Inherited Light_A Small-Town, California Romance Filled with Dogs, Deception, and Finding True Love Despite Our Imperfections

by Katie Mettner

  She held her hands out to her sides and grinned. “And Maḿa Cat’s work here is done.”

  I laughed and stood at the same time, slipping my arms under hers and lifting her from the chair, initiating a full contact hug. I swung her back and forth a few times before I realized what I had done and froze. “Tell me I’m not hurting you.”

  She had her hands in my shirt in a death grip, but laughed softly next to my ear. “No, you aren’t hurting me. I don’t often get to stand up. I kind of like it.”

  I lowered her enough so her feet balanced on mine, but I had hold of her tightly, since her legs were wobbly as spaghetti. “You’re beautiful, witty, vivacious, smart, and I’m guessing, since you have your own gallery, incredibly talented. Why are you hanging out with a goober like me?”

  “You were a goober when you were eight, now, you’re anything but,” she whispered, her gaze straying from mine.

  The moment had passed and I lowered her into the chair carefully, not letting go of her until the back of the chair brushed against my fingers.

  “I suppose we should go see what the damage is out there, huh?” she asked and I motioned for her to lead the way. She rolled down the ramp and I bent over to pick up the toolbox I had left in the corner last night, but it was gone. “Hey, Cat, did you move the toolbox I left here last night?” I called to where she sat at the end of the ramp.

  She shook her head and I looked around again, but it was missing. When I met her at the bottom of the ramp, she was definitely concerned. “Did someone steal it?” she asked, checking the grass on the other side in case it fell off.

  “It appears so,” I said, after checking under the ramp with my flashlight. “I guess whoever took it needs it worse than I do.”

  She grabbed my arm on the way by. “Maybe you should report it stolen. I don’t like the idea of someone walking up and taking something next to my house.”

  “It was probably kids, Cat. Don’t worry about it. There was only a hammer and a couple screwdrivers in it, cheap ones, too. I only carry a small box in the BMW. My truck has all my expensive tools in lock boxes.”

  She motioned toward the wood monstrosity in front of me. “Okay, if you’re sure. The question is, what do I need to do here?”

  I took my notebook out of my back pocket and tucked my pencil behind my ear again. I showed her how the ramp rocked side to side, being careful so I didn’t break it up completely, but explained why it was happening.

  “Are you saying I need a whole new ramp?” she asked and I nodded, giving her the ‘sorry to say’ palms.

  “How long has this ramp been here? Was it here when you bought the place?”

  “It was the reason I bought it, or rather paid the back taxes and moved in. My aunt lived here before me. She didn’t have a will and I’m the last of our family, so they finally told me I could take it if I paid the back taxes. The ramp was here when my mother died. My aunt was her sister. Anyway, I would say its seven or eight years old.”

  I nodded my head. “Ah and there’s the answer. Whoever built this didn’t intend it to be used for years. The structure is weak and the wood isn’t pressure treated. Sitting out in the baking California sun all these years has slowly rotted the wood. You’re lucky you haven’t had problems before now.”

  “Do you think it’s safe to keep using it?” she asked, a tremor of fear in her voice.

  “I don’t, not the way it is now, but it isn’t like you can just use the backdoor,” I said, hooking a finger behind me.

  She snorted knowing I was kidding, and I grinned. “It would be a long way down, but still might be safer than this thing.”

  “Definitely not safer, but I can fix this one and shore it up to last a few more months. I’ll cut some four by fours and block them under the ramp every six inches. I’ll brace them on a concrete block instead of the dirt under the beams. Those should make it sturdy enough for you to use while we plan out a new one.”

  “Plan out a new one?” she asked, her voice scared. “Sounds like a big job.”

  “Not for a tradesman with skill, sweetheart,” I said, sitting on the back stairs in the shade with her. “I’m not entirely sure why it was built in the front to start with. It’s too steep and should have a landing in the middle and a second ramp to the door, but I suppose she never used the ramp by herself?”

