14. Chapter 14
Chapter fourteen
Jake
He had to lift up his goggles after every few boards to let the sweat and heat out, but Jake wouldn’t be caught complaining. Finally, he got to do what felt like some actual work on the house. Linda’s crew was great to have in theory, and there was no realistic way they’d have made so much progress so fast without them. But getting his own hands dirty, doing a project all on his own? That was the real ticket.
Ozzy walked up, his nail beds stained with soil and dirt smeared across his cheeks and his tank top. He took a swig from his water bottle as he stepped under the tent and into the shade. “How are those benches coming?”
“Last couple cuts, then I’m onto assembly.” They made a little extra work, but it was a super cool detail to include on the back deck. It didn’t seem like Quinn would use the back enough to build or buy any specific furniture for it, so Ozzy recommended some benches. They could be used as makeshift seating, or as a place to store stuff, display plants, whatever. Given how much extra lumber they had left from the project—always best practice to order extra, but they didn’t end up needing it—it took care of waste at the same time.
“Good.” He stuck around, leaning over and inspecting the cut lumber. “Did Evander talk to you yet?”
Jake shook his head and stood up fully, slipping the goggles up onto the top of his head. “What’s up?”
“Apparently his royal highness can’t find any sofas that fit his aesthetic and he’s trying to work up a way to bribe you into making one.”
Jake sucked on his teeth and looked up at the poles supporting the peak of the tent. “I don’t know if that’s really in my skill set. I could make a frame, probably, but upholstery is a whole different sort of thing.”
“I think he’s in there trying to schmooze Eliza into approving an upholsterer in the budget. Can’t just work with what he’s got, apparently.”
Pot, meet kettle. Jake just nodded and took the opportunity to swig some water himself, handily spilling far too much of it down his front. Which felt pleasant enough in the heat, but certainly got a raised eyebrow from Ozzy.
One that faded quickly before the opportunity to gripe about his ex some more, apparently. “We argued for twenty minutes over the door knocker. As if that’s not clearly under my purview. And he wanted some ornate monstrosity. News flash, Evander, people don’t knock on doors like the eighteen-hundreds anymore. It’s mostly just there because it looks nice, since we got him hooked up with one of those doorbell cameras.” He tossed his hands into the air. “And who here is responsible for making the outside of this place look nice? Oh right, it’s me. It’s always been me.” He sighed and took another drink. “Anyway, you’re forewarned. If he comes bearing gifts, beat him with a stick and tell him to take a hike.”
“Thanks. I’ll keep my eyes open.” Ozzy left and Jake’s shoulders fell as he went back to work. It would have been a lie to say that everyone magically got along the way they all used to, but most of them had slipped into something sort of familiar. In a way, Evander and Ozzy did too, but without making out and fucking as an option, the anger and back biting had increased a whole ton. They’d always been fiery with each other, but this job was a new level entirely.
“Jacob.” A singsong voice. And a familiar one.
He turned to see Evander striding up to him, carrying a coffee cup and beaming. As soon as he got into the tent, Jake put his hands on his hips. “If this is about building you a couch, I’m going to need more than some coffee to convince me.”
Evander waved that off as though it was ridiculous. “A passing fancy. No bad ideas in brainstorming. Although I would owe you forever if you took the time to learn upholstery…” When Jake didn’t answer that leading line, he waved the conversation away again. “Anyway, are you terribly busy?”
“I’m finishing up some work for the deck.”
“Five minutes.” He grabbed Jake by the wrist and marched around to the front door. Jake didn’t fight. The lumber would be there when he got back, and it wasn’t worth the headache. Around the porch—almost completed, now—and through the front door, then into the kitchen, where Evander finally stopped. “Is there any way that we could do an exposed shelving unit that extends out over the peninsula?”
Jake looked it over, but he was already nodding as soon as the idea got presented. “It’d have to attach to the ceiling. Couldn’t be too big, to keep weight down.”
“I don’t want anything big. We’d end up blocking the line of sight, and that defeats the whole purpose of opening up the walls.” Evander batted his eyelashes at Jake, an exaggerated gesture he turned to when he knew he was asking for extra. That also hadn’t changed over the years. “Could it be three levels?”
Jake took a closer look and swirled it around in his brain. “I don’t think I’d be comfortable doing more than two. Ceilings are a little low, so it’s a forehead bumper. And the extra material means extra weight.”
Evander nodded and smiled. “I can work with two. Taking out that wall took out more storage than I think I was anticipating.” He patted Jake on the cheek. “No rush. No more rush than the rest of the project. Deadlines and filming and everything.”
Then he bounced off upstairs, singsonging, “Aras!”
Jake headed back out and made it two steps out of the kitchen. “Jake?” Robinson from upstairs. “Could I get a consult up here for a second?”
He sighed, then turned around and climbed the stairs. Robinson had squeezed himself into the tiny laundry room, along with a big flashlight and his toolbox and all the supplies for whatever he was working on. He smiled softly when Jake came over. “I’m sorry for bothering you.”
“Don’t be sorry. What’s up?”
He gestured toward the right side of the cramped room. “Since we’re switching to a stackable washer dryer, there’s some dead space here. Have to leave the back open so it can be accessed for maintenance, but it should be feasible to do some narrow shelving in here, right?”
Another eyeball job. Jake looked over where Robinson had pointed and scrubbed back through his brain. “It won’t super fit the aesthetic, but we could slip some shelves with railings in. Like a shoe rack, but shallower.”
“Perfect. Thank you. Extra storage is always good, so I thought I’d ask.”
“No worries.” Jake patted him on the shoulder, then headed downstairs at a good clip. He was really almost done with those benches for the deck. Plus, he’d somehow acquired two more projects in the span of maybe ten minutes.
Mason walked into the front door just as Jake was coming down and waved. “Hey. How’s things?”
“Good. I’m apparently building more shelves. Laundry room and kitchen.”
Mason nodded. “You’re a lifesaver.”
“Just a carpenter.”
Out onto the front porch. Jake stopped and took a look out at the street. He could see why this would be nice to stop and take in sometimes. Once they got everything pieced together. And if there’s any way for me to get an invite, I wouldn’t mind.
Quinn constantly crept into his mind when he stopped too long on the project. Quinn the person, anyway. Quinn the client was always there. But that wasn’t the same as the cute guy who he played Armored Souls with the night before. The guy who he Frenched in the living room. The guy he wanted to sit and drink coffee with on a quiet morning on Old Aristocracy Hill.
“Jake!” He snapped out of his quiet to see Ozzy’s face peering around the corner of the house. Not smiling. “The deck benches? Kind of holding things up right now.”
Jake bit his tongue and headed back to finish up.