Sassie held out her hand, giving him carte blanche to choose a room. At the first door, he paused to look inside, nodding his head.
“This is fine.” Pulling a handkerchief from his pocket, he wiped it across the back of his neck before heading outside again.
Within minutes he was back, a trolley loaded with boxes containing her kitchen components. She sat out of the way and watched as he made trip after trip, stacking everything in the empty room for her.
What a huge job she’d taken on. This was such a tiny step in the scheme of things, but it was a huge one for her personally. The only projects she’d done were helping her brothers with schoolwork or rearranging their small home to fit everyone in it as they grew up needing more space. The odd bookcase was small change compared to what lay ahead of her doing this kitchen.
Once the house was complete, there was the zoning board to get past for her license. Perhaps her new bed partner could help her out with some information there since he seemed to have plenty to say about it.
The deliveryman had her sign the docket and left her alone with the boxes stacked and ready, ominously waiting. After a few trips to the car to get her power tools, Sassie sat on the floor and ripped open the first box, pulling out the instructions. Her sore hand hit the corner of the wood and she gasped, tears welling in her eyes, drawing it against her chest. Fecking bloody hell, she forgot for a moment she was injured. Damned fool.
When the throbbing eased, she brushed aside her tears, ready to start on the kitchen. Sassie picked up the instruction sheet again. It didn’t look any harder than anything else she’d done over the years when she was in a crafty mood. Slot A into B, add a screw here and there. Easy, even with one bad hand and an electric drill.
But it took her more than two hours to make the frame for the first cabinet. She grabbed the sheet of timber marked “C”—which she assumed was a shelf—with her sore hand, forgetting again she was supposed to rest it. She dropped the timber, the edge falling on her ankle. She cried out, dropped her cordless drill, and pushed her fingers against her eyelids.
Sobs wracked her body for the first time since she’d caught her ex in bed with someone else. She’d been stepping around her emotions as though walking on eggshells for months. A new town, a new project, an injury, and a new bed partner in one week was a lot to take on.
She wiped her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. So, she lost an idiot boyfriend. Big freaking deal. A cheating idiot boyfriend at that. So not the end of the world, and look what she'd gained out of that little episode. If she were honest with herself, she’d say the heartache and initial pain was well worth it. A brand-new town, a home of her own, and a sexy carpenter willing to scratch her itch with no strings attached.
A laugh bubbled up her throat and she let it go. It felt good to be alive, even if her emotions were all over the kitchen.
“Hello?” A voice came from the front door, and Sassie laid a hand across her mouth, stifling the laughter that sounded like a maniac on the loose, even to her own ears.
“Anyone there? Can I come in?” Footsteps sounded in the hallway, and she pulled herself to her feet.
“Coming.” She sniffed and wiped under her eyelids with her thumb to clear away any signs of tears, knowing damned well that her pale skin would give her away. Still, she tried, for all it was worth.
Stepping out of her temporary workroom, she came face-to-face with a woman wearing faded denim jeans and a button-down checked shirt. Her dark hair was tied in a knot on top of her head; there was a dirty mark on her cheek. Boots that had seen better days were covered in dust, and she had dirt under her nails. Perhaps she’d been digging around in the garden.
“Hi.”
“Sorry to barge in on you like this, but Grady said I should introduce myself.” She held out a hand after brushing it on the leg of her jeans. “I’m Lara, Grady Cooper’s wife. The local vet, actually.”
Sassie shook her hand. “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, to be sure. This family gets bigger and bigger all the time. I almost feel as though I’m still in Ireland with all you folks coming out to greet me. I’m Sassie.”
Lara laughed. “Yes, there are a few of us. Sorry if we seem to be pushing our way into your life, but if I didn’t come and say hi, I’d never live it down. Orders from above and all that.” She laughed.
Sassie waved off Lara’s apology. “That’s fine. It’s nice to meet so many of the local folks, and they’re all so accommodating, shall we say? It is nice to be made to feel so welcome in a new town. Big difference to the city, you understand.”
“LA? Yeah, I know. I moved up here about eight months ago from San Francisco and found the same thing. Back then, I was the new kid in town trying to find my feet—new business and on my own with my daughter. Different world, different lifestyle, and I wouldn’t change it for the world, even without my man in the picture. I love it. So, tell me, what do you think so far?” She tucked her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and glanced around.
Sassie walked out to the back garden, and her visitor followed. “I like it
