Chapter Five
On Friday afternoon, as the crew was starting to pack up for the weekend, Lacey excused herself to take a call on her cell.
Nick was busy bundling his stuff into his pickup truck, but couldn’t help noticing when her voice rose with controlled excitement.
She glanced over at him, smiled and continued with her call.
He was just tossing his hard hat into the cab when his brothers walked over.
“Lacey looks happy,” said Eli.
She finished her call and joined them at the pickup, practically bouncing with energy. “Nicholas, are you ready to receive some amazing news?”
Nick hadn’t received a response to his pitch yet, and quite honestly was starting to wonder if the executive producers had ditched the idea. “Is it what I think it is?”
She nodded. “They loved your pitch. They had to take some time to think it over, of course, but the producers want to move ahead with the show, with you as the host.”
“Yeah! Good stuff, little brother,” said Michael, grabbing him around the neck and giving him a noogie.
Eli hugged it out with Nick as well. “That’s awesome!”
Nick had to close his gaping mouth. He was going to have his own show. “Wow. Thanks, Lacey. I don’t even know what to say. Did they like the idea of me showcasing fantasy decks?”
“They did, and they definitely want to incorporate more of your deck work, but they had some ideas of their own.” She held out her hands, as if framing a movie marquee.
“Picture it. We’ll have families all over North America who are dealing with renovation disasters.
They’re already on borrowed time. You and your team will swoop in to provide assistance.
In other words, you’d be arriving just in the nick of time.
” She waggled her eyebrows. “Get it? They want to call the show Nick of Time.”
“I’m speechless. That’s so cool, Lacey.”
“This is going to be your baby, Nick, so the name of the show should reflect it. The executive team is thrilled to work with you.”
“Your own show,” said Michael. “I’m proud of you, bro.”
“Yeah, same here,” said Eli.
“Thanks, guys. Thanks for believing in me, Lacey.”
“I knew you could do it,” she said. “So, of course we’ll have to get all the pesky stuff out of the way, contracts and such. We just have to get this last Handymen episode in the can, and we can start filming Nick of Time. This is so exciting!”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, everyone paused.
The last Handymen episode. This was it. Claire would be the last guest they helped as a team.
Only now did it start to hit home.
“Well.” Michael was solemn. “I think this calls for a celebration.”
“What are we celebrating?” Claire approached the group, hands shoved into her shorts pockets.
Nick turned around and his breath caught, much as it had been all week.
Even now, at the end of a grubby day, Claire was luminous.
Her hair was up as usual, but several strands had escaped her bun.
They framed her face, hanging delicately around her ears.
Aside from her rubber boots, her usual sanctuary attire, she wore denim shorts and another T-shirt with a slogan.
This one said Cat lady over the tantalizing mound of her left breast.
“Nick’s going to be the star of a new show,” said Eli.
“Really?” Claire smiled. “That’s great. Congrats, Nick.”
“Thanks.”
“It’s going to be amazing,” said Lacey. “Nick will be traveling all over, helping homeowners deal with their renovation woes. He’s going to become a huge star. You watch.”
“Where will you be traveling?” asked Claire.
When Lacey explained that Nick would be going everywhere from the Yukon to Florida, Claire covered her open mouth. “Wow. That sounds like so much fun.”
It really would be.
New people, new challenges.
No more being a fifth wheel. He’d be driving his own car, so to speak.
Nick was practically speechless as he considered all the possibilities.
This was what he’d always wanted, a chance to stand apart and be recognized on his own merit.
Now that it was happening, he didn’t really know what to say, but happiness gurgled in his gut.
“Well,” said Claire, “I’m thrilled for you, Nick. You deserve this. You’ve all worked so hard this week.”
Michael clapped his hands once. “So. That celebration? You could all come to our place for a barbecue.”
“Michael.” Eli elbowed him. “Are you sure Em would be up to hosting a party right now?”
“You’re right. Maybe this isn’t the best time for us to host.”
“Is Emily okay?” asked Lacey.
“Uh, yeah.” Michael paused. “Just, uh, tired, you know.”
Nick almost chuckled. If Michael was planning on hiding Emily’s pregnancy news for much longer, he was going to have to work on his poker face.
“We could hit up a bar,” said Eli. “Paint the town red.”
“No bars,” said Nick, as a ball of tension appeared between his shoulders. He rolled them to ease it out. “You know I’m not really into the bar scene right now, Eli. I’d prefer something more lowkey.”
