Chapter 17 #2
Briar drove herself home alone, missing Wiggins more than ever, which was ridiculous, because half the time the dog annoyed her.
But Tarr was right. He was a good friend, and she did miss having him in bed with her that night.
Thankfully, with everything she’d done that day, she was so tired that she didn’t have a chance to miss him too much before sleep claimed her—and Tarr starred in her dreams all night long.
Briar had just finished putting away her notes on Gemini when she heard male voices out in the arena.
She jumped to her feet and exited her office so she could greet Tarr and the general contractor who’d come to help him finalize plans for his house and take over the build.
She had no doubt that Tarr could build a house, but she also knew he didn’t have time to do it, keep up with the farm, and train all the rodeo horses.
He laughed with a man probably fifteen years older than him before his eyes settled on Briar. “This is my girlfriend,” he said. “Briar Prescott. Briar, this is Les Davenport, the man who’s going to build my house.”
“It’s great to meet you.” Briar extended her hand for the man to shake.
“Are you the final approval?” he asked, grinning.
“Oh, I doubt it,” Briar said. “This isn’t my house.”
Les tossed a look over to Tarr, and the two of them stared at one another for far too long, which meant Tarr had definitely said something about Briar already.
“Did you want me to be final approval?” she asked.
Tarr’s gaze flew back to hers.
“I just wanted to see the blueprints, because I love stuff like that—floor plans, layouts. It’s so fun to imagine what it will look like.”
Tarr lifted a few pieces of paper. “I’ve got them right here, and yeah, I’d kind of like to know what you think.”
“Well, come on in,” Briar said, and she backed up into her office. “I brought in an extra chair and moved my table out a little bit, so we should all be able to gather around.”
She went around the table and squeezed herself between it and the wall, leaving the other side for the thicker, broader-shouldered men.
Tarr took a seat and spread his papers out. “I don’t need it to be a mansion like Tuck’s, but I bought four acres from him, and I’m thinking long-term.”
“Like you’re going to live here forever?” Les asked.
“Yes,” Tarr said without looking at Briar. “And if my momma had her way—with a wife and children.”
Les pulled the nearest paper toward him. “Yeah, I see what you’ve got going on here. Where’d you do these?”
“Just a website I heard about from a rodeo buddy of mine,” Tarr said, and he glanced over to Briar now. “I’ve lived a fair few places in my life, and I have an idea of what I want.”
“Primary suite on the main floor,” Les mused. “With a master bath…but…this isn’t a very big closet, Tarr.”
“No?”
Les eyed it and then reached into his bag and pulled out a pencil. “This is a two-story house—basement and main level. With a wife, kids…your wife’s definitely going to want a bigger master bedroom closet than this.”
He sketched something out and continued on with his thoughts about storage, linen closets, laundry rooms. When he finished one sheet, he passed it to Briar.
Her imagination brought the space to life—colors for curtains and couches with cushions, art on the walls and granite countertops in the kitchen.
After she looked at both floors, as well as the expanded garage, a shed in the backyard, and outdoor parking for trucks, boats, and RVs, she finally looked up and met both men’s eyes.
“Well?” Les asked. “Does it get the girlfriend’s seal of approval?”
Briar wanted to shoot something salty back at him, but instead, she simply grinned and said, “It sure does.”
Les looked at Tarr. “And what about you, Tarr? Does it meet your approval?”
“Yeah, it’s great,” Tarr said. “What are we talking for a timeline?”
“Well, based on what I saw out there, your foundation looks really good. I don’t think we need to expand the footprint of that…
except maybe for the back deck.” Les pulled that paper closer to him again.
“Which will be fine. This extra square footage here—” He circled something.
“We can do a window seat or just not have anything in the basement beneath it.”
“All right,” Tarr said.
“I’ll get it on my schedule,” Les said. “I’m thinking we’ll come first week of January, get the walls up, get the roof in and insulation going, and it should go pretty quick from there.”
“Thank you so much,” Tarr said.
The two men got to their feet. Briar went with them all the way to the exit, where Tarr shook hands with Les again, and they both waved as the general contractor got in his truck.
The energy level decreased significantly, but Briar’s adrenaline still pumped through her. She stepped in front of Tarr and gripped the collar of his shirt. “Let’s go to dinner to celebrate,” she said.
Tarr grinned down at her. “Yeah. A celebratory dinner date—that sounds amazing.”
Briar bounced on the balls of her feet and lifted up onto her toes. She pressed her lips against Tarr’s cheek, right above where his beard grew. “Give me fifteen minutes to get home and feed Wiggy and change my clothes, and then you can come pick me up.”
“Yes, ma’am.” His voice barely sounded like his as it ghosted between his lips.
Briar wasn’t sure what she’d done that surprised him so, but she stepped back and said, “I’ve just got to grab my keys from my office.”
As she moved by him, he reached up and covered where she’d kissed him with his hand, almost as if he could capture the touch and hold it in his palm.
Briar smiled to herself that she seemed to have such an effect on him, and then she hurried home to get ready for their date to celebrate the fact that Tarr would be living permanently on the same farm as Briar very, very soon.