“I didn’t think of most of it as major work.”
“We have to follow the Uniform Construction Code. That’s why I contract out the wiring to someone who can put an inspection sticker on it. We’ll need the permit eventually and may as well have it displayed in the window.”
She didn’t say much as he drove her back home. Kelly was already planning the sequence of work in the house. She loved the place already. What was wrong with her that an inanimate structure could evoke major empathy from her to the point of making her forget she’d be working for a hunk? Maybe she was past her prime or maybe her priorities were skewed.
No, she was being professional. She could do this thing.
But Kelly knew the real reason. The Barkley House was supposed to be hers. It had always represented the pinnacle of her desires, possibly because Old Lady Barkley had always looked down on her mom and her and had shown it. Kelly somehow thought that by saving the Barkley House, she would conquer Laurel Hill society. Logically she knew that wasn’t true and she’d probably just make the upper crust resent her more. But she had wanted so much to live in that house. If she’d bought it she never would have sold it. Now it belonged to someone else. Still, she’d do her best for Quinn and the house.
“Home again, home again,” he said as he backed down her driveway.
He didn’t just wait for her to get out. He got out and came around the vehicle. He’d pulled in a little too close to the forsythia hedges on her side, so she was wrestling with the foliage to get the door open. Why had she not pruned? Finally he opened the door and held it while she slid down onto the driveway. “I don’t have a lot of time,” Quinn said after they escaped the forsythia. “Do you think you could start tomorrow?”
“It’s going to take a few days to round up the materials and write a contract. I charge twenty dollars an hour, no matter what I’m working on.” Kelly wasn’t sure why but she didn’t want to seem so…available.
“I’d really like to get started tomorrow if we can.”
“We? Wait. Are you—are you planning on helping?”
“Well yes, I don’t have anything else to do until September. I’ll be teaching at the college. Actually my youngest son will be a student there. Is it a problem if I help?”
“Unless I’m putting up beams or need an electrician, I usually work alone.”
“But it’s my house.” He sounded like her when something went wrong with one of her creations.
“So what’s your point?”she asked.
“I just…I really enjoy doing this kind of thing. I never tackled anything as big before.” He also sounded like her when she was begging for her first construction job.
“Okay, I’ll make the contract more flexible, but you have to pull your weight. Does that truck have a hitch?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. I have a trailer. We can go get the flooring tomorrow.”
“But I won’t be able to—”
“I’ll get a discount if I buy it. You can reimburse me, but I’ll deduct for using your truck.”
“You think the porch is the starting point?”
“If someone falls through, you’ll be sued.”
“Right.”
“I’ll call you later tonight. Where are you staying?”
“In the house, of course.”
“But there’s no furniture and no hot water.”
“It’s summer,” he said softly. “It’s like camping out.”
She found herself smiling, then laughing. “You’re willing to put up with cold showers? You do have it bad for that house.”
He shrugged and grinned.
“Okay, until we get a water heater put in or repaired, you can shower here at the summer house if you want.”
“I think I will take you up on that tomorrow morning. Here’s my phone number.” He handed her a card with everything scratched out except his name and cell number.
“I’ll get you the key.” She went inside and took the summer house key off the hook by the door before she realized she’d just invited Adonis to shower in her house. Well, actually in her summer house. How forward was that? Besides, this trading of keys was a symbol of trust or something. She had never invited anyone to use her summer house before except her mom.
Also she was lording it over him as if he were the employee and not her. He sounded as though he wanted her to mentor him in the building trades.
She came back out and pointed toward the twenty-by-thirty-foot building in the backyard. “You’ll find everything you need in there.” Damn, that sounded suggestive too.
He added the key to his considerable ring. “You seem so positive about this it gives me hope it will all turn out okay.”
“When I decide to do something, I just do it. I’m not much of a ponderer.” She looked at his packed vehicle and realized maybe everything he owned was in the dusty Suburban since she hadn’t seen much stacked in the house. “If you’re desperate for TV and a soft bed in the next few days you can stay in the summer house. It has all the conveniences.”
She nodded in the direction of the structure as though he had to have it pointed out even though the driveway went right to it. Had she mentioned the soft bed? What was he thinking of her, that she was being forward? She was glad it was getting too dark for him to see her blush.
“Thanks for the offer.” He sighed heavily. “I think I should stay in the house.”
“Right, it’s safer for you to stay there at night. You need to start looking for house insurance.”
“Couldn’t afford it yet anyway.” He drove up her driveway and left.
What had she gotten herself into?
* * * * *
Quinn drove back to the house with his share of reservations. When the guys at the hardware said Kelly was the best in the business, they had neglected to mention Kelly was an attractive woman barely half his weight. A redhead yet who looked like a pixie with those startling green eyes. A rather sturdy pixie considering what she did for a living.
Maybe that was their little joke. Maybe sending unsuspecting newbies to Kelly was to test their mettle. Still, they had praised her work and mentioned projects she had done. Maybe gender didn’t matter when it came to carpentry and assorted home repairs.
