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Beside Hunter, Deke burst out laughing Tyler followed Hunter just swore

"You toldher ass, so I did"

Hunter held up a hand "I don’t want to knohat else you did or ht do to her ass Just…stop there"

"I wasn’t in thehere?"

"She’s decorating I’ll fix shit, but color palettes and throw pillows…notbusy I had in o unload the truck We’ve already been by the store and picked up et started"

He tossed Deke the keys to his truck, and the big rinned Tyler headed for the door with a chuckle

His son-in-law slapped Hunter on the back "Look on the bright side, man Happy mother-in-law can equal so to run your show"

"She doesn’t anyway"

Deke shrugged "If Carlotta is happy, Kata will be happy That can only be good for you, dude"

Hunter hesitated "True It’s just a little weird My dad and rowled

Rearing back, Hunter blinked at hi serious?"

"Back down, et to be as happy as you and Kata?"

Hunter sht you or Carlotta would get serious about anyone ever again I’ood shock"

Caleb let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding "Good But if you didn’t like it, that was going to be tough shit for you"

Tyler laughed out loud fro a toddler put his toy trucks down the toilet"

Deke marched over to Tyler and punched him in the shoulder "Daht little Cal to shove his toys down the john, too"

That onlythe love one crapper at a ti myself into with this whole parenthood idea?" Hunter asked

"Your children will have lots of stellar influences" Caleb gestured to Deke and Tyler

Suddenly, he sensed someone behind him and turned to find Carlotta in a soft pair of jeans and a red V-neck shirt that revealed enough hint of cleavage to fire his blood again

"Hello, everyone"

Deke looked down, repressing a sraceful, just more brazen as he waved "Good day so far?"

Caleb wanted to elbow the troublemaker

Hunter drew in a deep breath, then approached Carlotta with a gentle hug "Thanks for your help with the house I want to surprise Kata for Christuy give you a hard tienda?"

Two evenings later, Carlotta sighed with a sely transformed With Tyler’s and Deke’s help, they had torn out the half wall in the foyer, removed all the old carpet, and peeled back the linoleum Hunter had lent a hand until he had been forced to return to active duty, and Carlotta had seen the worry on her daughter’s face as she’d watched her husband walk out the door, not knowing if he would return again But Kata was strong--and she’d buried herself in work since Hunter’s departure

Carlotta looked around the kids’ new house with a keen eye Drywall had been repaired and the crackedreplaced She had scrubbed the fireplace until the brick looked fresh New paint had gone on every wall of the house under her watchful eye The new carpet had gone in with the help of installers The guys had laid the new hardwood floors and they glea new life and vibrancy The cabinets were stacked in the kitchen and waiting for Deke and Tyler to return tomorrow to help The fabricators would come measure for the countertops as soon as the cabinets were in place and had promised a quick turnaround She had shopped earlier for new hardware for the kitchen cabinets, as well as the bathroom fixtures Time had not been kind to the plastic faucets, and she had replaced the sturdier So, Caleb had found the ti man, and she could not deny that she liked hiether They had not, however, had anotherroom floor

Carlotta wished very much that Hunter and his friends had come just a bit later

Across the kitchen, Caleb had removed his shirt and opened the s The dusk was surprisingly warm Sweat sheened across his body as he lifted the cabinets across the new floor and set the them until they fit in the space

"You okay, Lottie?" he asked

Now that they were finally alone again, she wondered what o back to work toetwith Mari and her two kids"

As hter and her fao, I would like to pick out the light fixtures so you can hang them Oh, and the curtain rods"

He picked up a haawked at every ripple of his body as he hed