Two Bar Mitzvahs (No Weddings #3)(58)

“So the bedrooms are okay? Why didn’t the water go into the hall?”

“Oh, you haven’t seen the worst of it. The reason Ava is on the dry island in the hallway is that most of the water poured into the basement, either through the floor or down the steps. Almost the whole ceiling of the basement is trashed. Brace yourself before you go down there.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. The pool table and foosball table are toast—both are lakes. It’s raining down there.”

I took a deep breath in the humid air and gave Mase a hard stare. “Thanks, man. Sorry you had to deal with this on your own.”

“I did my best. Shocked the shit out of me.”

I clapped a hand on his shoulder as I walked by. “You did great. I’m gonna survey the damage down below.”

When I stepped through the doorway and onto the landing, it was dark, and I instinctively reached for the wall switch. I paused. “Hey, Mase? You cut the electrical too?”

“Yep. Right after the water main.”

No amount of warning prepared me for the devastation. Sunlight streamed into the basement from the narrow windows. Ceiling to floor, wall to wall, the room was soaked through. The bar was ruined. Every surface within my line of sight was wet or covered in water. I stopped a few steps shy of the bottom of the stairwell to avoid the rainfall still dripping down.

I blew out a hard breath and went back up the stairs. I’d seen enough. I pulled my phone out from my back pocket.

“What are you gonna do?”

Scrolling through my contacts on the phone, I shook my head. “No clue. My first thought is the contractor who did the remodel. He should know a good water damage company.”

I hit {CALL} on the screen the moment his info pulled up. He answered his cell on the third ring, and I exhaled in relief, glad it didn’t roll over to voicemail. “Joe. This is Cade Michaelson. I have an emergency I hope you can help with.”

I explained the key points to Joe, and he immediately offered to call the emergency response company he knew and send them over. Thank f*ck I had a great contractor. And besides, he’d be getting a ton of dollars flowing his way once the insurance company started cutting checks.

That was my next call. While I was on perma-hold through several people at the insurance company, I watched Mase dry off Ava with a beach towel then get her situated in his room with fresh food and water bowls.

A couple of hours later, our furniture was all either in the garage or on the back patio. A crew had begun removing the water using Shop-Vacs on the upper floor and a pump in the basement. The insurance adjuster had just left after initiating the claim.

Joe swung by to assess if it would be safe for Mase, Ava, and me to stay in the house. “As long as you leave the electrical breakers off for the basement, kitchen, dining room, and living room, you should be safe staying in the bedrooms. I’ll have my plumber swing by this afternoon to replace the frozen valve under the kitchen sink and the burst dishwasher hose. Then he’ll turn your water main back on and double-check everything.”

“Thanks, Joe. We really appreciate your help.”

When he left, Mase and I went back to our rooms. I had no idea what Mase planned to do, but I collapsed on my bed, exhausted from the stress of the entire day. I laid there, staring at the ceiling, thinking about all the tasks I’d wanted to accomplish today that got bumped to tomorrow, along with new time-suck obligations for my house—now a construction zone.

All I wanted to do was find comfort and fall asleep in Hannah’s arms. But Mase and Ava didn’t have anywhere to go, and this was my house. The mess and cleanup was my responsibility to deal with, not Mase’s.

My phone vibrated from the nightstand. I reached over and grabbed it.

Hannah had texted.



Busy day. What’re you doing?



I laughed out loud. In the day’s mayhem, I hadn’t had a chance to breathe, let alone contact her. Nothing was what I was currently doing. It would take an hour to explain what I’d been doing. But I didn’t care. I needed to hear her voice.

I gave her a call. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Her voice was soft, and I swear she smiled on the other end.

Just hearing her voice made me relax, dropping my shoulders an inch lower from my ears. “Well, looks like I’m building you another walk-in closet in the basement.” Mentioning our closet joke helped lighten my mood.

“Another? What’s wrong with the first one?”

“It’s under water.”

She gasped.

Yeah, that about covered it. And still, I went over all the details with her: seeing Mase’s stricken face when I’d walked in, the ruined leather couch, the destroyed everything in my now-rainforest basement—I could almost hear the mold starting to grow.

“Cade, that’s awful. Anything I can do? Bring Chinese food? Pizza?”

“No. Thanks, but Joe, my contractor from the remodel, brought sub sandwiches and drinks to feed us and the emergency crew about an hour ago. It’s almost six, and you have early busy days ahead. Besides, I’m so tired, the second I get off the phone, I’m gonna pass out.” I sighed heavily. “I just want to forget this day.”

She gave a low sympathetic tone. “I wish I could make it go away.”

I closed my eyes. “Me too. I wish I was in your arms right now.”