with a huge yard and lots of trees on both sides. It would be private, and with the fence Nick was having installed, the yard would be safe for Amelia to play, even with the close proximity to the river. It was one of the bigger houses in Glacier Falls, but it was far from the grandeur of ElkView Ridge. Still, it was a million times nicer than the house Nick grew up in.
And unlike the dilapidated aluminum trailer Nick spent his childhood, this house would be a home. A place where Amelia could celebrate milestones, take her first steps, have birthday parties in the backyard, and most importantly, feel safe and loved. More than anything, that’s all Nick wanted. He hoped like hell she would never know what it was like to feel abandoned and unloved the way he had. She’d had a rough and unfair start in life already; he’d do everything in his power to make sure that it would never happen again.
As he stood looking at the house, a truck pulled into the driveway. Travis Bishop, the contractor he’d hired, stepped out. “Hey, Nick,” he said. “I didn’t get an appointment wrong, did I? I didn’t think we were—”
“No.” Nick shook his head. “We didn’t have anything lined up. I was just down the street and I thought I’d come check things out.” He glanced at what he was noticing, for the first time, was a very quiet construction zone. “Are you working today? Or…”
Travis shook his head and removed the cowboy hat he wore most of the time as he approached. “Sorry, Nick. I’ve been up at Lynx Creek for the last few days. I told you when I took the job that I was going to have to balance things a little at least until the cabins were done, and this week…well…”
“Stephanie’s back.”
Travis laughed at his bluntness, but Nick wasn’t stupid. He knew exactly why Travis’s attentions had been on the cabins. Stephanie had hired him after a recommendation from Faith and Hope, her twin half-sisters who’d grown up in Glacier Falls, and she’d hired him first. Nick also knew that despite how sweet Steph was, she could also be pretty tough when she needed to be. Which was also why he hadn’t told his friend that he’d hired her contractor for his own project.
“Say no more,” Nick said. “I know how she can be.”
Something flashed in Travis’s eyes, but it was gone again as he replaced his hat on his head. “I think I’m figuring that out,” he said.
Something about the way he said it made Nick look twice at the man. He wasn’t totally oblivious, either. As preoccupied as Nick had been with his own life, he hadn’t missed the way his friend flushed a little when she talked about the contractor working on her cabins, or the way they’d danced a month ago at the party Hope and Levi Langdon held for their new baby boy. There was definitely something going on between them.
“So I’ve been spending a bit more time over at Lynx Creek,” Travis was saying. “Just finishing up on some of the details. I know Stephanie is going to have a few things she wants changed or fixed up.”
“She is pretty particular,” Nick agreed.
“She knows what she likes.”
Doesn’t she ever?
Nick had to swallow back a chuckle as he shook his head. “So what are you doing here then?”
The other man’s broad smile split his face. “I’m glad you asked.” He started to walk toward the garage and Nick followed, pushing the stroller. “I got notification that an order had been delivered and if it’s what I think it is, I’m dying to see it for myself.”
“What?”
For the life of him, Nick couldn’t think of what he might have ordered for his house that would be so exciting that the man couldn’t wait a few hours to see it. Of course, he wasn’t a contractor.
Travis punched in the code to lift the garage door and walked straight over to a pallet that was stacked high and wrapped securely. He pulled a pocketknife from his pocket and started opening the shipment.
“I’m not going to lie, Travis. I have no idea what you’re talking about. Did we order some sort of robot or something for the remodel? Because that’s the only thing I can think of that would be as exciting as you’re making this out to be.”
Travis laughed as he sliced through the wrapping. “Sorry,” he said. “I keep forgetting