by Jeannie Watt
She was in the process of texting Tess and Stevie, her younger sisters, to see if they had Zach’s number when she heard the front door opened. Excellent. Now they could put their heads together and come up with a plan of action that didn’t involve her dad paying penalties for not completing the project on time.
She canceled the text and tucked her phone back into her work pants as she headed around the half-finished wall which separated the foyer from the basement access door, then skidded to a stop when she saw who was waiting for her. “I thought you were Zach.”
Danny dug his hands into his jacket pockets. “Zach quit.”
Felicity’s heart jumped. “No. My dad would have told me.”
Danny merely lifted his eyebrows. He was not messing with her. She’d known him long enough to recognize his game face and this wasn’t it.
“I haven’t seen Dad today,” she admitted. The hospital was her next stop after scoping out the high school situation. “How do you know Zachary quit?”
“Because I contacted him about doing a job for me when he finished with this one.”
“What kind of job….” It didn’t matter. She pulled a deep breath in through her nose as her brain raced through possible solutions to this rather massive problem. Nothing came to mind. She met Danny’s gaze and saw a touch of empathy there. Danny and her dad had always gotten on fairly well. “Why didn’t you tell me this at the house?”
“Because you make it hard to tell you anything?”
Her mouth opened, then snapped shut again. That wasn’t the point she wanted to argue.
“Besides,” Danny continued, “it seemed possible that you knew. He quit last week.”
“Last week?” Then yes, she should have known, since her dad had had ample time to fill in his family before, during, or after the wedding, which he had not done.
Did he have someone else lined up to start work sometime this week? A question to ask, but what if he didn’t? What if these piles of drywall sheets were hers to deal with alone?
“I need to talk to him,” she said, automatically zipping her coat a little higher in preparation for stepping out into the February weather. “Maybe he has someone else lined up.”
“Maybe,” Danny agreed, but it wasn’t in a voice that inspired confidence.
“What do you know?”
“I know that the independent contractors, even the handymen, are booked.”
“What a time for a building boom,” Felicity said darkly. Inside her stomach was twisting.
She pulled in a breath, pressing her lips together as she studied the floor near Danny’s canvas Converse low tops. Who wore those in the winter?
“I wanted to catch up with you and didn’t take time to change,” he explained, effectively reading her thoughts. She didn’t much like that. One of her most effective professional traits was maintaining the stoneface when needed.
Felicity squeezed her forehead with one hand, giving up all pretense of impassivity. Danny could read her, just as she could read him, so why bother? She was freaking inside and pretending she wasn’t wouldn’t help the situation one bit.
“This contract is important to Dad.”
“I know,” Danny said solemnly. “If it turns out he doesn’t have help, and I don’t think he does, given the fact that no one is here, I’ll help. All you have to do is ask.”
“Why would you help?” The question fired out like a bullet and then Felicity swallowed. She was usually much better at keeping her cool and playing her hand.
Danny took a slow step forward as he surveyed the half-finished work area as he said, “Your dad hired me once, at a time when I really needed a job during college. I was desperate and he took me even though he had a full crew.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“My summer internship fell through at the last minute, and I was left with nothing. I didn’t want to take out a loan from my parents, who were strapped at the time. Your dad hired me at the union rate, so I actually made more than I would have in the internship, and he kept me on doing weekend work for another semester.” Danny gave a considering nod. “I think he overpaid me to help me out.”
“I didn’t know.”
“He was busy back then. Running two crews on two projects. It was before the Boise building boom hit hard and the competition became so fierce.”
“I must have been doing my internship in Portland.” Which had led to her landing her dream job there…not that she wanted to think about that. If she recalled, she’d been so busy that year that it’d been Christmas before she’d shown her face in Holly.
“Right.”
A heavy silence fell, then Felicity gave him a quick look. “How is it that you have time to help?” As in, don’t you have a job to go to?
“Let’s just say that I do.”
Why?
It was so difficult to keep from asking, but his job wasn’t key here. Getting assistance with this job was. He’d said that all she had to do was ask, and it was clear from the way he was studying her that he wanted her to say the words.
Desperation made it easier than she might have imagined.
“Will you help me?”
“Yes.”
Relief rushed through her. “For my dad.” For some reason she needed verification of that small fact.
“Why else would I do it?” He shifted his gaze back to her, the temporary overhead light bulb casting interesting shadows over the planes of his face. Probably not the time to note that his face had changed with age and that the result was rather spectacular. This was Danny.
She pushed her hands into her winter coat pockets. “To spend two weeks calling me Felix?”
He casually shrugged a shoulder that seemed much broader than she remembered. “What else would I call you?”
“And to bait me while we work?”
“Well, it is us.”
Oh yeah, it was them. She met his gray eyes which seemed remarkably inscrutable. Moments when she couldn’t read Danny made her nervous.
“Now that we’ve settled that,” she said in her business voice, dragging her gaze away from his eyes, “my dad obviously lost time last week when he was looking for someone to replace Zach and working alone. Do you think we can get this drywall up, taped, and textured in a week and a half so that we have time to paint and handle the finishing details?”