  She shook her head. “No, she was on oxygen and in a wheelchair. She always had someone helping her, so this did the trick, for her.”

  “But not for you, so we’re going to build a ramp that works for you.”

  “We? I’m afraid I’m not much good at wielding a hammer.”

  I laughed and patted her knee. “Good thing you’ve got me,” I said, winking. “How would you feel about the ramp being at the back door?”

  She glanced at the set of three stairs where I sat and then to the edge of the driveway. “I always thought it made more sense for someone like me to have it at the back door. I could roll right up it from the driveway, rather than rolling through grass, which you can see is now dirt, to get to the ramp. The dirt is the reason I have the long runner across my carpet. My chair is always dragging wet mud in.”

  “I wondered why it was built there, too, but now that I’ve inspected it I understand. It was done on the fly and inexpensively, meant to last only a few months. Thinking about it, If I build it back here, I don’t need such a steep grade either.” I took out my pad and showed her what I had roughly sketched out earlier. “With the concrete pad already here, it makes the whole job easier.”

  “Can you put together an estimate for how much it will cost? I probably have enough saved, but I don’t have any idea what something would cost with, what did you say, pressure treated wood?”

  I nodded. “It’s a type of wood made to withstand the elements. For a few more dollars, we could use the new poly decking. It would last for thirty years.”

  “Poly decking? What’s that?” she asked, confused.

  “It’s basically plastic made to resemble wood. If I build the ramp out of it, the material will never warp or splinter, no matter how much sun it gets. It’s what I would suggest you do, but feel free to get a couple estimates, so you know I’m on the up and up.”

  She shoved me in the shoulder kiddingly. “I think I can trust you, Ren. I would love to see a rendering of the whole ramp, but I’m a very visual person, as I’m sure you know. It would help me decide what kind of material I want to use.”

  Her lips were plump and I wanted to kiss them again. The way her tongue darted out to wet them left me wanting to taste her. The feeling almost overwhelmed me and I realized part of what I was feeling emanated from her. She wanted me as badly as I wanted her, yet her want was tempered by something other than good intentions. There was a layer of self-loathing she had allowed to settle over the top of her sexual needs.

  I cleared my throat. “I’ll draw one up on my design software and print it out. The program will automatically tell me the cost of the project once I pick the type of material I want, so I’ll do one with pressure treated wood and one with poly decking.”

  She nodded, chewing on her lip. “Thanks, Ren. I appreciate it more than you know. There isn’t anything quite as helpless a feeling as wondering if you’re going to get stuck in or out of your house. If I had known how bad it was, I would have fixed the ramp before I did the bathroom.”

  I leaned forward and rested my chin on my fist. “It’s hard to say, Cat. I’m sure you needed the bathroom to be accessible since you use it every day. I would have chosen the bathroom to fix, too. You did the right thing.”

  She wiped her hand across her brow and sighed. “I’m relieved then, but it doesn’t change the fact I need to do something with this property.” A frown appeared on her face as she gazed around the yard. “Maybe I should sell it and rent one of the new handicapped accessible apartments.”

  “The only thing you need to do to this property is stay right where you are. We can fix the few little things outside f
or basically nothing expense wise.”

  “Except when you count in labor,” she pointed out and I shrugged.

  “You just have to know the right people,” I said. “Besides, you have a beautiful spot here. You’re just outside the city, but have access to both towns easily. The inside is already set up for what you need and you love this house, I can tell.”

  She nodded, her gaze traveling over the ramp. “It’s all that’s left of my family, other than me, anyway.”

  I angled toward her. “You have no family left?”

  She shrugged. “I’m sure there are some cousins or such in Mexico, but I wouldn’t even know how to find them. I’m young, but my parents were old when they had me. My dad died five years ago of diabetes and my mom died of breast cancer two years ago, right before my aunt died of COPD. I guess we don’t have hardy genes.”

