Not So Easy (The NOT Series Book 4)

Chapter 12

I barely hadanother free moment for the next month.

Literally.

The end of May and most of June brought the craziest wedding schedule of the year, and this season had been busier than ever. The rare moments when I wasn’t working a wedding or shooting engagement photos, I was editing the previous shoot, meeting new clients, or passed out on my couch.

After multiple calls and messages from both Mom and Dad, I returned to Sunday dinners, but our conversations were strained, and we all went out of our way to avoid the subject of Bammy’s house. Not that I’d had much time to think about it myself.

On the last Monday in June, I finally found the time to tackle painting my bedroom. Though Calvin sent me regular updates during the month, I was still dying to see the place in person. When I pulled up out front, I couldn’t believe the difference.

Is this the same house?

The awnings were gone, as were the ugly shrubs and chain link fence. The front yard was still small but looked twice the size it had before. The ratty old screen door was gone, and the inside door stood open. As I approached the porch, I could hear random power tools, and a smell I didn’t recognize assaulted my nostrils.

Stepping into the foyer, I paused to let my eyes adjust to the dimness. I also tried to figure out where the sounds were coming from. I’d promised to stay out of the way, and if I caused an issue my first day in the middle of the chaos, Calvin was going to be even more put out about me moving in early.

Once I could see again, I noticed the entrance to the new half bath where a wall had been before. Stepping closer, the potent scent got stronger. Pipes poked out of the wall on the right where I knew the small sink would go, but the toilet had already been installed. Brown paper covered the floor, I assumed to protect the tile I’d picked from a picture on my phone. This was my chance to see it in person.

Bending down, I tugged at a piece of tape to lift the paper.

“What are you doing?” boomed a voice behind me. Startled, I fell forward and cracked my head on the toilet. Calvin rushed to pick me up. “Are you okay?”

“Do you enjoy scaring people like that?” Rubbing my head, I ignored the rush of happiness that shot through my brain at the sight of him. What the heck was that about?

“I didn’t scare you on purpose,” he defended. “Were you ripping up that paper?”

I checked my hand for blood and thankfully found none. “I want to see the tiles.”

“You know what they look like. You picked them.”

“But I haven’t seen them in person.”

As if I weighed no more than a leaf, Calvin picked me up and placed me on my bottom just outside the bathroom door. Then he squatted and worked the tape free. A second later, still reeling from how easily he’d moved me, I got my first glimpse of the pretty tile and let out an involuntary squeal.

“Oh my gosh, it’s perfect. It’s almost exactly like the original tile from the kitchen.”

I would never put such a busy pattern in my kitchen, but the small orange and yellow squares provided the perfect funky but cute vibe for this powder room.

“Good thing you like them because replacing them is not in the budget or the schedule.”

Speaking of… “Are we still on target for both of those?”

Nearly everyone I talked to about this project felt the need to tell me that renovations always run long and go well over budget. I couldn’t afford either of those scenarios.

“So far so good.” Calvin stood and extended a hand to help me up. I ignored the urge to get myself up and accepted the assistance. When he leaned close and checked my forehead, I forgot to breathe. “You’re going to have a bump, but it doesn’t look too bad. I had no idea you were so accident prone.”

Wait, what? “I’m not accident prone.”

“You could have fooled me. Ready to see the other bathroom?”

The change of topic threw me off. We hadn’t finished the accident prone thing yet. He was the reason I kept having these accidents, not some natural inclination on my part.

“The other bathroom?” I asked, as if I had no idea what rooms were in this house.

“The hall bath upstairs. We finished it last week.”

With a poke in his chest, I said, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Calvin squared his broad shoulders. “I knew you’d be here today and if I told you about it on Friday, you’d have been in here over the weekend.”

Like that would be a bad thing. “It’s my house. I can come in whenever I want.”

“But I wasn’t here over the weekend.”

“And…?”

“And I want to see your face when you see it.”

