Sawdust and Mistletoe

by Michelle Pennington

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Epilogue

  Sawdust and Mistletoe

  By Michelle Pennington

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Copyright © 2017 by Michelle Pennington

  First eBook edition November 2017

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written consent of the author.

  http://www.michelle-pennington.com

  This book is dedicated to:

  My mother, Lynn, for making my childhood holidays magical

  and for breaking the thumb off my wise man.

  And to my father, David, for building me a dollhouse for Christmas

  and for making sawdust one of those scents that take me home.

  Thank you both for teaching me the true meaning of the season.

  Chapter One

  Hunter folded the butterfly printed sheets he’d slept on and stacked them in a neat pile on a nearby chair. He tossed his pillow on top of them and smiled. Molly, his niece, had been so excited to help him make a bed on the couch with her extra sheets last night. His suitcase was in the corner, partly tucked under the Christmas tree like an early present. He hoped his brother would see his visit that way—if not right away, hopefully by the time he left.

  His brother, Josh, had lost his job two weeks earlier, and because he was a stubborn cuss, he would only tell Hunter that they were fine. Not able to let go of a nagging feeling that his brother could use some help, Hunter had loaded up his tools and suitcase in the back of his truck and left Colorado for Willow Falls, Arkansas, eating Thanksgiving dinner in a cafe along the way. Because he was something of a road warrior, taking jobs all over the country, he knew he’d be able to find work here for a few weeks.

  After pulling on his work boots, Hunter checked his phone and saw a message from the temporary employment agency he’d contacted as soon as he woke up. It was only nine o’clock and they already had a job for him.

  Hunter reached his hand out to pick up his keys, but couldn’t find them. The lights on the tree were already switched on and dishes rattled in the kitchen, so he headed in there to see who was awake. And if they might know where his keys were.

  Krista was making scrambled eggs at the stove, and Josh was working on his laptop at the table. They looked up when he came in.

  “Did you sleep okay on the couch?” Josh asked. He wore a blue dress shirt and tie, and his short brown hair gleamed with styling gel. As always, his brother’s polished dress made him feel rough and ungroomed.

  “You know me,” Hunter said. “I can sleep anywhere.”

  Josh chuckled. “Well, when you start getting old like me, you’re going to realize the benefits of owning a bed.”

  “Hey, I own a bed. I have one at the cabin.”

  “When are you going to get a real life and a real home? You’re hopeless.”

  “I’m free.”

  “If you say so.”

  “Which made it possible for me to drive down to spend Christmas with you guys at the last minute.”

  Josh lowered his brows. “It isn’t exactly last minute. Christmas is three weeks away.”

  Hunter sat down at the table. “True. The last-minute part was showing up unexpectedly at dinnertime last night. At least Krista was glad to have me.”

  Krista brought him a plate with eggs and toast. “Anytime. And since your parents can’t come this year, I’m glad we’ll have family around.”

  Hunter smiled at his sister-in-law. He was always impressed that Josh had managed to marry a woman so opposite to himself. Krista was sweet where Josh was grumpy and relaxed where he was uptight. Her style was also more casual than his with her hair in a pixie cut. She wore yoga pants and band t-shirts as her daily uniform.

  Folding his arms across his chest, Josh pressed his lips together. “It’s not that I’m not glad to see you.” He sighed. “It’s just that this isn’t a great time to have guests. I told you I lost my job. Things are tight around here.”

  Hunter reached across the table to punch his brother’s arm. He still got a kick out of the fact that he was taller than his big brother, and because of their different lifestyles, a lot stronger too. “Do you honestly think I’d let myself be a burden to your family? No way. In fact, I figure I can contribute around here some.”

  Josh held his hands up. “I didn’t say I needed help.”

  “We’re brothers. You don’t have to.”

  “Now wait a minute—” Josh started to argue.

  Hunter rolled his eyes and ate the last of his eggs. “Can we figure this out later. I have a job I need to get to. By the way, do you know where my keys are? I left them on the coffee table by my phone, but they’re gone.”

  Josh thought for a minute. “Molly is awake, so I’ll bet she hung them on the tree.”

  “What?” Hunter asked, laughing and getting up to check the scrawny artificial tree in the corner of the living room.

  “Yeah. Last year she wouldn’t leave the ornaments on the tree. This year, she thinks everything should be an ornament. You wouldn’t believe the stuff we find on the tree. It’s driving Krista nuts.”

  Hunter searched the branches and saw a pair of kitchen tongs hung over one branch. Laughing, he handed them to Josh. “Krista looking for these?”

  “I don’t know, but here are your keys.”

  Hunter caught the keys his brother tossed to him. “Thanks, I’ll be sure to put them up high tonight.”

  “You going somewhere?”

  “Didn’t I tell you? I called a temp agency this morning and they want me to come in and fill out paperwork because they already have a job for me.”

  “No kidding? Think they have anything for an out-of-work IT genius?”

  Hunter shrugged and swung his key ring on his finger. “You should call them and see.”

