Page 3 of Finding Isaac (Foggy Basin Season Two)

Isaac

The rest of the day went great. I ignored the fact Tig had been here and was apparently working here now too and let Roger show me how to do everything connected with maintaining the filters on one of the big dryers. “That’s it for today, Isaac, you did really good,” Roger said.

“Thanks, so far it’s not too bad.” The truth was, I’d loved every minute of it. I didn’t have to work with the public in any way, and I got to take shit apart and put it back together. Perfect.

“Be here tomorrow at seven. It’s better if we start early as you can tell it gets hot inside,” Roger said. “Stop by the office, they’ll want to give you your employee badge and get you setup with a uniform.”

“Alright, see you in the morning.” I moved over to the sink and after washing my hands and face I walked to the office.

“You’re Isaac Grant?” Jean Dawson asked.

“Yes, Jean, you know exactly who I am.” Jean was a long-time resident of Foggy Basin.

She’d never been married and never let that stop her from doing anything she wanted to do.

She had to be at least seventy, but I wasn’t willing to try her patience in the hope she wouldn’t be able to kick my ass. She’d always been a little scary.

Without looking up or even acknowledging me, she handed me a badge and a plastic wrapped bundle.

“Those are your uniforms. If you quit before three months, we’ll deduct it from your last check.

” She looked over her glasses at me and I smiled my pretty smile hoping it worked on her now like it had when I was a kid.

“That shit doesn’t work on me. See you tomorrow,” she said and went back to whatever she’d been doing when I walked in.

“Well, that was weird,” I grumbled to myself as I shoved everything into my truck and got ready to go help Jack.

Just then Tig came walking out of the control building and in some strange twist of fate, his eyes locked on mine.

I didn’t look away until he did. Which for reasons I didn’t want to think about made me happy. Fuck you, Tig.

I drove into town and right to Nuts and Bolts. Jack had always been a good friend, and even if he was all in love with Hudson, I still liked hanging out with him. And possibly Hudson too, but I wasn’t willing to admit it. “Hey, asshole, what’s going on?” I asked when I walked in.

“Isaac, I’m glad you’re here. You’re just in time to unload the plants,” Jack said, not even taking the time to say hello.

After walking around him and leaning against the counter, I crossed my arms and stared him down. “Okay, but first I want to talk to you,” I said.

He furrowed his brow and stepped closer to me. “Is everything okay?”

“I got a job.”

“Isaac, that’s great news. Where?”

“The dryer,” I said.

“Really? I thought you were never going to work there even if it was the last fucking job on Earth?” Jack said and crossed his arms. He was the only one in town that took zero of the shit I tended to inflict on everyone.

“Well, I didn’t know what it was, but I thought I’d check it out. Jeff Snyder told me they were hiring and since I was recently fired, I saw no reason not to.”

“What will you be doing there?” Jack asked and waved for me to follow him to the back.

“Their maintenance guy is retiring so they want him to train me to take over his job.” I still couldn’t believe they were willing to give me that much responsibility.

“That is so perfect for you. You can fix anything,” Jack said and pulled me in for a hug.

“Yeah yeah.” My eyes closed and for half a second, I let myself enjoy his comfort, but then I thought of fucking Tig. “Where are the plants you want me to put away?”

“Those boxes right there,” he said just as the front door chimed. “Be right back.”

“I’ll be here.” Actually, I’d be out there putting plants away. I picked up two boxes Jack had pointed out to me and walked out of the backroom and nearly right into Tig. “What the—”

“Sorry, Isaac,” he said, and attempted to grab me somewhere to help me but then he noticed the look on my face and backed the fuck off. “Sorry.”

I walked over to the plant area and started stocking while Jack stood near the front of the store wide-eyed and looking between the two of us. “Everything okay, Isaac?” he finally asked.

“Yep. Totally fine,” I answered without looking his way.

“Isaac, can we talk,” Tig said from behind me.

“Nope.”

“I’m not leaving. We obviously need to get along if we’re going to work together,” he said, and deep down I knew he was right, but I was a stubborn motherfucker and I wasn’t ready to talk to him.

“Then I guess you’ll be waiting a while.” Tig didn’t say anything, just walked out front of the store and plopped down in one of the rocking chairs that I now officially hated.

“What’s going on?” Jack asked.

“Nothing. He wants to talk, and I don’t. So, I won’t. If he wants to sit out there all damn day, he’s welcome to it.”

Jack’s lips pulled tight in a way I was very familiar with. He was done with my bullshit but didn’t want to deal with it. “Don’t start any shit here,” he said before walking toward the backroom and getting more plants. “You know you’re going to have to deal with him eventually.”

“Maybe,” I said, and for the next hour we focused on finding space for the plants and I avoided looking toward the stubborn man who was still out front.