Chapter 15
Things in Justice”s world moved at warp speed. After securing Stephanie”s approval for the pavilion design, Becca put the matter in Alex”s hands.
Expecting the process might take time if modifications were necessary, she was surprised when a team of workmen turned up early Sunday morning to get the project underway. She wasn”t there because Sunday was her day off.
And now, here it was, a bright, sunny Monday morning—a new week offering a fresh start following a terrific weekend.
With Kori riding shotgun in their old family van, they turned up the radio and sang their way to Bendover. Her daughter knew the lyrics to almost every song on the oldies station.
The first stop of the morning was JoJo”s Mini Mart for coffee and whatever breakfast pastry Piper”s Bakery sent over.
As usual, Jolene was chatty, funny, and eager to share the latest town news.
While the personable proprietress of Bendover”s only gas station and market told a witty story about life in Bendover, Kori listened with avid interest and, to Becca”s relief, finished a carton of milk and a blueberry bran muffin. Sometimes, getting the girl to eat a proper breakfast was a battle.
Though it was early, things were popping at the Double M. The community center”s parking area was busy with cars dropping people off for the day”s activities.
She waved to someone she knew and pulled to the curb at the load and unload zone. Kori gave her a hasty goodbye before hopping from the van and running to the rear, where she lifted the hatch to grab her archery gear and backpack.
”Call me when you want a ride,” Becca hollered to no avail. Kori was already hurrying into the wave of people moving towards the community center”s western buildings. Meghan came up with the clever design. She didn”t want the center to look like a boring government box. Instead of one large facility with classrooms and workshops, the Double M achieved the same thing only in the form of a Wild West town.
Backtracking to the Villa, Becca stopped at the security gate and gave the team on duty some of Kori”s cookies packed in a cute box they found online for home-baked treats.
With all the traffic at the Villa passing through the gate, it wasn”t unusual for messages to get passed along. The guard she spoke to handed her a slip of paper with a reminder from the motor pool that her crappy old van was due for an oil change.
Glancing at the van”s odometer, Becca winced. The family vehicle with the sliding passenger door and ample room for stuff had served her well. In her mind”s eye, she recalled the past when she and Kori lived in it as a last resort when difficult times hit.
Maybe she could pay it forward with whatever time the van had left. The Double M”s outreach was helping a single mom with two young kids get on their feet. Becca knew what a boon it would be for the mom to have a reliable ride.
But where would that leave her?
She could take on a reasonable payment and might have given more thought to the matter if not for the fact that Alex, via his surrogate Stephanie, was practically begging her to accept a company car—no strings attached.
There was no way the Major would sit back and let her take on car debt. To him, it would be a personal insult.
”Job perks are not handouts,” she reminded herself confidently.
She wasn”t desperate anymore and had the resources to manage things without help. Accepting the vehicle that came with her position just meant she was using her head.
”Done.”
Parking in her reserved spot, Becca performed a quick assessment to be sure her buttons were buttoned and nothing weird or embarrassing was happening. Part of the woman-in-charge gig came with the burden of presentation. The people she supervised would judge her—it was part of the job.
Pulling the visor down, she lowered her sunglasses to inspect her eyes. She didn”t wear makeup for work but usually swiped her lashes with mascara for good measure.
She hauled her heavy work bag onto the empty seat from the passenger side floor with a low grunt. Swinging the van door open, she got out, pulling the bag across the center console and carefully dropping it near her feet.
Activity was all around. Busy rancheros—those who do everything—bustled here and there. A pick-up truck—its bed stacked with shipping boxes—was parked next to the stable entrance. She couldn”t see where her pavilion would sit from her current vantage point, so she picked up her workbag and hurried to the corner of the stable building.
Her eyes went to the end of a long, wide pathway between the stable and the barn complex. There, she made out an assembly of workers bustling about.
Excitement pushed her forward until she almost broke into a run. As she neared the end of the thruway, her anticipation rocketed off the chart.
”Squee,” she snicker-drawled after stepping into the clear to find the entire project coming to life.
Alex”s work crew was making excellent progress. The area was cleared and leveled. Wooden ground stakes with orange flags marked the footprint of the pavilion structure. Spray paint on the dirt roughly approximated where the concrete pad was going. A substantial gravel mountain and a stack of two-by-fours for the framing lay nearby.
When she saw two of her ranch hands taking pictures with their phones, she smiled. Looking out for her workers was important to Becca, and she hoped they”d appreciate the pavilion and give her the credit.
Her fingers weren”t crossed, though—she was far too worldly and jaded for that—but hope still lived.
Sammy saw her, waved, and trotted in her direction. ”Hey, Boss. Guess what? No fuck ups so far, so happy Monday!”
She smiled. ”Morning, Sammy. That”s good news. Monday for the win,” she chuckled.
