Chapter 8
Adam squinted against the bright sun as he checked off each item on the delivery slip. Wood was on one side of the yard and other supplies were stacked in neat piles on the side next to Mel’s garage.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Melinda appear from around the house, wearing a floral sundress and bright green flip-flops to match. Beaming and carrying a mug of what he guessed would be coffee. “Good morning,” she called.
“Hey. You look terrific.” He thought he saw a faint hint of color rise in her cheeks.
“I’m a morning person. There’s nothing better than having my feet hit the ground at a dead run.” She held out the mug to him. “Coffee?”
“You’re an angel in flip-flops.” He grinned.
“Caffeine is a major food group for me and I suspect it is for you too. After all, don’t a lot of military people, and for that matter a large portion of the population, survive on the brewed ambrosia?” She laughed. “Well, at least that’s my definition of it.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” He took the cup. “This sure does smell good.”
An almost imperceptible shake of his head had her responding, “Do you need cream?” She half turned. “I have some inside.”
“Not at all. Most people I run into don’t make it strong enough to suit my taste.”
“Then you should love mine.” She took the slip of paper from his hand. “Was everything delivered?” She glanced down. “I see you’re methodical too.” She pointed to the check marks next to each item.
“I would hate to get started and be missing something critical.” He took the slip back.
Melinda frowned and walked around the piles. “Just look at those ruts in the grass. Are they from the delivery truck?”
“Yes, but it’s to be expected.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Why didn’t they just put it all in the driveway?” She chewed on her thumb nail.
Adam stated, “It’s much easier for me to get things as I need them rather than to cart everything in from the front of the house.” He certainly couldn’t tell her why he needed the wood closer to the back. Heck, if he could, he would have had the material delivered next to where he would be working. As it was, hauling each load was going to give his leg grief.
Melinda glanced at the slim gold watch on her wrist. “I have to get into the office, but if you need something, let me know and help yourself to more coffee or water in the refrigerator. The back door is open.”
“Mel, you don’t need to keep me hydrated.” He said, “I’ve worked on jobsites and always bring a good-size cooler with plenty of supplies.”
She flipped her curls and drawled, “My momma always said, ‘Make sure to keep anyone who’s working at your house happy.’”
He chuckled. “So we don’t make mistakes?”
Mel clapped her hands together and grinned. Nodding she said, “Something like that.” With a quick wave she dashed up the front steps. Before she closed the screen door, she called over her shoulder, “I was serious about you helping yourself. There are even fresh-baked cookies in the jar.” Then she disappeared.
Adam couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. This is going to be a fun project.
Melinda got up from the computer and rolled her head from side to side. She had a wicked kink in her neck. She was stiff from sitting in one position too long.
The shrill hum of a saw caught her attention. She wandered to the back window and looked out. Walking barefoot out of her office, she stepped into flip-flops and scuffed her way to the back door, pausing to grab a glass of water on her way. Stopping in her tracks, she was dismayed to discover her backyard looked like a bomb had gone off. Short pieces of wood were in one pile and what looked to Melinda like a huge puzzle was arranged on the ground.
Thump. Pause. Thump.
Melinda gingerly stepped around pieces of lumber. “Adam.”
He didn’t look up.
“Adam!”
Thump. Another short piece of wood was tossed into a pile.
She waved her arms in the air and got his attention.
Pushing his sunglasses to sit on the top of his head, exposing his deep brown eyes, he pulled headphones from his ears. “Sorry, Mel. I didn’t hear you.”
Hoping to hide her dismay, she said, “You’ve got quite the…” She hesitated to use the word mess, so she opted to say, “…project going on here.”
Adam leaned against a sawhorse. Sweeping his arm in a circle, he said, “It’s controlled chaos. But I’m sure to you it looks like a huge mess.”
Rueful, she shrugged. “I’m not gonna lie, I didn’t expect my yard to look like this.”
“Until things start to take shape, it always looks awful.” He pointed to six round short tubes. “I need to get those sunk in the ground, mix some concrete, and they’ll support the overall structure. Then I can set the posts in place.”
She rolled her shoulders and told herself to relax. It was going to be fine. “I’m going to trust you on this one.” With a laugh she said, “How are you going to get those posts up? They’re like nine feet long, aren’t they?”
He tapped the top of his head. “I’ve got that all figured out. Will owes me a favor and I’ve already talked to him. He’s going to stop over on Wednesday or Thursday depending on my progress. Between the two of us, we’ll get them anchored in place.”
Adam took a step toward Melinda and seemed to stagger a little bit. She reached out a hand to steady him and was surprised to see an annoyed look flash across his face. Ignoring it, she asked, “Are you all right?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
“I’m going to get you a glass of something cold to drink. You’ve been out here for hours.”
“Really, I’m fine. You don’t need to wait on me.”
Melinda wondered why he seemed irritated with her. “I was being nice.”