Eli nodded. “Of course. Sorry, I forgot.”
“No problem.”
“I could host something here for you.” The words rushed out of Claire’s mouth.
“That wouldn’t be right,” said Nick. “We’re already in your face all the time.”
“I’d like to,” she said. “As a thank you. Just something casual and fun. You know, chips and dip, potato salad, that kind of thing. We could hold it up at the farmhouse. There’s plenty of room. How about next Saturday?”
“Are you sure?” Nick was about to touch her elbow, but held back.
He made it a point not to be touchy-feely with women he didn’t know well, even though something in him wanted very much to touch Claire.
With her, though, he found himself holding back even more than usual.
He kept telling himself it was because of what she’d been through.
As a result, he had these weird little fantasies in which she’d brush up against him—anything to feel the soft press of her flesh.
“Yeah. It’s been a long time since we’ve celebrated anything around here. I’d like to do it. The whole crew is welcome, and whoever else you’d like to bring,” she was quick to add. “Spouses, boyfriends, girlfriends, that sort of thing.”
Girlfriends. What a laugh. Nick bit back the comment. “That’s really nice of you, Claire. Thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
“Claire,” said Lacey, “I don’t want you to take this on yourself. Let me help.”
“Awesome, thanks,” said Claire. “We can firm up the details later.”
“In the meantime, I’ll tell everyone to save the date.” With that, Lacey hurried off to talk to as many crew members as she could. Michael and Eli joined her.
Alone with Claire, the magnitude of the moment hit Nick like a fall of rocks.
His own show.
A new location every episode. A fresh start.
This was awesome. The kind of awesome that didn’t come around every day.
He was one lucky dude.
“I hope I didn’t overstep my bounds by offering to host the party,” she said.
“You’re doing a really nice thing by hosting, but please take Lacey up on her offer. I’m sure she’ll get the network to cover the catering. After all, it’s a lot of mouths to feed. I could help too.”
“Nope. Off you go.” Claire put her hands on his shoulders, turned him around and gave him a light push. “We’ve got this covered, Nick. You go home and rest…or whatever it is you do on a Friday night.”
Lately, not much. He’d done more avoiding than socializing recently. Would Claire have noticed his tense exchange with Eli a few moments ago? He hoped not. “What are you planning on doing tonight?” Why did that come out sounding like a come on? Had it been a come on? He wasn’t even sure.
“Oh, you know. I’ll brush the cats, catch up on my game shows, finish up my crossword puzzle and turn in early. Just a regular Friday night.”
Nick froze. She’d said it with such a straight face.
“That was a joke, TV star.” She grinned and he breathed a sigh of relief. “The widow is still capable of cracking jokes.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“To be honest, my plans are kind of exciting.” She put her hands on her hips and stood tall. “Tonight, I’m going to conquer an Ikea dresser.”
“Wow. This is a big moment.”
“It really is.” Claire huffed in amusement.
“Right before he passed, Arthur ordered this dresser for me. He used to accuse me of encroaching on his drawer space. In fairness, I did. I always shoved my stuff in his drawers when I ran out of space. Anyway, he started putting it together for me, but never got a chance to finish it. And, um, it’s still sitting in the same spot in our bedroom, taunting me. ”
Nick didn’t say anything. He couldn’t tell from her tone if the unfinished dresser was a simple annoyance or something more.
“I figured with all the other changes going on, I should take the bull by the horns and finally put that damn dresser together.”
“Claire, do you want me to give you a hand? I’m a whiz with an Allen key.”
“Oh. I didn’t say all of that to get your sympathy. I wasn’t trying to get your help.”
“I know.”
“Because I can assemble the dresser. I just…it hasn’t been a priority.”
“I hear you, but Ikea furniture can even mess with the experts. In my experience, it’s always good to have a buddy nearby. Together, we could get it done in no time.”
Her lips compressed as she considered his offer. Nick wasn’t trying to intrude. There was just something about her that made him want to help, to smooth out the creases in her life.
“I mean, if it’s your special project and you’d rather tackle it alone…”
“No, I appreciate it, but it’s been a long week. You’re not too tired?”
He winked. “I don’t get tired.”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them, because Claire’s cheeks turned cranberry red.
Flirty Nick wasn’t dead, apparently. Although he hadn’t meant the innuendo. He’d only meant to assure her that he was energetic enough to get the job done. He cleared his throat. Dumbass.
“Are you sure?” she asked, hiding a smile. “It’s a six-drawer Hemnes.”