“You can put in a new one for ten thousand.”
“That’s a third of the budget you mentioned.”
She shrugged. “Kitchens sell.”
“Where am I going to come up with thirty thousand dollars? I used up most of my savings to get this place. I’ve only got ten left.”
“We’ll figure it out.” For the first time she looked uncertain. “I’ll help you, Kevin.”
“How are you going to help me? You’re pregnant.”
“Yeah, I’m pregnant, not an invalid. I can do things and I can give you money. As a business partner.”
“Megan.”
“Look, the fund-raising position I took at the food pantry phased out when they merged with the community center, and most places don’t want to hire a pregnant woman.” She held up a hand when he started to protest. “Yeah, I know it’s illegal, but the fact is that I haven’t applied anywhere. I’m still trying to decide if I’m going to stay home for a few years after the baby comes, so it didn’t seem fair to apply for a job I might only stay at for a few months.”
He gave her a pointed look. “So you’re telling me that you’re bored? And you saw my house as a project.”
“No. I saw it as a chance for you do something that will make you some money and keep you occupied since you’ve sworn off women.” She bumped her shoulder into his arm. “Besides, no woman would ever want to come home with you to this dump.”
He was beginning to regret sharing his no-women policy with her. “Very funny.”
“What’s done is done. Let’s just figure out how to fix this place up and make it livable.”
Still carrying the kitten, Megan took him upstairs to see the two small bedrooms and bath. The bedrooms had holes in the walls, and the bathroom shower was covered in so much mildew Kevin was sure the EPA should have been called in. But the bedrooms and hallway had hardwood floors that only needed refinishing and the bathroom looked like a simple gut job.
“How the hell can I live here?” he asked, staring out the front bedroom window at the U-Haul in the street. “Especially if I’m renovating it.”
“You told me you didn’t bring much furniture. A mattress, a few chairs, and a bunch of boxes. You won’t have much in the way.”
“I meant here with all the construction. This place is hardly livable as it is.”
She shrugged. “I guess it’s up to you. You can always live with Mom and Dad.”
His irritation rose. “The purpose of having you look for my house was for the express purpose of not living with Mom. Not even for one night.”
“You can live here and work on it. People do it all the time. Trust me on this.”
He tried to open the window but met resistance. He gave it a good jerk and the window shot up, making him stumble backward.
This house was one giant piece of shit. But now it was his piece of shit. Maybe he could make this work. Megan was right—he needed something to do to keep him preoccupied. “Okay. I’m game to try this.”
“That’s the spirit!” Her phone rang and she pulled it out of her purse, cringing as she headed down the stairs. “It’s Mom. I forgot to mention that she wants to come see your new house.”
He shook his head. “No way.”
“You think I want her knowing I picked out this dump for you?” She laughed. “I’ll stall her, but you owe me,” she said as she walked to the door.
“Not by a long shot, sis. You owe me. And I plan to collect. Big-time.”
She turned around and reached up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I love you. You have no idea how happy I am you’re home.”
He grinned. “So Mom will have someone else to obsess over.”
She tilted her head, mischievousness in her eyes. “Well, there’s that, too.”
“Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you’ll trump me every time with that little niece or nephew of mine.”
“For now.” She walked out onto the porch.
“What’s that mean?”
She turned back to him, grinning. She was up to something, of that he was sure, but damned if he knew what it was. “Oh!” She handed him the sleeping kitten in her arms. “Your first pet.”
“I am not keeping this kitten. I don’t do pets.”
She headed to her car, not bothering to look back. “Whatever you say.”
She gave him a wave as she drove away, then he looked down at the kitten, who had snuggled into his arm.
He was in deep shit.
* * *
Holly shut the door behind her and pressed her back against it as she covered her face with her hand and groaned. She’d acted like a complete and utter idiot. But she’d never see him again, right? Sure, her neighbors were friendly and were in everyone else’s business, but he was going to fix it up and move on.
At least she sure as hell hoped so.
Her phone dinged in the kitchen, alerting her to a text. She stomped toward it, her irritation with her cousin mounting with each step. Melanie had sent three texts, all saying the same thing: Well???
Holly texted back. I’m going to kill you.
Melanie texted back within seconds. Did you talk to him?
Yes. That one word said so much, yet nothing at all.
It had been a long time since she’d been this humiliated, and it didn’t sit well. Holly had spent a long time outgrowing the gangly, awkward girl from high school, and this situation reeked of her past. She opened the refrigerator and pulled out what was left of her lasagna, pissed all over again.
She cut out a piece with more force than necessary, trying to figure out whom she was more mad at—her neighbor, her cousin, or herself. Which was utterly ridiculous. Why would she be angry with her neighbor? What had he done other than manhandle her to keep her from breaking her leg on his porch and be better looking than a person had a right to? She decided she could be angry with him on principle alone.
Her phone rang seconds later with her cousin’s ringtone. She put her plate in the microwave and turned it on, trying to decide whether to answer or not. Her anger won out. “I mean it. I’m seriously going to kill you,” she spit out after putting her phone on speaker and resting it on the counter.
