Just One More

by Heather D'Agostino

  “Help yourself.” Dad motioned to the chair across from him.

  “Thanks.” I sat down, and glanced around. “Where’s Micha?” My brother still hadn’t moved out, and I had no idea why.

  Dad rolled his eyes. “He had a date last night. Hasn’t come home yet.”

  “Who hasn’t come home yet?” Micha rounded the corner. His hair was sticking up, and yesterday’s shirt was half untucked.

  “Have some breakfast.” Mom motioned to the table.

  As soon as Micha reached for a biscuit, Dad shooed him away. “Wash your hands first, son.” If glares could kill, my dad would have brought Micha to his knees.

  “Geez, Dad.” Micha stepped back with his hands up.

  “I don’t know where you’ve been sticking those, and I don’t want whatever it is on my breakfast. You didn’t stay here last night, son.” Dad leveled him with another glare.

  “As much I’m enjoying this little family breakfast, I actually do need to talk to Dad about something important.” I sighed as I stared at Micha.

  “Fine, fine, fine,” Micha waved his hands in the air. “I’m gonna take a shower. Save me a biscuit. I’ll take it on the go.” He turned toward the stairs. I waited until I heard his feet thundering up the wood before turning my attention back to my father. I didn’t need Micha overhearing what I was about to ask. He didn’t know how to keep a secret, and I wanted to be the one to tell Hailey about this.

  “What did you need?” Dad gave me his full attention.

  “I’m ready to take ownership of the land I asked you about.” I leaned my elbows on the table, and then rested my chin on my fists. “I’m ready to start building. I wanna get something up by Christmas.”

  Dad smiled as he nodded and then glanced at Mom. “Ok. I can get the paperwork rolling and have something finalized by this weekend.”

  “You’ve been waiting for me, haven’t you?” I laughed as I glanced at Mom. Mom was always terrible at hiding her feelings. She’s a lot like Hailey in that way.

  “Maybe.” Dad chuckled. “Let’s just say we’ve been hoping that it wouldn’t be too much longer.”

  “You gonna help me build it?” I laughed.

  “You really have been busy, huh?” Dad leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

  “I’m a good listener. I know what she wants. She doesn’t know that I’ve been gathering intel, but she’s been very vocal at her place about what she would want if she was to ever buy a house.”

  “You’re a good man, Max.” Mom came over and wrapped her arm around my shoulder, giving me a hug. “Hailey’s lucky to have you.”

  “Thanks, Mama,” I leaned into her.

  “Come up to the house tomorrow. I don’t have anything going on today. I’ll take a drive into town and get everything ready. No sense in waiting if you’re that eager.” Dad chuckled as he reached for the last biscuit.

  “Sounds good.” I slowly stood. “You’re not leaving him one, are you?” I laughed as I watched my father put the last biscuit on his plate. He was just finishing up with the butter when Micha came jogging down the stairs.

  “Nope.” Dad grinned as he took a giant bite.

  Micha rounded the corner. “Hey! Where’s mine?” He frowned.

  “At your place,” Dad mumbled around the bite he just took.

  “This is my place.” His brows drew down as his eyes searched the kitchen. It was like he couldn’t believe that Dad ate the last one.

  “Maybe you should start making your own breakfast.” I shrugged as I turned to leave. “Or get Brit to cook for you.”

  “I can’t believe this,” he scoffed as he pushed past me and stormed off towards the barn.

  I just shook my head as I said goodbye and followed him. I needed to get my work done so I could go check out the land I’d inherited.

  ooooooooo

  Fall was in the air, and with it came gray skies and chilly winds. It wouldn’t be long until we started seeing snow. Thanksgiving was only a few weeks away, and then Christmas would be here. After talking with Dad yesterday, I started making excuses to Micha why I needed to work in the office versus the fields. I wasn’t hired on to work the fields anyway, but I seemed to be the one that picked up the slack whenever someone called in or quit.

