the pool tables and jukeboxes back there, and that will leave more room in here for a bigger dance floor. Hardwood floors, paneling on the walls. The good stuff, not that stuff that looks as cheap as it is.”
“Why not go to the south?” he asked.
“Because I’m barely over the county line as it is. Erath County is dry. Palo Pinto is wet. If I get over into Erath County, I couldn’t have a beer joint,” she explained.
He stood up and reached for a steel tape fastened to his belt. A vision of someone grabbing a gun made her flinch, but she covered it well by throwing her hand over her mouth to cover a fake cough.
He pulled a small spiral-topped notebook from the pocket of his chambray work shirt and began measuring and making calculations. “Twice as big? That’s a hell of a big addition.”
“I need a big addition. Folks are waiting in the parking lot now because my max says three hundred or less. I want to be able to bring in more customers.”
Holt made notations and measured some more. “Windows?”
“No. Solid walls. No windows and no frilly curtains. I run a beer joint here, not a boardinghouse for proper little girls.”
“Why?” Holt asked.
“Because I like running a beer joint and I would not like a bunch of whiny little girls fussing all day long about having to learn the proper way to set a table,” she said.
“Why no windows? It’s your business what you do for a living, lady, not mine. I’m just here to build an addition.” Holt grinned.
“Sorry that I bit at you. I’m grouchy today. It’s not your fault. Drunks aren’t real good with windows. If they get into a fight before Luther can break it up, the walls don’t break. I’m going to clean while you figure, then we’ll talk when you get the estimate worked up,” Sharlene answered.
Holt worked for half an hour, then slipped the tape back on his belt and hiked a hip onto a barstool. “I’ll take that beer now, Miz Waverly. If you like my estimate and can find me a rental house with a yard in Mingus, I can do this job for you.”
“Call me Sharlene. ‘Miz Waverly’ makes me look behind me to see if my momma is in the place. Let’s see, it’s mid-August. I’d like to have it finished and ready by Christmas…” She hesitated because it was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that she’d give him her apartment if he could have it done by Thanksgiving.
“You don’t know much about building, do you?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Not really. Is that not doable?”
“I can get this done by Halloween if we have good weather. Probably within eight weeks, which would finish it by mid-to-late October,” he said.
“Really?”
“I’m figuring we can have it done in eight weeks, maximum,” he said.
“How big is your crew?”
“I’ve got three men who work for me. If it’s a long distance from home, we live in our travel trailers. If it’s close by, we commute. I see you’ve got some trailer spaces over there. Interested in renting two of them?”
“Two? Why only two if you’ve got three men who work for you?”
“Two are from up close to Wichita Falls. That’d be a pretty long commute, and they are both single so they don’t mind staying on the site. The other is from Palo Pinto. I reckon he’d rather commute since he’s married and has kids.”
She nodded. “I’ve got plenty of spaces back there. Plumbing, water, and electricity go with the rent.”
He glanced at the bar. “Pretty nice location for Kent and Chad. They’re brothers, by the way, and they’ll love the idea of being close to a beer joint so they can get a brew after working all day.”
She set a beer in front of him. “Estimate?”
He handed her the paper and tipped up the bottle.
It was twenty percent higher than she’d figured but less than Merle had thought it could be. She could afford it. “I can live with these numbers. When can you start?”
“Monday morning. I’ll call Chad, Kent, and Bennie and tell them. They’ll be here sometime over the weekend to get the trailers hooked up. We’ll get our equipment set up, the materials ordered, and hopefully get it stringed up and leveled on Monday. Then Bennie will begin the concrete work Monday morning. I figured you’d wrangle with me on the price. I allowed ten percent for some haggling room.”
“Then take ten