This man kept surprising me in the best and worst ways. It was crap like this that made me like him. While not seeing him for a month, I could tell myself that what had begun to feel like a crush was really nothing.

I was grateful that he was helping me fix the house, impressed by how patient and capable he’d proven to be, and maybe a little attracted. But who wouldn’t be?

He was gorgeous, grounded, and even sensible at times. None of that meant I wanted him to be anything more than my contractor. Then he had to go and get all cute and honest and reveal how much he understood what this house meant to me and blow all of my reasoning right out of the water.

Damn him.

“Does it look good?” I asked.

Playing coy, he said, “Go see for yourself.”

Like a child on Christmas morning, I took off up the stairs, the thud from Calvin’s boots echoing behind me as he followed. When we reached the landing, warm hands slid over my eyes.

Leaning close to my ear, he said, “You ready?”

My whole body shivered and my mouth went dry as his scent surrounded me. Who knew musky sawdust was my thing? “I’m ready.”

As if we were dancing, he shifted forward and my body went into motion. He navigated me down the hall before stopping at what I assumed was the door to the bath.

“Here it is,” he said, lifting his hands away.

I blinked a few times, focusing on the scene before me. The sage green tiles, wood finish vanity, and muted brass fixtures shone in the light coming in through the small window. The stunning wall sconces added a soft glow as well.

“Oh, Calvin, it’s beautiful.”

“Yeah, it is. You did a great job designing it.”

Nonsense. “I pointed to a few pretty things in a picture, but you brought it all to life.”

Most of the pieces in the showroom image had been out of my budget, but he’d worked with Tina to get as close to the look as possible with more affordable choices. He’d even added an area rug and linens.

In that moment, my cynical, tough exterior fell away and tears filled my eyes. Instead of teasing me, as he had every right to do, Calvin rubbed my shoulders and let me cry.

After a while, he said, “I think Bammy would like it.”

More tears came.

“I feel like an idiot,” I said, patting my wet cheeks on my sleeves. “It’s just a bathroom.”

“But it’s your bathroom,” he said. “That makes a difference.”

Pride swelled as the tears ebbed. “Do you really think she’d like it?”

“This makes me think so.”

Suddenly a picture showed up in front of my face. There were Bammy and Pops on their old flower-pattern couch in the center of the living room. My eyes went from the picture to the bathroom and back.

“The walls are the same green.”

“Yep.”

How could he have a picture I’d never seen before? Snagging the photo, I spun to face him. “Where did you get this?”

Calvin took my hand and led me farther down the hall. “We found a box of pictures in the attic. I put them in your room to keep them safe.”

We entered what would be my bedroom and I was once again surprised. The whole space was set up for painting. The ladder, a small table filled with rollers, brushes, and paint cans, plus large drop cloths were spread out along the base of every wall. He’d taken care of everything.

Also on the table was a stained and nearly crushed brown box. Heart suddenly on the outside of my body, I approached the new found treasure. “All of these were in the attic?”

“Yeah. Pretty Boy found them while he was checking out the wiring up there.”

I picked a handful off the top and gently flipped through them. Not a single one looked familiar. “How long do you think they’ve been up there?”

Calvin lifted one from the box. “I haven’t gone through them, but all the ones I’ve seen look like they’re from the seventies. Definitely before either of us were born.”

“Is this my dad?” I asked, pointing to a small boy sitting in the kitchen sink. The child couldn’t be more than two, if that.

He leaned close until our cheeks nearly touched. “Could be. Isn’t your Uncle Sonny the youngest? Could be him, too.”

“You might be right.” Sifting through photo after photo was like stepping back in time. Bammy and Pops on the porch swing. Dad, his brother Sonny, and his sister Jackie posing in front of the house in their Sunday best. Sonny had been gone for a few years now, after losing a battle with throat cancer.

Handing one over, Calvin said, “Isn’t this your parents?”

