“What about the old house you’re renovating for Thomas for peanuts?”
Will had fought Connor when he found out he had agreed to help Thomas for so little money. He’d never been a fan of Thomas, always saying he was selfish—a portrait of Thomas that had recently been proven true. “It looks like that one isn’t going to happen,” Connor said.
Will took a noisy sip of his coffee. “Thomas finally figure out that place isn’t worth the trouble?”
The machinery rumbled in front of them. When it passed, Connor said, “Sort of. A couple days ago Thomas dumped his fiancée, Laura, and tucked tail back to Florida.”
Will let out a long whistle. “That guy is a real winner, isn’t he?”
Connor couldn’t shake the image of Laura on the steps of the front porch. “I offered to help her out with the house.”
Will’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why’d you go and do that? You just said you didn’t have time for that job to begin with.”
Connor rubbed the back of his neck. “She was in a bind. I felt bad for her.”
That was part of the truth. It was also about the guilt eating at him.
Will flicked the last droplets of coffee on the dirt under his feet. “What did Thomas say about it?”
“I haven’t talked to him since the day he walked out on her.”
Will laughed, shaking his head. “You’re telling me he doesn’t know you offered to remodel a house for his former fiancée?”
“That’s right,” he said, his pitch rising.
Will screwed the cap back on the thermos. “And you think your buddy would be okay with that?”
Connor didn’t care at this point. He was more worried about Laura. “It doesn’t matter because she turned me down.”
“Good thing. Sounds like a big mess you don’t have time for. Nothing positive could come from jumping in the middle of their ring.”
Will constantly urged him to stay out of the problems of others, but somehow Connor continued to find himself smoothing out disputes that weren’t his own. “I guess.”
The brothers stood side by side watching the crew work. “Listen,” Will said. “I know you’re dying to do a renovation, but we’re swamped. With Mom being sick, Dad’s going to have to take some days off. Cassie and I have the baby coming soon. When the right timing and the right project come along, I promise we’ll expand into that area.”
Connor looked at his brother who avoided his gaze. Connor didn’t need anyone’s permission to take on a project, especially Will’s. They were all owners of Overman Real Estate. “Thanks for the pep talk,” Connor said dryly.
“What I’m trying to say is we need you, not just the business, but the family. Don’t spend so much energy trying to fix everyone else’s problems that you don’t leave enough time for what’s important.”
As much as it irritated him, Will was right. They had a business to run. He couldn’t deal with Thomas’s problems. But where did that leave Laura? “You don’t have anything to worry about. She thinks I’m overbearing and refuses to accept my help.”
Will stared at him, his mouth open. “You do realize when I described a woman like that to you I was talking about Cassie.”
Cassie, Will’s wife, was pregnant with their first baby. Just as quickly as the hope flickered in Connor’s chest, he slammed the door on it. It wouldn’t and couldn’t ever happen. She had been engaged to his friend. She was off-limits, and Connor would never allow his feelings for her to go any further. He’d caused enough problems.
Will pointed toward the street. “Who’s that?”
Laura tiptoed through the mud toward them, her cheeks flushed.
Connor sucked in a sharp breath. “What is she doing here?”
Will laughed and shook his head. “That’s her, isn’t it?”
Once Laura reached them, she wrung her hands together. “Good morning,” she said breathlessly. “I went by your office. They told me you might be here. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not. Will, this is Laura. Laura, my brother, Will.” Connor didn’t take his eyes off her.
Will reached his hand out to Laura. “Great to meet you, Laura.”
Laura shook his hand. “You, too.”
Will slapped Connor’s back. “I’ll leave you two alone, but keep in mind what we talked about.”
They both stared at Will as he got into his truck and pulled away, neither saying a word. Being near Laura triggered Connor’s pulse to surge through his veins.
Laura eventually broke the silence. “Thanks for taking care of my snake problem. How many did they find?”
Connor narrowed his eyes. “You don’t really want to know, do you?”
Laura shook her head. “Probably not.”
Her soft face and sweet voice stood out in stark contrast to the rough site and rugged equipment growling beside them. After their last conversation, Connor had faced the possibility that she would return to Florida as quickly as Thomas had and he would never see her again. “What can I do for you?” he asked, keeping his voice as casual as he could manage.
Blond hair blew across her face. “I thought about your offer.”
Connor took a breath and held it in anticipation. “And did you reconsider?” He braced himself for the chance of bad news.
“How soon do you think you could get started on the house?” Laura asked with a smile spreading across her lips.
Connor crouched down, pulled a corner of the green shag carpet away from the baseboards, and admired the original hardwood floors. He peeled the carpet back farther to reveal more water damage and patches of dried paint. Nothing a weekend of refinishing couldn’t repair.
Every time he turned around, he found himself deeper and deeper intertwined in Laura’s situation. He should have told her the truth before he agreed to renovate the house, but his mind had gone out of focus this morning when he saw her walking toward him through the dirt and construction equipment. He didn’t care if his brother thought it was a bad idea. One look from Laura sent all rationale out the window.
