Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 59265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 59265 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 296(@200wpm)___ 237(@250wpm)___ 198(@300wpm)
“Isn’t she?”
“Totally. I bet she’s going to look just like you. So how are you doing, Mama?”
“I’m… adjusting,” I said, half turning to look back at her.
“That’s the best you can do, right? I remember those days. So tired that everything around you is blurry and you don’t remember what month, let alone day, it is, and you’re eating crap and you’re unwashed and you have no clean clothes because you’ve leaked through everything…”
“That has been my life,” I agreed.
“It’s good that you’re getting out. Even for just a few minutes. And I’m hoping you’re letting that giant family of yours take care of you too.”
“I am. I mean, I’m pretty sure half of them would move in with me if I let them, but—”
“But you want to learn to navigate this new normal too.”
“Exactly.”
“You’re doing great, Mama. Treat yourself to the treats in the bag. Okay. I’m out. I’ll hip-check the door so she doesn’t freak out.”
With that, Jazzy was gone, and I had coffee and treats to bring home with us.
The new dumpster had arrived at the crack of dawn this morning, waking Adelaide out of a dead sleep and getting our morning started early.
But as I pulled into the driveway, I saw random pieces of drywall sticking out of the top.
Owen had shown up after we’d left and had gotten right to work, it seemed.
His van was still parked up near the garage, and there was no logical reason for the way a weird fluttery sensation moved across my chest at its presence.
I grabbed Adelaide’s carrier and set the pastry box on her legs. “You’re gonna have to forgive me for this,” I told her as she slept away. I picked up the tray of coffee then made my way to the door.
Inside, there was some slight banging coming from upstairs, but Adelaide stayed quiet as I brought her into the living room, turned her fan on, and placed her in the playard to finish her nap.
With that, I took the coffees with me upstairs.
“Hey, buddy,” I greeted Tuna, who was asleep in the hallway but woke up with a wagging tail as soon as he heard my voice. “Let me go say hi to your dad—oh, hey,” I said when Owen stepped into my bedroom.
I’d never really understood the appeal many women had for a man who was dirty from work. Greasy mechanics, dirt-covered farmers. That kind of thing had never appealed to me as someone who tended to like myself and my environment tidy.
But Owen’s dark wash jeans and navy-colored henley were both covered in drywall dust. There was even a little clinging to the ends of his hair.
And I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen someone so attractive.
“Hey,” he said, giving me a smile that crinkled the corners of his eyes.
“I, uh, brought you a coffee,” I told him, holding out the cup. “She’s Bean Around is the best. I mean, Deja Brew is good too if you don’t want to deal with the lines. But I know someone,” I added. “I got a ‘coffee regular’ vibe from you,” I told him.
It was a weird thing to have a knack for, but I could almost always get someone’s coffee order right. Maybe that came from being such a coffee lover myself. Or being around so many fellow coffee lovers. But I knew my latte girls from my cold brew girls. And my black drip guys from my interesting coffee guys.
Everything about Owen said he liked normal, everyday kind of things. Like coffee with just a little milk and sugar to make it more enjoyable.
“You’re right,” he agreed. “Thank you.”
“How’s it going?”
“I got the noisiest work done while you were out. Might be a little banging, but it shouldn’t carry too much.”
“Can I see?”
“Of course,” Owen said, moving into the bathroom so I could look from the doorway.
The shower was stripped down to the beams and subfloor.
“Oh, God. Do I want to ask?”
Because that subfloor… it looked wet. Very wet.
Owen sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out through his nose. “Yeah… about that…”
“Oh, my favorite words when it comes to this house,” I said with a humorless laugh. “Is that from the pipe?”
“It’s… soggy enough for me to think that you had a slow leak through the shower floor for a while. The burst pipe didn’t help, but this was likely a long-running problem.”
“Of course it was. How close was I to falling through this floor when I showered?”
“Getting close. It’s a good thing you wanted to gut the place.The thing is… you can’t just dry out a subfloor like you can the walls. I have to cut the damaged parts out and replace them. Thankfully, the joists are all in good shape. We are just going to need more drying time and then a repair before I can get to the waterproofing part.”