Melanie laughed. “What happened? Start at the beginning.”
Holly opened the fridge and grabbed a beer. “I made an utter fool of myself, that’s what happened.”
“Let me be the judge of that. Tell me what happened.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be working?”
“We’re not busy at the moment, and Scott’s covering the bar so I could call you. Quit stalling. Is he sexy?”
“He’s…” Hot, sexy, stunning, mind-alteringly gorgeous. “…okay.”
“How old is he?”
“I don’t know, maybe early thirties.” She popped the top off her bottle.
“Married?”
“No ring.”
“He must be hot. You looked!”
“Only because I knew you’d ask.”
“You liar. What’s he look like?”
“He’s short, fat, and bald.”
“Try again.”
Holly took a long drag of her beer, sorting through her options.
“Holly!”
“He’s tall, dark, and handsome, okay? He’s everything you could ever hope for.”
“Me? Why not you?”
“I made a fool of myself, Mel.” Her defeat seeped into her voice. “I can never, ever face that man again. I’m just about to Google-search how to build a six-foot privacy fence.”
“Oh, Hol.” Melanie sighed. “It couldn’t have been that bad.”
Holly wandered over to the table, picking up a photo of a wedding bouquet. “It was worse than bad.”
Holly had been planning weddings since she was a kid, but she’d never met a man worth taking a risk on with “I do.” Sure, it had been a couple of years since she’d had a serious relationship, but she’d been okay with that. Until now. Why did she feel so unsettled?
“It’s okay to love somebody, Hol.” Melanie’s voice was warm and soft. “You don’t have to chase everyone away.”
“Says the woman who won’t go see the woman who raised her.” Holly’s voice was sharper than she’d meant it to be, but Melanie’s comment stung more than she cared to admit. “I saw Grandma today.”
Melanie was quiet for several seconds. “So? You see her almost every day after work.”
“She was worse today.”
Melanie remained silent.
“Mel, she’s deteriorating fast. Don’t you want to see her at least one more time before she forgets us both?”
Of the two girls, Melanie had had a rougher time putting their grandmother into the health-care facility eleven months ago. As far as Holly knew, Melanie had seen her only a handful of times, and Holly had guilted her into two of them.
“She misses you, Melanie. She asks for you.”
“I can’t see her like that, Holly. I just can’t. She’s not the woman who raised us.”
No, the woman who’d raised them had been strong. She took in two frightened, traumatized girls—ages five and seven—when she thought she was done raising children. Instead, a year after she’d lost her husband to cancer she’d lost her only two sons and their wives in a fiery car accident, and taken in her two orphaned granddaughters.
Holly didn’t remember their grandmother falling to pieces after the tragedy. Her only memories were of Grandma Barb’s strength and compassion—the nights she rocked Holly for hours when she woke up crying for her parents. Dealing with the responsibilities of two young, rambunctious girls couldn’t have been easy for a woman in her fifties, especially after losing her own children, but she’d welcomed the girls with open arms and a heart full of love. Grandma Barb’s house was small, and they’d financially scraped by most of their lives, but Holly had always felt loved.
Melanie had felt equally secure in their little family, but when Grandma Barb was diagnosed with dementia, Melanie couldn’t handle it. Always the more practical of the two, Melanie had started shirking responsibilities over the last year, quitting her job at an insurance agency and becoming a bartender at a local bar. Holly knew she was acting out, but it left most of the responsibilities of Grandma Barb’s care on Holly’s shoulders, as well as most of the household bills. And while Holly understood this was Melanie’s way of dealing with another tragic loss, it didn’t make things any easier.
“I know, Mel. But she’s fading fast. I think you’ll regret it if you don’t see her.” Holly felt a twinge of hope when her cousin remained silent. “Tomorrow’s your day off. We could go together after I get off work.
Melanie pushed out a long breath. “I’ll go, I promise. Just not tomorrow. But I noticed how you changed this from being about you to me. If I have to go see Grandma, when are you going to agree to consider having a real relationship?”
“I have enough to keep me busy,” Holly said. “I don’t need a man.”
“No woman needs a man,” Melanie teased, “but they have some very nice fringe benefits. Speaking of fringe benefits, I’m going out with Darren tomorrow night.”
Melanie was probably using her date as her excuse not to go see their grandmother, but Holly knew better. Still, she was too tired to call her on it. “What is this? The fifth date?”
“Sixth.” Holly heard the grin in her voice. “But who’s counting?”
But Holly heard the hopeful tone in her cousin’s voice. Melanie was falling for the guy, and hard. She didn’t understand how Melanie could fall for someone so quickly, although she’d seen it happen to several friends after high school.
Maybe it was because Holly had never fallen for a guy at all. Not for lack of trying. She’d dated back in college, but no one had ever clicked. She’d spent a year with a guy in her degree program at the local community college, but she’d finally broken up with him after he’d confessed he loved her and she couldn’t reciprocate.