  Josh nodded. “I may have to if my interview doesn’t go well today.”

  “Good luck, man.”

  “Thanks.”

  Krista stuck her head in from the kitchen. “Are you guys done with breakfast?”

  Josh walked over and pulled his wife close for a kiss. Hunter fidgeted with his keys but glanced up at them. A strange feeling of discontent flashed through him. Which was ridiculous. He was happy with his easy, free-floating single life.

  When the two lovebirds finally broke apart, Josh smiled at his wife. “I’ll be home by dinner, and maybe we’ll have good news to celebrate.”

  “We will,” she said smiling at him and straightening his tie. “You’re awesome and they’re going to hire you. I know it.”

  “Don’t get your hopes up. The last two companies didn’t.”

  Krista frowned. “They had idiot hiring managers.”

  “It’s a bad time of year to find a job. But we’ll be okay.”

  Hunter listened openly. This was why he was here—to figure out just how ba
d his brother’s financial situation was and how to help the stubborn cuss.

  When Josh went to Molly’s room to tell her goodbye, Hunter met Krista’s eyes. They were tense and her mouth dipped down into a slight frown, though she smiled again as soon as Josh came back in and shooed Molly into the kitchen to eat her breakfast.

  As he left, Krista called out, “Good luck.”

  Josh nodded and shut the door behind him. Krista stared after him for a few seconds, then sighed and held a hand to her waist as she took a deep breath. “How about you, Hunter? What are your plans for the day?”

  “I got a job, so I have to head out, too.”

  “Really? That was fast.”

  Hunter grinned. “Craftsmen like me are always in high demand. Is there anything I can pick up for you on my way home?”

  Krista looked thoughtfully at him. “I don’t think so.”

  Hunter raised his eyebrows. “You aren’t going to be as stubborn as Josh about me helping are you? I want to, really. And I will not sponge off you guys for three weeks, so tell me what you need.”

  “If you’ll get me some ground beef, I can make meatballs for the spaghetti.”

  Hunter pointed a finger at her. “Done. I’ll see you this evening.”

  “You’d better say goodbye to Molly before you leave or she’ll throw a fit.”

  “Well, we can’t have that.”

  Hunter went to the kitchen where Molly was eating oatmeal with deep concentration. The little girl’s dark pigtails hovered close to the bowl as she bent forward, and a clump of oatmeal was already caught in the strands on one side.

  “Say goodbye to Uncle Hunter,” Krista prompted.

  Molly looked up at Hunter with a big smile, rounding her plump cheeks even more. “Bye, Unco Unter!”

  “Bye, cutie. I’ll see you later okay? And I’ll bring you a treat.”

  “A treat! Yay!”

  Krista rolled her eyes, looking exasperated.

  Hunter chuckled. “Sorry. I couldn’t resist.”

  “Just nothing too sugary, okay?”

  “What’s the fun in that?”

  Then, before Krista could argue, he strode outside, shutting the door behind him. He looked around the quiet neighborhood, where most of the driveways were already empty of cars as people went off to work. The lawns were brown and the trees bare, so it was hardly as beautiful as the scenery he’d left behind in Colorado. There was already snow on the ground back home, and the plentiful evergreens gave the landscape color that was lacking here. But there were decorations on some of the lawns and wreaths on the doors, so people still made things festive.

  He got in his truck and while it warmed up, he used his phone to figure out where he was going. Thirty minutes later he was on his way to the house where he’d be working as a handyman for the day.

  To his surprise, he had to go through a security gate to even get into the neighborhood. And as he rolled through the quiet, pristine streets, he looked around at the huge homes looming overhead. They were impressive, but all looked the same somehow. He much preferred his small cabin on a remote mountainside.

  He found the right address and pulled up the long driveway to one of the biggest homes in the whole neighborhood. A van was parked in front with “McBrady Design Associates” emblazoned on the side. But McBrady wasn’t the last name of the woman he was supposed to report to.

  He got out of the truck and walked up to the front door. A young woman with thick, wavy brown hair and sharp features stood at the base of a ladder, tying red velvet ribbon into a bow. She didn’t turn when he cleared his throat, and then he realized she had earbuds in. He raised his voice. “Excuse me, I’m looking for Ava Grisham.”

  The woman jerked her head up, and then her mouth fell open. But she closed it quickly and took her earbuds out. “Who, Ava? Oh, she’s inside. Are you from the temp agency?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Good. Well, go on in.”

  Hunter nodded and opened the front door, feeling weird walking into such a fancy house. He glanced around at the tall windows and white travertine tile, the grand staircase with a highly polished banister, and ornate molding and trim work. But his attention was caught by the fourteen-foot Christmas tree in the center of the entry, and the beautiful woman perched on top of a ladder next to it holding on as if she was afraid to fall. He strode forward quickly, wanting to help, but before he reached her, she sneezed so violently the whole ladder shook.

  “Whoa, hold on there,” he said, grabbing the metal frame to steady it. Then he looked up and saw just how gorgeous the sneezing woman was.

