Chapter 15 Ryder
RYDER
In the same way that I trust Sana fully with my business, I trust Steve and any contractor he approves for anything electrical, mechanical, HVAC, or plumbing.
I meet him at Eve’s barn bright and early. She wants to let the night’s guests continue with their stay uninterrupted, so we’re not allowed to make any noise or go into the barn early, but if I had to guess, most of the wonky wiring we’re dealing with is in the open area underneath the loft anyway.
I had a cleaning crew come out yesterday to take care of the area before we start work, and judging by the lack of smoke coming out of Eve’s ears, she hasn’t noticed yet.
They didn’t touch any of the large farm equipment, but they did organize a lot of the small stuff and clear the cobwebs from the ceilings.
And lo and behold, there’s a concrete floor beneath all that dirt.
I wonder if Eve knows.
Steve brought along two guys he highly recommends in an effort to get the job done in a day.
He was a little apprehensive about the timeline, but when I explained the electricity is for what amounts to a studio apartment above a barn with what looks like totally exposed wiring, he seemed more comfortable taking on the job.
He wanted to give Eve a quote, like I told her he would.
But I had a feeling that just getting the job done as quickly as possible would probably be our best move.
And hey, Eve was the one talking small town politics. Maybe if I do this one big thing for her, she’ll agree to that easement for me.
For a moment there, I thought this whole project was going to go to shit.
But now that I’ve solved the rooster issue and gotten Mayor Reed on board again, the last person I need to grease is Eve herself.
She’s warmed to me and seems to be in support of the development plan I submitted.
I think now might be the right time to discuss an easement with her.
Steve and his guys work quickly and silently in the morning, marking out where work needs to be done once the power is switched off.
And as checkout time approaches, I herd the guys back to the truck for lunch so the guests can retain that feeling of being alone on the sunflower farm.
When I see a couple meander away from the far side of the barn and down the dirt road, hands clasped between them and two duffel bags over his shoulder, I send the guys back in and give Steve the go-ahead to kill the power.
Except just as a number of wires are clipped and the remnants of knob and tube wiring are thrown onto the freshly cleared concrete floor, Eve shows up, a pile of linens in her hands.
“What the fuck is going on?” she asks, diverting from the stairs on the far side of the barn and instead storming toward me, her facial expressions ranging from confused to happy to concerned to surprised. “What the… hell? Is that concrete?”
“Yes.”
She kicks at it with one foot. “That is old concrete.”
“Also yes.”
She looks around us, the barn lit up with battery-powered lamps and littered with old wiring. “What the hell is going on?”
“You remember Steve,” I say, gesturing to the man standing on a ladder and pulling apart pieces of Eve’s barn. He was keen to rearrange his schedule for her. Apparently her first impression stuck with him.
He waves over his shoulder. “Nice to see you again, Eve.”
Her forehead crinkles. “Nice to see you too, Steve.” She turns her focus back to me, her eyebrows raised. “Ryder?”
I hold my hands up in surrender, taking a hesitant step toward her.
“We could have gone through the whole process of calling for a quote and canceling multiple reservations and potentially needing more days to finish work that I knew Steve could take care of faster and cheaper than anyone else. But they’re hoping to get this done for you today.
Including any patching that might need to be done to the walls upstairs once you give us the green light to work up there. ”
She blinks, glancing from me to Steve and back again.
She takes a step toward me and lowers her voice.
“Look, Ryder, this is really nice of you to arrange all this, but I don’t know if I can pay for this right away.
I mean, you’ve got three guys doing electrical work in here, what, all day?
That sounds like at least a thousand dollars in labor, not to mention materials.
” She shakes her head, turning back in the direction she came from and muttering under her breath.
“Gonna have to pull money out of my fucking asshole.”
I follow her, falling into step with her easily now that the floor has been cleared. “I’m going to cover this one for you.”
She huffs. “Ryder! This is part of my business. I might like the occasional sweater gift, but I can’t take handouts for the business.”
“Consider it an act of neighborly kindness.”
