Page 12 of (La)Crosse My Heart (Sweet Sports Kisses #7)

Jessa

“ I f you’ll just bring that dresser in, I’ll show you where it needs to go.”

Instead of following me, the guy wheels the dresser and leaves it right behind my car before walking back up the ramp for another piece. He’s got headphones in, so I do what I can to get his attention. It ends up being a wave with what feels like a bad Irish jig.

“Why did you just put it here?” I ask, trying to be polite when he finally removes his headphones.

“You don’t have the proper entry for our dolly to get through without injury. We’ll just leave your stuff on the driveway and you can figure out what to do with it.”

“So you put it right behind my car? What if I need to go somewhere?”

The guy walks over and moves the dresser just to the right of the back of my car.

“You can’t take it inside? In the contract it says I paid you to move my stuff out of my old place, transport it here, and then help me move it into the house.”

The man doesn’t stop moving things up and down the ramp. The other one with him doesn’t say much either.

“There’s no way I can move the dresser inside on my own.” It’s the very sturdy kind, passed down by my parents. It’s hard enough to move by sliding, let alone needing to go up the three steps to the front door.

“I’m sorry, but this is the best we can do,” the guy says.

I’m not sure whether I should pace or throw things right now. How can a company just do that to their clients?

I sit down on the porch and pull out my phone. It doesn’t take long for me to find the receipt for this company, and I read all the smaller print to see what it says.

There’s nothing in it that says they can’t move the furniture in if there’s no ramp.

I walk over to them as they finish taking out the last two pieces of my furniture, along with the boxes of clothes I’d sent.

“There’s nothing in your contract that says you can avoid moving the pieces inside.” I lift the phone so it’s closer to the guy’s face.

He swats my hand away. “I don’t care what it says. I’m quitting anyway.”

The other employee looks confused, as if not sure how to react to that.

“You’re quitting? You’re supposed to be my trainer.”

“Sorry, kid. I need a different career.” He pulls out his clipboard and says, “Sign here.”

I shake my head. “I’m not signing. The agreement was that you’d put it into the house.”

Instead of saying anything else, the guy walks around the truck and gets in. His partner runs to jump in just as the truck drives away.

I don’t think I’ve been this mad in a long time, and that’s saying something. I’ve had enough stressors to make it so I’m close to that brink often enough, but how am I going to get all of this inside?

It takes everything inside me to push back the panic and tears. This move hasn’t been as easy as I thought it would be. Next time I’ll have to figure out how to do it all myself. Get the truck and just drive it out here or something.

Then again, I hope I won’t have to move for the next couple of years.

I turn to see five men walking over, one of them wheeling a dolly over.

“What are you doing?” I ask, wiping at a stray tear.

“We noticed they were just dropping everything off in the driveway. Tell us where we need to put it,” Clark says.

“You don’t have to do that,” I say, touched by their willingness to help when I haven’t even asked for it.

“I know you’re strong, Jessa, but I don’t know if you can lift that beast,” he says, pointing to the large dresser. “That thing has been a pain for way too long.”

I smile, laughing. It’s a small thing, but I love that he’s got some experience with the things in my life. It takes away some of the sting in the homesickness that threatens to take over.

I walk up to the door and open it, waiting as Burton and Jackson bring the small couch in.

One by one, the guys bring in everything. It’s when all is inside within thirty minutes that I’m more than grateful.

“Thank you to all of you. Can I send you all some money?” It’s the least I can do.

Burton raises a hand and shakes it. “We’re good. We’re always willing to help a damsel in distress.”

“Why thank you, Burton. How about I make you all dinner this weekend? Let me get unpacked and I’ll get a menu planned.”

Clark frowns. “You know how to cook? Something other than mac and cheese?”

With a slug to his shoulder, I say. “I’ve been on my own for quite a while now, Clark. I had to learn a few things to make sure I didn’t starve.”

“Do you teach lessons on that too?” Jackson asks, and I find his expression sincere.

“I’d be willing to help if needed,” I say, laughing a bit.

“Good, because we are not eating well in this house,” Jackson says, looking like it’s the world’s worst travesty.

Stack nudges him and shakes his head.

“We eat plenty of good food,” Finny says.

“Anyway,” Clark says, raising a hand before the conversation can devolve further. “Let us know if you need help with anything else.”

The rest of the group waves and turns back to walk to their house. Clark stays behind.

“Is that all the stuff you brought from Virginia?”

“Yeah, why?” I ask.

“Well, if you need help to get more stuff, I have a friend who works in a furniture store. I can refer you to her.”

Something about that sends alarm bells ringing throughout my brain.

“I should be good but thank you.”

He nods and says, “Okay, sounds good. Do you need help unpacking your boxes?”

I laugh and say, “Are you wanting to spend more time with me, Denton?”

He chuckles and says, “That’s not a bad thing, right? And I’d love your help in getting this problem solved. We can kind of swap help.”

“Why the sudden urge to improve?”

“There’s a lot riding on it, and I just want to do a good job.”

“Then take the night and relax. We’ll get going on all of that tomorrow.”

He smiles at me, making my stomach go a little soft. “So, you don’t have any homework for me?”

“I’ll send you a few links you can study. Good night, Clark.”

“Good night, Jessa.”

Watching him walk away, I’m way too focused on watching every muscle. The guy has a much bigger heart than I originally gave him credit for. I’ll need to work on unpacking while finishing out the plan I have for him.

I might’ve been hesitant when I originally found out I’d be working with him, but now I only want his success. And to stop watching him walk away.