So one more set of hands couldn’t hurt.
“Fine, you can stay and work. For now. We’ll figure out a budget for you later. If you’re as good as you say you are, then maybe I’ll have more work for you later on. For now, just work on the molding along that wall, okay?”
“You don’t want me to get into the wall too, and see what’s causing the marks?”
“Just the molding for now, thank you. One thing at a time.”
He added a wink to his smile. “That’s the way I like it.”
Katie stayed and watched him for a few minutes as he tore at the molding and made sure to remove every single nail along the way. She told herself that she didn’t leave because she needed to make sure he was going to do what she asked him. Just protecting her investment.
The truth was that Bill was easy on the eyes. She enjoyed spending that time watching him.
When her stomach growled she went into the kitchen to get herself the breakfast she had nearly forgotten about. She offered Bill something, but he turned her down and said he wanted to keep working because he was nearly done with the molding and he wanted to see what she gave him next.
It was so odd, the way he affected her. Katie had been on her own for years. There had been men to hang out with in that time, and a few who she actively dated, but no one who held her interest. Bill wasn’t like that. He was cute and smart and obviously knew what this house needed. Crazy as it was that he had just wandered in off the street and into her life, she allowed her thoughts to wander into the realm of what could happen, if she was willing to let it.
The toaster that she’d bought yesterday popped up her bagel, hot and ready, and she gingerly pinched each half between her thumb and forefinger to transfer them to a plate. She moved to the table on the other side of the spacious room and ate there. As she chewed, she went over her list of things to do in the house again. Yes, a lot of work, but it was going to be such a wonderful home when she was done with it. One of these days, she might end up keeping one of these homes that she’d flipped for herself. Looking around the kitchen, imagining what things would look like when she was done, she could almost believe this would be the house that finally allowed her to settle down in one spot.
Or maybe that was just too farfetched.
“Get a grip, Katie,” she told herself. “A cute guy walks in and suddenly you’re dreaming of playing Little Susie Homemaker.”
Laughing, she spread more jam on her bagel and took a bite. It tasted really, really good.
Chapter 3
It was lunchtime before she got back to the house. Against her better judgment she’d left Bill at the house so that she could run into town for some supplies. Plumber’s putty, a broom, and the fixings for nice turkey sandwiches from the deli on Main Street. Thick sliced cold cuts, crusty white bread, lettuce and spicy brown mustard. A couple of bottles of soda as well. One cola, one root beer. She’d gotten both because she didn’t know what Bill liked.
“Because,” she said, “I’m just that kind of fool.”
Katie rolled her eyes at herself as she parked her blue two door sedan up close to the Knox Estate. First the man comes into her new house without an invitation, then he worms his way into getting a job from her, and now she was going to feed him lunch. This was really not like her. There was just something about this guy though. She could just tell she was going to like having him around.
Taking the bags and the broom from her trunk, she hurried inside to see how much work Bill had managed to get done.
He was standing in the entryway when she came in, wiping his hands on a white rag, and smiling at her.
He was also naked from the waist up.
Without his shirt on Katie could see the hard lines of the muscles in his solid core, and his supple arms. Sweat glistened on his skin. She was glad she had her bags to hold onto. She wasn’t sure she’d know what to do with her hands otherwise.
“Hey, Katie. Got quite a bit done. Is that lunch? I’m starving.”
“Uh, hi. Yes. Me too. I mean, yes, it’s lunch. Do you, uh, always work without your shirt on?”
“Hmm? Oh, sorry. I figured there was no one here so I wouldn’t be bothering anyone. Let me just slip it back on.”
He was through the archway and into the living room before she could decide if that was a good idea or a bad one, and then Katie saw what Bill had done while she was gone. She nearly dropped her grocery bags. He’d gotten a lot of work done all right. Much more than she had expected.
That didn’t mean it was good work.
The molding had been taken off from around the bottom of the wall on the two sides without bookcases, some of it in chunks. The broken pieces had been laid out in the middle of the room waiting to be taken away. The rug had already been torn out and rolled into a--more or less--perfect cylinder and set off to the side revealing what could be gorgeous hardwood planking. It would need refurbishing, and the ruined parts replaced, but that was the name of the game, after all.
Katie was more concerned with the state of the room rather than the work that had been done. Piles of used nails sat beside the broken pieces of molding. Wood dust had spread across everything. The rug was leaning up against the stained wall and would have to be removed before they could start work. The room was in a horrible state.
Bill looked at her, correctly interpreting her expression. “I can clean it up after lunch if you like. I wasn’t sure where you wanted the debris and the stuff we’re getting rid of--"
“How about in the waste bins out back?” she blurted out. “That’s what they’re here for! We’re not going to be able to get to that wall for another whole day now. I mean, is this the way you do your work?”
He shifted on his feet and had the good sense to look embarrassed even as his eyes hardened. “I’m sorry, Miss Pearson. Sometimes, you have to make a mess to make things better.”
