The breath he let out was audible. “I mean, I did my place back in California, but that was easy, metal and industrial. I thought that was me, but maybe it was just that space. I don’t think that stuff would look right here at all. Plus, it’s all angles and metal edges. I don’t think we want that.”
“Okay, so what would be better? For here? Think about it, what do you see in this space?”
“I’m not sure what I’m thinking will go with the paint that’s already there.”
Jaycee pulled down the anxiety and just listened. Yes, this was different than all the others, but at the same time it wasn’t. He knew, she just needed to give him the space to get there from here.
“The beige is okay, but I’d like it to have a little more gray to it, silver-blue.” He stopped for a second. “Let me send you a picture of this sofa-loveseat combo I’m looking at. It won’t go great with what’s there, but…”
“K. Send it.” When she took the phone from her ear, Jaycee closed her eyes and said a prayer for clarity for him. This couldn’t be easy, choosing for both of them. She would’ve hated even trying to do that. In fact, she wouldn’t have tried. The picture came in of the two pieces he was looking at. They were a deep gray with silver streaks. Stuffed with wooden legs that showed between the bottom and the floor. “I like that. Is it comfortable?”
“Luke said you can sleep on it.”
She laughed. “Or you can.”
With that, he laughed, and she could tell he was relaxing.
“Do we want a recliner?” he asked. “There’s one here that’s a bit darker gray. It’s got nickel nailhead detailing.”
“Sounds nice. Send me a pic.”
And so, the next hour and a half was spent discussing and bouncing pictures from him to her. They decided to repaint the living room once the guests went home. It wouldn’t be terribly different, just a little more gray to the taupe rather than beige. The two bedrooms of furniture weren’t overly difficult, but when they got to the master, nothing really looked quite right.
After four tries with no success, Jaycee took a breath. “Okay, let me ask you this, don’t think about what’s there. What do you see in that space?”
Interestingly, she was learning all she had to do was untether him from the realm of reality and let his imagination go. It was cool how he could create so easily when she did that, and the love for him in her grew every time she heard him like this. He described his vision for the room in detail, and she loved every stitch of the plan.
“But they don’t have anything like that here, and we’re really running out of time especially if we have to go get the paint.”
She nodded, seeing all of the issues. “What if we set up one of the other bedroom’s set in the master for now. We could do pallets in that other one for the kids just for this weekend. That would give us a little time to figure that one out.”
A second and he laughed. “Have I ever told you you’re a genius?”
Jaycee’s smile overtook her being. “Never hurts to hear it every so often.”
Chapter 22
Luke & Sage
When the guys pulled into what would soon be Derek and Jaycee’s, they got out and each got two paint buckets from the back. It was a good thing Luke had taken off of work for the whole day because at this rate, he might have to take tomorrow off as well. He followed the other two in, glad they had stopped for food on the way home.
“We’re back,” Derek called to the women as he trekked through the house. The kitchen looked nearly showroom ready minus the table and chairs of course, but Luke knew as well as anyone what waited for them on the other side of those walls. “Hello?”
Jaycee was the first to appear from the back hallway followed by Rachel. They were both covered in paint splatters in two different shades.
“Well, it’s about time,” Jaycee said to her husband though she didn’t really appear terribly upset. “Nice of you guys to show up.”
“Hey, someone had to get the paint,” Derek said, and he planted a kiss on his wife’s lips, being very careful not to touch the rest of her.
Luke loved to watch the two of them together. They were so in love. It was then that he counted and came up one woman short. “Hey. What’d y’all do with Sage? She up on a ladder somewhere?”
“No she went up to grab us something for lunch,” Jaycee said. “This kitchen is gorgeous, but Caleb eats like a squirrel.”
Next to his fiancée, Caleb put his hands on his beltline. “That’s because I haven’t been eating more than breakfast and a few takeout meals here. I was trying to keep the place looking new, and trust me, dishes are not my strong suit.”
Rachel leaned over to kiss him. “I’m trying to teach him, but he can be a little hard-headed when he wants to be.”
They all laughed.
“So,” Jaycee said, bending and examining the paint before she gave up and just sat on her heels, “what’d you bring us?”
On her way back out to the farm, Sage called Jane. The poor pastor’s wife was swimming in kids, and Sage felt badly about that. “Hey,” she said softly, “how’s everything?”
“Good. All the boys and Steve took Rhett over to Greely for the afternoon, so I’m just hanging out here with the girls.”
“Are they being okay?” Guilt always hung around when she wasn’t taking care of her own children.
“They’re angels as usual. Oh.” The syllable sounded like a jolt. “I was going to tell you, we went over to the church this morning and dug out some of the flowers. I’ve got two big sprays of white and green. I thought we could use those in the front. And I’ve got some more holly we could either hang or put on the pews. It’s got the little red balls in it, so it looks really festive.”
“Do you mind leaving it out? I think I may try to get over there with Rach tomorrow to look at it all. We’re just super-busy trying to get this house done.”
“No problem. It’ll be here when you get here.”
