“Easy. Just point me in the direction of who I’m working with.” Kieran lifted his chin and pushed back his shoulders in an attempt to look more self-assured. He understood his family’s lack of confidence in him, but it didn’t make it sting any less.
“Over there.” Rory pointed to two men standing at a card table that held a water dispenser and some cups. “That’s Brogan and Declan. Brogan’s in charge, and he’ll tell you what needs to be done. Payday is every Friday, and he’ll get you your check.”
“Got it.” Kieran marched away from his brother and directly to his new boss. He was grateful to Rory for bringing him on, but the less time he spent with him, the better. He called out to his boss as he neared. “Brogan?”
“You Kavanagh?” Brogan asked in a thick Irish accent that surprised Kieran a bit. Even though he and his brothers all knew a little Irish, none of them had strong accents. They had only hints of it here and there from their parents, who were definitely more Irish sounding. His mother often laced Gaelic into her everyday speech, but years and years of living in America had dulled even his parents’ accents. Brogan was older than them, but he sounded like he’d been living in Ireland up until yesterday.
“That’s me.” Kieran stood taller as the older man scrutinized him. “I hear you’re my boss?”
Finally, the man nodded at Kieran, as if to say he approved. “Indeed, and you better be respecting that. We got a lot to do to get this place up an’ runnin’ in two months’ time. The grand opening bein’ so close, and it’s got to be perfect. Most o’ the crew’s been ’ere since the first day o’ construction months ago, so you’re da new kid on the block.”
“I get that,” Kieran said, grateful that Brogan’s brogue wasn’t any thicker. “I just want to keep my head down, do my work, and collect my paycheck. I’m not looking for any trouble.”
“Then we’ll get ’long just fine, lad.” Brogan handed him an orange vest and a hard hat before turning to introduce the younger man standing beside him. “This ’ere is Declan, my son. He’ll be training ya the first few days.”
Kieran reached out and shook Declan’s hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“I’m sure.” Declan gestured to a ladder propped against the side of the building, still looking irritated at the prospect of having to train someone this late in the game. “Let’s get going up top.”
Kieran followed him up the ladder and onto the roof, where a large box of tools was waiting for them, along with several stacks of boards and shingles that they were going to spend the day placing. Declan started him on the far end of the clinic, working systematically from one side to the other.
A few hours passed, and the early morning suddenly didn’t feel very early at all. The streets were beginning to fill as people moved about, heading to their jobs, but Kieran felt like he’d already worked a full shift. The sun at this hour was hot, and the physical labor was no joke.
He pulled off his hard hat to wipe his brow and glanced down at the sidewalk below. Familiar brown hair over a long, light pink floral dress caught his eye, and he smiled widely at the sight of the pretty woman making her way down the street. She was staring down at her phone while walking, not paying attention to the world around her. Dropping the hard hat back on his head, he moved carefully toward the ladder and scaled back down the side of the building.
“Fiona!” he called as he came around the corner and onto the street, now several feet behind her.
She whirled around, looking startled as she held her phone against her chest. “Oh, it’s you. Hi.”
Her lackluster response didn’t deter him, because despite her attempt to appear aloof, the crimson creeping into her cheeks told him what she was really thinking.
“Hi back.” He closed the gap between them. “You know it’s dangerous to walk while texting.”
“It’s also dangerous to talk to strangers, so, you know…” With that and a wink, she turned and walked away.
He jogged ahead before circling back around her and blocking her way for the second time.
“Maybe we were strangers on Sunday. But then there was yesterday, and now today…Don’t tell me we’re still strangers after we’ve stumbled across each other enough times to know fate had something to do with it.” He kept his expression purposefully guarded as he stared down into her big blue eyes, which were growing wider the closer he got to her.
“Fate, huh?” She tapped her index finger against pursed lips, as if considering the possibility. “What if you’re just a stalker? There’s always that.”