Chapter 16
16
Q uinn helped Hanna into his truck, happy he'd run it through the car wash in town and cleaned it up. He practically strutted around the front of the truck, his chest was puffed out slightly. His grin was so large he felt his cheeks tighten as he climbed inside.
Hanna chuckled. "You seem quite happy."
"I am happy. I have a date with a beautiful woman, and I found out today the Army has accepted my offer."
Hanna's smile lit up the truck. "Congratulations. That's wonderful." Her face turned to his. Those captivating blue eyes had him mesmerized. The adorable dimples in her cheeks begged for attention too. He stared into her eyes unabashedly as his heartbeat increased.
His smile grew. "Would you like to go see it?"
"Really? Yes. I'd love that."
He chuckled and pulled away from the curb in front of the bakery. His heart beat so quickly he struggled to breathe. She was intoxicating.
The town square was a one-way road forcing all vehicles to enter to the right and circle around. He drove by the courthouse, then rounded the corner and passed by the Law Office, Hair Salon, then his construction office. Jared's truck was parked in front. Jared was hauling flooring out of the front door. Quinn slowed but didn't honk or make any comment.
Hanna chuckled, "Isn't that Jared? Oh, that's your office, right?"
Quinn nodded. "Yep that's my office, and I don't know what Jared's doing with that flooring. I just ordered it for a big job across town."
Hanna shrugged. "Well, he's a good kid. I'm sure he's just helping out."
Quinn nodded. "He is a good kid. I'll touch base with him tomorrow. It's nothing to worry about tonight."
He continued around the square and turned right on Main Street. They had a great town here. He'd always loved that the businesses were kept up. And he enjoyed living here. It didn't hurt the weather was great, too, and frankly, it was home. As they drove past the Canning Vet Clinic, Shannon Canning was outside helping a pup into a car. He tapped the horn quickly and waved. Shannon waved in return.
He turned to Hanna. "Do you know Shannon Canning? She's quite a bit younger but her family owns the Canning Cattle Ranch out of town."
Hanna nodded. "Oh, well, I remember them from back in the day."
"Shannon's now a veterinarian and owns the vet clinic."
"Oh, that's so awesome."
"She's doing a wonderful job there, and she's still the vet at the ranch, too. "
Hanna chuckled. "She's a busy girl. I think Mom and Dad told me she got married a while back."
Quinn chuckled, "Yeah they got married. Then they got divorced, and oddly enough they're getting married again."
"To each other?"
He chuckled, "Yep to each other."
Pulling into the parking area near the barracks, he glanced around and didn't see any vehicles. Relief filled his chest. Hopefully, the boarded-up window had deterred the partiers.
He pulled up to the main building. "So there's three buildings here on the property and I think I can make twelve apartments out of each building. Obviously, I'm only going to do them one at a time, and as I fill them, I'll go on to the next building. I'm going to build them so that they can be converted to condos if there's a demand, so veterans coming into town will have the opportunity to own a place rather than rent."
Hanna turned to face him. Her smile was beautiful. "I think that's wonderful."
"I know that Sid said he was only going to hire veterans at the garage as he needed them, and I know that's Jace's number one priority as well. So between us, and a few other businesses in town only hiring veterans, I think we'll be just fine. We can bring on other people, too, as long as they meet certain qualifications.
Hanna grinned. "What are those qualifications?"
Quinn chuckled, "Well I'm a businessman so they have to be able to pay their rent and they have to be employed unless they can prove to me that they have money somewhere along the way to pay their rent, but otherwise I just want to keep it a nice place for people to live. I don't want any troublemakers. I don't want any drug dealers. I want only people who want to be here. It's not an easy feat sometimes."
Hanna nodded. "Oh, you've got that right. Those are good criteria."
"So this is the first building we're going to work on. It faces the street, so I think that's going to be the best idea for putting on a better face for these barracks, and once it’s remodeled and looking appealing and inviting, I think that will draw even more attention to the place."
He opened his door and hopped out. Excitement once again coursed through him. He opened her door and the instant her hand lay in his; he felt the electricity sizzle up his arm. He stared into her eyes, eager to see if she felt the same as he did.
