Page 5 of Broken Heart

My voice was small, barely a touch over a whisper.

Just then, a gust of wind blew past the shop, sending a rush of air through the hole where my door used to be. The man threw his thumb over his shoulder, indicating the outdoors, and explained, “I had some things in the back of my work truck. The rain is supposed to hit within the next hour, but it’s been drizzling on and off, so I covered it with a tarp. I thought a couple of two by fours would easily hold the tarp down, but the wind is brutal, and unfortunately, a piece went flying through your door.”

My eyes widened. “It’s going to rain?”

The man nodded. “Yeah. Which is another reason I need to get this door fixed for you. I hate to say it, but I’m going to have to put up a temporary solution, so we can prevent the weather from winding up inside here. Then I’ll take care of replacing your door completely.”

“Are… are you capable of fixing it properly?” I asked.

“Yes.”

Such confidence came through in that single word.

“Do we need to deal with insurance or something? I don’t really know how to handle this, but I know I can’t fix that.”

He tipped his head to the side, assessed me for a moment, and asked, “What’s your name?”

“Skye.”

The man stepped forward and extended his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Skye. I’m Cooper. This wasn’t exactly on my list of things to do today, but I assure you I’m completely capable of fixing it. There’s no need for insurance. I’ll pay to fix it.”

I placed my hand in his, and suddenly, I had no concerns about his ability to fix my door. Cooper’s hands were rough and calloused, an indication he worked with them every day.

When he released my hand, he went on. “I’ll do my best to get something to cover this hole where the glass used to be for now. I may need a few days to get the permanent solution in here, though.”

“Okay. Um, I should probably clean up this glass before someone walks in here and gets hurt,” I noted.

Cooper shook his head. “Absolutely not. I’ll take care of it. This isn’t your mess, and I don’t need to add having to take you to the hospital to get some stitches to my already full schedule as well.”

Wow.

I couldn’t quite figure this man out. He was kind enough to take care of everything that was technically his responsibility, but he was also clearly annoyed in this situation.

I guess I could understand it. If I’d had my day planned out and something unexpected happened, I probably wouldn’t have liked it very much. The difference was that I would not be as forthcoming about my displeasure as Cooper was.

“Alright. Do you need anything to clean this up, then?” I asked, figuring I’d be nice and offer.

He shook his head. “Nope. I’m going to run out to my truck to grab a few things, and I’ll be right back in. Just pretend I’m not here, and I’ll be out of your hair as soon as possible.”

I thought it was laughable Cooper believed I could pretend he just didn’t exist for the next however long it took him to get the mess cleaned up and my store secured. But that was another thing I didn’t tell him.

Instead, I offered a nod in return and quickly turned around to get back to what I’d been doing before that piece of wood came crashing into my bookstore. But if I was honest, my belly was a bunch of trembling nerves the entire way there.

2

COOPER

“That’s about as good as it’s going to get.”

I muttered to myself as I took one final look at the work I’d done. Though I was the kind of guy who liked being productive and accomplishing tasks, I still prided myself on doing quality work. Cutting corners and doing a crappy job would only mean I’d have to fix the same problem down the road.

Unfortunately, while I had every confidence that what I’d done in this scenario was sufficient and would serve its purpose, it still sucked.

Not only was it a temporary solution, but it also meant that the entrance to this bookshop was no longer aesthetically pleasing. That’s probably what pissed me off the most. My decision to use a couple of two by fours to hold down that tarp in the back of my truck led to someone else’s property being damaged.

Sure, the time involved in needing to deal with fixing it was annoying, especially when I already had a mountain of other work that needed to be done, but it was knowing that this incident had the potential to impact someone’s business that bothered me more.

Frustrated by this whole inconvenience and recognizing there wasn’t anything else I could do at this point, I decided it was time to pack up and get out of here.