Killian: A West Bend Saints Romance Read online

  "A pipe burst?" I squeak. "Well, it's a pipe in a small apartment. It can't be that bad, right?"

  Killian frowns. "It's not great. The owner wasn't home. So it's been going all night."

  No, no, no, no, no.

  I tell myself to keep calm.

  "Can Chloe stay outside with you for a second so I can take a look?"

  "They're in there surveying right now, Lily. It's pretty wet. You should stay out here."

  Fuck no. This is my bakery, my equipment. Oh, God. All of the equipment that I bought with my business loan. And my inventory and –

  "My insurance paperwork is in the office."

  "These guys aren't the insurance guys, Lily. I didn't want to go poking around in your things for your insurance policy. They're an emergency crew I called out – it's better to take care of water damage immediately."

  "Not the insurance guys," I repeat stupidly. My thoughts are cloudy. I can't quite think straight, not with my head swimming, thoughts flying in a thousand different directions about things I need to do. I need to call the landlord. And I'll have to remake the cakes. A little water couldn’t damage all of the equipment, could it? It's heavy-duty stuff.

  This won't be terrible, I tell myself.

  "I can't pay for this, Killian," I say numbly. "The emergency guys, I can't pay for them."

  "Your insurance will probably take care of it," Killian says, his voice calm. "Or the tenant's insurance or whatever. I paid for it. We can figure out the details later."

  "What's wrong?" Chloe asks. "Can we go inside now?"

  "Nothing's wrong, baby. There was an accident with some water in the store and we're just trying to figure out how to get the water out."

  "Someone spilled something?" she asks. "You can just wipe it up."

  "Good suggestion," Killian notes, and Chloe beams.

  "You can't just pay for it," I whisper to Killian, my jaw clenched.

  "I'm helping."

  41

  Killian

  Lily keeps it together while she listens to the assessment of the damage, which is considerable. She nods mutely and bites her bottom lip, but not in the sexy way she does when she's with me. Now she does it while pressing her hands together, her fingernails digging into her palm. I stand there like a jackass, listening to the guy basically tell her that her business – her dream – is totally fucked and there's nothing she can do about it.

  I mean, sure there's insurance. But that involves reams of paperwork and bureaucrats who will try to avoid paying, or else pay the least amount possible – and probably a clusterfuck between the tenant's insurance and her landlord's insurance and her insurance company. While they drag their feet, Lily's store will be closed for months and everything she's worked for will be destroyed.

  So I stand here on the sidewalk, distracting Chloe by playing "I Spy" with stuff that we see around us.

  And feeling more helpless than I've ever felt in my life.

  Lily keeps it together when she's finished talking to them, and after, she makes a phone call, then walks back over to us, giving her daughter a sad smile. "Hey, Chloe, I called the babysitter. Bethany is going to come pick you up and bring you back to our house to play for a little while."

  "Why? You said I could come to the bakery today!"

  Lily pales. "Remember how just said there was some water inside the bakery? The guys just have to clean itup and it's not safe for kids to go inside right now."

  "All riiiight," Chloe sighs.

  She keeps it together until Chloe leaves, painting a bright smile on her face and playing "I Spy" with us like nothing out of the ordinary has happened.

  But as soon as Chloe is gone, she lets out a deep breath, one I can tell she's been holding this whole time. She sits down on the sidewalk, leaning with her back up against the side of the brick building façade, and puts her face in her hands. I sit down beside her on the ground. "Please let me help."

  She doesn't respond for a minute, but I can see a tear running down the side of her cheek and it just guts me. When she finally does turn toward me, it's with a defeated expression on her face. "It's bad, Killian. And the insurance – it'll be forever before they pay out or the place is suitable again. I'm sure I can get out of my lease, but not having the revenue coming in…" She inhales deeply as she stands up and wipes her palms on her jeans.

  “Maybe you don’t have to close the store for months.” I pull myself up off the sidewalk and face her. I can see the fear in her eyes and it makes me feel sick.

  I could just tell her – I can pay for everything. I could get everything fixed. It’s not even a big deal. It would be like a gift. A really, really big gift. What the hell else do I have to do with the money?

  “There’s no way I can avoid it, Killian. I don’t know if I can – everything I have is in the store. I –" She sighs heavily. “I’ll figure it out. I’m going to have my parents pick up Chloe a little early, since she was suspended anyway.”

  I grimace at the reminder that I fucked up with that. I’m sorry Chloe got suspended, and I think I’m supposed to feel sorry that she punched that kid. Except I don’t feel sorry for that part at all.

  “I can help –" I start, but she puts her hand up, shaking her head.

  "It's nice of you to offer, really, it is. But this is my problem, not yours, Killian."

  "This is our problem," I correct her.

  “This isn’t our problem, Killian,” she says, an unmistakable edge in her voice. “This is my problem.”

  Irritation rushes through me. Her problem? “I want to help. Do you think I’ve really been hanging around you and Chloe this whole time so I can ditch you two just because some shit happens?”

  “It’s not your responsibility,” she insists, her words clipped. "This is my restaurant. It's none of your business." Her brow is furrowed and she looks at me with fire in her eyes, and what I really want to do is pull her against me and kiss the hell out of her. I want to make this okay.

  It's not my business? Why is she being so damn stubborn?

  “You can’t just not take my help with the store because you’re still mad at me for Chloe getting suspended."

  Lily’s nostrils flare. “You think I don’t want your help because I’m mad about Chloe?”

  “I know you’re pissed off she got suspended but honestly, that Alex kid deserved it.”

  Her hands go to her hips. “Are you kidding?” she says, her voice loud. A woman passes on the sidewalk, staring as she circumvents us by walking into the street. Lily glares at her as she passes. “What are you looking at??”

  “No, I’m not kidding," I say, bringing Lily's attention back to me. "And, you know what, I’m actually not really all that sorry I taught her to defend herself against some asshole kids with asshole parents who taught them to be little shits to other kids. Would you stop being so damn stubborn all the time, woman? It’s a damn cleaning crew. It’s not like I got you a ring! Just take the help already.”

  “You think I need rescuing. You think Chloe and I need rescuing!” she yells.

  “I don’t think you need rescuing, damn it!”

  “First, you come into my store and rescue me from the guys bothering me –“

  “Anyone would have done that. Like I’m going to stand there and watch some guys harass you?”

  But she keeps plowing ahead. “Then, you change the rules in the bakery because you think you have a better idea than I do about how to run my business. And now you’re sending in a repair crew, telling me to let you take care of things because I can’t handle them on my own, like I’m some kind of helpless little woman who needs to be pat on the head and told not to worry about anything because her big strong man will take care of it!”

  Now I’m getting really upset. “That’s not what I’m doing at all! You’re making me out to be some controlling pig who bosses you around and –"

  “I said, this is my problem. I have to deal with it. Just like with Chloe.”

  “What was