“She’ll fire him for incompetence and not following her rules. The guys that make it working with her are some of the best in the business. She pays them well and gives them every opportunity to improve their skills and their position. Some of them will have enough experience to become foremen, others will learn enough from her to start their own businesses. She gives them her time and her expertise. She doesn’t take it personally when they leave to start out on their own. My father did the same for her. Most won’t make it. It takes time and a lot of hard work to build a construction company. Jessie had the knowledge and the experience. My Dad fronted her the money, recommended her for jobs, and she did the rest. She worked her ass off to make this company what it is today.
“She’s a good designer. You should see her house. You’d find her home—interesting.” Greg tossed out yet another cryptic comment that Dylan hoped would make sense one day soon.
Chapter Fourteen
* * *
MOVE-IN DAY. EXCITED for Brian and Marilee, Jessie arrived at the house early, putting the final touches on the living room before her brother and Marilee arrived. She expected them any minute. Her crew had done a great job. The old hardwood floors had been sanded, stained, and varnished in a honey tone. New cabinets lined the kitchen to match, along with new white appliances. An electrician had come in and replaced all the light fixtures with new more fashionable ones, providing more light.
The expense didn’t faze her. Not when she’d erased the look and feel of Buddy’s house and transformed it into Brian’s.
Jessie had a few pieces of furniture delivered to the house. A new sofa and chair sat in the family room along with a sage-green rug that complemented the soft oatmeal wall color.
She’d built them a table and chairs for the kitchen. Nothing fancy. Just a few oak planks she sanded smooth and stained and varnished to a high polish. A bench seat sat on one side, two chairs on the other, and a chair at each end. The set would serve them well over the next several years, especially if they had more children.
She’d even made them a highchair that could be pulled up to the table. It sat in the corner of the kitchen waiting to be used.
Since Jessie spent most of her time making furniture and selling it in the store downtown, she had a couple of dressers delivered for the bedrooms and two night tables in the master bedroom.
The baby’s room made her proud. She painted her old room a soft yellow. The handmade cradle sat near the window and the dresser stood next to the closet doors. A lower set of drawers with a rim around the top held a changing table pad she’d bought and built the piece to fit.
Simple Shaker style—no matter if the baby were a girl or boy, the furniture would suit them until they were much older.
She especially loved the rocking chair. She’d spent several days making it for Marilee and it sat in the corner by the cradle and window. Marilee could rock her baby by the moonlight or sunlight.
Tears slipped down her face unnoticed. It had been a long time since she cried for her baby. She had known setting up this nursery would be difficult, but her heart broke all over again as she stood in the doorway wishing for Hope and wanting to rock her in that chair.
A truck pulled up out front. She turned her back on the chair and shook off her memories and stopped herself from wishing for something that would never be. She wiped the wetness from her cheeks and stepped out onto the porch expecting to find Brian and Marilee. Dylan slid out of his truck and approached, smiling his half-cocky grin she loved so much. She hoped he didn’t notice her red, puffy eyes.
“Hey, Jess. If the inside looks as good as the outside, you did an outstanding job. Man, this is amazing.”
Dylan hesitated taking the last few steps to her, unsure of the surprise that turned to something solemn in her eyes that tore at his heart. She stood on the porch, looking at him like she’d never seen him.
He didn’t want to talk about the past and what she wanted him to know but was too afraid to tell him. Given time, she’d learn to trust him again. He just needed to show her he wasn’t going anywhere. He’d take it slow, not push, but one day soon, he’d get her to tell him everything. Today, he’d spend the day with her moving Brian. They’d settle back into that easy camaraderie they had when they used to work together.
So pretty in her cutoff shorts and T-shirt, Jessie’s hair fell over her shoulders and breasts. He wanted to run his hands through it until it spilled down her back. He’d give it a tug, until her face turned up to his, so he could kiss her. Long and deep, until she filled all the empty places in his aching chest.