happened, I was at Dierburg’s again and I had some car trouble—I picked up a nail and when I came out of the store, my tire was flat as a pancake. Quinn was leaving the store about the same time and before I had a chance to call AAA, he told me he could change it if I had a spare.”
“So how did he end up in one of your apartments? Did you come right out and offer it to him like you did with me?” Sara asked, keeping her tone light.
“No . . . of course not,” Theresa laughed. “Although I didn’t just come right out and offer it to you. I was being nosy and overheard you talking to Lori when you asked if she knew of anybody that might have a room to rent out.”
She blushed and gave Sara a wry grin. “And I must admit, I was being a nosy busybody with Quinn, too. He set his bags down to change the tire and while he was working on it, I glanced inside, saw one of those magazines with apartment listings. Figured it couldn’t hurt to offer the basement apartment to him. It was empty at the time. A man who would take the time to change my tire, and help me out when those two were bothering me, can’t be a bad guy to have around.”
Depends on what you consider bad , Sara thought.
“And I was right. I had some problems with the plumbing a few weeks back, and he took care of it, quick as could be. Wouldn’t even let me pay him for it and when I told him not to give as much for rent, he just ignored me. He’s fixed up some things around here as well, and he won’t take a red cent for it. The girl that lives across the street is constantly leaving her headlights on and needs a jump every now and then, and Quinn helps her out. He has a motorcycle, but I don’t mind if he uses my car to give her a jump.”
Then she laughed. “But I’m starting to think Trilby is leaving her lights on just to drain the battery so she can come over here and flirt with Quinn. Of course, it’s a wasted effort on her part—she’s far too young for Quinn.”
“Some men like them young.”
“Young as in still a teenager . . . and decent adult men don’t go after teenage girls, even when it’s being offered,” Theresa said. There was an edge in her voice, a hard light in her eyes.
“Your daughter?” Sara asked, unable to hold the question back.
“Yes.” Theresa toyed with the stem of her wineglass, staring at the table. Grief made her voice rough.
“I’m sorry.”
Theresa forced herself to smile. “So am I.” Then she took a sip of wine and looked back at Sara. “Trilby, my neighbor, is seventeen. She was a bit of a ‘late bloomer,’ or at least it seems late nowadays. Up until last summer, she still looked more like a skinny boy than anything else. Then, practically overnight, that changed and she’s turned into a bit of a flirt. Practicing on Quinn is safer than trying it on the boys in school.”
“Safer?”
Nothing about Quinn looked too safe to Sara.
“Definitely safer. He’s not going to take her up on anything and he also won’t hurt her feelings, even if she can be a bit annoying.”
“Other than fixing cars and water pipes and making teenage hearts flutter, what does he do?”
“Like I said, a little bit of this . . . a little bit of that.”
Sara wasn’t going to get anything more than that unless she came right out and said, “Hey, is he somebody who could cause me trouble?” And she wasn’t going to do that. It lacked subtlety.
For reasons that had little to do with handyman and knight-in-shining-armor tendencies, he made her nervous. Made her wish she’d passed on Theresa’s offer, even if it did mean staying in that nasty one-room apartment where she had to sleep with one eye open.
But it was too late now. She’d already moved her stuff, what little she owned, into the apartment upstairs and she wasn’t going back to the other place.
Sara would just have to wait and see, and be ready.
“STUPID cunt. You didn’t actually think I’d let you get away, did
“So how did he end up in one of your apartments? Did you come right out and offer it to him like you did with me?” Sara asked, keeping her tone light.
“No . . . of course not,” Theresa laughed. “Although I didn’t just come right out and offer it to you. I was being nosy and overheard you talking to Lori when you asked if she knew of anybody that might have a room to rent out.”
She blushed and gave Sara a wry grin. “And I must admit, I was being a nosy busybody with Quinn, too. He set his bags down to change the tire and while he was working on it, I glanced inside, saw one of those magazines with apartment listings. Figured it couldn’t hurt to offer the basement apartment to him. It was empty at the time. A man who would take the time to change my tire, and help me out when those two were bothering me, can’t be a bad guy to have around.”
Depends on what you consider bad , Sara thought.
“And I was right. I had some problems with the plumbing a few weeks back, and he took care of it, quick as could be. Wouldn’t even let me pay him for it and when I told him not to give as much for rent, he just ignored me. He’s fixed up some things around here as well, and he won’t take a red cent for it. The girl that lives across the street is constantly leaving her headlights on and needs a jump every now and then, and Quinn helps her out. He has a motorcycle, but I don’t mind if he uses my car to give her a jump.”
Then she laughed. “But I’m starting to think Trilby is leaving her lights on just to drain the battery so she can come over here and flirt with Quinn. Of course, it’s a wasted effort on her part—she’s far too young for Quinn.”
“Some men like them young.”
“Young as in still a teenager . . . and decent adult men don’t go after teenage girls, even when it’s being offered,” Theresa said. There was an edge in her voice, a hard light in her eyes.
“Your daughter?” Sara asked, unable to hold the question back.
“Yes.” Theresa toyed with the stem of her wineglass, staring at the table. Grief made her voice rough.
“I’m sorry.”
Theresa forced herself to smile. “So am I.” Then she took a sip of wine and looked back at Sara. “Trilby, my neighbor, is seventeen. She was a bit of a ‘late bloomer,’ or at least it seems late nowadays. Up until last summer, she still looked more like a skinny boy than anything else. Then, practically overnight, that changed and she’s turned into a bit of a flirt. Practicing on Quinn is safer than trying it on the boys in school.”
“Safer?”
Nothing about Quinn looked too safe to Sara.
“Definitely safer. He’s not going to take her up on anything and he also won’t hurt her feelings, even if she can be a bit annoying.”
“Other than fixing cars and water pipes and making teenage hearts flutter, what does he do?”
“Like I said, a little bit of this . . . a little bit of that.”
Sara wasn’t going to get anything more than that unless she came right out and said, “Hey, is he somebody who could cause me trouble?” And she wasn’t going to do that. It lacked subtlety.
For reasons that had little to do with handyman and knight-in-shining-armor tendencies, he made her nervous. Made her wish she’d passed on Theresa’s offer, even if it did mean staying in that nasty one-room apartment where she had to sleep with one eye open.
But it was too late now. She’d already moved her stuff, what little she owned, into the apartment upstairs and she wasn’t going back to the other place.
Sara would just have to wait and see, and be ready.
“STUPID cunt. You didn’t actually think I’d let you get away, did
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