Her lips trembled slightly, and he saw her throat move as she swallowed. It felt amazing to be entering into a relationship with someone who felt the same way he did. He closed her door and took her hand in his. Her hand felt perfect in his. He enjoyed the feeling of this connection. It had been so fucking long since he'd felt a connection to anyone romantically.
He cleared his throat lightly. "So this first building is a bit of a mess. Kids or someone has been having parties inside and there's graffiti sprayed on the walls and even a pile of partially burned debris in the middle of the floor. We've boarded up a broken window, which hopefully will keep them out. But we'll be getting it all cleaned up soon."
She smiled sweetly. He reluctantly let go of her hand to unlock the door. The locks easily opened, and he pulled the door open wide. He felt inside and flipped on the lights, which flickered on slowly .
He then stepped back and waited for Hanna to enter ahead of him.
She wore a cute little white denim skirt and a pretty blue top that matched her eyes.
He continued his explanation. "So as you can see, this is a three-story building." He motioned between two rooms. "I think I can take these two rooms and part of this third one and make it a nice bedroom with its own bathroom. Kitchen, living room, bedroom, so one bedroom is here and then upstairs. I think I can have fewer apartments, but make them two bedrooms so it would use three different barracks rooms to make two bedrooms. They'll be small, almost tiny house small, but they'll be efficient and safe and everything will be brand new."
Hanna laughed. "You seem so excited about this. I'm really happy for you, Quinn. I'm very excited about what you'll do here."
He turned to face her. He stared into her eyes. "Thank you again for the suggestion to make it veteran housing. I love the idea and hopefully, they won't have too much of a qualm about coming to live in an old barracks. Sometimes the barracks living experiences weren't the best."
Hanna smiled at him. They stood face to face, her long dark hair hung down in waves. The urge to kiss her was so strong he nearly lost his breath.
He leaned forward slowly, watching her eyes as he neared. His breath quickened. His lips touched hers, softly. He pressed his lips firmer to hers, wanting to feel her lips completely. His lips moved against hers, and she matched his movements. A thrill ran up his spine as he stepped closer and wrapped his arms around her body. She felt wonderful against his chest. Her arms wrapped around his waist and her hands slid up his back, holding him to her. Head rush - he got a head rush. She felt so good.
He pulled back slightly, laying his forehead on hers. Both of them dragged in breaths as they stood together.
He whispered, "I've wanted to do that for a while now."
She dragged in a breath. "I've wanted you to do that."
He kissed her forehead softly. More to allow him time to catch his breath and gather his equilibrium than anything else. Her stomach growled, and he pulled back.
"I'm not being a very good date. I promised you dinner and we're kicking around in this old dirty building while your tummy is protesting."
She chuckled. "I had a busy day and didn't really eat much. But I'm honored that you were willing to show me your new project."
"Thank you for coming to see it. I hope you'll be pleasantly surprised when you see the finished product."
"I can't imagine I won't be."
He turned toward the door, taking her hand once again in his. Flipping off the light switch, he locked the door with one hand, pulled it tightly closed, and led his beautiful companion to the truck to start their date in earnest.
As he pulled into the parking lot at the Sandbar, he saw his guys working on the stage in the back.
Hanna grinned. "Are those your guys up there?"
He chuckled, "Yep they sure are hard workers. It's seven o'clock at night and here they are still putting in a long day."
"That's really nice. You're fortunate to find people like that."
"That I am."
They exited the truck, and he took her hand as they navigated the beach area toward the back of the Sandbar. He waved as one of the guys stopped and looked at him. He waved in return and turned them toward the hostess podium near the back door. "There are two of us, and we'd like to sit out on the beach if possible."
"Oh, sure Quinn." She checked her chart. "Let's see..." She frowned slightly. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but all I have available right now is in front of the stage. I'm guessing that there'll be a day when that is a very popular seat, but right now, with the construction going on, it's not so popular.”
Quinn chuckled and glanced at Hanna. Her smile and nod were all he needed. "Since it's my guys up there, I'm happy to sit in front of the stage.
Hanna chuckled. "I could watch people work all day."
They both laughed. His spirits were so high his heart hammered in his chest. My goodness, she was a catch.