  I’d balanced the books for the month, so I’d spent most of the day talking to different contractors. As much as I’d like to build the house myself, I just didn’t think I’d have the time. I wouldn’t be able to keep it secret from Hailey if I was gone all the time. She’d wonder where I was, and as much as Micha drove me crazy, I still needed to do my job.

  By lunchtime I’d finally found someone who I thought I could work with. It was the last person who you’d think I’d choose; trust me when I say that. I was meeting him here this evening to look at the property, and get an estimate on how long it would take. My biggest problem? Getting this past the person I was trying to surprise. Hailey and I have been carpooling to and from work almost every day. I wasn’t sure how I was going to convince her that I couldn’t drive us home.

  “You about ready?” Hailey was rocking on the balls of her feet in the doorway to the office. I’d been in here most of the day.

  “Not really.” I glanced up before shuffling papers around. I was trying to look busy, and hoping she bought it. “I’ve got the budget report still, and two different suppliers overbilled us this month.”

  “Oh,” her mouth dropped open as her shoulders sagged, “I understand.” She sighed as she stepped back.

  “Wait.” I cursed myself as I stopped her. I was getting what I wanted, but I didn’t like the fact that she looked so disappointed. I needed to fix it. “How about I grab us dinner on my way home? I’ll stop at your place, and we can have a relaxing dinner. You won’t have to worry about cooking.”

  “That sounds nice.” She smiled softly. “But do you think you’ll be finished soon? I could just wait.”

  “I honestly don’t know. It won’t be super late, but I don’t want you to have to wait for me. Just feed Nora, and put your feet up. I’ll make it up to you, promise.” I drew a cross over my chest with my finger.

  “I’m holding you to that, Maxwell Stanton.” She attempted to look stern, but smiled at the end, failing miserably.

  “Ooh, full name. I’m in trouble now.” I grinned before winking at her.

  “Big trouble.” She laughed as she turned to leave. “Don’t let me starve,” she called over her shoulder before I heard the outer door slam shut.

  I listened for her car to crank up before I jumped into action, not even putting together that I would have to sweet talk my brother into giving me a ride to her place.

  ooooooooo

  When I stepped outside to meet the contractor I’d settled on, I couldn’t help but laugh slightly. He hadn’t changed a bit since the last time I saw him. “Never thought you’d call me for this job.” Jimmy shook his head at me. Jimmy Andrews had been a thorn in my side through most of my childhood. He was a bully in grade school, and then he dated Hailey in high school. I still remember what a douche he was when she wouldn’t sleep with him.

  “I heard you were the best, and I want the best.” I tossed my hands in the air. “Land’s back here.” I motioned to the path.

  “You’re doing this for Hailey, aren’t you?” Jimmy glanced my way as we walked side-by-side toward the pond.

  “Yep.” I nodded.

  “I always knew you two would get married eventually. You sure took long enough.” He laughed.

  “Just hope she says yes,” I muttered.

  “Wait!” He stumbled to a stop. “You haven’t asked her yet?” His eyes bulged.

  “I want to give us a fresh start. She deserves to have a clean slate, and her last marriage ended in tragedy. I need for this one to be perfect.” I don’t know why I was defending myself. It was really none of his business.

  When I looked up, we were standing near the clearing by the pond. “So, the property lines ar
e marked. My dad had it surveyed. There are stakes at the corners. I want the house to face the water. Hailey always loved watching the sunsets when we were kids. I want to give her that off her front porch.”

  “How many square feet are you looking for?” Jimmy had a pad and pencil out, furiously writing down information as he stalked around the site.

  “Two thousand, give or take a hundred.” I shrugged. “We need four bedrooms, and at least three baths. Front porch, and rear screened porch.”

  “You basically want something the combines your parents’ and her parents’ houses then?” He stuffed the small pad of paper in his pocket.

  “Yeah, kinda.” I nodded. He was right. Hailey’s dream house was a mixture of all the things that our parents’ houses had that we liked.

  “Upstairs laundry room though.” I laughed.

  “She drill that one into you?” He laughed too.

