“Thank you,” she said with a smile, seeming unperturbed by the fact that he’d just been holding her – or at least her hand – captive.
She bent and picked up her toolkit and stepped past him and into the foyer, pulling work gloves out of her pocket as she went. “Point me to the basement,” she said with a tilt of her head.
It was when she stepped in that he realized that her hair swung all the way down her back, teasing her pert little bottom. He tore his eyes away before she turned and caught him staring. Jesus, what was wrong with him? Was he so starved for the sight of a woman that he couldn’t help ogling this one?
So he hadn’t been out in a while – a long, long while – avoiding the public as much as possible, even ordering his groceries online. Still, that didn’t meant he should react this strongly to the first woman to cross his threshold. He shook his head. This was definitely not like him and he’d better get a hold of himself if he knew what was good for him. There was no room in his world for a woman, no matter how attractive she was.
“It’s this way,” he said and led her down the hallway toward the door. He switched on the light and went down the stairs with Samantha – or Sam as the woman at the office had called her – in tow.
As they stopped at the bottom step she looked up. “Hmm, I see what’s going on.” She sat on the second to last step and proceeded to loosen the laces on her work boots. “I have a feeling this is all connected to your water heater,” she said as she pushed the boots off and pulled off one sock and then the other.
She had small, delicate feet with pink-painted toenails. Nope, definitely not the feet of a plumber. Jesus, he was staring again. Jake tore his eyes away and stepped past her and down into the water. “You’re probably right,” he said, adopting a nonchalant tone. “I was checking around that area but couldn’t find anything. Maybe you’ll have better luck.”
“I’m sure I will,” she said with a chuckle, “because I know what to look for.”
She stepped into the water behind him and then she was wading past him toward the huge white cylinder around which the water lapped. “This is a very old model,” she said, and ran her hand along the top. “You’re probably going to have to invest in a new one.”
She ran her hands all the way down the sides, probably checking for leaks, then bent over to peer at the pipes running into the cylinder.
And that pert bottom he’d glimpsed upstairs? Now he was treated to a full view of it. Dang!
“Found it,” she said, head still down and butt in the air. “Your pipes are really old, probably the original ones that came with the house. These ones definitely need to be changed.”
She straightened her back and rested her hands on her hips. “But don’t worry. I can give you a temporary fix.” She gave him a sympathetic smile. “I know it can be difficult doing major repair work, especially when you haven’t budgeted for it. I can change the washer down here and the coupling up there. That should buy you some breathing space.” She shrugged. “A few months, maybe, but that should give you some time to plan for the major work. Redoing the piping in this old house is going to take some doing.”
He nodded. She was going to change the washer, she said. He’d love to see her do that. With her soft hands there was no way she’d get those rusted pipes loose.
She waded back to the steps and got a wrench from her toolkit then pulled on her work gloves. “I need you to turn off the main so I can get started.”
“The main?” He stared back at her, feeling stupid. Now where the heck was this main she’d asked about?
She cocked her head to one side. “You do know where it is, don’t you?”
Defeated, he shrugged then gave her a rueful grin. “Nope. Sorry.”
“No problem,” she said. “I’ll get it. I’ve worked on so many of the houses in this neighborhood I can make a pretty good guess where it is.” She waded to the back door and climbed the couple of steps then shoved it open. She was outside for less than a minute when she called out, “Found it. It’s off now.”
When she returned she picked up her wrench again and advanced on the water heater. After she'd clamped the nut with the device she pushed. It didn’t even budge.
Jake stepped forward. “Let me –” he began but she put up a gloved hand, cutting him off.
“Step back, please,” she said, her voice firm. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Uh huh,” he said sarcastically, then was just about to step forward and pluck the wrench from her hand when she swung it up, making him jump back. She’d almost brained him with the thing.
She brought it down and gave a surprisingly gentle tap to the rusted pipe. “Loosens up the rust buildup,” she said with a quick grin. After hooking the wrench onto the nut again she pushed. This time it turned without a fight. Water gushed out then stopped, giving her free access to the pipes. She stuck her finger in and pulled out a rubber washer, so worn and cracked that it was crumbling in her hand. “The guilty party.” She held it up then rested it on top of the water heater. She pulled a new washer from her pocket and within a couple of minutes she’d inserted it and was tightening the pipes with a brand new nut.
“This one’s all set.” She raised her eyes to the still dripping pipe above. “I’ll have to get my step ladder for that one.”
Before he could offer to help she was back up the stairs and through the door, leaving him standing there in the water. Talk about a bundle of energy. He shook his head then trudged up the stairs in her wake. Proficient or not, she’d need help with that stepladder.
Jake soon came to realize how competent a plumber Sam was. Within thirty minutes of first entering his house she had fixed both pipes and had used the sump pump to clear the water from his basement. With all the water gone the damage was clearly evident – sodden carpeting, a soaking wet sofa, and boxes of books that had sucked up the water like sponges. He would have to dump the whole lot, including the book he’d gone looking for.