He parked on the street again and carried his sleeping bag into the house through the kitchen, then went back for his duffle bag. The living room still had an old rug pad on the floor so he folded that into a mat and camped there, hoping there were no pests in the wool pad. The dusty chandelier cast sparks of light and a yellow glow on the old wood floor. Quinn tried to pretend it was a campfire as he ate an apple and crackers, then drank a bottle of water. Tomorrow he needed to stock the refrigerator.
It would have been nice to stay in Kelly’s summer house but he didn’t want to impose. With his fragmented knowledge of home repairs and shaky finances, he would be imposing enough over the coming weeks. If he could just make a home for Jason before his youngest son started school here, he would be satisfied. Jason had put up with a lot in his short life, being ignored by his mother for one thing, playing second fiddle to his older brother. Paul was charming and a good athlete but not a scholar. Jason was the one with potential.
Quinn did wonder how he was going to be able to work beside Kelly when he found her so damned attractive even in jeans and a flannel shirt. He’d just keep reminding himself he had nothing to offer a woman like her, not even a home…yet.
He should call her up and invite her out to dinner. Just get rid of this hesitation he was feeling. Even without a shower today, he wouldn’t embarrass her in a steakhouse. And he hadn’t undressed yet. It was either that or review the textbooks for his economics courses in the fall, and he really had so many more questions about the house.
He reached for his phone, then stopped himself and leaned back on the sleeping bag, hands folded behind his head. No, the house was just an excuse. He wanted to listen to Kelly Barr on any topic, watch the way she tilted her head or braced
her hands on her hips. He wanted her. Asking her out was a very bad idea. He took it she didn’t think much of men and if he screwed up in the slightest he might lose his contractor before the job was even started.
If there was one thing he hated in himself more than inaction it was indecision. He should call her, take her rejection in stride and get some sleep. Anything was better than stewing over it. If she turned him down then he’d know they were going to have only a business relationship. Besides, until the divorce was final, he didn’t have any right to offer anyone an expectation of more.
Chapter Three
“Rule 3: Never invite a man to stay in your house unless you’ve done a full security check on him.” — SMFA
Kelly stood staring into her fridge as though food might appear if she studied the empty shelves long enough. If she prayed for a sub, was there any chance one would materialize? No, that was too trivial. Maybe a quart of milk. But she could do without. She came to the conclusion she always did. There was no food worth praying for. If she was that hungry she could go to the garden and pick lettuce for a salad. Certainly there must be meat frozen somewhere in the freezer downstairs along with all the garden produce she had put up in the expectation of having company that never arrived. Sue brought her own food except for the ice cream.
Kelly was too tired to cook for one. Or maybe it was depressing to cook for one. She slammed the fridge when she heard a frantic rap at the screen door. Maybe it was someone selling subs. She unlocked the door and flung it open.
“Sue, what’s the matter?”
“Can we stay here tonight?”
Sue held her two kids by the hands. The pathetic faces of Daf and Nicky stared up at her.
“Of course. What happened?”
“You were right about Joe.” Sue led the children in but they didn’t gravitate to their favorite pastimes in Kelly’s house, just stood there like refugees.
“I never gave an opinion on Joe Kirby.” She reached down and picked up Daf, and they all went into the kitchen where Kelly put her down on the captain’s chair.
“Anyway you were right about what you didn’t want to say about him. He wasn’t home. He left a note saying he had a job interview so I should take the kids swimming myself. Usually we stay ’til dark, but it was getting chilly. When we got back, his truck was there and he was shagging this blonde on my living room rug, the rug where my kids play, the rug where I used to sit on winter evenings watching the Christmas tree, the rug where Daffy was conceived for crying out loud, the rug—”
Kelly covered Daffy’s ears, then stepped forward and hugged Sue. “Too much information. Okay, the rug has to go. But why did you leave? It’s your house.”
“The kids.”
“They saw?” Kelly glanced at Nicky who had a dazed look.
“Only their backs, but it was awful. I put my hands over Daffy’s face. But Nicky got an eyeful. The woman didn’t even try to cover herself. What trash.”
“Of course you can stay here, but do you think it’s safe to leave him there in your house?”
“What can I do about it? He locked the doors as we left.”
“He could be robbing your place.”
“Of what? The kids are all that matter.”
Sue’s reality checks were eloquent and true. Coming from a person who had suffered much more adversity, they embarrassed Kelly into getting her priorities straight.
“Good point. I’m kind of tied up tomorrow morning, but we have to think of a game plan for getting him out of there. Maybe I should call Earl.”
“I’m too tired to talk to him tonight. I need ice cream.”
“Stay here with the kids. Get them settled down. I’ll run to the store. I need a few…dozen other things anyway: cereal, milk, bread, eggs, and so on.”
Sue shook her head. “In other words, real food.”
“Yeah, well, it’s sort of wasted on me, but the kids need to eat.” She grabbed her wallet, keys and phone.
“Kelly?”Sue turned a tear-stained face toward her.
“Yeah?”