  “Only a few thousand times. She hates climbing stairs for laundry, and mine is in my basement.” I took one last look at the area.

  “Anything else?” Jimmy’s head tipped to the side.

  “If you could have your landscaper clear out an area where I could build a playset for Nora, that would be great.” I ran my hand though my hair.

  “What kinda time frame are we looking at?” Jimmy began scrolling through his phone. I’m assuming he was looking for his suppliers.

  “I’d like to be able to get in the week of Christmas.” I cringed.

  “That’s only seven weeks. You do know that it’s winter. That’s really asking a lot, man.” He shook his head.

  “I can pay you overtime if I need to. I want Hailey to spend Christmas in this house.” I crossed my arms over my chest in resolution.

  “I’ll do my best. We’ll start grading tomorrow. What kinda access around you going to use?” He began to wander around.

  “This property has road frontage behind it. The driveway will be over there. You can come in this way.” I pointed to where we’d have access to the main road. I wanted to keep the path the way it was so my children could race down it just as their mom and I did when we were kids.

  “You’re putting the back of the house to the road?” Jimmy’s forehead wrinkled. “Never seen that before.”

  ‘Well, now you have. I want this to be our view, not the road.” I shrugged before holding my hand out for him to shake.

  “All right, Stanton. Let’s build you a house.” He shook my hand before we turned and headed back to my office. We had a little paperwork I needed to sign, and then I was going to have to beg my brother for a ride home, and convince him to stop somewhere for takeout. I’d never hear the end of it if I showed up empty handed.

  Chapter 31

  Max

  It’s the week before Christmas, and Jimmy has almost finished the house. I’ve been checking on the progress pretty much daily. The grading and the foundation went in pretty quickly. A week later, we had walls and a roof. It was at that point when things seemed to slow down. The crew still worked every day, but you couldn’t see much of the progress just by looking at the house. Things like plumbing and electrical don’t make a big impact until you need them.

  Today, I’m supposed to approve the countertops along with flooring. Jimmy said they’re in the home stretch, and this next week is pretty much just cosmetic stuff. Them finishing couldn’t come at a better time. We’re supposed to get a pretty bad snowstorm this weekend that would cause a significant delay.

  “What do you think?” Jimmy stepped out onto the back porch as I climbed out of my truck. I’d driven down the access road, and used what will be my new driveway.

  “I think you better have good news.” I laughed as I jogged up the path that led to my front steps. The house was two stories, with dormers in the front. The wrap around porch had a chair railing, and our front door was red, something I found out that Hailey always wanted. The siding was white with black trim, and black shutters with window boxes framed the lower windows.

  “That I do have.” Jimmy met me on the front porch, and let me pass through the door in front of him. “Take a look at these samples, and let me know your preference.” He motioned to several pieces of hardwood flooring laid out to the side.

  “I can get all of these in a few days, so you can spend the weekend here if you want.” He chuckled as I paced back and forth looking at the wood.

  “I like that one.” I pointed at the dark cherry wood. “Next.” I wandered through what was going to be the family room, and into the kitchen. A window overlooked the area that I had cleared for Nora’s playset. A farm sink was below it, with a large island to eat around. A breakfast nook was off to one side with a bay window. “These look great.” I motioned to the cabinets I’d selected.

  “They did turn out nice.” Jimmy nodded as he stood in the center of the room. “I was able to get you four pendants instead of three, too.” He pointed to the lights hanging above us. “Which granite did you decide on?”

  I’d looked at granite the last time I was here, but hadn’t made a decision yet. “I think I’m going to go with this one.” I pointed to a lighter gray. “With dark floors and dark cabinets, I don’t want it to get too dark in here.”

  “I was going to try and sway you to that if you picked something else. I think this is perfect.” He made a few notes. “Did you want to see the carpet upstairs?”

  “I think I’m going to look around on my own so you can get back to work.” I shook his hand. “I’m counting on this being finished by the end of the week.”

  “It will be,” Jimmy assured before I turned toward the stairs.

