Chapter 14
Gage
I was back at the Lafferty house today not only to oversee demo, but also because I needed to see things without walls getting in my way. What I wouldn’t give for X-ray vision. I didn’t want the responsibility of being a superhero, understand, just the X-ray vision.
After our walk-through last week, we knew the house had some interesting issues.
Like a certain set of stairs being built on top of the sump pump.
Still marveling over that one. Cohen had walked the owners through said issues and they’d been equally horrified, so they’d not had any clue someone had done that.
We did learn who, though—a second cousin had offered to save them a few bucks and knock things out for them.
Cohen spotted me as I pulled into the driveway and gave me a once-over. “I didn’t get a chance to ask you after the morning meeting yesterday, but how was your weekend?”
“Fabulous, why?” Then it clicked. “Oh, you’re wondering how things are going with Logan. Amazingly well. Logan picked me up for an impromptu date, took me for a ride on his bike, which was very fun. Something about having the wind in your hair is a blast, too. I wish I’d bought a bike before now.”
“So things are still going really well with him?”
“It’s beyond going well. I’ve never dated like this.
Usually things start going wrong at this point.
” The topic abruptly became heavier, weightier, and it felt a little scary to talk about my relationship.
“Not going to lie, I feel like I’m starting to invest myself in this man.
I seriously like him. Like, I scheme up ways to spend more time with him. ”
“Ah-ha,” Cohen murmured, his expression one of complete understanding. “That stage, eh? So on a scale of one to ten, one being you’re texting him throughout the day, ten being you’re making up playlists for just him, where are you?”
“One playlist? I have, like, four.”
Cohen barked a laugh, delighted. “You’re absolutely gone on this man.”
I ticked things off on my fingers. “He’s responsible.
He actually cleans up after himself. His EQ is through the roof.
He’s seriously one of the best listeners I’ve ever met, much less dated.
He’s very loyal to people. Kissing him has become one of my greatest pleasures in life. Yeah, I’m pretty sold.”
“And you’re still waiting on sex?”
“Well…yeah.”
Cohen’s eyes swept my face, like he was looking for something. Maybe finding it. “Gage. Have you considered that the reason you’re holding out on sex is not because you feel sex will ruin things, but because at the heart of the matter, you’re still learning how to fully trust him?”
I opened my mouth with a protest. Thought about it. Snapped my mouth shut. Fuck. How did Cohen have this ability to put his finger directly on the problem? He did this with Asher, too.
He wasn’t wrong, either, which was kind of unsettling.
How did I not understand this about myself?
But it felt true. I was still learning how to trust Logan.
Trust was hard won with me, mostly because people seemed intent on screwing me over.
But I wanted to believe in Logan. I think that was the difference here. I just needed more time.
“It took you a while to open up to me and Riggs, and I can see you going through the same process with Logan. I think it’s going faster with him because you’re spending more time with him, and you want to trust him, so you’re letting yourself open up.”
“I mean…yeah, fair point.”
“Plus he’s cuter than me.”
I snickered. “You’re sexy, Cohen, I promise.”
He rolled his eyes. “Not my point. My point is, it seems to me you’re hesitating more because you’re still in that learning-to-trust-him phase. I want to emphasize, there’s absolutely nothing wrong about that. We all take relationships at our own pace.”
He made a really good point. I grunted, nodding, but also felt like this whole dilemma was giving me a headache.
I hated my trust issues, but I had them for good reason.
Well, bad reasons, really. It was to Logan’s credit he’d already disarmed me this much when normally my walls were a goddamn fortress.
We both understood the problem, but I wrestled with my own emotions.
On the one hand, I still felt a little wary.
On the other, I felt like my wariness was rude to Logan, when he’d not done anything to warrant my distrust. All of that was mixed in with this growing need for the man.
I walked a tight rope with my emotions and I didn’t enjoy it whatsoever.
I was sometimes incredibly frustrated with myself.
“It’s not helping that I like sex, always have, but I’ve never wanted someone like I want Logan.
