeking. That day had been a reprieve from how tough life had suddenly become, and I’d taken this job looking for the same thing. For solace, for distance, for Uncle Keith.
I leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “You were always the best.”
“I can’t argue with that. And if you want to date one of the cops at the station, I won’t get in your way. At least I can scare them if I have to.”
I laughed at his evil grin.
“Come on. Let’s jog back. I’ll take it slow so you can at least still see me in the distance.” He tapped my ankle and popped off the ground.
“Well, thanks for the sympathy. And I’m not looking to date anyone at the moment, so no worries.”
As I followed him out of the park, Jake’s face flashed in my mind. I could never go there, but all the times I’d considered it twisted in my gut a little more today.
Uncle Keith wouldn’t give his blessing to date his best friend. And after all he’d done for me my entire life, I couldn’t hurt him like that.
Lack of control had already cost me dearly—and this time, the price would be even higher.
ELEVEN
PEYTON
This is fine. Really. All totally fine.
I lied to myself over and over again, but I couldn’t make myself believe it. An overnight storm had caused a flood in my ground-level condo, destroying the floors and possibly some of the kitchen cabinets the day before I was set to move in. While I was no expert, I was fairly certain I saw the beginnings of mold along the living room wall.
When I called my insurance company after I headed here to check out the damage, I had anticipated the hassle of putting in a claim. In another shitty turn of events, they would only cover a small portion of the damage because “ground-up” floods needed to be covered by additional policies—policies I didn’t have.
Before I even moved in, my brand-new condo needed an overhaul I couldn’t afford.
I’d loved this condo from the first time I’d driven up here to check it out. The fact that it would be the first place I owned, not simply rented, thrilled me so much that it almost felt as if the past few months were meant to be. I was supposed to be here in this new town and school, regardless of how it happened.
As water seeped into my sneaker while I trudged around my new home, my move didn’t seem so right. Karma had followed me when I’d made the silly attempt to escape it.
The only silver lining was that I hadn’t unpacked anything yet. After my awful call with the insurance company, I was thankful to get a delay in the furniture delivery and made a quick extra payment to storage.
Instead of living it up in my new place, I was headed back to my uncle’s basement, at least for the next few nights. Rather than helping me move in as we’d planned, he was on his way over here to help me clean up what was left of the flood so the place could air out. And I was left trying to figure out where and how to get the money for the repairs I needed.
I had no time to panic or dwell, but my nose burned with frustrated tears as I made out the rumble of Uncle Keith’s truck and the gravel of the driveway crunching under his tires.
“So, the place is a little wet?”
I turned to my uncle with a sad laugh.
“Welcome to my disaster.” I forced a smile despite the crack in my voice.
“Stop,” Uncle Keith said, wrapping his arms around me. “It’s not a disaster. We’ll get this cleaned up and fixed.”
I shook my head, sniffling into my uncle’s chest.
“Insurance only covers a little of it. I looked up what it would cost for new flooring and cabinets, and I can’t afford it. At least not now.”
“That’s why I’m going to help you.”
My head shot up. “You can’t do that.”
“Why can’t I?” The corner of his mouth curving up. “What kind of favorite uncle would I be if I didn’t?”
“I wanted to do this move on my own. I thought I had it all handled, but—”
