The Weight of Rain by Mariah Dietz Read Free Book Online

wondering what in the hell he’s referring to. Could he be a drug dealer? A money launderer? What’s in his shop? “Don’t you work on bikes?”
    Kashton’s eyes grow wide and his lips part for a second and then lift into a genuine smile that makes his brown eyes relax. “She was right. You have no idea.”
    I turn my head to glance in the direction of the front door. The action is instinctual, as though I need to measure the space to know how fast I need to run.
    “I sound like a fucking crazy person. I’m sorry. That’s what happens eventually, I guess.” Kashton raises a hand and runs it over his short hair, then clasps the back of his neck for a moment before straightening. “I’m not crazy or dangerous, and neither are those guys. We’re BMX racers.”
    “Like BMX bikes?”
    Kashton nods, looking slightly sheepish. “Yeah. You’ll see other racers around too, and the team. They’re all harmless, but we take our privacy seriously, and here at the house, we’re not on. We don’t worry about the shit we say or what we’re doing. We just like to work hard and have a good time.”
    “That’s cool.” I swallow, trying to understand what that means exactly when I know absolutely nothing about BMX racing or what that world entails. “And you don’t have to worry, I won’t say anything.”
    He smiles, and while it doesn’t look like he’s reassured yet, it still helps me relax. “Okay, so now that I have one awkward thing out of the way, let’s move on to the next.” Rubbing his palms together, he settles his gaze on the counter behind me. “Everyone who’s ever watched Mercedes has been from an agency. You’re the first person that I’ve ever hired from a reference. Yesterday I realized I don’t know much about you. I don’t need to run a background check on you, I guess, but I just feel like I should know more. I mean I’m leaving you with my daughter.”
    It relieves me to hear that Kashton is realizing how informal and fast our relationship has progressed, but it spotlights how out of character this seems for a parent, which makes me wonder if Mercedes is feeling like he doesn’t care enough about her.
    “My brother, King, usually takes care of all of the business stuff. He’s my manager and does all the paperwork and arrangements, but he’s over in Switzerland right now for an ad campaign, so I went with Kenzie on this. Don’t get me wrong…” his hands span in front of him “…I’m really glad she referred you. You’ve been great! I’m just not used to this stuff.”
    “I understand.” My words are a lie, but for some ridiculous reason, I suddenly want to protect and comfort Kashton as much as I do Mercedes.
    “King will be back soon, and that will help, but yeah … If you don’t mind, just share some things with me. I don’t know,” he says, running a hand across the back of his neck again and wincing just slightly with the movement. “What do they normally ask on a job application?”
    My eyes widen, trying to recall the last one I filled out. “Do you want my address?”
    “No, I already know where you live.”
    My eyebrows knit together and Kashton shakes his head. “I mean, since you live with Kenzie, I know.”
    I nod a couple of times though that still seems odd since I’ve never seen him come over. “Do you have my number?”
    “Yeah, do you have mine?”
    I nod once more. I’ve never used it, but it’s one of the few things Kenzie provided me with.
    “What else?” he asks.
    “I can give you a list of references, previous jobs, my dad’s address.”
    “That’s probably a good idea. Let me grab some paper really fast.”
    I lean against the counter as he jogs to the door adjacent from the kitchen, one that I haven’t ventured to open after Mercedes announced it as the office. While he’s gone, I look around the kitchen that has become messier as the weeks have gone by. It was so clean when I got here, leading me to initially believing it