And emotionally, I’m not sure where I’m at, because I’ve never had a relationship get to this level.
He’s definitely a friend, and I can see him becoming a true friend.
He’s the type of person I can depend on and want to keep in my life, and I like being with him.
And, of course, I want to eat him up—anyone with eyes would want that—but is that the sum of a relationship? ”
“At this stage, yes.” Cohen regarded me thoughtfully. “Gage, you don’t have to be everything to this man to move the relationship to the next stage. The fact you like him, want him, is enough to keep going. Don’t overthink it.”
“I guess I’m not sure where the line is, when things have gotten serious enough to ask for exclusivity.”
“Well, do you want him dating other people?”
I thought about his question. “I think I’d end up in an orange jumper if he did.”
“Ha! Then there’s your answer. Make your wants clear to him. If he’s not on the same page, better to know.”
“Truly. But exclusivity is all right to ask for, even though we’re not lovers yet?”
“Sure. So long as he agrees.”
Cohen’s answer made me feel better. I didn’t want to rush things, but I also didn’t want to drag anything out.
It was hard to get a feel for the timing of my growing relationship, and Cohen was the only one in our group—prior to Asher and Zar getting together—who had been in a long-term, committed relationship.
He’d know how relationships were supposed to progress.
Someday, I wanted to be as wise as Cohen.
Shooting him a grateful smile, I switched mental tracks. If I started daydreaming about Logan, I wouldn’t get any work done today.
“We have DnD tonight, so let’s focus.”
Cohen gestured toward the house with a clear by-your-leave bow. “Then let’s get started. We can focus on the back of the house first, namely the kitchen of despair.”
“I don’t like the way you said that.”
“Just wait until you see it. You’ll like it less.”
Grumbling to myself, I followed him to the back of the house, then stepped up cautiously, as someone had put in some temporary steps. There had been actual steps to the back of this house, so the fact those were gone and now we had temporary ones? Not a great sign.
Then Cohen turned and warned, “Only step where there’s tape on the floor.”
“I beg your finest pardon? Is this a dungeon and there’s booby traps or something?”
“Just pretend you’re in one of Riggs’s dungeons, there’s booby traps, and you rolled a nat one.”
“Shit. Okay.”
I stepped only where there was blue painter tape, taking a good look around.
The counters, appliances, and outdated cabinets had all been removed, so demolition had gone fast on this back end.
The awful, hideous linoleum had also been ripped out.
That was where the problems started. This entire floor had so many holes, it was a minefield to navigate.
The walls, too, had been stripped bare of Sheetrock, and I could see water-damaged plywood.
That didn’t look good at all. It looked quite black and moldy, in fact.
In theory, I should be able to see framing right now, and I was confused about why I didn’t. “Uh, Cohen? How’d you manage to stress out a building?”
He gave me quite the look. “Hardy har har.”
“I’m serious, this kitchen wasn’t this bad last time I looked at it. Any reason why there’s plywood all over the walls? Why didn’t you take it down to framing?”
“Because the plywood’s the structural support to this room.”
I stared, waiting for a punch line. Kinda praying for a punch line, truth told.
“We are the only studs in this room,” Cohen informed me.
“How do we keep coming across this problem? So many rooms don’t have studs.”
“I know, it’s crazy. And somehow, they stand.” Cohen made a face at the floor. “At least for a while. Andy nearly went through the floor three times just getting the linoleum up.”
“Shit. So that’s what those holes are? Someone’s boot going through it?”
“A-yup. On top of this addition not having the proper beams or support, they didn’t do any kind of gutters, so the rainwater just poured down the walls and into the floor. It’s a hot mess.”
That explained the water-stained plywood. “What you’re telling me is this whole thing has to go.”
“It can’t be salvaged. Literally nothing can.”
I blew out an exasperated breath. “Insane. This whole thing’s insane. Well, I’ll call Riggs and explain we’re going to have to start from the ground up on the kitchen, and the schedule needs to be adjusted. You called the clients yet?”