  I frowned. “I guess not. It must be intense to be your age and have no one.”

  “Thanks for rubbing it in,” she said, half in jest.

  I stood and picked up her hand, kneeling in front of her, and laying her hand on my shoulder.

  “What are you doing?” she asked laughing, and I held up my finger, clearing my throat.

  “I, Lorenzo Dalton, bestow upon Catalina Chávez, the seal of the Dalton family. The seal is proof of familyhood and all rights to the Dalton family love and support is hereby granted.”

  She threw her head back and laughed before slipping her other hand around my neck and hugging me, her chin on my shoulder. “You’re really something, Ren.”

  I rubbed her back a few times before I let her go. “We’re a close family and I don’t like the idea of someone not having family. Even on days like today, when I’m upset with Cinn, I still love her to pieces.”

  She took hold of my hand and rubbed her thumb over the top of it. “I think you should probably take off and go make it right with her.”

  I nodded and sighed. “I know I should, but I don’t know how. What I said was true, but at the same time, I pushed a button I shouldn’t have.”

  She cupped my face with her hand. “Hey, we all make mistakes.”

  I scrunched my lips up to the side. “So you think I made a mistake by saying something about Josh to Cinn.”

  Her brows teased her hairline. I couldn’t help but smile at how adorable she was. I wanted to kiss her until she couldn’t breathe and begged me to take her to bed, but we weren’t there yet, no matter how much I wished we were.

  “In this situation, I wouldn’t have said it in those words. But I don’t know the history, so I can’t make any judgements,” she finally responded and I felt my shoulders deflate.

  I ran my hand through my hair and shook my head a little. “I said something because she doesn’t realize how much it’s affecting Foster, and how rude it is to continue to compare him to someone who never cared about her in the first place. Foster has proven himself to be madly in love with her. It’s a self-destructive behavior and someone needed to call her on it.”

  She leaned forward in her chair and rested her arms on her thighs. “I see what you’re saying. Taking the history into consideration, maybe you didn’t make a mistake. Maybe she got mad at you because you were right and she didn’t like how uncomfortable it made her. Someone had to point it out before it was too late.”

  I held my hands out to the side and gave her the palms up. “I’m glad someone sees my point, but I’ll still have to go over and make it right. But first, I’ll stop at the lumberyard.”

  She started to wheel toward the ramp and I stood, grabbing her chair. “Where are you going?”

  She glanced over her shoulder at me, her hands still on the wheels to propel herself up the ramp. “To get you some money for the wood.”

  I managed to hold onto the chair and step around in front of it, so she couldn’t roll away. “Sweetheart, I don’t want any money for the wood.”

  Her head was already swaying back and forth in the air before I finished my sentence. “Ren, you can’t pay for the wood yourself. Especially since it’s only a temporary fix.”

  I knelt before her and gazed at her under my brows. “Okay, you can pay me for the wood,” I said, watching her face. Her pupils dilated and she held her breath. “With a kiss from your beautiful lips.”

  She put her hand on my chest and gathered my shirt in it. “If that’s all you want, then I’m rich with wealth.”

  I leaned in, my eyes going closed the moment our lips met. I was drowning in this woman. If I wasn’t careful, I would never come up for air.

  Chapter Nine

  The list in my hand was more extensive than Cat and I had talked about, but what she didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt her. I didn’t have time tomorrow to build a whole ramp, but I did have time to repair the current one, and a few other things. Tomorrow is Monday, which is usually a work day, but the electricians will be at the shelter all day running wire, which means my construction will be on hold. I can’t use power saws without power, and they couldn’t run electrical wire with the power on. I would stop over and do some supervising and answer any questions, then I’d get to work on the ramp once she went to the gallery.

  I slid the list across the counter to my buddy. “Hey, Dane, how’s it going?” I asked as he picked up the list.

  “As awesome as ever, bro,” he replied, his grin wide. “I haven’t seen you around for a few weeks, where you been keeping yourself?”

