The Mechanics of Mistletoe - Liz Isaacson Page 0,30
with her a lot. He had been by her parents’ place to oversee the new window installation. She’d texted him pictures as if he hadn’t been there, along with her gratitude.
“Nice to meet y’all,” Sammy said. “I’ll ride back here.” She climbed into the back of the truck, and Judge moved over for her and immediately engaged her in a conversation. She shone like a star among the Glovers, and Bear felt like the luckiest man in the world.
Bear, with nothing else to do, got in the passenger seat while Ranger moved in behind the wheel.
“Holy cow,” Ranger said once the doors were closed. “Just…holy cow, Bear.”
“Yeah,” Bear said, because he didn’t have anything else to add to that sentiment. Nothing at all.
Chapter Ten
Sammy had never rebuilt a house that was partially there and partially destroyed. It seemed like no one else had either, but one of the men there, Brett Murphy, owned a construction company. Bear had turned things over to him pretty darn quickly, and Brett had a plan for everyone.
Sammy worked with a few of Bear’s brothers and a couple of the Walker brothers, hauling furniture and other items out of the house. Arizona, Bear’s only sister, manned a huge area of the yard outside that had been covered with blue tarps, bossing everyone about where to put the things they brought out.
“We need Brett at Seven Sons,” Liam said on one trip back into the house. He walked with Skyler, who Sammy knew helped manage the ranch with Jeremiah. The Walkers were semi-new to Three Rivers, but they’d turned their ranch into a shining spot of beauty among the Texas landscape. Seven Sons had won Ranch of the Year a few years ago and everything.
“Yeah,” Skyler said, glancing over his shoulder. “Your house is worse than this one.”
“Yeah, but Sky, how do I talk to Brett without hurting Micah’s feelings?” Liam asked. He met Sammy’s eye, and she put a smile on her face. This wasn’t any of her business, but she couldn’t move away either.
“Why can’t you tell Micah?” she asked. As far as she knew, Micah was reasonable about things. He’d always been fair to her, and she liked all the Walkers a lot.
Liam and Skyler exchanged a glance and then looked around for their brother. “He has a general contractor’s license,” Liam said. “He’s great. Like, amazing. He can build any custom home. Designs them and everything.”
“Right,” Sammy said. “But you don’t want him working on your home….” She looked back and forth between the two Walkers. “I don’t get it.”
Plenty of activity happened around her, with people carrying baskets and fireplace tools outside, some coming back in for more, and Squire and Pete coordinating the removal of the dining room table.
“He wants to redesign the whole place,” Liam said. “We just want the damage repaired.”
“Every man who can even hold a hammer is in high demand right now,” Sammy said. She knew, because she hadn’t been able to get someone to come fix her parents’ roof. Bear had been coming after a long day of working around his own ranch and someone else’s, and Sammy’s guilt was starting to keep her up at night.
She could do things without Bear Glover. At least, she’d been able to in the past.
“Maybe he just needs another job,” she said, an idea forming in her mind. “My parents need their whole roof redone. I could ask him if he’s available to do it.”
Hope lit Liam’s face. “That’s not a bad idea.” He looked at Skyler. “What do you think?”
“I think you should tell him you just want the house fixed,” Skyler said. “And then Sammy can hire him.” He grinned at her and nodded. “He’s not a baby, Liam. Just talk to him.”
“Talk to who?” Micah asked, and Sammy looked between the two Walkers. Liam said nothing, his jaw tense and his eyes nearly black they were so dead.
“I heard you have availability to work on a roof,” she said, breaking the silence between them.
Micah looked at her with a crease between his eyes. “I don’t know about that.”
“My parents’ house got hit pretty hard,” Sammy said, glancing at Wyatt Walker and Gavin Redd as they walked by with what looked like a very heavy trunk.
“Wyatt,” Rhett Walker said. “Put that down right now.” He hurried by too, glancing at Liam and Micah. “A little help here? He’s going to end up in the hospital again.”
“Excuse me,” Liam said, but Micah and Skyler stayed with Sammy.