The image showed Mom and Dad dressed in formal wear. Dad’s suit was baby blue, while Mom’s white dress had short, puffy sleeves and hugged her slender frame to perfection.

“Oh, wow. That might be a prom picture.” Looking closer, I saw so much of myself in Mom’s face. “They look really happy.”

“I didn’t know they were high school sweethearts.”

“Yeah.” I rubbed a finger over the two most important people in my life. “They didn’t go to the same school, but Dad says he met her at a football game and it was love at first sight.” Eyes on the image, I asked, “Do you think that’s real?”

“What’s real?”

“Love at first sight.”

Calvin paused long enough that I looked over to see if he’d tuned me out. Eyes on mine, he said, “Yeah, it’s real.”

Flustered, I dropped the photographs back into the box. “I should get started on the painting, and I’m sure you need to get back to whatever it is you were doing before I got here.” Stepping away, I grabbed a roll of blue tape off the table and starting covering the trim.

Why wasn’t he leaving?

Half grin in place, he watched me squirm. “You sure you’re good? I could help.”

“No,” I said far too quickly. “I’m good. I’ve got this. Don’t let me hold you up.” I shooed him away. “You can leave.”

The man knew he’d made me uncomfortable and looked quite pleased with himself.

“If you need me, I’ll be working out back.” He pointed to the far window. “Just holler.”

I would not be hollering. “It’s just painting.” He had the nerve to look skeptical. “I painted my entire apartment, thank you very much. I think I can handle one bedroom.”

He held up his hands. “I never said you couldn’t.”

“Then why do you have that smug look on your face?”

Sobering, he fought to hide the smile. “What smug look? This is just my face.”

And a dang pretty face it was. “You’re keeping me from getting started.”

“I’m leaving.” He backed toward the door. “Oh, one more thing.”

With a huff, I crossed my arms. “What?”

“The water is off so if you need to use the bathroom, let me know.”

Because what woman didn’t want to yell out a window that she had to pee?

“I’ll hold it.”

Calvin chuckled on his way out of the room. “Suit yourself.”

Just over an hourand one full listen to the Lemonade album later, I really had to pee. Every wall was edged in, and two walls had a full first coat. But I’d made the mistake of finishing my pop, not thinking about where all that liquid was going to go.

Refusing to announce my needs to the whole neighborhood, I trudged downstairs to find Calvin and have him turn the water on. What I did not expect was to step into the kitchen and find the back wall of the house gone.

Catching myself before literally stepping off the kitchen into a pit of mud and rocks, I spotted Calvin. He stood with his back to me, hard hat covering his dark, cropped hair, speaking to three men I didn’t recognize. Not wanting to interrupt, I waited until the conversation ended and he turned around.

The moment he spotted me, that irritating grin slid right back into place. Crossing the distance between us, he hopped the three feet into the kitchen as if he could fly and my ovaries did matching back flips.

“How’s it going?” he asked.

“Good, but I need to go.”

“You’re leaving?”

He was going to make me say it.

Looking around, I leaned in and lowered my voice. “I have to pee.”

“Oh,” he said. As if we were cohorts in some elaborate conspiracy, he also lowered his voice. “Follow me.”

As easily as he hopped up, Calvin hopped back out of the kitchen and turned my way. “Come on.”

I didn’t move. “Why do I need to go with you to turn on the water?”

He shook his head. “I can’t turn on the water.”

If he thought I was squatting in the yard he had another think coming. “Then where are we going?”

“To the porta-john.”

I was not the prissy type. I didn’t scream at the sight of a bug, or turn my nose up at getting a little dirty. But every woman had a line she would not cross, and for me, that was using a porta-john. Unless there was no other option for a hundred miles and the alternative was peeing on myself, this was a hard no.

“Never mind,” I said, turning back into the house.

Calvin caught up in seconds. “Come on, Donna. You can’t hold it forever.”

“I don’t plan on it. I’m going up to get my keys so I can go find a civilized bathroom.”

