Sweet Nothings (4 page)

The driver’s side door of the truck opened and two booted feet stepped out. Then the orange thing moved and in the next instant a huge cat plopped down on the ground beside him.

The man came with a cat?

She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled. Of course he came with a cat. He was a nester.

Having a cat was even worse than a dog.

He shoved the door closed as she headed off the porch and moved in his direction, fighting the yawn trying to escape. She’d give an arm for a good cup of coffee.

“I see you found the place.” She attempted to make her voice polite, but it was barely seven in the morning. She should still be in bed sleeping.

As her feet left the last step, she finally caught full sight of him, and as it had yesterday, her breath stuck in her throat. Geez, the man wasn’t subtle in his looks.

A long-sleeved flannel shirt covered his wide chest and shoulders this morning, and his hair looked as if it’d just come from the shower. Her fingers itched to mess it up. After she got more sleep.

In his left hand was a large insulated cup. The kind that routinely held coffee. She might have to beg.

“Your directions were good.” His deep voice set her lower stomach on agitation. “Plus, it’s not like there’s much around here that would be hard to find.”

“Isn’t that the truth?” she grumbled. She actually loved Sugar Springs, but before ten in the morning, she rarely loved anything. She turned and headed back to the house. “Let me show you the place.”

The cat streaked past her and she jumped, then muttered an unladylike word under her breath. Nick came up behind her and put a hand on her elbow. He leaned in, one side of his mouth lifting slightly. “Not a morning person, Jo?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Who wants to move into a place at this ungodly hour?”

His partial smile went to full bloom and her head went a little light. “I’ve been up since five, darlin’. I drove up into the mountains. It was a beautiful sunrise.”

“Oh my God. You’re one of those people.”

His perkiness, along with the tempting aroma of the coffee, made her head throb. She turned and headed into the house. When she opened the door, the orange fluff shot in before her.

“And I can’t believe you come with a cat,” she said.

He chuckled behind her. “I can’t believe you’re the same person who was charming half the town into cupcakes yesterday afternoon.”

She turned loose the screen door and it smacked shut behind her, leaving him to find his own way in. Once he did, he stopped in the middle of the dingy-brown carpeted floor and simply stared. She turned from him, not wanting to see the expression on his face. He was going to back out of their deal, she was certain of it. Who could blame him? The place hadn’t been livable when GiGi had last been there, and it certainly wasn’t now.

Not to mention it looked like a horror story out of the early 1900s.

“I’m sorry—” “Wow.” They both spoke at the same time. The shock in his voice managed to pull her back to him. Embarrassment spread over her features that she’d let him see the place like this.

“I should have insisted you not move in until I at least got the place cleaned up.”

He waved her words off before moving through the living space into the spacious kitchen. Once there, he turned in a large circle, taking in the room full of plain wood cabinets, the yellowed wallpaper with the burned spot on the wall behind the stove, the equally dated kitchen table, and the many boxes filling the space of the back bay window. The wall adjoining the utility room looked as if it might come crashing down any second.

“You can leave now and I’ll call someone to come clean. We can try this another day.”

“No,” he said. “This is fine. I can clean, no problem.”

“You’re going to clean the house?”

He shot her an odd look. “A little elbow grease and it’ll be good as new. No big deal.”

If the man wanted to clean her house, who was she to stop him? She grunted, knowing she was beyond unpleasant, but unable to do more than silently acknowledge the fact.

Then she stood there, taking in the house that had seen only the most rudimentary of renovations—
four decades ago
—as she listened to his footsteps wander throughout the rest of the place. She wished she knew what he saw when he looked at it. As his booted feet sounded up the stairs, she wondered if he could tell she was the one everyone had once felt sorry for.

Poor thing, her own mother left her when she was only a teenager, and she and her grandmother were left to make ends meet in that falling-down place.

“The house is really in great shape,” he called down from an upstairs room.

Her jaw fell open. The man was delusional.

She made her way up the stairs, which had more than one “soft spot,” avoiding the cat who once again ran between her feet, and crossed to stand at Nick’s side. He’d stopped in the room that had once been hers.

“GiGi never put anything into remodeling this heap. What hasn’t already fallen down is well on its way.”

“There are some issues, yes, but the main structure is good. And it’s got such history. It’s gorgeous.”

“It’s a two-story box just waiting for a heavy enough wind to come knock it down.” She pointed to a spot in the corner of the room that had water stains all the way down the wall. “The roof has been leaking since I lived here.”

“We can fix the roof. We can fix the sheeting that’s no doubt weakened from the leak.” He walked to the back window and looked out over the yard. “Imagine what that yard will look like filled with the right landscaping.”

She stepped to his side, peeked at the cup he was carrying, and wondered if it didn’t hold more than coffee, then tried to see the backyard through fresh eyes.

It was large. That could be beneficial. It was flat. There was a scraggly spot that had once been a butterfly garden. Some random large rocks where she’d played as a child, imagining them as a fortress or throne, but more often as a stove and tabletops where she’d cook a meal for her pretend guests. She looked straight down. One side of the back porch roof had totally collapsed into the screened-in room.

“You’re out of your mind,” she muttered.

Brown eyes cut down at her. He studied her for a long time, long enough to make her twitch and look away, then passed his cup over to her.

The smell of coffee hit her nose and she looked up at him in surprise.

“Clearly you need it more than me,” he said. “Take it, and then tell me what you really see when you look at this place. Not what you saw in the past, or what shape it’s in now, but close your eyes and tell me what you see.”