Danny surveyed the room slowly, tucking his thumbs in the front pockets of his worn-out jeans before raising his gaze to the ceiling as if he could see through it to the floor above. “We’re going to have to.”
“I can get my sisters to help when they have time.”
“How good are they at feathering edges?”
“Awful,” she said. Feathering joint compound over a drywall seam was an art, one she’d perfected working by her father’s side through high school while Tess and Stevie were working more mundane summer jobs at the library and the city swimming pool. “How are you at it?”
“Magnificent.”
She let out a half laugh. “Then it’s just us.”
One corner of his mouth curved up in a classic Danny smile, and his gaze met hers in a way that caused a micro-jolt to go through her. When had Danny ever looked at her like that?
“Yeah,” he said in a low voice. “Just us.”
Chapter Two
“At least you didn’t break a femur this time,” Felicity’s sister Tess murmured as she helped their dad into his recliner. She leaned down to gently raise the footrest. “Elevate,” she reminded him. “So blood doesn’t pool.”
“Got it,” Pete said, grimacing as he arranged himself more comfortably.
“I’ve got to run to the shelter to feed the animals, but I’ll be back later.” She glanced at Felicity. “Do you need anything while I’m out?”
“I can’t think of anything.”
“He’s low on coffee and bread,” her middle sister, Stevie, said as she came out of the kitchen. “Also cheese and butter.”
Felicity pointe
d a finger at Tess. “Wait. Get me a stack of frozen dinners. I think I’m looking at some late nights.” She pulled her wallet out of her coat pocket and pulled out several twenties. “Maybe some beer, too?”
“There’s plenty of beer in the back fridge,” Tess said.
“I want my beer.”
“Guinness it is.” Tess pocketed the money, then buttoned her coat. “Want a ride?” she asked Stevie.
“Wouldn’t mind,” Stevie replied with a smile. She picked up her coat from the back of the sofa, then crossed the room to the recliner. “I’ll stop by tomorrow,” she said to their dad as she shrugged into the coat. “I’ve got a substitute teaching gig, so it’ll be afternoon.”
“I should be up and about by then,” Pete said with a bit of his old spark.
Stevie gave him a stern look, then let out a sigh. “See you tomorrow, Feliss. Try to keep him under control.”
“I’ll make sure he behaves,” Felicity said, crossing her arms over her chest.
“What’s up with Stevie?” Pete asked after the door closed behind his two younger daughters. “She’s humming.”
Yes. Her middle sister was practically glowing. Felicity turned back to her father. “I think it has something to do with the tree farm.”
“Or the tree farm owner?” Pete asked.
“They came to an understanding,” she agreed. Over the course of planning and executing a wedding, it appeared that her sister and the bride’s brother had fallen in love. “They seem pretty happy about it.” Felicity unfolded her arms and crouched low so that she and her dad were at eye level. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
He shifted his gaze away for a fraction of a second, then let out a breath. “Yes. There is. I didn’t get a chance before, what with you tearing off to Seattle so fast. I didn’t even know what your plan was until this morning.”
“I told you that I was finishing the project. An opening for a confession if I ever heard one.”
“Those are some painkillers they give you in Holly General. Nothing is straight in my head between the emergency room and getting green Jell-O for breakfast this morning.”
Felicity stood and pushed her short hair back from her forehead. “Okay. I’ll give you a pass, but Dad, how did you expect to keep this a secret? I’ve seen the site. You couldn’t have finished alone in the time you have left.”
“I thought I had someone else lined up. I was talking on the phone with him when the dog hit me.”
“Great,” she said feeling a wave of relief at the prospect of not working alone with Danny. With three warm bodies, they could get the project done by deadline. “The guy, not the dog,” she clarified.
Pete shifted his gaze. “He’d called to say he couldn’t make it until after the project deadline.” His gaze came up to hers. “You can’t do this alone either. I’m going to have to pay the penalty fees for the delay.”
“I’m not doing it alone. I…uh…” She made a popping sound with her lips. “Danny Montgomery is helping me.”
“Just what I need,” Pete muttered. “Blood on the walls.”
“Ha, ha,” Felicity said, rising to her feet. “Actually he offered, and I accepted. He’s doing it for you.”
“We’re paying him, right?”
“I assume we’re paying him whatever you were paying Zach,” Felicity said, wondering if money might have also factored into his decision to offer help. “Does Danny have a job right now?”
Pete’s forehead wrinkled. “He started a business some time back. Something to do with electronics, maybe? I’m sorry to say that I don’t know if it succeeded. I haven’t had time to keep up with anything lately.” He grimaced ruefully. “Got some time now.”
“Let’s talk about the project,” Felicity said.
“Did you tour both floors?”
“I did. You have the drywall up on the second floor, but it needs tape and texture. The ground floor needs drywall mounted. After that, painting. I didn’t see molding for windows and doors.”
