6. Landon
Chapter 6
Landon
My phone buzzed from my nightstand, and I reached over to slap at it, hoping to make it stop. No such luck. I picked it up and squinted at the screen, bolting upright in bed when I saw who it was. With a swipe of my finger, I answered the call and pressed it to my ear.
“Hello?” My voice came out scratchy and strained, belying the late hour of my slumber.
“Landon,” Dean Sullivan boomed on the other end of the line.
“Mr. Sullivan,” I greeted in return, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I hoped I didn’t sound as groggy as I felt. After staying up half the night fixing Olivia’s car, I didn’t crash until nearly four a.m., but at least I’d finished the job and clocked several hours of overtime. Still, I always answered Dean’s calls because that meant he had a job for me.
“I told you, call me Dean,” he chided jokingly. “Mr. Sullivan is my father.” Dean was only four years older than me, but the guys and I liked to razz him. Ever since he'd turned thirty, we made sure to refer to him as Mr. Sullivan.
“What can I do for you?” I asked hopefully.
“I wanted to see if you’d be interested in a job.”
“I’m listening.” He chuckled, knowing I was always open to hearing his offers.
“I realize this is last minute, but I need someone who can start a project this week.” I let out a low whistle. That was short notice. “I know, I know,” he placated, “but the bakery is under new ownership, and they’re looking to do some minor renovations.” I froze, my hackles rising at the mention of the bakery. Anything connected to Olivia always caused a visceral reaction deep in my gut, but Dean said it was under new ownership. That was fast. I guessed Olivia was as eager to leave Magnolia Grove as I was for her to be gone. I’d seen her grandmother’s car around town and assumed she was settling her estate. Rumor was, Odette left her the bakery and her house. Dean continued, pulling me from my thoughts.
“They want this project done ASAP. I mentioned I might have someone who could get started right away, but that you would keep odd working hours. They were completely fine with that,” he assured me.
I'd worked for Dean with the understanding that it couldn’t interfere with my job at the garage. I could work early in the morning or after hours. Even weekends were fair game. When his schedule was jam-packed and they needed someone to work on something done in a pinch, I was his go-to guy. He tried to keep everyone in Magnolia Grove happy and finish jobs on time, and I was thankful to have the extra work.
“So what do you say?”
I replied without hesitation.
“I’m in.”