A man strolled toward them. He looked her over. She lifted her sunglasses. Direct eye contact was always best when establishing a pecking order.
”Ma”am,” he said politely. ”Dave Yeager, project foreman. Major Marquez says you”re the guy in charge.”
They shook hands. Dave”s grip was solid. So was hers.
She didn”t confirm what Alex told the man. Corroboration wasn”t necessary. Dave knew who she was, and that was enough for now.
Nodding at the pavilion footprint, she commented on the progress so far.
”Looks good so far, Dave. Any issues with the measurements?”
”Nah. There”s plenty of room back here and far enough from the tree line for there to be no issues. You”ll have power and solar backup, plus a water line. My guys are installing the base and framing for the pad—I expect the concrete to be poured this afternoon.”
Pleased by the progress, she remarked, ”Moving along at a clip.”
Dave gave a friendly chuckle. She liked his laid-back manner so far. When he glanced at Sammy and drawled, ”I”m collecting bonus points,”she liked him even more.
”Clarify something for me.”She met Dave”s curious gaze. ”Are you Justice or on Team St. John?”
The personable guy smirked. ”Team St. John now goes by BF Designs. The BF is short for Bum Fuzzle.”
Sammy added, ”Shortened further, it”s BFD. Bum Fuzzle Designs or Big Fucking Deal. Choose your adventure.”
Dave pointed to the BF Designs logo on his T-shirt.
A smile crept onto her face and soon turned into a grin. She liked the irreverence of the St. John style, and nobody did cheeky impudence better than Drae and Tori.
In a faux grumble, Sammy said, ”Well shit, now I want T-shirts for the ranch.”
T-shirts were a good idea. Sammy didn”t know that Stephanie was already working on a design for an entire line of ranch wear, gear, and accessories, all branded with an updated look and logo.
”On it,”she chirped. ”Betty is waiting on an approved design.”
”Fuck yeah,”Sammy hooted. ”New shit!”
Dave chuckled.
Satisfied with what she was seeing and hearing, Becca told both men she”d be in her office for ninety minutes before heading to Dare Gulch to look at some needed equipment. She wouldn”t be back until late afternoon, so if they had questions or needed her approval, they had to act quickly.
Flipping her sunglasses back into place and humming a happy tune, she waved goodbye and headed for her office.
* * *
Jamie leanedback in his desk chair, put his booted feet on the desk, and shut his eyes. He had been running around all day, and stopping for lunch was mandatory unless he wanted a hellish afternoon.
A sharp rapping on the open door of his office brought his moment of solitude to a screeching halt.
He lifted his feet off the desk, planted them on the floor, and sat forward.
Sammy Santiago stood in the doorway wearing an unhappy expression.
”Sorry to interrupt, Doc, but Mrs. T isn”t around, and with Mrs. Dane off-grid, well, I need someone higher than me on the food chain to make a decision above my pay grade.”
Jamie sighed and rubbed his eyes. ”Okay. What”s the issue?”
”It”s Mrs. T”s pavilion. The placement for the hose line needs to change.”
”And?”Jamie grated. How the fuck did he end up in the bull”s eye?
”Well, um, the change order alters the design.”
”How?”
”Doc, I”m just the guy in the middle. Okay? I have no fucking idea, and the half of an idea I do have tells me this is a bad one.”
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Rising, he shook his legs and stomped both feet to straighten his jeans and get the blood flowing.
Grabbing his cowboy hat and sunglasses, he muttered to Sammy, ”Lead the way.”He followed him in an electric cart from the animal clinic to the stable.
By the time they reached the location of Rebecca”s pavilion, an empty stomach, and the midday heat had triggered a two-alarm banger in his head.
In an exasperated tone, Dave, the foreman, launched into an explanation that, due to the thumping in his brain, sailed right over Jamie”s head.
Words like solar array, racking equipment, batteries, and inverters only worsened it.
”The solar install people have a don”t give a fuck attitude about design plans. There are additional costs no matter what we do. See the problem?”Dave muttered.
”What”s the easiest, fastest solution?”
”Move the lines.”
”Is that the best solution?”Jamie asked.
”It is for the solar install,”Dave answered reluctantly.
Irritated, Jamie snarled, ”But?”
”I”m a married man,”Dave drawled.”A married man who believes he knows a little bit of something about the female mind after surviving not one, but two home reno projects. Mrs. T won”t be happy about a change done without her knowledge.”
”Can this wait till she returns?”
”Not unless you want to jackhammer the concrete.”
Fuck.
The problem, as he saw it, was what worked on paper versus conditions on the ground.
He turned to Sammy, but the guy looked too panicked to help.
”How important is the solar array to the overall design?”he asked.
”It”s very important. The generated power will run the lights and fans. Without, we”ll have to upgrade the current power line.”
”Okay,”Jamie muttered. ”Then that”s the call. Make the needed changes.”