Always Be True (27 page)

“How much?”

Again, the answer should be obvious. “The whole amount.”

He shot her a disgusted look before bending down to stick his head through the gap in the fence to look at her backyard. When he straightened back up, he said, “That's not what I meant. I'm assuming you have written estimates from the contractors you talked to. How much are they going to charge you?”

She told him even though it wasn't really any of his business since she'd be the one writing the check. “Of course, the bill will be a little less than the original quote since I'm doing the demolition myself.”

“How soon does it have to be done?”

“I can bring my puppy home in two weeks, although the breeder said they'd keep him an extra week if I needed a little more time.”

Mikhail nodded but didn't say anything for several seconds as he continued to stare at the damage she'd done to the fence. His lips moved as if he was doing some mental calculations. While she waited impatiently for him to finish whatever he was doing, Amy studied her new neighbor. He was certainly handsome enough with those sculpted cheekbones and silver-blond hair, but she sensed there was an edge to him. Something about the lines bracketing his mouth or the way he held himself as if he was hyperaware of his surroundings.

And as proof of that, she'd just been caught staring at him. The twinkle in his vivid blue eyes had her blushing. At least he was gentleman enough to not say anything.

“Here's the deal. It's obvious that my whole fence is in the same condition as this stretch and needs to be replaced. I was planning on doing it eventually, but there's no reason I can't do it now. Besides, I'd rather it all match, which it won't if it gets done piecemeal. My brother does this kind of work all the time. Let me get him over here to give us both a quote for the work. I guarantee the price will be better than what you've been given so far, especially on the labor since I'll be doing most of the work myself.”

“Are you sure?”

Because although it was obvious he was strong enough to haul lumber and set fence posts, that didn't necessarily mean he knew how. It wouldn't make for a good long-term relationship between neighbors if his efforts turned out to be substandard. Maybe she had somehow broadcast her doubts because he suddenly grinned at her, the big smile shaving years off his apparent age. She would have guessed he was well into his thirties, but now she figured him for at least five years younger than that.

Meanwhile, Mikhail grabbed the top rail of the fence and gave it a sharp tug, maybe to see how rickety it actually was. He glanced back at her, that smile still firmly in place. “Did I forget to mention that my family owns a construction company, and that my older brother took over the business when Dad died awhile back? Or that my brothers and I spent summers and vacations working for him? I was building fences like this long before I graduated from high school.”

She put her hands on her hips and gave him a cocky look. “Next time you offer to build a girl's fence for her, you might want to lead with that fact. I'm just saying.”

“Noted.”

“So what's our next step?”

“I call Jack and tell him to haul ass over here. If he's already out on a job, I'll find out when he can come. It won't take long for him to measure it all out and then give us some hard numbers to work with.”

“Sounds like a plan.” She'd removed her gloves while they were talking, because they were hot. Pulling them back on, she asked, “Can I get back to work now?”

Her new best buddy sighed heavily. “Yeah, if you insist. The work will go faster with two of us working. Can I bring you a beer or something cold to drink?”

“I'm good, but thanks.”

“Back in a sec.”

She watched as he loped back toward his house. “Hey, Mikhail?”

He stopped just short of his porch to look back in her direction. “Yeah?”

“You might want to put on a shirt and shoes, too, while you're at it.”

His laughter rang out across the yard. “Also noted.”

Then he disappeared inside, leaving her counting the seconds until he returned. She suddenly realized that she was staring at his door like a teenage girl in the throes of her first crush, even if the analogy was an apt one. She'd spent her teen years in and out of hospitals, her health a constant source of worry for her entire family. Mikhail was the first man she'd met in a long time who knew nothing of her past. She might not have much dating experience, but she was perfectly capable of telling when a man was interested in more than her ability to rip down a half-rotted board.

Amy deliberately turned her attention back to the fence and attacked the rest of the broken board to show that she wasn't some helpless female dependent on some man to do all the work. And if that gave her handsome neighbor an excellent view of her backside on his way back to join her, well, that was just bonus points.

Love stories you'll never forget

By authors you'll always remember

eOriginal Romance from Random House

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