minutes of swinging the sledgehammer, the counter is in ruins around me, and I’m less stabby than when I first walked into the room. Thank goodness. I still have the rec center meeting tonight to deal with, and frankly, I have no clue what we do next. You can only have so many bake sales in one small town to raise money.
I wipe my forehead on my sleeve and catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. It’s the first time I’ve seen my full image in a while.
The breath whooshes from my lungs. I knew I’d put on a few pounds. I’d intended to put on weight when I left Brad. I was far too thin before and never liked the way I looked. But I like what I see in the mirror now.
I look healthy and strong. In the midst of all the insecurity and uncertainty of how things will turn out for me, I’m learning to handle my life … mostly.
“Nice job.” James leans against the bathroom door with his arms crossed over his barrel chest.
“Thanks.”
“Wanna talk about it now?”
I lean the sledgehammer against the wall and squeeze past him into the bedroom. “No, but I probably should.” The air I draw in through my nose smells of new construction, the fragrance of my life. “Cash King bought Wayland Estate today.”
“Damn.”
“Yep.”
“You alright?”
I gesture to the demolished bathroom.
“So, not okay.” James knows about the grant denial and how upset I’ve been about it. Plus, there’s the little matter of the crappy rumor Cash started. Hell, the whole town knew about that within hours of it happening. “Want to smash some more shit?”
I check my watch. “Yes, but then I need to get ready for the meeting at the community center.”
“Any idea what you’re going to do to raise the money?”
My hands go to my hips, and I stare out the window into the backyard. “No. But I’d do just about anything to get the money, because without it, we can’t pay the lease on the land or for the improvements, and the community center can’t stay open.”
It breaks my heart to think that this town could lose a place that brings everyone together. When kids and adults are at the rec center taking classes, playing a sport, or attending a meeting, there isn’t any Ryder East or Ryder West. They’re just people in a community interacting and getting to know one another.
James squeezes my shoulder. “You’ll figure something out, Tiger.”
“I hope you’re right, James. I hope you’re right.”
Five
Cash
I show myself through the deconstructed living area of my new house to the kitchen and pull up Donny Lewis’s contact on my phone. I’m glad I put it in when I signed the papers to the house. He answers in three rings.
“This is Donny.”
“Hey, Donny, it’s Cash King.”
“Cash, everything alright with the house?” He sounds like a man who just got a lot of my money.
The afternoon sun glints off the shiny new stainless steel appliances in the nearly finished kitchen. I rub my forehead to ease the stress headache building behind my eyes. “No, not really.”
“What’s wrong?” The concern in his voice should be an indication that my next statement is ridiculous, but I keep going.
“It’s about Tiger.”
“What about her? Is she alright?”
“Yeah, yeah. She’s fine. It’s just that I didn’t know who the project manager was when I signed the papers to buy the house.”
“And that’s a problem, why?” The easygoing tone is no longer in his voice.
“She’ll be living here until the project is done. I’m not happy about that, Donny, and I’d like her replaced.”
“Really? Has she done something to warrant you wanting to fire her, and in essence, fire my company? Because if she doesn’t stay, then I’ll pull all my men from the job.”
What? “No, no, I don’t want that. It’s …”
I can’t be around her without feeling like a humiliated eighteen-year-old kid with an inferiority complex.
She’s a reminder of all I’ve tried to leave behind.
She’s too tempting and will throw me off my game.
Even in my own head, it all sounds ridiculous, except maybe that last bit. That could be 100 percent true.
Donny blows out a breath. “Is this about what happened in high school?”
“No.”
“Uh-huh.”
Yeah, my old friend doesn’t believe me either. Which is incredibly embarrassing considering I’m a grown-ass man. “I’m honestly not sure she’s the right person for the job. This house is for my mom, so it’s very important that things be done correctly. I mean, how much does she