Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Avery
The dark roast in front of me was hot and strong and, without a doubt, the best coffee I’d had since arriving in Trickle Creek. On the barista’s advice, I also decided to treat myself to a freshly baked peanut butter cookie. And I was glad I had.
The blast of sugar and caffeine was the only thing getting me through the meeting with Danny Davis of Davis Done Right. Everything about this man gave me cringy vibes. He’d just spent the last twenty minutes talking over me and blowing off any of my questions and concerns about the renovations on the inn.
He either couldn’t remember my name, or flat out refused to use it. But if he called me darling or honey one more time, I couldn’t be held responsible for my actions.
The problem was, after asking around, Danny Davis was the only other name that came up as a reliable handyman.
After Reid Lyons, of course.
But he was still proving to be elusive and I couldn’t wait around forever. I needed to get moving on my renovations. I was out of options.
Which was the only reason I hadn’t already gotten up and left the table at the Bean Bag. Well, that and the delicious snack. Next time I was ordering to go .
“I can get started on this right away, honey. We’ll be working pretty close?—”
“It’s Avery.” I’d lost track of how many times I’d corrected him. “And I still have a few more people to talk to. So?—”
“There’s no one else, darling.”
Danny was confident; I’d give him that. And after glancing through his portfolio of work, there weren’t any major red flags. Except for the one, giant one currently waving over his head.
Unable to meet his gaze, I lifted the mug to my mouth and took a long, slow sip of coffee.
Working with Danny would be a challenge, and it would be far less enjoyable than…well, working with almost anyone else. But what were my other options?
“Danny, I need to think about?—”
“Tell ya what, honey. I need to pop out for a minute and make a call.” He stood up from the tiny table and loomed over it, tapping a big, meaty finger on the plans I’d brought with me. “Give it some thought and once you come to the right decision, I’ll be back to make it official.”
Somehow, I managed to force a smile. It wasn’t often that someone made me feel so icky just by being in their presence, but Danny Davis had managed it in less than a half hour.
The smile—as fake as it was—fell off my face the moment Danny turned and walked away. I dropped my head and inhaled deeply before looking up.
Okay, Avery. Think.
My gaze landed on the plans I’d sketched out and the notes I’d made for the inn.
I could visualize it in my mind. The freshly painted blue siding with crisp, white trim. The garden beds once more free of weeds and full of blooms in the summer. Inside, the floors would be polished and gleaming the way they once were. A vase of fresh flowers would greet guests at the check-in desk before they climbed the big, open staircase to their freshly painted rooms.
Never mind everything that needed to be done behind the scenes. The plumbing, the kitchen… Maybe I’d bitten off more than I could handle?
It was the first time I’d allowed even the slightest bit of doubt to creep in, and almost as soon as I did, I pushed it out of my mind. I couldn’t afford to let even the slightest negative thought in. As soon as I did…well, I couldn’t go there.
The tinkle of the cafe door caught my attention. My head shot up, expecting to see Danny Davis returning already.
My heart leapt into my throat when I saw it wasn’t Danny at all, but instead, Trickle Creek’s number-one handyman who stood at the bulletin board by the entrance.
I watched while he scanned the selection of notices pinned there before shaking his head and pinning up his own paper, directly over the same flyer I’d looked at for Davis Done Right.
From where I was sitting, I couldn’t make out the words on Reid’s flyer, but I could see the image of a hammer.
He was advertising his handyman services? After turning down my job?
“Interesting.” The word came out of my mouth before I could stop it.
Reid turned at the sound of my voice. The moment his eyes landed on me, his expression changed. His lips dipped down from a sullen smirk to a full-on frown. But his eyes sparked. “You’re still here.”
It wasn’t a question.
“I never planned on going anywhere,” I fired back. With my head, I gestured to the pinboard and the notice he’d just posted. “So it’s just my job you don’t want.”
Reid glanced behind him before crossing the short distance to my table. His gaze dropped to the papers spread out in front of me. “These your plans?”
“They’re a start.” I shrugged. “Mostly just lists and ideas.”
“Huh.” Without asking, he slid the papers around, scanning the information.
“Huh? What does that mean?”
