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Cilla gave herself the pleasure of re weather stripping, and installing their replaceed the old, stored them in the barn
You just never knew, to her ht need an old door
She’d opted for antly silass panes on the entrance door would let in the light, and still afford soht with pleasure after one of the laborers helped her haul it into position Fit like a fricking dream She waited until she was alone to stroke her hands over the wood and purr, "Hello, gorgeous You’re allunder her breath, she went to work on the lock set
She’d gone with the oil-rubbed bronze she’d chosen for other areas of the house and, as she began the install on the lock set, decided she’d made the perfect choice The dark tones of the bronze showed off well against the subtle red hues in thedoor"
She looked over her shoulder to see her father stepping out of his car Cilla was so used to seeing hiht of as his teacher clothes, it took her a minute to adjust her brain to the jeans, T-shirt and ball cap he wore
"Curb appeal," she called back
"You’re certainly getting that" He paused to look over the front lawns The grass had been neatly moith its bare patches resowed and the tender new shoots protected by a thin layer of straw The plantings had begun there, too, with young azaleas and rhododendrons, a clutch of hydrangeas already heading up, a sliht
"Still got some work, and I won’t put in the flower beds until next spring, unless I "
"You’ve done an ah she caught a whiff of what she thoughtHe studied the door, the lock set "That looks sturdy I’ets around," he added when she raised her eyebrows
"I was hoping that ould It ht be as much of a deterrent as the system itself Which went in yesterday"
His hazel eyes tracked to hers, solemnly "I wish you’d calledyou could’ve done about it Give me a second here, I’m nearly done" She whirled the last screws in place, then set aside the cordless screwdriver before adood I alht it would look too heavy This is better " She opened and closed the door a couple of ti the sao with an atrium on sorry You couldn’t possibly be interested"
"I a"
A little surprised by the hurt in his tone, she turned to give him her full attention "I just , luain "It’s noisy, but it’s cooler"
"Cilla, what can I do?"
"I Look, I’ How could she be otherwise? "I didn’t "
"Cilla" Gavin closed the door again to block off the noise frouilty, and a little panicked, as her h, shoved his hands into his pockets "I’m not a do-it-yourselfer, but I can hammer a nail or put in a screw I can fetch and carry I can o pick up sandwiches I can use a broom"
"You want to work on the house?"
"School’s out for the summer, and I didn’t take on any summer classes I have some time to help, and I’d like to help"
"Well why?"
"I’m aware you have plenty of people, people who knohat they’re doing, that you’re paying to do it But, I’ve never done anything for you I sent child support I was legally obligated to I hope you know, or can believe, I’d have sent it without that obligation I didn’t teach you to ride a bike, or to drive a car I never put toys together for you on Christmas Eve or your birthday-or the few ti to possibly remember I never helped you with your ho for you to come home fros for you, or hundredstangible If you’ll let me"
Her heart fluttered, the oddest combination of pleasure and distress It see, and her er hunt "Ah Ever done any painting?"
She watched the tension in his face hted smile "As a matter of fact, I’m an excellent painter Do you want references?"
She sive you a trial run Followroo this area quite yet, but there was no reason against it "The plasterwork’s done, and I’ve removed the trim Had to Some of it needed to be stripped, and that’s done I’ what I need to replicate and replace daed areas, then I’ll stain and seal Anyway, you won’t have to tape or cut in around trim Oh, and don’t worry about the brick on the fireplace, either I’ranite Or ht now, so you won’t be in anyone’s way, and they shouldn’t be in yours We can drop-cloth the floors and the supplies stored here"
She set her fists on her hips "Got your stepladder, your pans, rollers, brushes right over there Priallon cans, androoht it in advance You won’t get past starting the prih her mental checklist "So do you want me to help you set up?"
"I can handle it"
"Okay Listen, it’s a big job, so knock off anyti on the back door if you need anything meanwhile "
"Go ahead I’ll be fine"
"Okay Ah I’ll check in after I’ the process of replacing the door-once for the sheer pleasure of walking up and down her newly co, and the doorway cut into ould be her office suite would be blocked with plywood until she installed that door But the stairs thehted her so much she executed an impromptu dance number on the way down, to the applause and whistles of the crew
Her father and the painting slipped her uilt and concern, she hurried into the living roo to see a weekend DIYer’s amateurish mess Instead, she saw a co and two pri a cheery tune, as he rolled primer on the next wall
"You’re hired," she said from behind him
He lowered the roller, chuckled, turned "Will work for leot soht your act"
"Sorry?"
"Your Ginger Rogers down the stairs Outside You looked so happy"
"I a feat, brought to you by Cilla McGowan and Matt Brewster"
"I forgot you could dance like that I haven’t seen you dance since You were still a teenager when I cae before curtain You hite as a sheet"
"Stage fright I hated that concert series I hated perfor"
"You just did"
"Perfor around That was playing around Which you’re obviously not, here This is a really good job And you?" She walked over for a closer inspection-and damn if she couldn’t still smell the soap on him "You barely have a dot of paint on you"
"Years of experience, between painting sets at school and Patty’s redecorating habit It looks so different in here," he added "With the doorway there widened, the way it changes the shape of the room and opens it"
"Too different?"
