Small Town, Big Hope

Chapter 4

The next morning, Emma’s luck seemed determined to work against her.

She had barely finished her first cup of coffee when she stepped into the kitchen and felt something cold beneath her bare feet.

Water.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”

She followed the trail to the cabinet beneath the kitchen sink and opened the doors. Water was steadily dripping from one of the pipes and had already begun spreading across the kitchen floor.

Emma grabbed every towel she could find and threw them down before reaching for her phone.

She called her landlord first and explained what was happening. He assured her he would get someone out as soon as possible, but Emma wasn’t willing to watch the kitchen flood while she waited.

After shutting off the water beneath the sink, she started searching for local handymen who might be able to come take a look before any real damage was done.

The first two numbers went straight to voicemail.

The third person told her he couldn’t get there until the following afternoon.

Emma stared at the growing pile of soaked towels on the floor.

“Perfect,” she muttered.

She was about to give up when Kinsley’s name flashed across her screen.

Emma answered immediately.

“Please tell me you know somebody who can fix a leaking sink.”

Kinsley laughed. “Good morning to you too.”

“I’m serious. My kitchen is practically trying to become an indoor swimming pool.”

“Oh no.” There was a pause. “Actually, I know somebody. Wade does a little bit of everything around town. Plumbing, repairs, construction stuff. Let me call him.”

Emma glanced down at the water surrounding her feet.

“At this point, if Wade can make water stop coming out of my kitchen, he can be my favorite person in Hickory Ridge.”

Kinsley laughed again.

“Careful. I might get jealous.”

A few minutes later, Kinsley texted Emma a phone number.

Wade Sutton. Tell him I sent you. He’ll take care of you.

Emma stared at the message.

“That sounds slightly threatening,” she muttered to herself before tapping the number.

It rang twice.

“Hello?”

The voice on the other end was deep but friendly.

“Hi, is this Wade?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“My name is Emma. Kinsley gave me your number. I’m apparently trying to turn my kitchen into a swimming pool this morning.”

There was a brief pause before he laughed.

“That doesn’t sound ideal.”

“It’s really not.”

“What’s leaking?”

Emma crouched beside the open cabinet and looked underneath the sink as though she suddenly knew anything about plumbing.

“I have absolutely no idea.”

Another laugh.

“Well, that’s honest.”

“I can tell you there’s water, a lot of towels, and I’m starting to regret every life decision that led me to this kitchen.”

“Did you shut the water off under the sink?”

“Yes.”

“Then you’ve already done the important part.”

Emma felt oddly proud of herself.

“Look at me being handy.”

“I wouldn’t get too confident yet.”

She smiled despite herself.

“Can you come take a look?”

“I’m finishing something about ten minutes from you. Kinsley sent me your address. I can probably be there in fifteen or twenty.”

“That would be amazing. Thank you.”

“No problem. I’ll see you shortly.”

Emma ended the call and looked around the kitchen.

Wet towels covered half the floor. One cabinet door was hanging open. Bandit was sniffing suspiciously at everything as though he planned to supervise the repair himself.

“Fantastic,” Emma told him. “Nothing like meeting a complete stranger while your house looks like this.”

Bandit wagged his tail.

“You’re no help.”

Less than twenty minutes later, there was a knock at the front door.

Emma opened it to find a man standing on the porch with a small toolbox in one hand.

He looked to be somewhere in his mid-thirties, tall with broad shoulders and dark blond hair tucked underneath a worn baseball cap. There was nothing particularly polished about him—faded jeans, work boots, and a gray T-shirt that looked like it had already survived a full morning of repairs.

“You must be Emma.”

“And you must be the person coming to save my kitchen.”

A slight grin pulled at the corner of his mouth.

“Wade Sutton.”

He held out his hand.

Emma shook it. “Emma Parker. Come on in before my sink changes its mind and starts flooding again.”

Wade stepped inside, and Bandit immediately appeared from around the corner.

Wade stopped.

“Well, hello there.”

Bandit approached him cautiously, sniffed his boots, and then promptly sat beside him.

Emma crossed her arms.

“Apparently he approves.”

“Smart dog.”

“That remains to be seen.”

Wade laughed before following her into the kitchen.

He took one look at the pile of towels covering the floor.

“You weren’t exaggerating.”

“I considered grabbing the boys’ inflatable pool, but I figured that might be excessive.”

“That was probably the right call.”

Emma leaned against the counter while Wade crouched beneath the sink and began inspecting the plumbing.

