by Beth K. Vogt
“Can I help you with anything?”
The man’s deep bass voice caused Caron to turn. He was tan, a faded brimmer hat shading his face and a wide grin reaching all the way to his eyes.
“No, I’m fine. Just stepped outside to think.”
“Can’t say I blame you. It’s noisy in there.” The man extended a hand, then pulled it back to dust off the dirt caking his skin onto his jeans. “Sorry about that. I’m Austin Barret, the landscaper.”
“I’m Caron Hollister. I’ll be staging the house.”
“Great. We’ll be seeing each other again.”
“Possibly.” Caron couldn’t help but like the man and his natural friendliness. “Although I’ll be inside and you’ll be outside.”
“Well, a guy’s got to get a drink of water now and then. And I might need advice on where to place a petunia or two.”
“I’m sure you will.”
“I’ll wager you’re not from Colorado.”
“What gave me away?”
“That little Southern drawl of yours is charming.”
Caron had to laugh at the man’s blatant flirting. “I bet you use that line on all the ladies, Austin.”
“Only the Southern ones.” Austin tossed her a wink.
“Everything okay out here?” Kade’s voice sounded across the yard.
Caron’s laughter stilled as Austin’s eyes narrowed. “That your boyfriend?”
“No. That’s my boss.”
“I see.”
“He’s probably ready to discuss this project. We’re on a tight schedule.”
Austin tipped the brim of his hat, flashing another of his teasing grins. “Been a pleasure to meet you, Caron. I hope to see you again. Soon.”
“See you around, Austin.”
Kade stood, hands on hips, at the top of the wooden ramp that had been constructed on one side of the small patio. Caron chose to use the stairs on the other side.
“Everything okay?” A slight breeze lifted her hair off her neck, and she relished the coolness.
“You tell me.”
What did Kade mean by that?
“You and Eddie were discussing retrofitting the second shower or not. I stepped outside to gather my thoughts—”
“Looked like you were flirting with the gardener.”
“If by ‘flirting’ you mean that he came over and said hello and that I said hello back, then yes, I flirted with the gardener.” Caron huffed out a breath. “And I don’t see why that’s any of your business.”
“It’s my business because I’m paying your salary for the next few weeks, which means I am paying you to work for me—not to fool around.”
“Fool around . . .” Caron kept her voice low, stomping her foot so that a sharp pain zinged up her calf. “I was talking to the man for less than five minutes.”
“I had to come looking for you. Eddie wants to know if you have any preliminary ideas to share with him.”
“Yes, I do. I just need to get my iPad.” Caron straightened her shoulders and stood as tall as she could, marching past Kade, but pausing long enough for one last verbal volley. “And if you plan on keeping track of me, I’ll just tell you now you’ll have to pay me extra to wear a bell.”
NINETEEN
Alex grabbed the washing-machine belt from the passenger seat of the van, knocking the crumpled fast-food bag to the floor, where it lay next to an empty Big Gulp cup and a Baby Ruth wrapper. He needed to clean the van in his spare time. But how often did he have any of that? Days like today were rare. The previous two appointments had been easy fixes and he’d finished up early, providing him with an extra hour to stop by Jessica’s and tell her about his idea for her air-conditioner replacement. Yes, he’d be eating on the run again, but if everything went well with this impromptu repair, he’d still be on schedule.
Everything seemed quiet as he stood on the small front porch decorated with a white plastic planter filled with red geraniums. He knocked on the door. Waited. Knocked again. Waited. He tried ringing the doorbell, which gave an odd one-note jangle. How many things in this house were broken?
After a few moments of waiting, Alex had to admit Jessica wasn’t home. Why did he assume she didn’t work during the day? She’d obviously taken off when he came to repair her A/C the first time, and the second time it was after five o’clock.
Just as he got back to the van, Jessica turned the corner at the end of the street and came toward him.
“Alex?” She quickened her pace.
“Hi.” He tapped the rubber belt against his leg.
“What are you doing here?” She stood on the sidewalk, a narrow strip of dry grass separating them.
“I came by to check on your washing machine.”
“My . . . washing machine? But you repair air conditioners.”
“Turns out I also know a little bit about other appliances. And I snuck a look at your machine the other day when I washed my hands because I needed to know the brand. Based on what you described, I think it’s just a matter of replacing the belt.”
“Alex, you didn’t—”
“I’m here. I have the belt. Is it okay if I take a look?”
She shrugged, a smile curving her lips, her strawberry-blond hair held back from her face by a plain white headband. “Of course it’s okay. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful. I just don’t want to take advantage of you.”
He followed her lead to the front door. “Where’s Scotty?”
“I walked him over to a friend’s house for a playdate.” She ushered him inside with a flourish. “You obviously know the way.”
“Guilty as charged. Are you off work today, too?”
“Off work?”
“I assumed you were off work the first time I came to repair your A/C—”
“I work from home. I’m a medical transcriptionist.”
“Really? I don’t think I’ve ever met one of those.”
