Reluctantly, Brian gave in without her losing her temper. “I’ll go by the place after work and help out wherever you need me. The place looks great. Sorry I yelled at you.”
“I don’t want you anywhere near that place until it’s done. Go home to your wife and spend time with her before the baby arrives. You have a lot of making up to do. Take the time you need to put your marriage back on track. Get things packed. The house should be ready to move into by next Saturday.”
“Next Saturday? So soon?”
“There’s a baby on the way. Time is of the essence, wouldn’t you say?”
“The time is way overdue.”
Yes, past time he started living the life he should be living.
“Your lunch is almost over. I’d suggest you grab something to eat and get back to work. I hear your boss can be a real bitch.” She smiled to help alleviate some of his upset.
“She’s not so bad. I love her.”
Touched, she caught her breath. They’d never been the happy family that expressed their feelings. After everything that happened, she didn’t know what to say. She loved him, but the words didn’t come easy for her, so she mustered up a smile and said, “Go, I have work to do,” with as much cheer as she could put into the words.
Brian gave her a lopsided smile and a break, letting her out of the awkward moment, leaving her office to finish his lunch and get back to work.
Her office remained full of men, however, with Dylan, Greg, James, and Jay waiting on her.
She picked up her tool belt from the table behind her desk and strapped it around her waist. Jay’s eyes never left her hips. She took off her flannel shirt to reveal the tank top she wore underneath. She wanted to be comfortable while she worked out in the sun. She tugged on her baseball cap, pulling her ponytail out the back. Jay looked like he’d start drooling soon. She’d make him see her as something other than a sexpot.
“J.T.? Are you about to institute the bloodshot crew?” Greg asked.
An apt name for the guys who showed up with bloodshot eyes and hangovers that left them unable to pull their weight and landed them on her crew. Jessie started working those guys on Pop’s jobs. They never showed up hungover more than once.
Greg couldn’t help himself, he razzed Jay. “Man, I feel sorry for you. Working with J.T. when you’re a hundred percent is a test of a man’s abilities. Doing it when you’re hungover is a test of sheer will and determination to keep your job and your life, because when you’re finished you want to puke up your guts and cut off your head to keep it from pounding anymore. You’re in for a shitty day, my friend.”
“I haven’t had to do this in a long time.” Jessie eyed Jay. “He’s new. He thinks the rules don’t apply to him. He actually smacked me on the ass the other day and called me sweetie.”
Greg winced. “Big mistake, buddy. You’re in for it now.”
Jessie noted Jay had the presence of mind to look chagrined. He turned green as well. She’d work out all the bad boy and get to the heart of the man who wanted to do the right thing, or she’d fire him.
Studying the map on the wall, she picked a house. “James, take Jay over to number eleven. The roof has been framed. We’ll lay out the boards and shingle it. Get everything set up. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Come on, boss. It was just a fight. You can take it out of my pay.” Jay pouted.
“I’ll take it out of your ass because that’s the only way you’ll learn I mean business. You’ll either survive the next four hours, or you’ll quit. You sure as hell won’t show up late or hungover to one of my jobsites ever again. You will also turn over the keys to my truck. You just lost your privileges.”
He cussed under his breath, fished the keys out of his pocket, and handed them to her before following James out the door.
She waited for them to leave, knowing Dylan still wanted to talk to her.
“Dylan, I don’t have time to rehash the past. I told you, leave it alone.”
“Not going to happen, Jess. If we’re going to move forward, we need to finish the past.”
“We aren’t moving forward. It’s done. Over. There’s nothing left between us.”
“We aren’t done. We aren’t over. We’re just getting started again.”
Greg read the fatigue and resignation in J.T.’s eyes. The office was busy, and J.T. needed a break. At the end of her rope, dealing with the sheriff and her employee tapped all her energy, making her shoulders slump. Greg had seen her like this a few times. She’d work herself to death because she had nothing else but work to distract her from what really bothered her. Dylan and their past.