  When I reached the top, I removed my shoes. I didn’t want to get dirt on my brand-new carpet. There were three bedrooms toward one end of the house, and then the master suite was on the other end. The master bath had a large soaking tub, per my request after the night Hailey and I took a bath together. The second bath was a Jack-and-Jill style for the two smaller bedrooms, and then the largest of the extra rooms had a bath of its own.

  When you looked out the front window of the master bedroom, you could see the top of my parents’ barn, and the silo off to the side. The pond glistened in the sun out front, and I wondered if Hailey would want to ice skate on it when it froze this winter. If it got as cold as it was supposed to get, we might have ice in another week or two. That reminded me that I needed to get wood for our fireplace. Nothing sounded more romantic than curling up on the couch in front of a roaring fire.

  After taking one last look around, I jogged back down the steps to find Jimmy. He was talking to someone on the phone, and held up a hand when he saw me. “That’s great, Tim. Thanks.” He clicked off before looking at me. “Flooring can be here by tomorrow night. They had an order cancel this morning, and the flooring had already arrived. They picked the same wood you did.”

  “Perfect.” I smiled. “I can’t thank you enough for getting this finished so quickly.”

  “It’s nothing. I figured I owed you one after all the shit I put you two through when we were little.” Jimmy shrugged as he turned back toward the kitchen. “I gotta get these measurements finished so we can get that granite cut. Come back tomorrow night if you can and we’ll go over the punch list.”

  “Sounds great.” I nodded as I slipped back into my shoes and left.

  ooooooooo

  Hailey

  I don’t know where he’s been going off to at work. Max has been making excuses almost daily to not drive in to work together. At first, he told me it was because Micha had needed him to stay late, and he didn’t want me waiting on him. I know that wasn’t the case today. Micha left the same time I did, and Max had stayed late, again.

  I put Nora down early tonight because I want to call him out on his bullshit excuses. It’s probably going to lead to an early morning, but I don’t care. I’ll get up early with Nora if I need to. The not knowing what he’s hiding is getting to me, and I think I’m inventing reasons to be mad at him.

  It was getting
late and I was just about to give up on him coming by when I heard a knock on the door. I huffed out a breath as I shoved myself off the couch. My anger had built to new levels as I had sat most of the evening stewing. “Where have you been?” I growled as I flung the door open. My foot was tapping as I waved one hand in the air while the other held the door.

  “I had something I needed to do.” He looked sheepish and refused to make eye contact.

  “Something or someone?” I snapped.

  His eyes flashed with pain. “Geez, Hails, why don’t you trust me?”

  “You’ve been lying to me for weeks.” I rolled my eyes. “Why would I trust you?”

  “Can I come in?” He attempted to step around me, but I held my ground. I don’t know why I was doing this. Maybe it was because I was angry, but I’d thought Max and I were building something. I thought we were going somewhere, but lately it seemed like we were going backwards.

  “Why?” I tipped my head to the side and squinted like I could figure him out.

  “Because it’s cold out here.” He sighed.

  I stepped back a little and motioned for him to enter. “Leave your shoes on. I don’t know if you’re staying yet,” I muttered as I closed the door. I shuffled around in front of him. I was already in a pair of sweats, and ready for bed.

  “I can’t.” He started to step out of his shoes.

  “Why?” I glared at him. I was trying so hard to stay mad, but he smelled so good, and the shirt he was wearing pulled tight across his chest.

  “It’s a surprise for Christmas, and that’s all you’re getting.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

  “There’s a blanket on the back of the couch.” I flicked my finger at the quilt that was folded nearby. “That’s all you’re getting.” I turned to head down the hallway. “See you in the morning,” I tossed over my shoulder.

  I started counting as I walked down the hallway. It took me to the count of eight before I felt his arms band around me from behind. “I don’t think so,” he murmured next to my ear as he gently pushed me through my bedroom door.

  I never was good at staying mad when he was trying to do something sweet, and tonight was no different.