"No, honey Hoe, to reflect the people who live in them And I think you’ll understand what I mean when I say she’s still here Janet’s still here" He touched her shoulder, then just left his hand there, connecting therandparents, my father Even me, a little What I see here is a revival"
"Want to see where the stairs lead? My garret?"
"I’d like that"
She got a kick out of showing hin and plans for her office It surprised her to realize his approval brought her such satisfaction In the way, she supposed, it was satisfying to show off to so on houses," he said as they started down the unfinished attic steps
"That’s the plan Rehabbing either forso my contractor’s license I can do a lot without it, but with it, I can doa license?"
"I take the test for it toers crossed
"To? says the teacher"
"Believe me, I have Studied my brains out, took the sauest bath "This room’s finished-for the second time"
"This is one that was vandalized?"
"Yeah You’d never know it," she said, crouching down to run her fingers over the newly laid tile "I guess that’s what counts"
"What counts is you weren’t hurt When I think about what happened to Steve"
"He’s doing good I talked to hi well, which may in part be due to the fact that the therapist is a babe Do you think Hennessy could have done it?" she asked on impulse "Is he capable, physically, character-wise?"
"I don’t like to think so, when it comes to his character But the fact is, he’s never stopped hating"After a pause, Gavin let out a sigh "I’d have to say he hates more now than he did when it happened Physically? Well, he’s a tough old bird"
"I want to talk to hiet a sense I just haven’t decided how to approach it On the other hand, if it was hiet him even more riled up I haven’t had any problems for nearly teeks now I’d like to keep it that way"
"He’s been out of town for a few days He and his wife are visiting her sister Up in Verhbor’s boy ht as her father went back to painting
And since the living area was getting painted, she decided to set up her tools outside and get to work on the trim
IN THE MORNING, Cilla decided she’d been foolish and shortsighted to bar Ford froht before She hadn’t wanted any distractions while she reviewed her test ht hours’ sleep
Instead she’d obsessed about the test, pacing the house, second-guessing herself When she slept, she tossed and turned with anxiety dreay and half sick with nerves She forced herself to eat half a bagel, then wished she hadn’t as even that churned uneasily in her sto three ti she could possibly need, then left the house a full thirty ot lost Couldn’t find a parking place, she added as she locked the front door Was abducted by aliens
"Knock it off, knock it off," she mumbled as she strode to her pickup It wasn’t as if the fate of the daht Just her entire future
She could wait She could take the test down the road, wait just a little longer After she’d finished the house After she’d settled in After
Stage fright, she thought with a sigh Performance anxiety and fear of failure all wrapped up in a slippery ribbon With her stomach knotted, she opened the truck door
She h, part a
The sketch lay on the seat, where, she supposed, Ford had put it soht before
She stood in work boots, a tool belt slung from her hips like a holster As if she’d drawn the tape in the other Around her were stacks of luled froloves peeked out of the pocket of her carpenter pants Her face carried a deterant expression
Below her feet, the caption read:
THE AMAZING, THE INCREDIBLE CONTRACTOR GIRL
"You don’t miss a trick, do you?" she said aloud
She looked across the road, blew a kiss to where she i When she cliine, all the knots had unraveled
With the sketch riding on the seat beside her, Cilla turned on the
FORD SETTLED on his front veranda with his laptop, his sketchbook, a pitcher of iced tea and a bag of Doritos to share with Spock He couldn’t be sure when Cilla ht make it back The drive to and from Richmond was a bitch even without rush hour factored in Added to it, he couldn’t be sure how long the exaht do after to wind down
So around two in the afternoon, he stationed himself where he couldn’t miss her return and kept himself busy He sent and answered e-s and boards he usually frequented He did a little updating on his oebsite
He’d neglected his Internet co preoccupied with a certain lanky blonde Hooking back in entertained him for a solid two hours before he noticed at least so off for the day
Matt pulled out, swung to Ford’s side of the road, then leaned out the"Checking the porn sites?"
"Day and night How’s it going over there?"
"It’s going Finished insulating the attic today Fucking ," he added when the dog gave a single, deep-throated, how-about- into a cold beer You cos on the Fourth?"
"Wouldn’t ht that’s hoas Nice work, dog Not you," he added, pointing at Spock "Don’t knohat she sees in you, but I guess she settled since she knows I’m married"
"Yeah, that was it She had to channel her sexual frustration sorin and a toot of the horn, Matt pulled out
Ford poured another glass of tea and traded his laptop for his sketch pad He wasn’t yet satisfied with his ie of his villain He’d based Devon/ Devino predoebra teacher, but turns in his original story line ant Cold, dignified evil played better He played around with various face types hoping one jumped out and said: Pick ot the work and the beer when Cilla’s truck pulled into his drive
He knew before she got out of the truck It didn’t rin said it all He headed down, several paces behind a happy Spock, as she got out of the truck, then braced hioing to take a wild guess You passed"
"I killed!" Laughing, she bowed back recklessly so he had to shift, brace his legs, or drop her on her head "For the first time in my life, I kicked exam ass I kicked its ass down the street, across county lines and out of the goddamn state Woo!"
She threw her arms into the air, then around his neck "I ah to vibrate his teeth "Thank you Thank you I was a nervous, quivering h It really did" She kissed hi to have it fra in ratulations" He thought he’d known just how much the license meant to her And realized he hadn’t even been close "We have to celebrate"