“No, not yet. I can do that, though.”
“Team, break.”
I called Riggs while carefully stepping back outside, because I didn’t want to talk on the phone and stand in a death trap at the same time. Seemed a poor life decision.
Riggs answered on the second ring. “Speak.”
“We got issues over here, man.”
“That tells me nothing. You’re at the Lafferty house?”
“Correct. This kitchen is a lost cause. The whole thing isn’t structurally sound. In fact, there’s not a single stud in it. The floor is a rotten mess, and poor Andy’s already had a boot go through it multiple times just removing the linoleum.”
“Ouch. That does sound bad. So basically, we’re building an entirely new addition off the back.”
“Nothing to salvage on this one. I want you to reach out to the Laffertys and set a time for a meeting. If we’re doing an addition, I need to know if they want it to be the same size and layout of the previous kitchen or if they want to do something new.
They’ve got the opportunity here to make this space functional, maybe add a mudroom entrance going into the kitchen. ”
“Ooh, that’s a good thought for sure. Have you spoken to them?”
“No, Cohen’s talking to them now.”
“Got it. Then I’ll text and ask for a sit-down meeting. Maybe pull Asher in as well so he can give them an outline of designs and such.”
“Sure, let’s make it happen.”
“I’ll pencil in another two weeks to add the addition. I still think we’ll have this done before winter hits.”
“Here’s hoping. Thanks, man.” I hung up and poked my head back inside since Cohen still stood in the kitchen, and from the way he held his phone, he must have been doing a video walk-through with the Laffertys.
“Ah, he’s back in,” Cohen said, waving me to come in.
“Must I?” I asked, put-upon. “One wrong step and I’m express shipped to Jesus.”
“Just step on the tape. You’ll be fine.”
I made grumbly, unhappy noises but did as bid. Cohen turned the camera to face me. “Just walk them through what went wrong and what it’s going to cost to fix it.”
“Basically, everything is wrong.” I waved toward the walls and floor.
“I mean, this kitchen is already so wrong. I had a feeling this room wasn’t supported because of all the sagging, and I was more right than I realized.
You can’t salvage anything. The wood’s so saturated with water it’s still damp to the touch.
The floor, as you can see, is a minefield, and the roof isn’t right, either.
Part of why this room is so waterlogged is because of the roof.
You’re better off just tearing this all down and starting fresh. ”
Mrs. Lafferty audibly fretted. “But won’t that cost more?”
“Actually, it’ll cost less if we tear it down with a machine,” Cohen corrected her. “Delicate demo takes more manpower, which racks up quickly.”
“Oh! I didn’t realize.”
I came around—carefully—to stand next to Cohen, and he flipped the camera around so I could see the clients.
“Here’s the thing. This is something of a silver lining.
Here’s your chance to build the kitchen of your dreams. Wouldn’t it be great to have a mudroom coming off the kitchen?
Then you’d have somewhere to dump shoes and things when you come in from the garage. ”
I knew this was a selling point. The garage was detached—actually, it was the old carriage house and had been renovated into a three-car garage, but still detached.
Mr. Lafferty looked hopefully at his wife. “I sure would like to have that.”
“So would I,” she admitted.
“Riggs has likely texted you by now. Let’s have a meeting, yeah? With me, both of you, and Asher. We can design you a fabulous kitchen and mudroom, and with this structure gone, it can be any size or shape you wish. Plus it’ll be safe.”
Mrs. Lafferty nodded firmly. “Sold. We’ll get that scheduled ASAP.”
“We’ll get this death trap dealt with,” Cohen promised. “Then it’s all up from there. See you both soon.”
“Thank you for the call, both of you.” Mr. Lafferty ended the call.
I looked at Cohen, and despite the fact the question made me nervous, I asked it anyway. “Anything else wrong that demolition revealed?”
“You mean aside from the sump pump under the stairs and the notched beams in the basement? Oh, my friend, we have many issues.”
“I was afraid you were going to say that.”
I hated Mondays.