  The first thing he noticed was how light her hair was. It was nearly white it was so blond. Matched with her fair skin and delicate features, she looked something like an angel. It was a silly thought, maybe, and a little cliché, but she was standing several feet above his head.

  “Don’t move,” she told him, right before she sneezed again.

  The combination of her authoritative voice and dainty sneeze was intriguing. Who was this woman?

  “I’m wasn’t planning to.”

  Chapter Two

  Ava’s heart pounded. She couldn’t believe how close she’d come from falling off the top of the ladder as she looked down to see who had saved her. A tan, handsome stranger with dark stubble on his square jaw stared up at her. Questions rolled through her head, but all she could do was sneeze again.

  “I think you’d better get down until you stop sneezing,” the man said.

  He had a point. Rung by rung, Ava hurried down the ladder. Even with her feet on the floor again, she kept one hand on the ladder to steady herself because her head was spinning. “Thanks. You got here just in time.”

  The mystery guy let go of the ladder and held out his hand to shake hers. “Looks that way. I’m Hunter Newman. The Knight Employment Agency sent me over. I’m looking for Ava.”

  Standing on the ground with him, she realized how big he was. He towered over her, and his broad shoulders strained the fabric of his flannel shirt. She swallowed and fumbled for words. “Well, you found me. I’m hoping that since you just saved me from a nasty fall, you aren’t here for nefarious purposes.”

  “Do I look like I am?”

  His smile was full of humor, so he obviously knew she was teasing. “Well, you are built like a mountain.”

  Hunter chuckled. “Don’t let my size intimidate you. I’m a good man to have around a worksite.”

  “And a lot of other places too, I’d guess,” she added, looking over his muscular form with appreciation simmering inside her.

  “Not crowded elevators or small cars,” he said with a glinting smile.

  Ava blushed as she imagined being in close quarters with such an attractive man. “No worries there. As you can see, this house is nothing if not roomy. Which means it’s a lot of work to decorate, and I’m running behind.”

  “I guess you better put me to work then. You’re an interior decorator, huh?”

  The look of concern on Hunter’s face as he eyed the fourteen-foot Christmas tree with enormous, glitter-covered ball ornaments made Ava’s lips twitch. “Our client loves gold and anything that sparkles. The more decadent it is, the more she likes it. But don’t worry, handling the glitter is my job.”

  His eyes shifted to her again and he smiled. “I think you’re decorated about as well as that tree.” He pointed a finger at her shoulder.

  She looked over and saw glitter dusting her shoulder like elegant dandruff. “Hazards of the job.” She brushed it off with annoyed flicks of her hand.

  Standing in front of such an attractive man, she knew the glitter wasn’t the worst part of her appearance. Not even close. Her ponytail was falling out, her t-shirt was old and decorated with smears from her last paint job, and she hadn’t bothered to wear any makeup. If only she’d known the temporary handyman wouldn’t be a grizzled old piece of leather, but a young lumberjack fit for the cover of a romance novel, she might have put some mascara on.
/>   “What do you need me to do?” He asked.

  “Think you could patch a hole in the wall for me?”

  He answered after only a slight hesitation. “No problem. Just show me where it is.”

  She led him into the snug little sitting room across the hall and pointed out a fist-sized hole in the drywall right next to a seven-foot fir tree she still needed to decorate.

  His eyebrow lifted when he saw it. “Someone been punching the wall?”

  Ava’s lips twitched at his dry tone. “It kind of ruins the effect I had in mind for a cozy family Christmas, doesn’t it?”

  “I’d say so.”

  “Can you fix it?”

  “Easily. I’ll need to run to the hardware store for some supplies. Anything else I need to get while I’m there? Any other projects?”

  “Plenty, but I should have everything else we’ll need. I just wasn’t expecting this. It wasn’t here yesterday.”

  This time both of Hunter’s expressive eyebrows went up.

  She shrugged and handed him some cash from her pocket.

  He took it from her. “I don’t live around here, so can you tell me the best place to buy this stuff?”

  Caught off guard by this odd information, she ignored his question. “Where do you live?”

  “Colorado. I’m visiting my brother for a few weeks.”

  “So that’s why you’re working with a temp agency. I wondered.”

  His eyes glinted at her. “Oh yeah? Why’s that?”

  Ava flushed. “You just look like someone who would have a permanent job.”

  “Huh. Well, I don’t—not even back home. I like to be free to go where I please.”

  This way of thinking was so foreign to Ava, she stood staring at him with a crease between her brows. “But what about security and having a steady paycheck?”

  He shrugged. “I’m single and when I need money, I have no problem finding quick jobs with my skill set. I’m good at what I do. You’ll see. Now, where’s that hardware store?”

  He left after she gave him directions, and Ava ran to a window to watch as he got into a big, work-beaten truck with a hard, black cover over the back. As soon as his truck was out of sight, she ran outside to where Olivia was tying big red bows on all the outdoor light fixtures. “Can you believe that?”