Within seconds, he reached for a wrench.

“Looks like one of the supply-line connections came loose. Nothing catastrophic.”

“So my house isn’t falling apart?”

“Not today.”

“Wonderful. I’ve already had enough life changes recently.”

The words slipped out before Emma had time to think about them.

Wade glanced up at her briefly, but he didn’t ask.

Emma appreciated that.

Instead, he simply went back to work.

A few minutes later, he stood and reached underneath the sink to turn the water back on.

“Try it.”

Emma turned on the faucet.

No water appeared beneath the cabinet.

She stared down dramatically.

“I could hug you.”

Wade raised an eyebrow.

Emma immediately realized what she had said.

“I mean—not actually.”

His grin widened.

“I figured.”

Emma felt her cheeks warm.

“Good.”

Wade packed the wrench back into his toolbox.

“You’ll want to keep an eye on it today, but I think you’re good.”

“What do I owe you?”

He shook his head.

“Nothing.”

“Wade, you came over here and fixed my sink. I’m paying you.”

“Kinsley would never let me hear the end of it if I charged her new best friend for tightening a connection.”

Emma narrowed her eyes.

“She has you scared, doesn’t she?”

“You’ve met Kinsley. What do you think?”

Emma laughed.

For the first time all morning, the disaster in her kitchen didn’t feel quite so disastrous.

“Thank you. Seriously.”

“You’re welcome.”

Wade picked up his toolbox and headed toward the door.

Before leaving, he turned back.

“If it starts leaking again, call me.”

Emma nodded. “I will.”

“And maybe buy a few extra towels.”

She laughed.

“Get out of my house.”

Wade smiled as he stepped onto the porch.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Emma closed the door behind him and shook her head, still smiling.

She didn’t think much of it.

Not yet, anyway.

Later that afternoon, Emma met Kinsley on her back porch while Josie played in the yard and Bandit stretched out beneath the table.

Kinsley took a sip of her sweet tea and looked at Emma with a grin that immediately made her suspicious.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Emma narrowed her eyes. “That is definitely not a nothing face.”

Kinsley’s grin widened.

“So… Wade came by?”

Emma groaned and leaned back in her chair.

“Oh, Lord. Here we go.”

“What?” Kinsley asked innocently. “I was just making sure he fixed your sink.”

“He fixed it.”

“And?”

“And the kitchen is no longer flooding.”

“That is not what I meant.”

Emma shook her head. “There is no ‘and.’ He came over, fixed the leak, made fun of my collection of wet towels, and left.”

Kinsley raised an eyebrow.

“He made you laugh?”

Emma gave her a look. “People make me laugh, Kinsley.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Stop.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You don’t have to. Your face is doing plenty.”

Kinsley laughed and leaned back in her chair.

“I’m just saying Wade is a good guy.”

“I’m sure he is.”

“He’s single.”

Emma immediately held up a hand.

“No.”

Kinsley burst out laughing.

“I didn’t even ask you anything!”

“You were about to.”

“I was going to say he’s single, he’s handsome, and he knows how to fix plumbing. That’s basically the Hickory Ridge trifecta.”

Emma couldn’t help but laugh.

“I am not dating anybody.”

“I didn’t say you had to date him.”

“You were thinking it.”

“I absolutely was.”

Emma shook her head and took another drink of tea.

Kinsley’s expression softened.

“Em, I know you’re not ready. I’m not trying to push you into anything.”

Emma looked out toward the yard where Josie was attempting to convince Luke that he needed to help her collect rocks while Luke repeatedly explained that he was busy.

“I don’t even know if I’ll ever be ready,” Emma admitted quietly.

Kinsley was silent for a moment.

“You don’t have to know that right now.”

Emma looked back at her.

“You’ve spent a long time worrying about Jackson, the boys, the house, everybody else. Maybe for a while you just figure out what makes Emma happy.”

Emma smiled faintly.

“That sounds easier than it probably is.”

“Most good things are.”

For a few seconds, they sat quietly.

Then Kinsley took another sip of her tea.

“But for the record…”

Emma closed her eyes.

“Kinsley.”

“Wade is definitely cute.”

Emma laughed despite herself.

“You are ridiculous.”

“And yet you keep letting me come over.”

Emma smiled at her friend.

She wasn’t ready for another relationship. She knew that much.

But somewhere deep down, she was beginning to wonder if being finished with one chapter of her life necessarily meant the rest of the book had to stay empty.