“Great. Thanks so much, Jane.”
“Good luck with getting the house done.”
“Yeah. Thanks. We’re going to need it.”
Luke got put on flooring duty in the bedroom the women had finished painting. With the furniture to arrive the next morning, they didn’t have a second to waste. Carefully pounding in the fitted pieces with the mallet, he was less a participant to the conversations around him as an eavesdropper.
The others were scattered throughout the house. The two women were in the hallway painting with the new color they had gotten at the store. Presumably it would be the same color as the living room eventually although at the moment they didn’t have time to change that color. It was like playing musical wall colors with no music to it.
“Wow,” Derek said, coming in the bedroom where Luke was working. “You want a job?”
“I don’t have four already?” Luke asked with a laugh.
“I’ve got people working for me that have been there three years.” Derek sat on his heels to inspect the flooring. “They can still mess up a project like this.”
“Yeah? Well, it ain’t done yet.” Luke hammered another board in place. “How’s everything else going?”
“Bathroom plumbing’s back together finally,” Derek said, going over to bring another box of pieces. “So at least for now, all plumbing works.”
“Hallelujah. That’s good news.”
“Tell me about it. I was afraid we were going to have to dig an outhouse.” Pulling the pieces free, Derek handed Luke one and then started laying them out ahead of him.
“So what all do we lack?”
“Well, for this phase just getting ready for tomorrow not much. The floors in the bedrooms and hallway, the painting in the hall and the other bedroom and master. Once the girls are finished in the hall, they can help Caleb with those rooms. Eventually we’ll replace all the doors and frames. They’ve gotten pretty beaten up over the years. And we’ll do the windows too. But that’ll be later on.”
“I guess that
means y’all are really buying the place then.”
Derek handed him another piece. “That’s the plan. We’re going to go talk with Ms. Murphy tomorrow morning and iron everything out. I hope we can close on it by the end of January. I don’t think that should be much of a problem. At least I don’t expect it to be.”
Luke mulled the question he’d been wanting to ask ever since he’d heard, and finally he decided it was now or never. “So, why this place? I would’ve thought y’all would get something a little closer to Hollywood.”
The answer didn’t come immediately although Derek continued to hand him pieces. “Remember when we talked about growing up a couple months back?”
Yes, Luke remembered that conversation in his shop very well. A lot had changed since then. “Yeah?”
“Well, I think it’s time.”
“For?”
Slowly Derek nodded. “Being a husband, putting down roots for a family, not just winging it.”
“Family?” Luke asked though he kept his head down as if he hadn’t really heard the word.
“Scares me to death if you want to know the real truth. I mean, me? Yeah, I could take care of myself, but this? This is a whole new ballgame.”
Luke knew very well what his friend meant. He’d been in that ballgame for quite a while now. “You’ll be fine. Jayc has got a good head on her shoulders. She’s not going to spend you out of house and home.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about.”
“Oh, yeah? What then?”
The last of the flooring was taking shape as Luke heard Sage’s voice in the hallway talking to Rachel, something about holly or berries. Something like that.
“Honestly, I never really thought of myself as dad material, you know?” Derek said, his voice falling well below the hearing capability of anyone other than Luke. “I mean, you guys, you and Caleb? You’re great with kids. What if I stink? What if I mess them up? What if I’m like my old man and can’t hack it?”
Although he wasn’t trying to be mean, Luke laughed softly and shook his head. “Don’t sell yourself short there, Derek. Those kids, when they come…” He shook his head again, knowing he couldn’t really explain it. “Remember your wedding?”
As the last of the pieces went into place, Derek nodded.
“It’s like that, only deeper.”
“How do you mean?”
“When you have kids, you make a covenant with God and with them although unlike with Jaycee, you make the decision for them.”
“The decision?”
“You enter into a relationship with them, but they don’t really get a say in that until later on. But you make a commitment to them, just like you did with Jaycee, to love them and protect them and to show them God’s love for them. To be there in the good and the bad and everything in between. You agree to become unconditional love for them.”
Derek’s eyebrows went up as he handed Luke the last piece. “I’m beginning to think this love thing is a whole lot more complicated than I ever thought it’d be.”
Luke laughed. “Oh, yeah, it is. And you’re just getting started.”
Chapter 23
Derek & Jaycee
By the time dinner arrived, not a single one of the six of them looked more than half-alive. In every room that Derek went to inspect, his friends were busy—painting, laying the floors, finishing cabinets and installing mirrors. How they would ever be ready for guests tomorrow, he had no idea. This took the insanity of remodeling to entirely new heights.
With a glance at his watch, he left Luke laying the floors in the master and went to find his wife. She was knee-deep in repainting the re-installed trim in the third bedroom.
“How’s it going?”
“Ugh.” She sat back and wiped her wrist over her forehead. “I think I’m going to bleed this color before I’m done.”
He laughed and came over to sit down on the floor with her, putting his hand out and rubbing her back.
“Oh, gee, don’t do that. You’ll put me to sleep,” she said, melting into his touch.
