Fixer

Nine weeks and one day to the wedding.

Caroline

– Delayed for what?! – Caroline Ashton stopped halfway to her car, her designer handbag swinging from her arm.

Her father’s voice on the phone sounded exhausted: – Roof leak, it seems. The foreman says they’ll have to tear it down and make a new one.

– And how long is this gonna take?

– Six to eight weeks.

Caroline blinked twice in disbelief. – Is he completely insane? Does he realize I’m getting married in two months and I’ll need the house ready and furnished by that time?

Her father let out a brief sigh. – I tried to tell Reed… He said, and I quote, “there ain’t no rushing roofs”.

Caroline frowned. – Is that so.

– But he said he will try his best – her father added.

Caroline remained silent for a few seconds. – What’s the guy’s name, you said?

– Reed. Mason Reed.

– Reed. – Caroline nodded. – Is he at the construction site?

– Most likely. Why?

– I’ll go talk to him.

Her father knew that tone. – Kiki…

– Don’t worry, Daddy. I’ll take care of this myself.

She heard the cracking of leather as her father leaned back in his office chair. – That’s exactly what I’m worried about.

Caroline hurried to her car.

Ethan was not going to be happy to hear the news.

In fact, her fiancé had hinted more than once that he’d rather live in a loft downtown. But Robert Ashton had bought her an 1878 mansion as a wedding gift, and Caroline absolutely adored it. So Ethan had had to make peace with it.

Renovations had taken longer than expected, though, and every time a new issue came up, Caroline could see the “I told you so” look in her fiancé’s blue eyes.

She inhaled deeply and called him as she was getting into her Mercedes.

Ethan picked up right away. – Hey, honey! – He sounded cheerful. In the background she could hear the sound of laughter and loud music.

– Hey… you and the guys having a good time on the sailboat?

– Awesome. Weather’s been perfect. How’s the wedding madness going?

– Uh… good. Mom almost had a nervous breakdown over the napkins yesterday, but the emergency seems to have gotten under control.

Ethan laughed.

– Listen… – Caroline braced for impact. – I’m heading over to the new house. Dad spoke to the contractor and there seems to be something about the roof… – She could almost see him roll his eyes.

– Do you want me to ask my father to make some phone calls? – Ethan asked.

There we go. Pulling the Pembroke card again, Caroline thought.

Ethan’s was one of Charleston’s most prominent families. And they showed it, maybe a little more than Caroline cared for.

She started the car and headed toward the construction site.

– No, I’ll deal with it. Just wanted to let you know.

– Okay then, keep me posted about… – The rest of his phrase was drowned by another voice: Baby come on! Get over here!

Caroline stiffened. It was clearly a female voice. – Who was that?

– What? Ah. That was just, uh, Jacob’s friend.

– I thought you said it was a guys-only trip – Her tone suddenly went ice cold.

Ethan didn’t seem to notice the change: – Yeah, honey, it is. We just joined a party with some other boats in the bay.

Caroline swallowed the pang of anger and pressed a little harder on the gas, creeping just above the speed limit. Calm down Caroline, she reminded herself. You’re getting stuck in your head.

Ethan was spending a week on his father’s sailboat for his bachelor party, off the coast of Nassau. They sure wouldn’t be the only party boat at anchor. Right?

And his best man had promised: alcohol? By the gallon. Girls? No can do.

She trusted Jacob’s word.

Kind of.

Then why are you so pissed?, a little voice in her head asked. She pushed the thought into a corner of her mind and tried to sound casual: – Ethan? Can you hear me?

– I’m gonna have to call you back, honey. It’s getting too loud.

He hung up before she could respond.

Caroline threw the phone on the passenger seat. – Great – she muttered to herself. – That’s just fucking great. House unfinished. Fiancé out of reach. Mother panicking over every centrepiece. What else?

She turned on the radio and turned up the volume. Then she took a deep breath.

One year from now you will be laughing about all of this, she told herself.

She had just calmed down when she turned off Ashley River Road into the driveway of the property. The sight made her jaw drop.

What. The. Fuck.

She stopped the car near the gate and stared at her house through the windshield, hands clenched on the steering wheel.

Her soon-to-be magnificent nineteenth-century mansion stood right there.

The roof, though, was completely gone.

All that remained was the red-brick chimney and some thick beams.

Everything else, shingles and all, lay in a mound of debris in front of the house.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

She grabbed her phone and bag, and marched into the yard, slamming the car door behind her.