Falling for the Millionaire(29)

"Hudson, where are you?"

His heart took a leap as he finally recognized Melody's voice. He hadn't  been hearing things. Shovel in hand, he stepped into the hallway. She  stood just inside the door, but even in the dim light, he couldn't miss  her in that red parka. He loved her in red. "Here I am. How'd you get  here?"

"One of my neighbors has a four-wheel-drive vehicle, and he brought me  over. I helped Adam get people settled in the senior center, and then I  thought to see if you could use some help."

Laying his shovel aside, he closed the gap between them and gave her a  hug. The cold fled. She warmed his heart and made everything about his  life better, even this trouble. How was he going to keep from telling  her how much he cared? He wished he could, but he had to give her time  to see where their relationship would take them. And wasn't that what he  should do, too, instead of throwing caution aside?

She grabbed her shovel and held it up. "I'm ready to go to work."

"I've finished scooping up the snow on this level. So you can help me  upstairs." He walked with her to the second floor and went into the  closest apartment. "Move the snow into a pile, then shovel it into the  sink or bathtub, whichever is closest."

Melody pointed to one of the kerosene heaters they always kept around  during the construction process. "Why don't you turn it on to warm up  the place?"

"I thought I ought to get the snow out of here first and get the windows  covered again before I wasted fuel warming the outdoors."

"That makes sense." Melody pushed her shovel along the floor, gathering snow as she went.

"I'm going to remove the tree in the next apartment and put plywood back  on the windows." Hudson gave her a peck on the cheek. "We'll warm up in  the senior center when we're done."

"Got it. I'm a lean, mean, snow-scooping machine."

Hudson chuckled as he walked out. "Don't work too hard."

Hudson took a look at the tree protruding through the window opening. He  needed a chain saw but didn't have one on hand. He grabbed his phone  and called Adam, explaining the situation. Minutes later someone from  maintenance brought Hudson the handheld machine, and together they cut  the tree out of the window, then cut up the rest of it into smaller  pieces for easy removal.

Finally, Hudson replaced the plywood there and at the other windows. He  braced them, praying that the temporary covering would stay in place  this time. After he'd pounded the last nail, he poked his head into the  room where Melody was working. "Looks as if you're about done."         

     



 

She looked his way with a smile as she dumped a shovel full of snow into  the kitchen sink. "That's the last of it. Should I turn on the water to  melt it?"

"It should melt on its own after we fire up these heaters, but sure. You can turn it on until I get these started."

"Nothing's coming out." Melody turned the faucet to the off position and turned it on again.

Hudson shook his head. He didn't want to believe the pipes were frozen,  but there wasn't any other explanation. Just one more thing he didn't  need. "I'll start the heaters, then turn off the main water supply."

Melody frowned. "Why?"

"Frozen lines often result in broken pipes. We'll have problems when the  pipes thaw, but hopefully we can keep the damage to a minimum if we  turn off the water."

Hudson fired up the heaters, then after finding the blueprints he rolled  them out on the nearby kitchen counter. "Looks as if the main valve is  at the back of the building. I hope it's not buried under too much  snow."

He made his way around the building. The worst of the weather had  subsided. Quiet surrounded him as he dug through the snow, searching for  the valve. Thankfully, he discovered it without too much trouble. As  Hudson started back around, Melody waved as she walked toward him.  Before she reached him, a loud crack shattered the quiet, and Hudson  looked up just in time to see a tall pine falling toward her.

"Melody!" Hudson yelled at the top of his lungs. With his heart nearly  stopping, he ran faster than he'd ever run in his life. He reached her  and tackled her as they both fell into the snow just a few feet away  from where the pine landed with a resounding thud. Hudson held her tight  as they lay together in the cold. What would he have done if something  had happened to her?

"Are you okay?" His voice sounded shaky in his own ears.

She nodded but didn't say anything.

"Can you get up?"

"Yes." She let out a harsh breath as she extracted herself from his  embrace and scrambled to her feet, dusting the snow off her coat.

Hudson popped up and did the same, the whole time thinking that he  could've lost her. His heart still racing, he didn't want to let her out  of his sight.

She launched herself at him and hugged him tight. "You saved me. Thank you."

He held her tighter. Everything in him wanted to spill out his feelings  for her. He'd thought about it all day; the words were on the tip of his  tongue. He had to fight not to say them. She'd just agreed to date him.  He'd have to take it slow for both their sakes. Reluctantly, he  released her. "Let's go get warm."

Hudson and Melody walked arm in arm to the senior center. The cafeteria  bustled with young and old as folks from the women's shelter and  children's homes found their way into the warmth. Adam waved for them to  come over to his table, and they soon enjoyed lunch and visited with  him and several of the residents, including Brady's grandmother Cora.  Despite the cold and snow, a jovial mood prevailed, and Hudson tried not  to think about his own problems.

After they ate and chatted for a little while, he stood. "I'm going back  over to see if the heaters have warmed the building enough to thaw out  the pipes."

Melody looked up at him. "Do you need my help?"

"No, you've already helped enough today. I'm sure you have things of  your own to tend to. I'll give you a call when I'm finished."

She hopped up and gave him a hug before he left. "I'll be waiting."

Still feeling Melody's embrace, he jogged along the edge of the quad,  the air cold even though the sun had chased most of the clouds away. He  punched in the code and opened the door. The sound of running water  greeted him. Frowning, he ran toward the sound.

He stopped short when he saw water pouring from a light fixture in the  hallway. Where was that coming from? He'd turned off the water valve, or  had he? He took the stairs two at a time and found water rolling out of  the nearby doorway. Hudson stepped gingerly through the flood and  discovered water pouring out of the sink where Melody had turned on the  faucet.

Hudson ran over and turned it, but water still sprayed from the broken  pipes underneath the sink. He wondered how many other apartments had  broken pipes, but he didn't waste time looking. He raced back outside to  the water valve. He got down on his knees and tried to figure out why  the valve hadn't turned off the water. He grabbed the knob with both  hands and gave it a twist. It moved another half turn. The cold had  probably kept him from turning it off completely the first time.

He hurried back inside to see if the water had stopped. He splashed  through the puddles and sprinted up the stairs. Nothing was coming out  of the faucet. He sank against the wall and let out a harsh breath. He'd  thought things were bad before. Now he had double the disaster to deal  with.

Hoping against hope that he wouldn't find extensive losses, he traipsed  through the building as he examined every apartment. Using his phone, he  made a note of the broken pipes, falling ceilings and damaged  wallboard. The list made him sick, but he couldn't wallow in self-pity.  He'd asked for the job, and now he had to make the best of a bad  situation.         

     



 

He needed time to formulate a plan. He needed a quiet place to think.  Without a second thought, Hudson headed for the chapel. He wouldn't find  heat there, but maybe he would find peace and an answer for his  troubles.

* * *

The snow sparkled in the waning sunlight as Melody made her way to the  construction site. Hudson hadn't called, so she figured he must still be  working. Warm air greeted her when she opened the door. That was a good  sign, but the puddles standing everywhere were not.

She called Hudson's name. No response came. She called again, then  ventured down the hallway looking in each door. There was no sign of  him, but the scene before her made her stomach sink. What had happened  since she'd been here earlier? She grabbed her phone and called Hudson.

When he answered, she could hear the sorrow and weariness in his voice.

"I'm here at the construction site. Where are you?"

"In the chapel."

"Do you want to be alone?"

"Not now. I could use your company if you don't mind the cold. It's not very warm in here."

"I'll be right over."