little while ago.” Keeping her eyes averted, she asks, “Do you use all of this equipment?”
Fair question.
There’s a lot of it here. Some of it, the bike, treadmill, and weight bench, were here when I arrived, set up by the crew who finished this house. I’d ordered the punching bag and the cross trainer later.
“Old habit. I like to switch things up, and when it’s nice, I just go for a run.” I drop the towel in the basket on the floor and grab a clean t-shirt off the shelf that Tobin keeps full. “Is this room what you’re planning on redecorating first?”
“Do you want it to be?” She finally looks at me now that I’m shirt-clad again, an airy pink still painted on her cheeks.
I shrug. “You’re the expert. You tell me how this usually works.”
“Hardly. I mean, I’ve interned, but I’ve never had a chance to do a real job.”
“Yeah? Too busy growing pumpkins or what?” I lift a brow, my temper already rising if it has anything to do with the bastards ruining her life.
“It’s just...my mother was diagnosed with cancer during my last year of college. As soon as I graduated, I went straight home to take care of her and help Dad with the farm. So I’ve never really put my education to good use. Besides creating things to sell at the gift shop, I mean. I did plenty of that, just basic kitschy stuff with horses, apples, pumpkins, and other farm themes.”
“I see,” I say, mainly because I’m not sure what else to tell her.
I know what it’s like to be held back, to have life fling you off course and into something else.
Not for the same reasons as her, no, but the disappointments must be roughly the same.
“If you’ve had a chance to soak it in, I think lunch is almost ready by now. Tobin rarely takes more than a good hour or so to whip something up.”
I wave at the door leading to the hall. She nods her thanks and steps ahead of me, then I follow her out of the room to the stairs.
“You have my permission to knock yourself out redecorating. Let’s get that out of the way right now. Take before and after pictures, order your supplies, do whatever you want to put this job in your portfolio.”
She throws a look back over her shoulder, beaming like the sun.
“Oh, thanks! That’s very kind of you.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing your ideas. Make this place feel less like a fancy hotel.”
“I have my sketch pad. I can show you something soon. It’s all rough drafts right now and fully open to changes,” she says, twirling a finger through her hair.
That little pout makes her bottom lip stick out like a ripe strawberry.
Goddamn, do I resist the urge to sink my teeth in.
“I’ll take a look after lunch,” I promise.
Tobin kept it simple. He’s a skilled chef, and the kind of lunch he’s assembled probably could’ve been put together in his sleep. Doesn’t mean it’s any less tasty.
We tuck into butternut squash soup and sandwiches piled high with ham, salami, several different cheeses, greens, and a sweet citrusy sauce I can’t pronounce. It doesn’t take us long to eat, and then I invite Grace to join me in my office so we can go over the sketches she’s created.
Tobin already knows to bring an extra meal out to the cabin for Nelson, whenever he wakes up.
At first, I’m impressed by her ability to draw.
At second glance, I’m more awed by what she’s suggesting. The additions and notes she’s included in her drawings are minimal, subtle, but if the real thing looks anything like her drawings, this house is going to pop with color.
She’s taken the flower theme and run with it. It’s thoughtful, vibrant, warm, and makes me think it’ll do a lot to chase away next winter’s blues if she can pull it off.
“I like what I’m seeing,” I tell her. “How long will this take?”
“Well...it’s really just a matter of placing a couple of orders online and waiting for it all to arrive. I know a few vendors that have top-shelf products at reasonable prices. And they even ship to the boonies. They’ll get it right to your door and then it’s just a matter of putting things where they belong.”
“If the damn snow melts so we can get deliveries,” I grind out, still flipping through the sketches she’s made of each room.
Her additions are natural. Rustic.
Not all silky