Laura walked in from the entry carrying a yellow legal pad and an ink pen. Something had shifted in her from the last time he had been with her. She wore her newfound independence like a new sweater. “We could rip the old floors out and install new floors,” Laura said. “I’ve heard they make laminates that look like real wood.”
Connor flinched. His mouth moved, trying to tell her how unthinkable ruining the amazing hardwood would be, but all that came out was a sputter and a cough.
Laura stared at him with wide eyes. “Are you okay?”
He gulped in a breath of fresh air. “You cannot replace these original floors with laminate.” It came out sterner than he meant it.
She clicked the end of the pen and tapped it against her notepad. “That wouldn’t be my first choice either, but it’s all about the money, or more accurately, my lack of it.”
Money had nothing on principle. There was no way he would help rip out the old floors. He rose to his feet and dusted off the knees of his jeans. “If we’re going to do this, we need to do it right.”
Laura’s hands swung to her hips. “No offense, but we need to do it as quickly and cheaply as possible so I can get back to Florida.”
Connor recoiled at the mention of Laura leaving, but she was here with him now. That was all that mattered. He handed her the end of a tape measure and walked to the other end of the room. “What happened to your dreams of restoring the original beauty of the house?”
He looked at the number on the tape and nodded at her. She let go of the tape measure, letting it snap back to him.
“They went out the window with the rest of the dreams I came with.”
Hopelessness filled Laura’s tone, and it broke Connor’s heart.
Connor took the pen from her hand and leaned in close to record the measurement on her notepad. “I don’t know much, but I know how to keep a project on budget. We can probably repair the roof instead of replacing it.
Some of the mechanical things like the hot water heater may be salvageable, but we’ll find a way to keep the floors.”
“I guess I’m not in any position to protest.” Laura spun around and headed toward the kitchen.
Connor followed.
In the kitchen, he swung open a dingy beige cabinet door. In this condition, he couldn’t tell if they were original to the 1920s home or had been added in the 1970s renovation. “Who knows how many times these have been painted? I can strip one and see if they’re worth salvaging.”
A hinge squeaked as Laura opened a cabinet door. “Why don’t we just add a fresh coat?”
Connor shot her a look. “I’m not even going to respond to that.”
Laura’s laugh swept through the kitchen like the Oklahoma wind. “Okay, okay. We’ll talk about it later.”
Connor thumbed a peeling piece of wallpaper. “Removing this paper and painting the walls will make a big difference in here.”
Laura’s shoulders shifted back. “Painting is one thing I know I can handle.”
Painting was Connor’s least favorite task when it came to renovating. It always took twice as long as he planned, and it drove him nuts if it wasn’t done perfectly. “Did you do a lot of painting at your old place?”
“No, my landlord wouldn’t allow it, but I’ve spent enough time in front of a canvas with a paintbrush in my hand to figure it out.”
Connor wished he could know more about the person behind those blue eyes. “You’re an artist?”
Laura neatly wrote out a to-do list on her notepad. “I graduated from art school, but after I got a job in graphic design, I spent all my time behind a computer screen instead of an easel.”
Connor pointed at her list. “Sounds like the perfect combination of structure and creativity.”
Laura’s cheeks flushed, and she flipped the notebook on the kitchen table. “My parents kind of engrained my perfectionism into me. Art is my escape from that side of myself.”
Connor leaned against the kitchen counter. “How’d they feel about art school?”
“I love my parents, but they were strict. I’m an only child, and they were determined to turn me into some kind of doctor or lawyer. Art school was not in their plans, but I loved painting.”
He studied Laura’s relaxed shoulders. Her whole demeanor had changed at the mention of painting. “Do you want to paint a mural?” The words tumbled out of his mouth without a thought.
“What?”
Dust floated through the sunbeams streaming from the kitchen window. “I’m about to pay an arm and a leg for a mural in Will and Cassie’s nursery, my baby gift to them. I would pay you what the artist quoted me.” It was a perfect plan, and it would help both of them.
“You’ve never seen any of my work. What if I’m awful?”
“I highly doubt that.”
She leaned back and crossed her arms. “Are you sure about this?”
“Of course. I can take you to see the room tomorrow.” It was an opportunity to help Laura and give him more time to figure out how to tell her what Thomas had told him. “Does that mean you’ll do it?”
“I’ll do it,” she said, her voice full of excitement. Laura reached out and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.
Connor drank in the sweet smell of her hair and the warmth of her in his arms.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you,” she said.
He closed his eyes. Without him, Laura would still be engaged and on her way to a happily ever after.
It was too late to tell Laura the truth now. He didn’t want her to change her mind and return to Florida. He would just have to wait until the time was right.
Laura studied Connor’s kind eyes and masculine features as he pushed the screen door open for her.
They walked together down the creaky steps and stood just outside the shadow the house cast across the grass.
A moment of silence hung in the late spring afternoon. “So, how are you doing?” Connor asked.
Laura winced. She knew what he was asking. How do you feel after being dumped by your fiancé? What are you going to do? How are you going to deal? The same questions she had been asking herself for the last three days. “If I don’t laugh, I might cry.”
