And it felt good knowing they were behind her and didn’t feel as though she was trying to force her way into the family. Even her stepmother had welcomed Mari with open arms when she got in touch after Rake died.
She wondered fleetingly if Ethan’s father had forgiven her yet. Such a stupid misunderstanding. A lot of time had passed since she’d seen him. She wondered if he had issues of his own that made her an easy target, but still, it didn’t make it any easier for her to like him when he was like that.
Pearl had evaded that question and Mari wasn’t keen to push it with her, preferring to relive the happy times and to make new memories now that she was back home where she belonged. She’d deal with Jeff when he crossed her path and if he tried to avoid her, she’d go looking for him.
*
“I can’t believe we didn’t see this before.” Christian stared at the mess in the ballroom.
“Me either but it wasn’t obvious until we started pulling it all down. No point moaning about it, we can’t do anything about it now.”
“No, I guess not. So long as nobody’s hurt, that’s the main thing.”
“I’ve taken off what boards I can so you can see just how far the rot goes. I’m guessing you’re going to want to play around with the numbers so Mari has some idea of how much this is going to cost her.”
Christian tapped his finger on his chin. “I don’t want to slug her if she can’t afford it. There might be a way around it if she doesn’t mind pre-used timber. That job we did in Poulson where we had to take down the mezzanine floor that wasn’t compliant? I still have all those beams in the yard.”
“I’d forgotten about them. I don’t know how much money she has to put into this place and I’d hate to see her struggle because it’s gone over budget.” He ignored the twitch of his friend’s lips. “I know you build a percentage into the cost for contingencies but even I can figure out that this will blow that.”
“Yep.” Christian nodded. “You still have a thing for her, don’t you?”
“We were talking about cost here, not my feelings.” Ethan knelt down and picked up a used nail that hadn’t made it to the trash bucket. “Too much water’s passed under the bridge. I doubt we could ever be as close as we were and we still have issues to get over.” Even holding her in his arms before had made him question his feelings and there were the things they’d put off discussing. Until he knew everything, Ethan needed to keep control of his feelings. Funny how he felt things slipping out of control already though.
“Ah, so the thought’s already gone through your mind then?”
“What do you think? She’s still the nicest person I’ve ever met. I’ll always have a soft spot for her regardless of how things ended between us.”
Footsteps sounded behind him. “I hope you remember that when it comes to looking at the price of the renovations then.” Mari walked in and stood beside them. “That’s some major repair work there, isn’t it?”
“Sorry, Mari.” Christian looked deflated. “I had no idea. No idea at all. I guess it was just lucky that we found it now before someone got badly hurt. Doesn’t help you out though.”
“I don’t blame you, Christian. Really I don’t. I’m a little concerned at the cost though. I don’t have a never-ending budget to play with.” Her shoulders slumped and if Christian hadn’t been there, Ethan would have taken her in his arms to console her.
“We were just discussing that. I don’t know if it will worry you but we do have some timber beams at the yard that would do the job. Perfectly suitable for this repair work and I can do them really cheap too.” He gave her his trademark winning smile. “You’re never going to see them so a few nail holes won’t matter.”
“It doesn’t worry me. Give me a price and we can get the job moving again.” She glanced up at the hole and shuddered. “I can’t believe I wasn’t badly hurt. Luckily Ethan was so quick or I could’ve fallen right through.”
“Yes, it was.” Christian moved over to the old bar and leaned on it, doodling with the figures in his notebook. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll be able to tell you how much this will cost.”
Mari blew out a breath. “Can I offer you guys a beer? It’s been an eventful day.”
“If you’re sure we’re not holding you up with anything, I’d love one.” Ethan looked over at his partner scribbling madly. “Pretty sure he’ll have one too. We usually catch up at the yard this time of day to discuss work anyway.”
“Great. I’ll go and get you a drink then.”
“You sure you don’t want me to get it for you?” He looked down at her ankle where an excessive amount of bandages covered the scratches. David had gone overboard in an attempt to placate April who’d taken it harder than anyone else despite the brave face she’d put on during the excitement.
“No, I’m fine. Hardly a bruise but David didn’t want the scratches to get infected.” She took their orders and ducked out.
“You can stop looking like a lost puppy and pull that tongue back into your mouth.” Christian closed his notebook and slipped it in his top pocket. “I’ll be out of here in minutes, promise. You can have the lady to yourself.”
“No, that’s not necessary. I can…um…” He sighed. “Just because I saved her today doesn’t mean she’s forgiven me or I’ve forgotten what she kept from me. It’s going to take more work on both sides before we can trust each other again and see if there’s