She shook her head, but did take the coffee. “I see exactly what’s here. It’s a falling-down mess, out in the middle of nowhere, and no one will ever want it.”

“Joanie, it’s three miles outside of town. That is not out in the middle of nowhere.”

“For a kid it is. It’s a lonely place.”

“Not if it’s filled with siblings,” he insisted. “It would be the perfect place to grow up. Ideal for raising a family. Enough space to have friends over on a regular basis, both adults and children, and exquisite views of the mountains from the front porch. You could sit each evening and simply enjoy the ending to a nice day.”

“Oh good grief, you’re such a romantic.” She turned and headed back out of the room, dodging a weak spot that had been in the floor all her life, and turned up the coffee cup.

He followed. “No I’m not, I’m simply able to take something raw and see the possibilities in it. Now tell me what you see.”

She turned, halfway down the stairs, and scowled back up at him. “I see nothing but a house falling down, Nick. Honestly. And this isn’t lack of coffee talking. It’s an old home that is worth pretty much nothing, but
if I can’t make at least a little out of it then GiGi will be kicked out of the nursing home and she’ll have to live with me. In my tiny, two-bedroom rental. And trust me, she and I don’t get along well enough for that. Even if she wasn’t sick, that arrangement wouldn’t be in the best interest of either of us.”

Stomping the rest of the way down the stairs, she was relieved that she didn’t put a foot through any of the risers. By the time she reached the first floor, the caffeine was beginning to kick in. She faced him as he made his way down behind her, and she tried for an apologetic look.

“Listen, I’m sorry I’m in a mood this morning. You were right, I’m not a morning person, but that isn’t hard to figure out, is it?” She laughed a little, then took another long drink of the heaven in her hands, the warm liquid easing her tension all the way down. “The fact is, I really don’t see anything when I look at this house. I’ve no idea where to start, but the last contractor who gave me an estimate quoted a price twice the loan I can get from the bank.”

He nodded. “There’s a lot of work to be done. I’ll need to bring in a few guys to help with different areas. Electricity, roofing, plumbing. I have licenses for all, but I can’t handle everything myself.”

Worry settled in her and almost brought her to tears. She should just give up and go ahead and bring GiGi home. At least that way she’d save what little money she always managed to send as payment.

“I can spot you for the extra labor.”

“What?” She gaped at him. “I can’t let you do that. I’m already taking advantage of you by not paying
you
any labor.”

The smile at his lips let her know that she was definitely taking advantage of him. “I can spot you. Plus, turning this house into what
I
see will go far toward giving my company a foothold in the town. You’ll be doing us both a favor.”

Her mouth twisted, but she had to admit he had a point. If he could pull off making this place something other than the shambles that it currently was, it would be a walking advertisement for his business.

“What’s your deadline?” he asked.

Now she really was embarrassed. She peered out the front window as if something out there interested her. “I need it sold in two months, so… four weeks? Six at most.”

And that was pushing it. It would mean it would need to sell pretty much the moment it went on the market.

Nick remained silent for several seconds and then walked over and took the coffee from her. He turned the mug up, his head tilting back at such an angle her vision got caught on the ridge in his throat.

Once the last drop was gone, he lowered his hand and locked his gaze with hers. “I sure hope you know how to wield a hammer.”

Joanie’s eyes went wide. “That’s what I’m hiring you for.”

He laughed. “Darlin’, I wouldn’t call what I’m about to do your hiring me. But that’s okay,” he held up a hand at her panicked look and hurried to finish, not wanting her to think that he was backing out of their agreement.

The fact was, the whole situation excited him. He could turn this house into a masterpiece and she would bow down at his feet when he was done. The whole town would. And the idea of him doing most of the work himself instead of merely overseeing the details gave him even more of a thrill. It made him realize how much he’d missed being active on the job site. Plus, it would give him a definite extra two weeks with his brother before he headed back home. He couldn’t wait to get started.

“To meet your deadline, sweetness, we’ll pretty much need to work round the clock.” And he couldn’t help but want Joanie there for part of it. She was fun to be around, even when she was grumpy. “I can’t hire men and expect them to be out here all hours of the night. Maybe hammering isn’t your forte, but surely you can pitch in. I could totally see you doing demolition.”

He winked at her, picturing her, with her blond and pink curls, wielding a sledgehammer. The idea of her wearing her go-go boots while doing so popped into his brain and he realized that thinking of her helping was bringing on more enjoyment than he needed at the moment.

Pushing the image from his mind, he looked over the dusty room. First things first. It might be February, but they had to let in some fresh air.

“Tell you what,” he started as he began opening windows. Most were stuck but came loose with a quick rap of his fist along the sash. “You leave me to it for the day and then come on back after you shut down your store tonight. I’ll run into town for supplies and spend the day cleaning. That’ll give me time to formulate my ideas for what I see this place becoming.” He looked back at her. “Deal?”

The caffeine had brightened her features but she still looked as if she’d rather be in bed. Which brought yet another unneeded thought to mind.

She nodded. “I hate to leave you with all this yourself, though.”

“That’s okay, I’m a big boy. I’ve cleaned a house or two before.” Far more times than most guys, he imagined. His mother hadn’t been big on cleaning up after herself.

“As for me helping…”

He lifted his brows when she stopped midsentence.

She finally gave a slight shrug and continued, “I’ll do whatever I can, but I also have to sort through the contents in the house. I was hoping to do that after hours.”

The thought that she would be there with him in the evenings shot a spurt of adrenaline through him. He’d been teasing about needing her help, mostly just looking for an excuse to get her to come around, but it looked like he didn’t have to bother. She would be there anyway.