Page 13 of Trashed to Treasured
They were Geo’s.
That bastard had opened a card in my name and had been using it to support his lifestyle, which apparently included expensive dinners in Miami and a four thousand dollar airline charge. I guess he had leveled up to first class real quick.
I called the bank to report the card as fraudulent, but I knew it wasn’t going to be so easy to remove anything that showed up on my credit report…and I didn’t have time to deal with it before work, so I had to hang up with the banker and put it off until later.
Because I was running late, I slammed my finger in the door on my way out and probably broke it. It hurt like hell, but I didn’t break the skin, so I just powered through and headed to work.
I worked at a machine shop with Harris, which was how I got to know Jesse. As the shop manager, I ended up doing a little bit of everything, which meant it was easy to forget about my troubles for at least eight or nine hours.
But today was not one of those days. I was on the forklift with a full load of square tubing for a gate build when a bee flew in and landed on my hand. I tried to ignore it, but it was walking along my skin, and I just couldn’t stand it.
I jerked away and dropped the whole load, shooting tubes across the entire shop and outside the rolling door.
Not only was it embarrassing, but it took hours to get it all cleaned up, reset on the lift, and loaded where it needed to be for assembly.
I didn’t even realize how late it was until I took my phone off the charger and saw it was almost seven in the evening.
And I’d missed several texts from Aaron, each getting progressively more concerned.
It wasn’t until I started driving home and was able to call him that I realized why he was so concerned.
“Sweetheart, hi. Is everything okay?” Just the sound of Aaron’s voice was soothing on my ragged nerves.
“Yeah, I guess. I had a shitty day and am just heading home from work now.”
“I’m sorry to hear it. I was looking forward to introducing you to some of my friends and the guys from work.”
“What?” The light turned red, so I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to settle myself. “What are you talking about?”
“The fundraiser at the shelter. You were going to meet me here, remember?”
“That was tonight?” When the light changed, I had to pull over because my eyes filled with tears. “I can’t believe I forgot.”
“It’s okay, sweetheart. You’ll have other chances to meet everyone.”
“I’m so sorry, Aaron. I didn’t mean to forget. I should have kept my phone charged so I wouldn’t have missed your calls.”
“Where are you now?”
Wiping my eyes, I took a deep breath. “I’m almost home. I’m fine.”
“It doesn’t sound like you’re fine. I’ll come get you.”
“No.” I checked for traffic then pulled back onto the street. “I’m almost there. I just need a bath, maybe a glass of wine, and to go to sleep.”
“Bath, yes. Wine and sleep…please wait for me.” His tone was firm but kind. Always kind. “I’m just about done here.”
I sighed, wishing he was already with me. “Okay.”
When I got home, I went straight to the tub and started filling it with water. I slipped my spare key under the doormat then got undressed and slid into the hot water. Within seconds, my muscles started to relax, and I could finally take a deep breath.
I’d texted Aaron to let him know I wouldn’t have my phone with me in the bath but there was a key under the mat. Then I closed my eyes and leaned back against my waterproof neck pillow with some soft music playing in the background.
It seemed like just a few minutes had passed before I felt Aaron’s rough but gentle fingertips drag across my cheek. “Feeling better?”
My eyes popped open, and the smile that was always at the ready when I saw Aaron came easily. “Now I am.”
“Do you want some privacy in here?” His eyes stayed on my face as he carded his fingers through my damp hair. “I can wait for you in the living room.”