  I took a few minutes to explain the shelter project and Little League. Dane wasn’t one of my drinking pals from the bar. We went to high school together and were close friends. When he graduated from high school, he got a degree in design, so now we work on opposite ends of the same trade. He designs, and I build. He married his longtime boyfriend, Maverick, last year, and kept hounding me about getting married, too. Cat’s face filled my minds’ eye for a split second and I held in the groan building inside me.

  I cleared my throat and pointed at the list. “Is it possible to get all of it by tomorrow?” I asked Dane. “It’s an emergency repair project for a friend of mine. Her wheelchair ramp is falling apart, but she needs it to get in and out of the house. I’m going to build her a new one once the shelter work is done, but she needs something safe in the meantime.”

  “It’s not a problem, Lorenzo, but what’s with all the paint?” He pointed to the list where I had gallons of paint listed and his brows knitted. “You’re not a painter.”

  “Lord, no. I hate painting, you know how much, but I have a couple friends coming to help me tomorrow. The exterior of her house needs some work, too.”

  He folded his arms and assessed me with a practiced eye. “It sounds like she’s a lucky woman if you’re doing all this work. Let me guess, you’re not charging her for labor either.”

  I glared at him for a moment and he started to chuckle, holding up his hand. “Okay, it’s none of my business. I’m just the guy behind the counter.” I waited while he finished reading the list. He leaned over the counter and pointed at the concrete blocks and wood I had listed. “We have a new product for setting deck posts. It’s a heavy block with space for a post in the center of it, and it has four slots to use a four by four brace as you build.”

  “I’m confused,” I admitted and he held up his finger, going out the side door into the lumberyard. I tapped my fingers on the counter while I waited and when he returned, he was wheeling a small wheelbarrow. Inside was a grey concrete block. He set the wheelbarrow down and motioned me over.

  “They weigh a ton, but they save you from digging holes and pouring concrete.” He showed me how the product worked and there was relief in my chest for the first time all day.

  “What do they run?” I asked as he jumped behind the desk and punched something into the computer.

  “They’re reasonable,” he said waiting for the machine to do its job. “I thought of them when you said you were going to build a new ramp eventually. You can reuse them for the new one and only have to pay for the product once.” A few
more key strokes and he flipped the screen around to show me. “They’re a hair under five bucks a piece.”

  “Sold,” I said quickly. “A ton less time, less work, and half the price of concrete pilings is a huge benefit. I like the idea of reusing them for the new ramp, and since it’s going to be on concrete, it saves me having to try to figure out how to secure the ramp.”

  He held up the list. “With that settled, I can have this ready in a few hours. How soon do you need it?”

  “I don’t need it until tomorrow, so no rush. Do you want me to stop back right away in the morning?”

  “Perfect. We’re shorthanded, so it gives us a little extra time to get it all together. We open at eight.” He tapped the list on the counter and grinned at me in his impish way. “Inquiring minds want to know. Did Lorenzo Dalton finally find the woman who will domesticate him? We aren’t sure, but stick around. More at ten.”

  I laughed and tossed a rubber pencil eraser toward his chest. He deflected it with his hand and it fell to the floor harmlessly. “Just because you got married young doesn’t mean everyone has to.”

  “Who said anything about marriage?” he asked innocently. “I don’t remember even saying the word.”

  I backed up to the door and opened it with my butt, waving. “I’ll be back in the morning. I would appreciate it if you didn’t spread this around. It’s someone who is influential in the community.”

  “Oh, the plot thickens,” he said in his best detective voice.

  I let the door shut on his insanity and climbed back in my truck. It was a little after three, which meant I had plenty of time to go see Cinn and still make the deck designs tonight for Cat. I grabbed my phone from the center console and dialed the number of a friend, praying he would answer.

  “Lawton’s Lawn Service,” my buddy answered. “What can I help you with?”