“I listen to different doctors’ dictations of their reports and medical notes and I type them up and then send them back for their review. It’s nice because I’m home, and I can be here for Scotty. I might look for something else once he’s in school full-time, but for now, it’s a great job for a single mom, if you don’t mind all the medical jargon.”
“Scotty’s a great kid.”
“He is that. But today he was getting a little tired of hanging around the house while I tried to catch up on my work. Hence, the playdate.” A soft laugh wrapped around her words. “Some days it’s all I can do to keep up with his never-ending appetite, his creative imagination, and his curiosity that leads to a million questions.”
“I bet he’s got a lot of those.”
“Everything from why puppies can’t talk to him, to why can’t he eat all the ice cream he wants, to why doesn’t his daddy live with us.” Jessica had switched from sunglasses to her regular glasses. “I have to admit, that last one is the toughest.”
Her last comment was said with raw honesty. “Does Scotty see his dad often?”
“No. I have sole custody of him. Our divorce was rough. I guess Wayne expected me to tolerate his not-so-secret girlfriends forever. I didn’t wise up soon enough not to marry the guy, but I didn’t stay stupid forever.”
Her admission surprised him. A brief explanation that didn’t ask for pity.
“Anyway, you didn’t come here to find out about me. I’ll get out of your way and go wrangle with some long, complicated medical words.”
Alex disconnected the water and electricity before moving the washing machine away from the wall. Once he removed the back panel, he pulled out the broken belt—just as he suspected.
But his victory was a short-lived one. Yes, Jessica’s washing machine needed a new belt, but he’d brought the wrong size. So much for his good deed for the day.
Jessica sat at a small wooden dining room table, laptop open, headphones in place, eyes intent, fingers flying over the keyboard. Alex positioned himself at the other end of the table, stan
ding silent, waiting until she finished typing. She paused the dictation machine next to the computer, removing the headphones and rearranging the headband that held her hair in place.
“So?”
“Well, I’m right . . . and I’m wrong.”
“Okay.”
“Meaning, it is your washing-machine belt, but I bought the wrong size.” He scratched the side of his jaw. “So, give me another chance to get the right one and I’ll fix it for you.”
“Alex, really, I didn’t expect you to do this—”
“You can’t expect me to be this close and quit now.”
“I’m going to lose this argument, aren’t I?” At his nod, she smiled. “So, do you win all the arguments with your girlfriend?”
“Caron? We don’t argue.” Except about her winning the destination wedding in Colorado. And about her quitting her job. And about her working for Kade Webster. He wouldn’t call his near-miss of a proposal a true argument.
Why were there so many missteps between them lately?
“Oh, one of those we-never-argue kind of couples.”
“We’ve known each other for years. It’s . . . easy.”
“Easy would be nice. Are you two serious?”
“We’ve been together two years—so yes. We’re talking about getting married.” That was one way to put the disastrous conversation in the car.
Jessica leaned back in her chair, sliding her glasses back up on her nose. “Congratulations. But oh, boy, when it comes time to propose . . . well, you’ve got your work cut out for you.”
Proposing. Between his dad and now Jessica, it seemed there was no avoiding the topic. “What do you mean?”
“Where have you been? You can’t just hand a girl a ring and say ‘Will you marry me?’ anymore.” Jessica shook her head. “It starts in high school nowadays. Guys are supposed to come up with these elaborate ways to ask a girl to homecoming or prom. Flowers. Banners. Gigantic stuffed animals. By the time a girl expects a wedding proposal, a guy has to have some sort of grand, romantic gesture she’ll tell all her friends and family about and remember for the rest of her life.”
No wonder Caron had shut him down. There was no way he was telling Jessica Thompson how badly he bungled things the other day. No flowers. No ring. And no eye contact. “I’m not much of a grand-romantic-plan kind of guy. Caron knows that.”
“All the more reason to surprise her.”
“Maybe.” Alex tapped the palm of his hand with the useless belt. “Oh, man, I can’t believe I forgot to tell you something.”
“More bad news?”
“No. I figured out a way to save you some money on a replacement air conditioner.”
“Really?”
“We had to pull a unit at a customer’s home because they’re remodeling and they wanted a larger unit. The unit they had works fine and they had a planned service agreement, so it’s well maintained. It should last awhile without problems.”
“It sounds wonderful. But how much am I looking at spending?”
“Only twelve hundred dollars. We can arrange a payment plan. Think about it.” He pulled a business card out of his shirt pocket and handed it to her. “Call me and let me know and we’ll set up an installation time.”
“I’ll need to check my finances.”
“I understand. I’ll let you get back to work.” Halfway to the door, he stopped. “You still good with me fixing your washing machine?”
“Am I still good? What kind of silly question is that? Believe me, going to the Laundromat is not high on my list of favorite things to do. And Scotty doesn’t like it any more than I do.”
“I can imagine.” Alex tugged on his cap. “I might not be back until the weekend, or whenever you decide about the air conditioner.”
