Page 30 of While the Sun Shines

Penny just tips her bottle up for a drink, her eyes on him.

“He does,” Drew says, but it sounds weak.

“You have dust on your forehead.”

He rubs the heel of his hand across his face, then wipes it on his pants. “Thanks.”

“You don’t like him.”

“No, I do. He’s great.”

“He is, if you’d give him a chance. I’m sorry he just showed up out of the blue. I know you hate last-minute things like that.”

“It’s fine.”

“Says the guy up here sanding while everyone’s hanging out downstairs.”

“I thought you wanted this done.”

“I think you couldn’t have run out of there faster.”

Drew rubs harder at the ridge of dried mudding. Just trying to get a coat of primer on before dinner, he could say.

“Drew.”

“I’ll come back downstairs,” he says. “Just let me get a bit done up here.”

“Andrew. What’s going on with you?”

You, he could say. Go for broke and blurt out, I’m jealous as all hell and I love you, so forget about Abelardo and forget about Travis and forget about anyone else but me and you. He scrubs harder, reaching up higher to work the sandpaper into the corner of the wall and the ceiling. “Nothing.”

“I really hate when you do this, you know? Pretend everything’s fine when it’s not.”

“Well, I kinda hate when you just keep asking even though you know I don’t want to talk.”

“Tough.”

“Well, tough to you too.”

“Tougher, then.”

“Toughest,” he says and she huffs a quiet laugh and he lets his arm drop. “The sheep thing isn’t exactly going to plan.” He rubs at his eyes. “It’s just been on my mind, is all.”

“Sure it has.”

“I’m serious. It’s a complete disaster.”

“To be fair, your plans are often ‘perfect execution on the first try.’”

“Sure, maybe, but it’s the beginning of the season. None of us need a headache on our hands right now. I should’ve waited to buy them. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“I’m pretty sure you were thinking that it’s the beginning of the season, and when else were you going to buy them but now?”

“I’m wasting Whit’s and Cooper’s time with them.”

“I don’t think it’s called wasting time when they’re doing their literal jobs you’ve hired them for.”

“Brad wants twice as much cheese.”