Chapter 14
14
Q uinn had a pretty good outlook on life. Things managed to work out for him in the end. But sometimes that middle could be a rocky road. Today, for the first time, he felt as though he'd not only made it down the rockiest part of the road, but he'd turned the corner, and the horizon was beautiful.
He strode through the construction trailer at the Winston job site and chuckled when he saw nothing but crumbs left in the cinnamon roll box. Those guys devoured the box in less than five minutes. He had entered the construction trailer and within minutes, his guys practically stampeded the trailer to get one of Hanna's cinnamon rolls.
He picked up the empty box and tossed it in the garbage can. Then he pulled a paper towel from the corner holder and wiped up the crumbs, coffee drips, and frosting droppings. Tossing the paper towel in the garbage, he strode toward the door.
As he twisted the handle, his phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and saw Margo Price's name on the screen. He couldn't help how his heartbeat increased. She likely had news for him.
"Hello, Margo. How are you?"
She chuckled. "I'm feeling rather proud of myself, to be honest. Your offer has been accepted."
He chuckled and rocked back on his heels. "That's fantastic. Thank you so much for working your magic."
She laughed out loud. "Not sure how much magic there was. But to hear from them so soon tells me they are extremely motivated. Therefore, let's not miss our deadline. Will you be ready by Wednesday to close?"
"I'll be ready. I'll call my financial guy right after we hang up and make sure he has the ball rolling."
"Perfect. Congratulations, Quinn. I'll get you copies of the paperwork and the Army will have someone begin drafting the closing documents. As soon as I get them, we can close and exchange keys for funds."
His heart raced. He couldn't wait to tell Jared and Hanna. They'd celebrate tonight and have something fun to chat about. Which made him snap back to the present. "Can I grab those keys again to show someone the barracks?"
Margo chuckled. "Sure. I have some errands today, but just drop by the office and I'll have them up front for you."
"Thanks, Margo. I appreciate all you've done."
She laughed again. The sound filled him with promise and happiness. This was indeed a great day.
Quinn left the construction trailer and hopped into his truck. He couldn't wait to spread the news. He couldn't wait to start on the barracks. And he couldn't wait to develop the plan that Hanna had suggested in turning his barracks into housing for former military members who came to work for him.
As well as those who came to work for Sid and Jace. They'd have places for their new workers to go, and they'd be comfortable, and affordable for them until they got on their feet.
It would be perfect.
So many of these people suffered from things, including PTSD from their military lives. Now they'd have a comfortable place to live, and he would be there to help them deal with things. Maybe he'd even get a doctor to stop by and offer group therapy or some other types of therapies that would help them out.
This was his mission. He finally had a clear path. His mission was to help these men and women not only survive getting out of the service, but thrive. They'd have employment, housing, and therapy. It seemed perfect.
Oh, he couldn't wait to tell Hanna. As he started to drive toward home to change his clothes, his phone rang again.
He chuckled without even looking at who was calling. He tapped the button on his steering wheel.
"Hello, Quinn Kurtz."
Silence met him and then a clipped voice, one that sent a chill down his spine, responded. "Well, you certainly seem happy."
His ex-wife.
Buzzkill. With a capital B.
He didn't hide his exasperation. "What do you want now?"
She sniffed slightly. "Well, now I'm wondering what you were so happy about. "
He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. What do you want?"
Silence again for a moment and he started to get irritated. She was quickly killing his buzz. That was a fact.
"Well, I wanted to let you know that I found a new attorney today and we are taking you back to court. I am entitled to a percentage of your business since I'm the one that allowed you the time and energy to build that business while I took care of everything else. The house, the bills, the kids, everything."
His neck stiffened, and his shoulders went back. "I'll have you know I took care of all the bills. Without me out there busting my ass, there would have been no money to pay for those bills."
"Nevertheless, I'm the one who took care of getting them paid. If you'll also remember, in the very beginning, I was the one who helped you send out your invoicing. So I was part of the business even though you like to ignore, or forget, that fact."
He was silent for a moment. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"Do whatever you're going to do. I don't really care anymore. I'm finished paying you."
He tapped the phone button on his steering wheel to end the call. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Swinging the truck around toward Margo Price's office, he cleared his throat and rotated his head. Moving his shoulders back and forth, he then decided he'd deal with this on a different day.
He'd go to Margo's and get his keys. That would get his happy mojo back. As he pulled into the parking lot, he let out a sigh, nodded his head, and sent up a silent prayer before he jumped out of his truck. He was not going to let her ruin this day for him.
He strode into Margo Price's real estate office and was greeted by a fresh face and a big smile. That was what he needed.
"Hi, Quinn. Are you here for the keys?" Becky, the receptionist asked.
"I am. Thank you so much."
"I've got them right here. Congratulations. This is going to be great for the town. Margo said you are going to make apartments out of the barracks. That's gonna look so much better down there. I can't wait to see what you do with it."
He chuckled. "Well, I hope I make you proud. I hope I make the entire town proud, to be honest with you."
She handed him the keys, a big smile on her face. Her fingernails were painted a light pink with some beachy scene on them. She always painted her nails and had some fun scene on them. It was something he'd always remembered about her, even as a younger girl. She'd graduated with his son, Jared, and if he recalled correctly, she was engaged to be married. A quick glance at her empty ring finger and he wasn't sure now. And he sure as hell wasn't going to ask either.
So he just nodded. "Thank you so much, Becky."
"You're welcome. How's Jared doing these days?"
Quinn smiled a genuine smile. Talking about his kids was always something he enjoyed. "Jared is doing great. He's working with me at Kurtz Construction and I'm going to make him the lead on the barracks project."
"Oh, wow. Isn't that nice? Good for him. He'll do a great job with it. He's a smart one. "
Quinn nodded, his smile still in place. "He certainly is. Thank you for that."
Becky smiled, shrugged her right shoulder, and nodded. "Sure thing. Just telling it like it is."
He squeezed the keys in his hand and nodded.
"Oh, Margo said you don't need to bring those back. It's yours in a few days, anyway."
He nodded. "Thank you. Both of you." He nodded and stepped out of the door.
Yes, there was his mojo. It was back.