“I’ll give you a call. And I really do appreciate you thinking of me—I mean, for the used air conditioner. And don’t worry about my washing machine, Alex.”
“One good deed deserves another.”
“Oh, that reminds me! Wait there.” She disappeared into the small kitchen, reappearing with a small brown lunch sack.
“What’s this?”
“Not much, really. Just a snack. An apple and an orange and some homemade cookies. Now get going.”
He raised the sack and saluted her. “Thanks.”
By the time he’d turned off her street, Alex had already finished off two of the oatmeal raisin cookies. He was going to have a hard time keeping up with Jessica in the good-deed department. It was second nature to her. Seemed like she was determined to carry on her mother’s tradition of feeding both friends and strangers.
Too bad Scotty hadn’t been there today. He’d missed the little boy’s nonstop chatter and questions. Not that he had the time to get attached to him. Or Scotty’s mother. He could help out someone in need, too. And then focus on work, and getting things back to normal with Caron as best he could while she was several thousand miles away.
TWENTY
The noise reverberating through the gym minutes earlier faded as the basketball players exited, the wheels of their chairs squeaking against the polished wood floor. A few of the men called back and forth to one another, their T-shirts and hair damp with sweat, laughter punctuating their words.
With a wave, Mitch separated himself from his teammates and made his way to where Kade leaned back against the lowest set of bleachers.
“You should have joined us.” Mitch wiped his arm across his forehead.
“Didn’t have the appropriate mode of transportation. Besides, I couldn’t keep up with you on the basketball court before, and I still can’t.”
“Got that right. Ready for a swim?”
“Yeah.”
Mitch stayed in place. “You going to tell me what’s going on?”
Kade slumped forward over his knees. “It’s that obvious?”
“An artic breeze blew through the office late yesterday afternoon, man. And Miriam warned me that Caron came in to work today muttering something about checking the office manual about wearing a bell.” Mitch’s laugh rang through the empty gym. “Caron Hollister works for you less than a day and you two already had a fight?”
“It’s my fault. I got out of line.”
“And what does that mean?”
“I got jealous, okay? Stupid, I know. She was talking to the landscaper out at Kingston’s house yesterday and it . . . it bothered me.”
“What did you do?”
“I accused her of flirting and . . . fooling around . . .”
“With the landscape guy? What did you do, find them in a passionate embrace behind the begonias?”
“Very funny. And you don’t have to say anything. Caron already did.” Kade gripped his knees, pushing himself back up. “I was out of line, I know it. I haven’t been around the woman for two years and I overreact because she’s talking to another guy? What’s my problem?”
“You tell me. Isn’t she practically engaged to her boyfriend?”
“Probably. I haven’t kept tabs on Caron Hollister.”
“Lacey would be asking if you’re still in love with her—”
“Well, it’s a good thing you’re not Lacey, isn’t it? I hired Caron Hollister to do a job for me. She’ll be gone right after the tour. Back to Florida and her boyfriend.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I owe her an apology. And then I need to push reset on this whole work relationship.”
“I’m sorry this is tougher than you expected.” Mitch’s tone sobered. “I’m praying for you.”
“Thanks.” Kade scrubbed the palm of his hand across his face. “You know, I hated losing Russell Hollister’s mentorship when I decided to go out on my own and start my own company. I learned a lot from the man. How to read clients. To separate what people in search of a home wanted from what they needed. How to close a deal. How to settle disputes. My decision to go out on my own strained—no, it killed our relationship because Russell Hollister felt betrayed.
He couldn’t see that I only wanted the same thing he’d wanted as a young man—the chance to be my own boss.”
“I’ve seen that happen more than once when someone breaks away from a mentor or a coach.”
“Yeah. Caron and I had been dating about six months . . . and I never thought she’d choose her dad over me.”
“Is that what happened?”
“I think so. I don’t know. She never told me.”
“She never told you?”
“Nope. It was just . . . over.” Kade rose to his feet. “What’s the use of talking about it? Let’s hit the pool. Cool down. Clear our heads.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“And tomorrow it’s back to work and doing what we do best. Selling houses. We need to spend some time looking for something for you and Lacey.”
“It’s not a priority.”
“Yes, it is. I haven’t forgotten. The home tour is demanding a lot of time, yes, but we’ll do it.”
“Maybe we should wait until after the tour. Are we crazy to still try and do the Mudder in two weeks?”
“We are not backing out of the Mudder. It’ll take up a Saturday. One day, that’s all.”
“Okay, fine. But I’ve waited this long to find a house for Lacey and me. I can wait a little longer.”
“It doesn’t take that long to scan the new listings.” Kade rested his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I’ll go in a little earlier tomorrow and let you know if I find anything.”
• • •
Kade swiveled his chair around so he faced away from the door leading out of his office. Now he could enjoy the view from the rain-dampened window—a sky filled with clouds that had rolled in over the mountains throughout the afternoon, dumping intermittent showers accompanied with rumbles of thunder.
