Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75408 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75408 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“I know tomorrow is Sunday and all,” she said, “but I was going to attempt to hang up some beadboard in a couple of the bathrooms. You wouldn’t be available to help, would you? I’ll pay you. Harlee and Palmer are both busy. I’d ask Brax, but you know my brother, he’s almost always out with a charter.”
The tightness in my chest faded a bit. “I’d love to help, and no, you’re not paying me. You could buy pizza and have some beer on hand, though.”
The smile that always melted my heart appeared on her beautiful face. “Pizza and beer, it is.”
I’d never laughed so much in my entire life as I did watching Sutton try to hang up wallpaper.
When the large piece she was attempting to hang fell back and covered nearly her entire body, I had to step in. “Maybe wallpaper hanging isn’t your thing, Sutton.”
She blew a piece of hair out of her eyes and sat down on the floor of the laundry room. “This is for the birds. The beadboard last week was so much easier.”
“Do you really want this wallpaper up?” I asked, trying to smooth it back onto the wall.
Exhaling, Sutton stood and placed her hands on her hips as she studied the laundry room. “Actually, I think a nice coat of seafoam green would look beautiful in here.”
I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing and turned in a circle. When the paper I’d just hung fell halfway off the wall, I replied, “I agree.”
We both laughed as Sutton pulled the paper off and crumpled it up.
“How about you shower to get all that glue off of you, and I’ll go grab us some lunch,” I said. “Then we can head to the hardware store.”
With a little smile, she nodded. “Chinese?”
Over the last few weeks, we’d shared countless meals, either cooking together at Sutton’s or ordering takeout. A few times, we’d eaten at her parents’ restaurant. “That sounds good. Text me what you want.”
As I started to head out of the laundry room, Sutton reached for my arm, bringing me to a halt. “Brody?”
“Yeah?” I turned and looked into those gorgeous eyes that had captured my heart so many years ago.
She chewed on her lower lip for a moment before she spoke. “Thank you for all your help. I really appreciate it.”
“It’s my pleasure.”
Dropping her hand, she headed toward the steps while I made my way to the back door. I’d been parking at the back of her house in the hopes that no one would notice how often my truck was there. So far, we’d managed to stay under the radar—which was crazy, since the local newspaper had a gossip column that seemed to know what everyone was doing in town at any given moment.
After stopping by my place to check on a few things, I swung downtown, picked up the Chinese food, and headed back to Sutton’s. When I pulled up at her curb, I frowned when I saw a BMW parked out front. I parked behind the house and then made my way in through the back door.
I should have knocked before I walked in. It was a dick move not to. But curiosity won out over politeness. Or maybe part of me feared it was Jack who’d stopped by unexpectedly.
“What do we do now?” I heard Sutton ask.
“We alert the court that he still hasn’t reached out to you about buying his share of the store. Since the judge ordered it, he legally has to.”
“Isn’t there a time limit on it?”
I peeked around the corner to see Sutton’s divorce lawyer, Ted Johnson, sitting at the table Sutton’s parents had dropped off yesterday.
“There is. Or was. He’s already surpassed it. He keeps having his lawyer file extensions since he’s working out of the country.”
“Why should that matter?” Sutton asked.
“Well, he does need to be here to sign the paperwork at closing.”
“Can’t we do DocuSign or something like that?”
Ted shook his head. “I’m afraid not. We need him to come back to town.”
“That’s the last thing I need.”
I’d been standing in the back hallway, so I took a few silent steps backward so I could open and shut the door loudly. Then I proceeded to casually walk into the kitchen. Sutton and Ted both looked up.
“Brody, it’s good to see you,” Ted said.
I set the food down and reached out to shake his hand. “Ted, how are you doing?”
He smiled. “Can’t complain.”
When Ted glanced between the two of us, Sutton quickly jumped in with an explanation for why I was there. “Brody’s been kind enough to help me with some things around the house that need fixing.”
Ted nodded. “That’s nice of you, Brody.” Then he said to Sutton, “I’m sure that’s helping keep costs down, since you need to keep that money untouched in your bank account.”