Yeah, the house would be spectacular when he was finished, it was just going to take a heck of a lot of elbow grease to get there. Which meant he was working weekends, up at dawn, and keeping on right through to sundown, no matter who was trying to get some sleep next door.
Still . . .
Cooper reluctantly shut off the saw. Poppy had looked exhausted, and besides, he'd been meaning to head into town to pick up supplies before the stores closed early. The noisy work could wait, for a couple of hours, at least.
Never say he wasn't a generous guy.
He grabbed the keys to his truck and drove the winding lane back towards town. He was practically a resident at the hardware store these days, and Hank had everything he needed for once.
"They say there'll be rain by next week," the old owner warned him, as he totaled up Cooper's supplies. "I'd get that roofing done sooner rather than later."
"That's the plan," Cooper agreed.
"How are you finding the siding?" he asked. "Still think you should be using the original shingles?"
"Remember termites," another regular, Larry, pitched in. He paused by the register. "Those little bastards are lurking everywhere, especially older wood like that."
It was always like this. You couldn't stop by Hank's without a debate about everything from wood to the weather.
"Your pop knew all about termites," Larry added. "Didn't he use to make up a special paint?"
Cooper nodded. "My dad knew all about a lot of things." It's how he learned most of the tricks of his trade-those summers in high school working right alongside his pops on contracting jobs. At the time, he'd wanted to be anyplace else, but looking back now, he wished he'd appreciated that time together when they still had it.
"Before I forget," Hank added, "keep an eye out for June's niece, won't you? She said she's arriving today."
"Already here," Cooper replied. "Came in off a red-eye and stormed straight over to ask me to keep it down."
The men chuckled. "Sounds like she takes after her aunt," Hank said, and Cooper would have sworn he saw a twinkle in his eye. "We're under strict instructions to make the girl feel welcome."
"Well, she's more than welcome to come pitch in with construction," Cooper joked. "Like you said, there's rain coming."
He headed back outside and loaded up the truck. There was a bigger chain hardware store just an hour away that stocked everything cheaper, but he always stayed loyal to Hank. He liked dropping by to hear the gossip from the regulars, and it made him feel closer to his father, in a way, spending time with all his old friends like this.
He'd never planned on sticking around in Sweetbriar Cove. He went to college over in Boston, studying engineering, and made plans after graduation to move out farther west. Chicago, maybe, or Dallas, some big city where your neighbor didn't know everything about your business, and even the clerk at the grocery store hadn't heard all about your date with that girl from Truro last Friday night. But he was finishing up his final semester when his dad had got sick. Stomach cancer. There had never been any question in Cooper's mind about what to do. He'd finished up his classes and moved straight home, driving Bill to his appointments, making sure he took his meds on time. He even took over Bill's contracting jobs to keep the money coming in, watching as his dad's good days got further and fewer in between, until finally his legendary stubbornness was no match for the cancer in his gut.
After that, Cooper had thought about leaving again for a big city, but it never had the same appeal. The town had pulled together for them, looked out for them, sent casseroles and prayers, and sat with him through the worst of it. He would never admit it to anyone, but they were the only family he had left. So, he'd stuck around, and worked hard on the business, and built a reputation as the guy you could count on to come in on time and under budget, and soon enough he'd even started thinking about settling down and starting a family of his own.
And that's when it had all gone to hell.
Cooper paused at the red light. He was so deep in memories that when he saw a flash of blonde hair up ahead, it felt like he was back there again.
He caught his breath. There was a familiar woman climbing out of her car, her face bent away from him.
A tide of regret slammed through Cooper, the same guilt and shame that hit whenever he was reminded about the biggest failure of his life. Then she lifted her head, and he realized it was a stranger he'd never seen before.