Page 22 of Better Together

She glanced around. The shades of the neighboring homes were drawn. She unlocked the door, pushed inside, and flipped on the lights. A few hours ago, she had finished laying a new subfloor so she could start installing the vinyl flooring. She tied one end of a chalk line to a nail and, holding the other, she snapped a line and got to work.

After getting a good chunk of the floor in place, Alexis stood and stretched. The sun could be seen on the horizon, and pinks and purples streaked the sky.

Zeke walked through the door, coffee in hand. “Don’t you sleep anymore?”

“Good morning to you too,” she said with a scowl. His adorable smile lit up his face. He looked like he’d slept great. She stuck out her tongue.

“Sorry, my bad. Good morning, sunshine.”

Alexis walked over to her thermos and filled the cap full of lukewarm coffee. It would have to do. Not having had time to get a haircut, she could finally pull her hair into a stubby ponytail. She wondered how Maggie dealt with her long tresses every day. Alexis liked the simplicity of her short wash-and-go style.

Zeke set down his tool belt and held up a paper bag. Her mouth watered at the delicious savory smell. He unwrapped smoky bacon and egg sandwiches and placed them near the compound miter saw. Alexis’s stomach grumbled. Loud.

“Apparently I’m hungry.”

Zeke raised a brow. “I thought you might be.”

He glanced out the kitchen window. “You’ve been working long hours.”

“Yep.” Alexis took a bite of her sandwich. “This is good. Thanks for breakfast.”

“No problem. I figured you wouldn’t have grabbed anything except coffee. Was I right?”

She crumpled up the wrapper. “I wanted to get an early start.”

“The floor looks great. What time did you get here?”

“Around three, I guess.” She shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. “I’ll finish the floor and then head to the church. We have supplies being delivered today and I need to be there.”

Zeke gathered up the wrappers and placed them into the trash, then walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “You’re working too hard—we’ll get it done. We’re making great progress. Don’t worry, and try to get more sleep.”

Alexis breathed in Zeke’s fresh scent. He had showered; the smell of his deep woodsy-musk shower gel teased her senses, and his damp hair begged for attention. She wanted to run her hands through it to tame it down. He stood too close, and she caught herself before reaching for him. She stepped back and Zeke’s hands dropped to his sides.

“I’m concerned,” he said.

“No need to be. I’m fine.” Alexis shifted her feet, drawing up dust, and looked away. She was tired and wanted to cry, but she wouldn’t. She was fine. She’d worked long hours before to hit deadlines. She cleared her throat. “Are you going to just stand there or are you going to help me finish this floor?”

“Let’s do it.”

Zeke didn’t understand how much she had riding on this contest. No one, including Maggie, was aware of her financial situation. She’d never missed a deadline and she wouldn’t start now. She couldn’t let Kate Davis down either. She needed to finish the living space at the back of the old church before Kate arrived in town. Kate needed the space as living quarters as Alexis continued the renovations on the coffee shop. Although her crew had been split between the two jobs, she’d kept both on track. So far.

They finished the floor and covered it with cardboard. “Zeke, I’m heading to the church. Can you make sure the guys finish the ramp? I’ll be back later. Maggie is picking up the paint for the walls and will be painting the bedrooms this afternoon.”

“I’ve got it covered. Go.”

She heard car doors slam, and they both went outside to greet the arriving crew.

* * *

When Alexis arrived at the church, her phone chimed with a reminder that she needed to meet Linnie at the townhome in a few hours to confirm whether it was a sound investment.

After she accepted the day’s delivery, she got to work on staining the trim for the guest half bath, which didn’t take much time at all. She then turned her attention to pulling an old heat register out of the floor, but when the ductwork released, it fell into the crawl space. Crap. She’d have to wait until Tommy got here after school. She looked at her watch as the side door opened. “Hey, Tommy. Perfect timing.”

“Hey, boss. School let out early, some teacher thing.” He smiled. “What do we have going on today?”

Alexis pointed to the opening in the floor. “The ductwork disconnected, and I need to thread it back into place. Can you stay up here while I head into the basement?”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to crawl around down there? It’s kind of creepy.”