Her Dirty Builders (Men at Work #10) - Mika Lane Page 0,13

See you tomorrow, then.” They grabbed their things and left.

And thank god they did because that’s when the flood came. I sank down to the floor, surrounded by bits of wall and put my head in my hands, the sobs coming hard and fast.

I hadn’t meant to be such a bitch to the guys. But at that moment, it was like something came over me. I wanted someone to blame my problems on, and they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I reached for the handle of the sledgehammer and dragged it closer. It was freaking heavy, so I got to my feet for leverage in picking it up.

I held it in two hands and when I swung it, it nearly pulled me over. No wonder it was so good at breaking shit.

I swung it again, this time against the remaining part of the living room wall that the guys hadn’t gotten to. The sledgehammer exploded against the wall, and big chunks of plaster crumbled, followed by the wooden lath it was attached to, revealing more brick.

It was actually kind of fun.

So I swung it again and again until I was coughing from the powdery dust and my eyes burned. It was only when I began to choke that I threw down the sledgehammer and waited for the air to clear.

Just when I was thinking I’d surely helped the guys with their demolition work, I looked up to see a crack extending from what was left of the wall, across the ceiling. That hadn’t been there before.

Neither had the big sag overhead. Nor the cool breeze now blasting into the room.

Shit.

I ran to my room and went to bed, pulling every blanket I had over me to keep warm.

The only good news was that the guys were coming back in the morning, and if I froze to death overnight, at least they’d find me.

10

TY WELLS

“Well, would you look at this place?”

I bounded up the steps of the old Buckner house, hoping my work boot wouldn’t crash right through the flimsy floorboards.

Alden put his hands on his hips and looked up at the sagging porch roof hanging over our heads and nodded.

Had I brought my hard hat? I didn’t usually wear them for residential construction, but it might be time to start.

“Yeah, it’s something, isn’t it?” he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

Case did the same. “We figured we’d hang out here on the porch waiting for you until the last possible moment because the interior is so… well, you’ll see,” he said with a grimace.

“Who the hell bought this place?” I asked.

Case shook his head. “A very unfortunate person, that’s who. C’mon, let’s go inside.”

“Don’t forget to add that she pretty much read you the riot act last night so bad we practically ran out the door,” Alden said with a laugh.

Oh shit. One of those clients. I didn’t need that sort of drama. I had enough of my own.

He took the key and pushed open the front door. I followed the guys in and we all stopped dead in our tracks.

“What the fuck?” Case said.

The living room was trashed. Almost one entire wall had been torn away, and the floor was covered in remnants of it. To make matters worse, the missing wall must have been load bearing, because now the ceiling drooped, and a cool breeze ruffled through the room.

“Oh no. Did she take up the sledgehammer after we left last night?” Alden said.

Nothing worse than a do-it-yourselfer trying to ‘help’ the job along.

Case picked up the sledgehammer from the floor and leaned it against the wall. “I’m gonna sweep this up before someone gets hurt on the mess,” he said, picking up the big push broom in the corner.

“What’s going on here, guys? Can someone fill me in? Was the house already like this?” I asked.

“Case and I started demoing the wall to check for water damage and found this old fireplace behind it. I guess a previous owner didn’t like it, and it was cheaper to just build a new wall.”

It was crazy, the things you came across in an old home. There were always surprises.

“Okay, so you demoed this wall. Why’d you make such a big fucking mess?” I asked.

Case had gotten most of the debris shoved out of the way and into a corner. “We did not make this big fucking mess. It was a little mess when we left last night. Draw your own conclusions.”

“No shit. The client did this?”

Done with