Finally, he looked up. His dark-brown eyes stared at me with such intensity, that my stomach clenched.
“It’s ambitious is all.”
“I can handle it.” I put a smile on my face and tossed my hair over my shoulder. “Besides, I’m not going to be doing it alone.”
His eyes darkened. “What do you mean? You’re not doing it alone?”
It was the last thing I wanted, especially now that I had Reid Lyons standing in front of me, but before I could stop myself, I told him, “I was just talking to Danny Davis.”
Reid’s nostrils flared.
“I’m going to hire him to?—”
“To hell you are.”
Reid
The words came out much stronger than I intended, and I regretted them the moment I saw Avery flinch. Her smile faltered, but her eyes flashed.
“Excuse me?” She straightened her shoulders and tilted her chin up. “Last I checked, you didn’t have a say in who I hired to help me.”
She wasn’t wrong. I had absolutely no say. But I’d be dammed if I let Danny Davis anywhere near her. He was a sleazy son of a bitch who had no sense of ethics, morals, or a job well done.
Not only would Avery be wasting her money on a spit-and-polish cover-up job, but she’d be subjected to his demeaning harassment. And if he laid a hand on her—there was no fucking way.
“Don’t hire him.” I crossed my arms over my chest and stared down at her. “You’ll regret it.”
“Is that right?” She stood and crossed her arms, too. She was a good foot shorter than me but challenge sparked in her eyes, and I knew I was going to have a brand-new image of her occupying my thoughts at night.
“I don’t suppose you’d care to give me a good reason I shouldn’t hire him?” She fired the question at me. “I mean, if you can bring yourself to speak to an outsider like me, that is.”
Fuck.
I regretted every single shitty thing I’d ever said to her. Especially if it had driven her to hire the likes of Danny Davis.
“Because he’s not as good as me.”
She laughed. She actually laughed. But there was no humor in it as she threw her head and chuckled before once more looking me in the eye. “You rejected me, remember?”
Oh, I remembered.
“And while I’m sure you think so highly of yourself to think that you’re the best in town,” she continued with a feisty side I hadn’t seen in her the other day, “you’re not the only guy in town. I have a job that needs to be done. And I will be hiring someone to do it. Whether you like it or not.”
I didn’t like it. Not one little bit. Not if it was Danny Davis she hired.
No. Scratch that.
I wouldn’t like it if she hired anyone but me, and I damn well knew it. There was no way I was going to be able to sit by and watch anyone working closely with Avery day after day. I couldn’t explain it. It didn’t make any sense, and I certainly didn’t have any right to feel protective over this woman. But I did.
And I’d be dammed if I let Danny anywhere near her.
“Hey, Lyons. Don’t tell me you’re bidding on this job, too?”
Unexplainable rage filled me at the sound of his voice. Somehow, I managed to control myself as I turned to see Danny. He held his hand out in greeting. I didn’t move, keeping my hands stuffed under my arms still crossed over my chest.
“Davis.” I nodded my greeting instead.
If he was deterred, he didn’t show it. Instead, the sleazy asshole moved around the table until he stood next to Avery.
“I’m not bidding on this job,” I told him.
“That’s good to hear.” While I watched, Danny put an arm around Avery’s shoulders and pulled her into him.
I didn’t miss the way she flinched before pasting that bright smile back on her pretty face.
My nostrils flared, and my fingers clenched into fists. I knew how I wanted to handle the situation, the way I always wanted to handle the situation when it came to this asshole, but that wasn’t an option. Not with Avery standing right there.
Instead, I looked him right in the eyes and told him, “I’m not bidding on the job. Because I’ve already accepted it.” I watched Avery closely as I spoke. Her eyes darted to mine, and the relief I saw there was clear and told me everything I needed to know.
She slipped to the side, ducked out from under Danny’s arm and shifted just the tiniest bit toward me.
“What?” Danny looked between Avery and me. “Is that true? I thought we had something?—”
“Sorry, Danny.” To her credit, Avery actually did a pretty good job looking apologetic, despite the relief underlying her words. “I offered the job to Reid earlier and he just formally accepted.” She looked up at me with a wicked grin. “He starts tomorrow.”