“Huh. That’s an odd way of looking at it.”
“Sometimes it’s the only way to look at things. You said you do this for a living, right? Well, you must understand the concept. Sometimes the stuff that needs to be fixed is just in your way. So you tear it out, and set aside, and then you throw it away as soon as you have the chance.”
“We still talking about home repairs, Bill?”
He slipped on his t-shirt again. “This is one of those philosophies that works for both your business and your personal life.”
Katie wasn’t sure she understood him completely but she loved to hear him talk. Was it really so bad, what he had done? So, the room was a little bit of a mess. This was how it went with renovations sometimes. She could handle a little destruction as long as the end product was worth it.
“Why don’t you wash your hands and clean up a little.” She set down the broom and the bag from the hardware store inside the living room. That left the bag of food. “When you’re done I’ll make us some lunch. After that you can go home for the day. Come back tomorrow. The contractors will be here then. We’ll figure out a way for everybody to work together.”
His eyes scowled at her, but she couldn’t tell if it was because she had told him to go home for the day, or because he was going to have to share the paycheck for the repair work with other people. Well, that was just the way it was. She was on a schedule. Besides. She was making him lunch. What more could he ask for?
She started to show him the way to the downstairs bathroom but he waved her off and said he knew where it was. Katie couldn’t help watching him walk away. He had a tight little bum in those jeans.
“Get a grip, Katie,” she said to herself. “He’s just a guy you’re hiring to do work on a house. This isn’t a Harlequin romance novel!”
In the kitchen she placed the sandwich fixings on the center island. Last night before bed she’d spent time cleaning down every surface in this room. The appliances were still ugly as sin but they worked, and she’d run enough water through the pipes that it wasn’t brown anymore. It still smelled and tasted funny, though. An
other thing to add to the repair list.
When Bill got back she had paper plates out and a turkey sandwich assembled on both. She’d already stocked the cabinets with snack foods, so she was able to add chips to both plates as well. He came in through the dining room door as she was finishing up, drying his hands on his pants as his eyes drifted from the food to her.
“Listen,” he said. “I’m sorry about the way I acted just now. I’m grateful that you’re hiring me. I really feel like I belong here. This place is such a great house, or it will be once we’re done with it.”
Katie popped a chip in her mouth and sucked the salt off it before chewing and swallowing. She was making him wait, letting him twist a little. She didn’t want him to think he could take out his issues on her and then just apologize to make everything all right again.
“If I’m going to be your boss, you’re going to have to treat me like a boss.” That was one of the lessons she’d learned from the guy who had taught her the trade of flipping houses--the same guy who had been her very first serious boyfriend. Bill sort of reminded her of him, to tell the truth. “Just remember that, okay? Treat me like I’m your boss, because I am.”
Stepping around the island to where she was standing, Bill pushed aside both plates of food. Staring into her eyes, he laid his hand over hers. “You’re my boss. I’ll just have to let you take the lead.”
Katie swallowed. He was so very, very close. She could smell the musk of his cologne. She could feel the warmth of his skin on hers. A shiver went up and down her spine, forcing a little gasp through her parted lips.
“I respect you,” Bill repeated, “but what if I want more?”
He leaned in, and she let him. His mouth brushed up against hers in a kiss that was exciting and intoxicating and probably the worst thing she could let happen with a man who was going to be her employee.
It was crazy. It was too quick. She knew there was no way that she should let this happen.
Only, she wanted it to happen. If it was just harmless fun, who would it hurt?
“Let it happen,” he ordered softly, his lips tickling hers. “Don’t fight it. Let it happen.”
The kiss continued, and his breath mixed with hers, and she lost all track of time. At some point, he was leading her up the stairs, and she was following him hand in hand. She giggled like a schoolgirl as he stopped her at the top of the stairs and put his fingertips on her cheeks, her neck, her shoulders...
And then he stopped.
“What?” she asked. “What is it?”
He looked over her shoulder and down the stairs, and then his gaze returned to hers. “It’s nothing. I thought I saw something.”
“Are you having second thoughts?” she said. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to. I am your boss, after all.”
“You said I was off the clock after lunch. You aren’t my boss now.”
Bill pulled her to him tightly and kissed along her face until their lips met again. It was as if she was caught up in a whirlwind tugging her forward, inescapable and strong, that led them both to the master bedroom.
As they passed the first room off the stairs, she felt that same cold draft wafting out through the open door.
For just a moment, her brain worked to remember if she had closed that door earlier. She thought she had, but here it was, open wide.
Then his hands were slipping down her arms and his lips were setting every single thought in her head on fire.
When he laid her down on the bed his mouth moved to the open neck of her shirt and she knew this was really happening. She’d come to this town hoping to find a property to make money from. She hadn’t come looking for a man to spend time with.
It looked like she had found both.
The afternoon became the evening, and then the night, and Katie found herself tangled up with Bill, skin on skin, laughter and emotions without words filling the bedroom until the two of them fell into the sheets, exhausted and content.