She’d psychoanalyzed the crap out of herself, so she knew there was some merit to her cousin’s statement. Holly had attachment issues that had been caused by her parents’ death, but the truth was, she remembered little of her parents—which made her feel guilty as hell. Living with Mel and Grandma Barb in this house was pretty much all she’d ever known. And while she’d love to find a man to have a family with, she wouldn’t settle, either. What few memories she had of her parents were of them happy and in love.
She wouldn’t settle for anything less.
Chapter Four
Kevin wasn’t sure what to expect when he showed up at the job site of Osborn Construction at eight o’clock the next morning. The unfinished outdoor shopping area was a multiblock strip mall with concrete exterior walls and metal studs inside. Several of the workers were milling around, while a guy was arguing with the driver of a flat-bed trailer loaded with supplies. Kevin felt completely out of his element.
Granted, he was a bit off center anyway. Between the shock of his new house and the woman who’d shown up on his doorstep, he hadn’t found the peace he’d hoped being back home would bring. But last night he’d told himself he just needed to start his new job, then he’d find his center and it would all work out.
“Kevin!”
He turned to see his lifelong friend striding across the lot toward him. “Matt.”
When Matt reached him, he pulled Kevin into an embrace, thumping his back. “Good to see you, man.”
“Good to see you, too.”
Kevin looked around at the activity, then turned back to his friend. “I think I should remind you that I don’t know the first thing about running a construction company.”
“Like I told you, you don’t need to know construction. You just need to keep us organized and sort out the financials. Since Dad died the day-to-day running of the business has all gone to shit.”
Matt smiled when he said this, but Kevin could see the pain in his friend’s eyes. “Where do you need me first?”
“You sure you don’t mind starting today?” Matt asked. “You can wait until Monday, so you can, you know…get settled.”
Kevin laughed. “Believe it or not, I’ll be more settled here.”
“Then let’s go to the office.” Matt waved to a small trailer. They walked the short distance, passing the truck driver, who was now unloading his cargo. Matt opened the door and motioned for Kevin to climb the two steps up. He stopped short when he saw the mess. While Matt had warned him that the office was unorganized, he hadn’t expected this.
Kevin didn’t do unorganized.
But he reminded himself that was why he was there.
After his initial shock, he noticed a young woman sitting at a desk with a phone pressed to her ear. Her free hand tugged on her long auburn ponytail, the color a sharp contrast to her black tank top.
“That’s Carly,” Matt said, walking in behind him and closing the door. “She’s the receptionist, bookkeeper, and the token woman in the crew.”
She covered the mouthpiece and grinned up at Matt as she mouthed. “Watch it.”
“Carly, this is Captain Kevin Vandemeer. Our new CFO.”
Then she turned to Kevin and her smile widened. “Well, hello, Captain. Vandemeer. Are you a pirate? You can pillage me any day of the week.”
Kevin laughed and gave her a nonflirtatious smile—he hoped. Two months ago, he would have reacted much differently. But he was surprised how quickly he’d gotten used to ignoring women’s attention—with the exception of the sexy blonde on his doorstep last night. He’d chalked that up to a momentary lapse brought on from the shock over the state of his house. He chose to ignore the fact that he’d thought about her all evening after Megan left. Or that he’d thought about putting the rest of the lasagna onto a paper plate and returning the empty casserole dish so he could see her again.
But now Carly was watching him like he was the cherry on a hot fudge sundae, and he needed to make it clear he was unavailable. Especially since they would be working toge
ther. “Just Kevin,” he said, trying to maintain a bit of distance in his voice. “I ditched the captain when I left the marines.”
“No dating the employees, Carly,” Matt said, narrowing his eyes. “You know the rules. We don’t want our new employee filing a sexual harassment complaint on the first day.”
She leaned forward, her hand still over the mouthpiece. “If he’s telling me what to do, that technically makes him my boss. You never said I couldn’t date the boss.”
“Yeah, because I knew you had your eyes set on that new electrician and you were never interested in me. But hands off Kevin. He’s here to get this place organized. The mess is enough to scare him away. We don’t want you adding the final straw.”
She rolled her eyes, then turned her attention to the phone. “Yes, I’m still here.” Then she started talking about a shipment of sheet metal.
Matt leaned into Kevin’s ear. “She’s a bit headstrong, but she’s better than the last bookkeeper. She just up and left us, for no reason at all.”
Kevin was wondering if he should give that option serious consideration himself. The small trailer was piled with stack upon stack of papers. There were even stacks on the floor. “What did you have in mind?” Kevin asked. “You have someplace you want me to start?”
Matt grabbed a laptop off a second desk, which was piled with even more papers, and handed him the computer. “I’ve had Carly set you up with an employee e-mail and grant you access to all the programs. Look everything over and see if you can get it under control.”
“Have you considered a bonfire?” Kevin asked, lifting an eyebrow.
His friend laughed, but he looked pained. “Dad ran it all, and you know how territorial he was. While he officially made me a partner five years ago, he never shared his organizational system, which meant I didn’t know shit when he died. Right now, I’m splitting my time between running the site and the administrative part, and it’s just not working. Both sides are falling apart.” He turned his back to Carly and lowered his voice. “I can run the crew as long as I’m out there.” He pointed his thumb toward the door. “I need someone to run the business.”
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