He gave her a whole-hearted smile. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’d love something, as long as you’ll sit with me for a few minutes.”
“That I can do. If for no other reason than to make sure you take a break.” She walked into the house and didn’t look back at Adam.
What was his problem? It wasn’t like I was offering to hold the glass while he sipped something through a straw. Sometimes he gets so prickly. She took a pitcher of lemonade from the refrigerator and filled her glass and one for Adam with ice cubes, filling them almost to the rim with the pale, yellow liquid and then for an extra touch added a twist of sliced lemon. She put everything back in the fridge. Before going outside, she thought, I guess I was a little prickly too. I’ve spent too much time at home alone. Having someone around more forces me to talk to a human being. Maybe this project is good for me, making me connect with more people than just clients.
Picking up the glasses, she walked through the door backwards pushing it open with her foot and turned to hold it open with her hip. She took a step back and she couldn’t feel the door. She tossed a look over her shoulder to discover Adam holding it for her.
“Thank you.” Despite the heat, she could feel the pink rise in her cheeks. Hoping he wouldn’t notice, she dipped her head. “Lemonade.”
“What,” he teased, “no cookies?”
She handed him the glasses and grinned. “You take these and I’ll bring out the jar.” She couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you like a Cookie Monster or something?”
Adam stood in the back door and called after her, “I heard you, ya know.”
“I wasn’t trying to whisper.” She carried the clear cookie jar to the door and then handed it to him, noticing the glasses were on a box. She teased, “Making yourself useful?”
Giving her a mock bow, he said, “At your service, miss.”
Melinda followed Adam outside. It had been a long time since she had bantered like this with anyone. It felt good to be able to have a conversation with a real friend that was lighthearted and easy.
In the few minutes she was inside, Adam had put two lawn chairs under a lush maple tree. Then he set a small cardboard box, turned upside down, as a table where their glasses sat glistening with sweat from the afternoon humidity. Melinda sat, facing the back of the house. “So tell me, how did you really come by handyman work after being in the military?”
Adam grabbed a cookie and ate it in two short bites, seeming to stall for time.
“Earth to Adam,” she prodded.
He picked up his glass and took a long drink. “This is good stuff; did you squeeze the lemons yourself?”
She had a stab of suspicion. “If you don’t want to talk about it, just say so. No need to dance around the question.”
The grin he wore seemed to fade. “I don’t really like to talk about my past. But if you don’t mind, I’d rather talk about my date with Susan.”
Melinda turned her attention to look at him. “I’m glad you brought it up. I was really surprised you weren’t a good match.”
Adam took another cookie. He said, “She wasn’t at all what I expected from her profile. In her picture she looked more like the girl next door, wholesome and outdoorsy. In person she wore a lot of makeup, I tend to think less is more. She was late and I value punctuality. And then she orders for both of us. Like she’s in charge or something. Hot chocolate and chocolate croissants.” He shrugged a shoulder. “I would prefer someone a little less controlling.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t just nerves on her part?”
He replied, “She said she was a little nervous, but wait, it gets better.”
Melinda had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach that this woman had misrepresented herself. “I’m not sure if I want to hear what comes next.”
“Trust me, you do. If for no other reason than you’ll be able to update her profile in your system.”
“Okay…” She dragged out the word. “I’m listening.
In a rush he said, “She hikes only for exercise and because she likes the view from the peaks. Otherwise she’s not a fan of outdoor activities. As she’s telling me this she’s cleaning the plate with her finger by licking it and plucking up the crumbs. I wanted to ask her if her momma taught her any manners.”
Melinda bit back a laugh. This really was starting to sound comical—if it hadn’t been one of her clients, that is. “So how did you leave things?”
“Well, for one, I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. In being totally honest with you, I made up a story about having to leave. Then she said she’d be waiting for my call.” Adam’s tone became tinged with sarcasm. “Um, like that is going to happen.”
Melinda leaned forward and patted his arm. “I’m sorry, Adam.” She could tell he hadn’t been on a first date in a long time. His reaction was a bit over the top.
“Wait, there’s more.”
Melinda had to smile again. “You keep telling me to wait, there’s more. How much more could there be? The date didn’t last that long,”
He snorted. “The best part of this entire conversation, she said she thought people made things up on their profiles and even thought I did too.” He leaned back in the chair, seemingly not the least bit annoyed. After talking, he actually seemed to find the humor in the situation.
“Oh, Adam. I want to reassure you that is not how I run my business, or what I ask clients to do.”
“Mel, don’t worry. I’ve already got you pegged. You’re a kind-hearted lady who really does want the best for everyone. I have faith in you, and I have a feeling you’re going to find everything I’m looking for in a woman.” He grinned. “Or as you might say, my HEA. And, yes, I do know that stands for happily ever after.”
Melinda pretended to swoon and fan herself. She batted her eyelashes and grinned. “Well, thank heavens you know the lingo.”