It was the most relaxed Katie had felt in a very long time. It was bizarre to think she had just, um, fallen into bed with a man she hardly knew, but at the same time it felt so right. With a yawn, she stretched herself against him and told herself to stop borrowing trouble.
Just enjoy it, she said, as she fell asleep.
Just enjoy it...
Chapter 4
The alarm on Katie’s cellphone woke her up the next morning, way too soon, and way too loudly.
“All right, all right,” she mumbled, rolling over in bed to slap her hand at the little device on the nightstand. When her fumbling fingers couldn’t find the big red off button she finally sat up and made her eyes focus on the screen. She pushed the button, and silenced the alarm, and rolled over to say good morning to Bill.
He was gone.
Foolishly she smoothed her hand across the sheets on his side of the bed, as if she couldn’t trust her own eyes. Pulling her knees up to her chest, she combed her hand back through her long brown hair.
Suddenly last night seemed like the biggest mistake of her life. She never did stuff like that. Ever. Any guy she chose to...get close to had to wait through a series of dates before she felt comfortable enough to do something like this. She wasn’t a bad girl. She left that up to her friend, Mel Wragg-Brattle. She was the femme fatale, not Katie.
“Whatever,” she mumbled to herself. No having it back. Plus, he might just be downstairs getting his butt back to work.
She smiled as that thought lifted her spirits. Sure. He’d come to her for a job to help flip this house. Where else would he be?
Getting dressed in a hurry in her jeans and a faded red pullover she put her hair up in a ponytail, promising to give herself an extra long shower later. Right now she’d set her alarm for a reason. The contractor and his crew were coming out to meet her this morning at eight A.M. sharp. She wanted to be up and around and ready for them when they got here.
There was lots of work to do. So far, what Bill had done in the living room was all they had to show for it.
The floorboards in the hallway creaked under her feet as she made her way to the stairs. She had to remember to put that on the list of things for the contractors to look at. One thing Katie had learned the hard way was that creaky floors often brought down the selling price of a home. People liked to know that the home they were purchasing had history. They didn’t like it to feel old.
The cold from the last bedroom before the stairway touched her as soon as she got close. The door was open again. Last night, when she and Bill had come stumbling up the stairs in each other’s arms, she had closed this door. She wanted it closed because she wanted to keep the draft confined to this one room.
Now it was open again.
Katie shivered, and not just because she could suddenly see her breath in a plume of mist. She reached out for the knob, and pulled the door closed. No way it was that cold outside.
The knocking on the front door seemed to shake the whole house. Katie’s breath caught in her throat. Then the knocking came again and she realized it was just her contractor. A chuckle turned to mist and vanished. Brr.
Still laughing at herself, she went downstairs.
“Bill?” she called out, looking into the living room, and then the dining room. Their plates and sandwiches were still there, but no Bill. Where was he?
Another knock on the door. The contractors wanted in. She gave up looking for Bill. Getting this house ready for resale was her main priority. Her love life would have to take a backseat, so to speak. He’d show up later today and when he did she could ask him then if this was the way she treated all of the women in his life.
When she opened the door a middle-aged woman stood there in a flannel shirt and brown overalls. Her brown, curly hair framed a pudgy face. Arms the size of a linebacker’s were folded over her chest. When she saw Katie she smiled and stuck out a calloused hand in greeting.
“Hey there. I’m Samantha. Guess I’m your new contractor.”
&nbs
p; “Samantha?” Katie remembered the ad in the paper. “You’re the owner of Sam’s Home Repair?”
“Sure am,” the hefty woman laughed. “Sam. Short for Samantha. You don’t have a problem hiring a woman to do this job, do ya?”
Katie laughed. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m a woman, too! I figure we need to support each other.”
“You bet your life, we do.”
“So, do you have any experience in this sort of work? I mean, top to bottom repairs?”
“Honey, if there’s something I can’t fix then it ain’t worth fixing. I’ve got my guys waiting out in the trucks. Just three of them for today. Got anyplace you want us to start?”
“Oh, so many. I have a list. Would you like to take the walking tour first?”
“Might be a good idea. I’ll just tell my guys to get set up, maybe have one of them scope out the exterior?”
“That would be great. There’s some places that really need attention. Could they look at the landscaping, too?”
“I’ve got a landscaper I work with.” Sam scratched at her ear. “I can have him swing by tomorrow, maybe. He’s not cheap...”
“Well. Let’s hear what he has to say first. Tomorrow would be fine.”
“Okay. Back in a sec.”
As Sam went back out to the driveway Katie went through the first floor again looking for Bill. She couldn’t help herself. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t here. She was just going to have to accept that. Stepping back into the living room she looked over the mess that he had left her. He could have at least stayed to clean up.
“Hoo-boy,” she heard Sam say as she came back in the house and stood beside her. “Somebody sure did a number on this room.”
Sight Unseen Complete Series Box Set Page 14