Sue came and hugged her. “Thanks.”
“No problem, kid. You’d do the same for me.”
The Beast started and on the way to the grocery store she called Chief Earl Dobbs over at the police department on her cell phone.
“Hi, Earl, this is Kelly Barr.”
“Oh, no, what’s happened to Sue now?”
She stared at the phone, wondering if he was psychic, and almost ran a stop sign. There was a good reason for that law about not phoning while driving. “What makes you think I’m calling about Sue?”
“It’s after dark and against my advice, you usually take care of your own problems.”
“Well, you happen to be right. Sue’s ex-boyfriend won’t leave. In fact he locked her out of the house.”
“In other words she caught him shagging a broad.”
“Yes, in the living room.”
“Ouch. The house is in her name?”
“Right. Can’t we treat this as a home invasion?”
“He didn’t break in, did he?”
“No, but she couldn’t get him out and he locked the doors as Sue left with the kids. You could say the woman he invited in was there against Sue’s wishes. Earl, her kids saw all this. She had to get them out of there safely.”
“I’m on the other side of town right now. Him denying her access to her own home works for me. I’ll get there in about twenty minutes.”
“Thanks, Earl. I owe you cookies.”
“If I get this guy out, I expect chocolate chip and peanut butter.”
“Go get ’im Earl. You know I’d do it myself, but I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
“Neither do I. No, you and that sledgehammer stay put. This is a nice quiet town. I remember the last time you had to evict one of Sue’s boyfriends. I don’t want another naked guy running down the street shouting, “She’s going to kill me.”
“Okay, Earl. Don’t throw your back out now.”
On her way to the market Kelly dashed into the hardware for new locks. By now she knew just what to buy to relock Sue’s entire house. She had toyed with just reinstalling the locks she had pulled out last time this had happened, but Kenny wasn’t exactly a dead issue, so she decided to play it safe.
Kelly left the Beast running while she dog trotted through the grocery store with a shopping cart. Her last stop was at the ice cream freezer where she just tossed half-gallons of anything with chocolate into the cart. The freezer in the basement could handle the overflow until Sue settled down. Come to think of it there should be pizzas down there. She could remember buying some.
She was almost home when her cell vibrated again. She’d change it to ring if it didn’t feel so damn good against the inside of her thigh. “Kelly Barr here.”
“Hi, it’s Quinn. I was wondering if you were doing anything tonight.”
Here it comes. He wants a little something on the side. Kelly wasn’t sure if she felt complimented or disappointed. “Just consoling a friend in trouble.”
“Ha ha, really, do you want to go out? I’m okay with you just saying no.”
“Quinn, I wasn’t kidding. My friend Sue and her kids have been locked out of her own house by her boyfriend. She’s at my place crying buckets at the moment, so I better get back there.”
“Gosh, I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
“I put the police onto him, but if you’re at loose ends you could come over to my house and wait to see if we can relock her whole house tonight. It would be good practice.”
“I’m in. You sure you don’t want me to go talk to the guy? Throw him out or something?”
“That’s what the police are for. Earl gets edgy if I steal work from him. Just come over to my house. Uh, Sue has kids. You okay with that?”
“I have two of my own. They’re not another species, you know.”
“Right, these kids are special. Quinn?”
“I understand.”<
br />
“Thanks. I’m usually in this alone.”
“No problem.”
This was it. His big moment when he could actually be some help. He laced his boots back on, turned the lantern off and locked his own door before jumping into the Suburban to drive the short distance. Had he ever replaced locks on doors before? He could not come up with a single memory of doing anything so useful. He hoped those things came with directions. If not he could at least hand Kelly her tools. Throwing the guy out of the house would have been so much easier and more satisfying. He could just pretend the sleaze was one of his wife’s lovers. He’d had a lot of experience tossing them out.
When he got to Kelly’s house, Quinn walked past a Jeep with the tailgate open and went to the kitchen door. He could see Kelly inside stowing groceries in panic mode. He knocked twice and she didn’t even notice him. So why was he asking her out? He was still married. Don’t go there, Quinn. You’ve got one situation spiraling out of control. Just try to keep this relationship simple. Besides, she was so busy right now she didn’t have time to think about dating.
He could see a woman who must be Sue eating out of a half-gallon tub of ice cream on the kitchen table in between hiccups and tears and he could hear both the TV and a video game going somewhere. No wonder they didn’t hear him. Kelly almost ran into him as she dashed out the door to the jeep, so he went to help her unload groceries. He took six of the plastic bags, leaving her with just two.
“Hope I’m not interrupting your evening.” Kelly smiled back at him, her pretty face tense with anxiety.
He grinned. “I’m camping out in a house with no TV or reading material. Believe me, you were not interrupting.”
They dumped the groceries on the counter and Kelly introduced Quinn to Sue. Her friend sniffed and nodded, then sneezed. He opened a box of tissues and placed them beside her, then flung open the kitchen shelves and stocked the cupboards. Kelly watched him for a moment then assembled a pot of coffee.
Kelly's Rules Page 3