The sound of keys jingled behind me. “Take these.”

I spun around. “Why would I take your truck when I have my car?”

“Cute,” he said. “I’m not offering my truck. I’m offering my house. Walk over the two blocks and use the bathroom there.”

Uncertain, I stared at the keys. “You want me to go to your house? Alone?”

“Do you need a chaperone to use the bathroom?”

Snagging the keys, I stomped past him. “I’ll be back.”

“That feels like a warning.” As I hit the last step he yelled, “Don’t talk to strangers!”

I liked him better when he wasn’t trying to be funny all the time. Thankfully, he couldn’t see me laugh with my back to him.

The day was warm, but not the oppressive heat we’d have in a month. I enjoyed the sun on my cheeks, the sound of children playing in the yards I passed, and the scents of honeysuckle and apple pie. Either a neighbor had one sitting near an open window, or my nose was having a flashback to when I was a kid and the scent of baked goods seemed to fill the whole block.

This felt good. Felt… right. Like I was always meant to live here, and now I would.

I reached Calvin’s place within a few minutes, let myself in, and did my business. The temptation to snoop around was strong, but I feared I’d either find something disappointing, or worse, a reason to like him even more. Plus, I wouldn’t want anyone sticking their nose into my business, so I’d never do such to someone else.

Locking the door on my way out, I spun and nearly plowed over a woman who’d appeared out of nowhere. Her hair was slicked back into a high ponytail, she wore a full face of makeup that appeared unfazed by the heat of the day, and the tight tee and short shorts revealed curves you could only be blessed with genetically.

“Who are you?” the stranger said.

Catching my balance, I said, “I’m Donna Bradford. Who are you?”

“What were you doing in Calvin’s house?”

Her tone hit me the wrong way. “Can I help you with something?” She wasn’t the only one who could answer a question with a question.

“You can’t help me with anything.”

The attitude was unnecessary. I’d done nothing to her, and I certainly hadn’t been breaking and entering into Calvin’s house. I’d have explained as much if she hadn’t come at me like she owned the place.

“Then there’s no need to continue this conversation. Have a nice day.” I waited for her to leave, but she stood her ground and our confrontation turned into a silent stare off.

Lucky for her, I had all day.

“Are you leaving?” she finally said.

“I’ll be right behind you.”

She crossed her arms. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Then we had a problem. “Calvin isn’t here,” I said. “You’ll have to come back another time.”

Jealousy reared its ugly head and I fought the urge to tell her not to come back at all. Calvin was my contractor. That was it. I held no claim over him, and we’d never discussed his relationship status. My assumption that he was single was on me. Maybe I’d been wrong.

The little powerhouse held up her hand, shaking a set of keys in the air. “I’ll let myself in.”

For a moment, I debated what to do. Did she really have a key to his house? Would he want her here when he wasn’t home? Was this even any of my business?

The answer to the last was obvious.

Keeping my voice pleasant, I offered a bright smile. “You do that.”

Without looking back, I carried my Lycra-covered butt off the porch and walked the two blocks back to the house. Thankfully, I didn’t see Calvin on my way up to the bedroom, where I reminded myself I had no right to be angry.

The man had done nothing wrong. He never flirted or even hit on me. He’d never asked if I was single, nor did he claim to be himself. My childish crush in no way obligated him to feel the same. Besides, this is what I’d been telling myself for weeks. When this project was over, we’d go our separate ways.

Based solely on the burning in my gut and how I was struggling to unclench my jaw, my feelings had obviously changed more than I realized. Better to find out now that he was taken than make a move during a weak moment and embarrass us both.

Starting the Lemonade album over, I turned up the volume on my phone and sang along as I painted, putting a little more oomph behind some of the lyrics. A combination of anger and jealousy shifted the job into overdrive. Before long, all but one of the walls had two coats. I was on the second coat of the last wall when Calvin appeared at the bedroom door.

Time to test my acting skills.