“What’re you thinking for dinner?” he asked, his hand still rubbing. “I thought maybe we could order some pizzas for everyone out of Greely.”
She nodded and swiped her forehead again. “Probably better. Who knows how long this is going to take, and we’ve really got to get most of it done tonight.”
Derek let out a breath and nodded. “The furniture’s supposed to be here by ten in the morning.”
“Oh, yay,” she said, but there was no enthusiasm to it. “More fun.”
“Dig in,” Derek said to all of them as he put the pizzas and drinks on the kitchen cabinet later. “Sorry we don’t have chairs, or a table, or anything else.”
“Hey, you got food. That’s all that matters,” Luke said, grabbing a slice and taking a generous bite.
Like a herd of half-starved animals, they descended on the food, most of them not bothering with plates. In small units, they found places to lean against the cabinets as Sage and Rachel sat on the floor with no questions or ceremony.
“Hand me that cheese,” Rachel said, reaching up to Caleb who did as she had asked.
“So, what’s the game plan?” Luke asked as he got another piece. “I know I’ve still got to lay the hallway, and we have to get the baseboards in the other two bedrooms too.”
“And paint it,” Jaycee said as she joined the other two women on the floor and leaned back against the cabinet with a whack.
“I called Pastor Steve,” Derek said, eating his own slice of meat lovers. “I think I’m going to run over to the church and see what he’s got for end tables. He said he’s got a couple lamps too, which would be a good thing.”
“What all are you getting tomorrow?” Rachel asked.
Derek let out a sigh. “A bed for the master that will eventually go down in the third bedroom. Then we got a queen for that second bedroom. We figured we could put out pallets for the kids in the third bedroom for now. We got a couch and loveseat and recliner for the living room, and a table and chairs for in here. I know there’s at least one end table out in the shop.”
“There’s also a double bed out there,” Rachel said, “but I don’t know how good of shape it’s in.”
And just like that, they collaborated on how to get the furniture that would be needed once the initial work was done.
Going through the house once more after Luke and Sage had left, Derek and Caleb made final notes for the push the next day. In the kitchen, Jaycee wiped down the counters as Rachel dust-mopped the tile floor.
“So is this weird?” Jaycee asked, having not had time to gauge Rachel’s emotional state through all of this.
Rachel didn’t look up, just kept her gaze on the little sweeper. “A little.” She sighed. “Okay, a lot.” She shook her head. “Just strange watching it all change right in front of me and knowing it’s never going to be like it was before.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No.” Rachel’s gaze came up to hers. “Don’t be. I’m glad it’s going to be in good hands, and maybe I’ll get to come out and visit sometimes.”
“You’re welcome any time you want to come.”
This smile was fuller but held even more sadness. “Thanks.”
“It’s strange,” Jaycee said as she and Derek headed away from the now darkened farm house back to Luke and Sage’s later that night.
“What’s that?”
“I used to think we were doing the home owner’s such a favor, going in and redoing their houses, but now…”
Arm on the steering wheel, he glanced over at her. “Now?”
Jaycee shrugged. “There’s so many memories, and once they’re gone, they’re… gone. You know? It’s like, even now. I look back and I can’t believe everything that’s changed so fast. And in a week, Caleb and Rach will be married and that too will just be a memory.” She squinted. “It’s almost like I can see how quick it all passes, how what is real today will just be a memo
ry tomorrow. Sometimes I just want it all to slow down for a second, let me catch my breath.”
Derek smiled and lifted his arm for her to slide under. He kissed her head. “There’s that poetic soul.”
She smiled and raised her shoulders. “Sometimes she just seeps out.”
“Yeah? Well, I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I kind of like having her around to remind me what’s really important.”
Putting her hand on his thigh, Jaycee looked up at him and smiled. “This. This is really important.”
One quick kiss and he nodded. “Don’t ever let me forget that.”
She snuggled closer. “I won’t.”
Chapter 24
Caleb & Rachel
Caleb followed Rachel to the pastor’s house where they collected the sleeping children.
“Goodnight,” he called to Jane as he waved after putting Rhett into Rachel’s car.
“Night,” Jane called back and disappeared back into the house.
Going around the car, Caleb caught up with a weary-looking Rachel. He really hoped that the house would be done-enough tomorrow, and she could start focusing on the upcoming wedding. The way this was, he could tell all of it was wearing her out.
At her car door, he took her in one arm and slid his hand through the hair on her other shoulder. “I’ll see you at the house?” he asked.
Bone-chilling tired went through her gaze. “You don’t have to. You really should get on back.”
“I will.” He nodded. “But I’m not going to leave you to get these two in by yourself.”
She nodded and leaned forward so that the top of her head met his collarbone with a thump. A cold wind brushed by them, and Caleb pulled her backward and opened her door.
“I’ll see you there.”
With the kids in bed, Rachel clomped down the stairs somehow without making a single noise. How anyone could be so tired, she had absolutely no clue. The way she felt it could be March before she woke up again.
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