Connor wrapped an arm around her shoulder and squeezed, pulling one of her legs from the ground.
His touch made a jolt of delight run down her backbone. “Really. I’m fine.”
Connor faced her. His forehead wrinkled. “Really?”
Too tired to put up a fight, Laura shrugged. “I’ve moved from hurt to just being plain mad at him.”
Connor rubbed a hand along his chin. “Have you two talked?”
Laura shook her head. “I tried, but he hasn’t returned my call. But what do you even say to someone who tells you he doesn’t love you?” Laura was sick of hearing her own pathetic story.
Connor’s eyes looked deep into hers. “I’d tell him he needs to get his head checked out.”
The kind words kindled a spark that she quickly snuffed out. Laura had been denying her growing feelings for Connor. She couldn’t let her fragile emotions get the best of her. Connor was Thomas’s friend who was simply trying to help his scorned ex-girlfriend.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “For helping me. For all your kindness.”
“I wish I could do more,” Connor said. “I hate that you’re going through all this.”
His thoughtfulness left her spinning. The reality of her relationship with Thomas crashed into her. She continually sought Thomas’s approval but could never quite achieve it.
Connor’s lips stretched into a line. “Is everything okay?”
Embarrassed that Connor could read the emotion on her face, she forced a smile. “What should we do first?” Laura asked.
His eyes bounced around her face searching for answers. “You want to get started on the house right now?”
She needed to know if he was for real—if he’d really be able to help her get things back on track. She needed some scrap of hope to cling to. “Sure. Unless you have somewhere else you need to be.”
He laughed. “You don’t waste any time. I can appreciate that.”
The sooner she dug out of the mess she was in, the sooner she could figure out how to regain control of her life. As much as she didn’t want to place her trust in another man, Connor seemed kind and sincere. She only hoped she wouldn’t be let down again.
Connor hinged on one foot to face the back porch. “Let’s see. I can apply for a building permit this afternoon. I don’t have all my tools, but I have a drill and some screws in my truck. I think I saw a ladder on the other side of the house. I could fix the loose shutter on the second story.”
“That would be great.” It would be a comfort to see a change in the house, no matter how small.
They walked around the house to his truck. He pulled out a drill and stuck a handful of screws in the pocket of his crisp white shirt.
A wooden ladder lay beside a pile of broken cinder blocks near where his truck was parked. He pulled it out of the grass and weeds and gave it a hard shake. “Hopefully this thing will hold my weight.”
Connor was well built with broad shoulders and strong arms. He propped the ladder against the house and climbed it to the small, sloped roof over the porch.
Moments later the drill in Connor’s hand buzzed and the green shutter was in place. Maybe this arrangement would work out after all.
Connor stumbled backward, and his hands flew up and flailed around like an out-of-control fire hose.
She jogged closer to the house. “What in the world are you doing?” she yelled.
He swatted at something in front of his face and then swung his arms backward to the back of his head. He stumbled, and she gasped, afraid he would fall off the roof. “You’re scaring me now. Come down from there!”
The ladder wobbled as Connor clambered down it, hanging on with one hand and swinging the other around his face. By the time he
made it safely to the ground, he was red-faced. “I know that you bought the place, but those wasps living under the eaves aren’t giving up the house without a fight.”
The emotional ride she’d been on during the past few days had finally caught up to her, and it busted out of her in a fit of giggles.
When she pulled her head up to catch a gasp of air, Connor’s head was hanging down. He rubbed the back of his neck.
“I’m sorry,” she said between gasps of air. “I shouldn’t laugh.” She sucked in a breath. “You’re not allergic or anything are you?”
He pushed a hand playfully against her shoulder, but a big grin spread across his face. “No, but I’m glad my situation could make you laugh. You’re probably wondering why you agreed to my help in the first place.”
Laura blew air up to her face to compose herself. “No, but we may need to get you some kind of beekeeping uniform.”
Connor’s endearing smile and deep laugh drew her in.
Laura’s face warmed, and she tucked her hair behind her ears. She couldn’t have feelings for another man, much less Thomas’s friend. It had to be in her mind. She was merely missing Thomas, and her heart was playing tricks on her.
She didn’t have time for this. She needed to focus and figure out if Connor could help her sell the house and move on with her life.
Chapter 7
After the work crew had left for the night, Connor led Laura to the front porch of Will and Cassie’s unfinished house and waited for her reaction.
“Wow,” she said. “This is gorgeous.”
Connor’s chest expanded at her approval. He, Will, and Cassie had worked together to design the front of the home to replicate the look of a rustic lodge with substantial cedar beams and stone accents. He had spent so much time making sure every detail, from the iron door hardware to the planters, was just right that he hadn’t even looked at it for what it was—the project that made him the most proud.
The home wasn’t huge or elaborate, but it was unique and full of custom touches. Connor wanted it to be perfect for Will and his new family and recently told his brother and sister-in-law they weren’t allowed to see the house until he finished the work. He wanted it to be a surprise.
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