She shakes her head, then stops just as she reaches the stairs to the second floor as if a thought is occurring to her. “Maybe I can send one of the guys over to clear your property a little more?”
The guy she sent over last time cleared a path almost to the top of the hill, but not quite far enough that I could get an idea of the property lines.
I’m tempted to take this offer.
But I had another one in mind when I pulled this project together, and if I don’t ask now, I’m never going to.
I’m already worried I’ve let this go on too long.
I lick my lips before I speak.
“I was wondering if you might agree to an easement.”
She cocks her head to the side. “An easement?”
“For the driveway of the property next door. Remember how Mayor Reed said it was too close to your land? Well, according to the drawing, it’s on your land.
” I pause, waiting to see if she’ll say anything.
“I think forcing a driveway more on my side of the property will mean more intense construction. Grading the land, and possibly diverting the stream. If you let me put a driveway on part of your land, I think it will be easiest for everyone.”
She blinks. “Your side of the property?”
Uh-oh. There is a sharp tone in her words.
“I just mean, more toward the middle of my property.”
She nods. “That sounds like a you problem.”
Okay, so this is not exactly going as I had hoped.
I hold my hands up in front of me, taking a step toward the grass outside the barn so the guys don’t have to hear what I’m very concerned is about to turn into a screaming match. Or at least, Eve screaming at me.
“It would take up a very small portion of your land. A couple feet along one side at the most. The grade of the land becomes really steep really quickly over there and it’s just not feasible to put in a two-lane driveway, which will be necessary with the number of units we’re planning.
It can connect to your dirt road. I’ll even pave that for you, if you want.
I can even suggest adding the maintenance as part of the HOA contracts. ”
She holds one hand up to her forehead. “Ryder, you should know by now that I don’t give a fuck about the road outside my house.
It’s a farm. Dirt roads happen. What I do care about is neighbors who lie their way into my good graces so they can manipulate me into agreeing to things that I would otherwise never consider.
” She shakes her head, turning on her heel and heading for the stairs.
“I can’t believe I thought there might actually be a good person hidden somewhere behind that fake fucking flannel. ”
“Whoa,” I say, taking a few quick steps to follow her. “I never lied to manipulate you.”
“Do not pull that ‘omission isn’t lying’ bullshit with me.
” She slams the linens down on the stairs and whips around to point at me.
Her signature angry face that I want to think is cute is now telling me I’ve just stepped into a ginormous pile of shit.
“This whole time, you’ve been buttering me up exactly like I thought you were so that you could ask me for this goddamn easement.
And I gave you the benefit of the doubt.
I pushed aside every gut feeling in me that told me you wanted something from me.
Ignored the fact that that drawing showed a driveway on my land because I thought I could trust you. ”
“I understand why you’re upset. You probably feel a little blindsided right now and I absolutely should have just told you from the start, but this doesn’t mean you can’t trust me. We’ve become”—I resist the urge to say we’ve been flirtatious or close—“friends. I’m not trying to screw you over.”
She shakes her head, giving me the fakest smile I’ve ever seen in my life.
“Well, Ryder, thank you for your neighborly gift,” she says, the venom in her voice piercing me right in the heart.
“I expect that the work I did not agree to will be done and paid for by you by sundown. And you can then go ahead and shove your easement right up your ass.”
And with that, she turns on her heel and stomps down the dirt road back to her house.
With a long sigh, I head back into the barn.
“Nope,” Steve says, spinning a small circle in the air with his finger as he steps off his ladder. “You turn right the hell back around and make it right with her.”
I wave him off. “She’ll get over it. She’ll be thankful when she realizes how much work I’m paying for.”
Steve crosses his arms over his chest, whistling at the two other men on ladders, who promptly step down and mirror his pose.
I give him a flat look. “Steve.”
“I know you’re not a dick. But you’re acting like one right now. You go make it right, and we’ll continue working in here.”
“I’m not being a dick. I’m doing something nice for her.”
He only stares me down.
And fuck, if Steve is telling me I’m being a dick, then I’m probably being a dick.
I let out a long breath. “Fine.”