“It’s out of the way in the basement storage room. We had it stripped and refinished. It’s ready to mount. The fixtures are there, too, along with the hand railings, the doors, all the finishing stuff.”
“Why is every door in the basement locked?” she asked.
“They stored a lot of school files there, and there was also an issue with supply theft, too. The master key opens all the locks.”
“So someone with the master key could get the files and the toilet paper?”
“Pretty much.”
“I have a master, right?” She hadn’t bothered to check.
“The dark blue key. But they don’t store the paper products down there anymore.”
“Ha, ha,” Felicity said, glad that her dad was feeling well enough to joke.
“Stevie and Tess have offered to help with the painting and mounting the trim, but I don’t trust them with the joint compound.”
“Good call.”
“Stevie wanted to help full-time,” Felicity continued, “but broken bones have become a trend. A sixth-grade teacher broke her ankle snowboarding this weekend and Stevie is taking over her class.”
Pete leaned his head back and closed his eyes as if in pain. “I’m sorry to hear that. Mrs. Meyers?”
“No. A new teacher. I can’t remember her name.”
Pete blew out a low breath. “This project has been a series of disasters. I don’t blame the guys I hired for taking long-term jobs in Boise, but Zach leaving like he did…”
Felicity patted her dad’s arm. “Zach has always been a me-first kind of guy. You were nice to give him a job.”
“I want to get to a place where I have someone dependable working for me.”
“Me, too, Dad.”
“You got Danny. He’s dependable…if you don’t tick him off and make him quit.”
“Trust me. That’s the last thing I’ll do. By the way, can you think of a reason he might need a contractor? He spoke of hiring Zach after your job.” Which didn’t mesh with the theory of him needing a job. As always, so many questions where Danny was concerned.
Pete shrugged. “Well, he’s not remodeling.”
“Are you sure?”
“I think I’d know. He’s my neighbor.”
“No. His parents are your neighbors.”
“His parents are doing the snowbird thing. They’ll be back in April. Danny sold his house and is watching their place until they come back.” He smiled up at her as if he’d just been struck by a brilliant idea. “You guys can drive to work together.”
“Great,” Felicity said, deciding not to ask any more questions about her new construction partner, even though she was itching to ask if her dad knew who the beautiful redhead was she’d seen on the doorstep this morning. “Looking forward to it.”
“He’s saving our bacon, and I’m not sure how we’ll make this up to him.”
“He said you did the same for him. Why didn’t I know?”
“Well, you were busy conquering the world.”
“You thought I’d make noise about it?”
“Maybe a little.” Pete smiled faintly. “Just…go easy on him while you’re working, okay?”
“Like you said, he’s saving the day. I’m not going to mess with him.”
Hopefully, those were not famous last words.
*
The lights were off inside the old high school when Danny arrived at six thirty a.m., the agreed upon starting time. When he tried the brass handle of the antique oak double doors, it remained stubbornly in place. Felicity’s car had been gone when he left home, so he’d expected to find her here.
Wherever she was, he hoped she got here soon.
He shoved his hands into his pockets, then turned his back as the wind bit into his face. A nice frigid Idaho morning and here he was, literally cooling his heels. He was debating about retreating to his car when the purr of the Audi brought his head up. Felicity swung the sleek little car in next to his. She turn
ed off the engine and got out of the car, then reached back inside and pulled out a small box.
A flight of twelve concrete steps led to the top landing where he stood hugging the building to stay out of the wind, and she yawned twice on the way up.
“Late night?” he asked, as she pulled a set of keys out of her pocket and singled out one before silently handing them to him.
“Not a morning person,” she murmured. “You’ve been officially warned.”
“I appreciate that.” He fit the key into the lock which turned smoothly. The door and the handle were antique, but the lock was new.
He opened the door and stood back so that Felicity could precede him into the building. She rolled her shoulders, then turned toward him and handed him the box.
“This is?” he asked.
“Peace offering. Donuts.”
His eyes widened when he noted the Cakery Bakery sticker on the side of the box. “Do I get them all?”
“All but the raspberry jelly. That one is mine.”
“If this is how you make peace now, I may have to annoy you more often.”
“Not possible,” she murmured, stifling another yawn.
“You really aren’t a morning person, are you?”
“I wouldn’t lie about something like that.”
He set the cardboard box on the makeshift table Pete had made from two sawhorses and a half sheet of plywood, untied the string, and opened the lid. Inside were four of Cakery Bakery’s best, including the lemon bismark, his favorite. He took the bismark, then held out the box for Felicity to choose. She went straight for the raspberry jelly.
“Did you bring coffee?” she asked, lifting her travel mug.
“Drank it all on the way here.”
“I have a thermos in the car. I’ll share.”
“I’m good after two cups.”
She gave him a look of horror, then shuddered.
“Inhuman,” she muttered before taking a bite of donut. She followed it with a slug of coffee, then set her cup down and went to the wall to adjust the thermostat. A few seconds later a rumbling came from beneath their feet.