“Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad.” Ford waved at his parents and spun around, heading out the door.
“Call me if you need anything, son.”
Ford rolled his eyes at his mom’s words. He wasn’t in eighth grade. He didn’t need to call his mom because he was having a hard day. And it was going to be one of those. Ford was so not looking forward to what he had to do, but like most things that came with being a responsible adult, he didn’t have a choice. The contractor had to go.
As he got in the car and put his seat belt on, Ford considered giving the guy another chance, but then he reminded himself that Sawyer had put his trust in him, and he couldn’t let him down.
He’d looked over the budget the past couple of days and gone through all the available options. There was no way around it.
The decision was yet another reason why he’d barely gotten any sleep the night before, not just because Sawyer wasn’t there. He spent the night looking over the contract, and he could safely say that there would be no issues, and Sawyer had agreed with him when they’d talked last night.
Larry had violated their contract by authorizing extra overtime. On top of that, he was overbilling, and he was still nowhere close to being on schedule. Ford ran the risk of putting them even further behind, but there was nothing he could do about that. He just hoped he could find a replacement from the list he had and get back on schedule. Either way, the contractor‘s time was up.
His mom was right. Maybe a night out was what the doctor ordered, and as soon as he turned out of their long driveway onto the main road, he used Siri to call his friend Owen’s number.
“Ford?” he heard come through the car speakers.
“Hey, man.”
“How’s it going? Haven’t spoken to you since the New Year’s party.”
“I know, I know.” Ford grimaced. Owen was right. “I’m sorry. We were back to work right after the holidays, and now Sawyer’s gone back to New York.”
Owen was his closest friend in town, so of course he knew about Sawyer, and Ford needed someone to talk to and maybe have a couple of daiquiris with. And if Owen was available, he would be perfect.
“Let me guess. You miss your man and finally remembered about your best friend?” Owen’s voice was teasing.
Ford knew he wasn’t actually upset, mostly because they were always chatting, but even when they weren’t, Owen was one of those friends that even if they didn’t speak for a month, it didn’t make a difference, because when they did, it was like no time had passed. He had another friend like that, Ryan, but he didn’t live in Amber Falls anymore.
“Got it in one. I need to snap out of this funk. I swear he hasn’t been gone long, but it feels like forever.”
“I want to be in love too.” Owen laughed at himself before adding. “Trust me, I wouldn’t worry about it. You’re in love. It’s only natural that you’d feel this way, so don’t be so hard on yourself.”
“Mehhh, I know. I wish he would be back already.”
“I’ve soooo gotta find what you have.” Owen chuckled.
Ford laughed at his friend’s words, already feeling better.
“Okay, enough whining about myself. How are you doing? How are Dean and the kids?” Ford asked. “Hey, hold on. I think my mom mentioned your brother Drake is back.”
“Everyone is great.” Owen replied. “Oh yeah, he is. He got back after New Year’s, actually. Give me a minute, the washer just went off.” The sound of water running came over the phone before his friend spoke again. “I was chopping veggies for the slow cooker, but I need to get the clothes in the dryer and get a new load going.”
Owen was a nanny to two little—well, not so little anymore—kids. He lived in the home with the children and their dad, Dean. So Ford was used to his friend’s many chores, even though Owen stopped thinking of them as chores a long time ago, but he wasn’t about to poke the hornet’s nest that was Owen’s current situation. They just didn’t talk about that.
“Take your time.” Ford tapped the steering wheel as he drove while waiting for Owen to return.
“He needs to find a job.” Owen’s voice came back over the phone.
“Wait, what?” Ford’s brow creased for a moment till his brain caught on again to what Owen was talking about. “Oh, you mean Drake?”
“Yup. He wants to get a place of his own, but he also doesn’t want to dig too deep into his savings yet.”
“Ahh, but I bet your parents are happy he’s home.” Owen’s parents, especially his mother, would be overjoyed. She was friends with Ford’s mom, and like her, she wanted all her kids close by.
“Oh my God, yes. Mom is thrilled. Even though he was only a couple of states away, you would think it was a whole continent the way she talked. It’s good to have him here, though.”
“Mmm.” Ford had never had siblings, so he wasn’t sure what to say to that.
“Although, if he finds work in Vail, Aspen, or Breckenridge, he might move there.”
“I can understand that.” Ford had considered all those towns before he’d found a job with Sawyer.
He turned into the parking lot of the structure they were using as an office building and parked in his usual spot.
“Anyway, I just parked and gotta go. Got a crapstorm waiting for me today.” Ford rubbed his face and let out a breath. “Contractor issues, and since Sawyer isn’t here, I need to deal with him. I’ll catch up with you later, yeah? Let me know if you can grab drinks sometime soon.”
“Sounds good.” Owen’s voice was soothing as he added. “And hang in there. Sawyer wouldn’t have left you in charge if he didn’t trust you, right?”
“Right.”
“Great. I’ll ask Dean if
