Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 99921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Fox held something up. An umbrella? “You forgot this at Rita’s. Opal dropped it by my place and asked me to give it to you.”
I walked to the door and opened it, though I could’ve taken the umbrella through the giant hole in the screen. “Oh, thank you.”
He held it out. “Not sure why she couldn’t bring it to you when she was right next door.”
I suspected I knew the reason. Opal had big plans for me and Fox.
He didn’t let go when I reached for the umbrella. “She’s the town gossip. You might want to watch what you say to her if you don’t want fifty people knowing your business by morning.”
“I don’t know why you would say such a thing,” I said, eyes wide. “By the way, it’s really sweet that you donate your time coaching a special-needs hockey team.”
Fox rolled his eyes, but a hint of a smile played at the corner of his mouth.
I pointed to his face. “What was that?”
He swiped at his cheek. “What?”
“I think that was almost an expression of happiness, though I can’t be sure. Maybe you’re actually in pain.”
A full-fledged smile spread across Fox’s handsome face. The sight was pretty damn spectacular.
“Now was that so hard?” I asked. “You must realize you’re a large man. The scowl you wear all the time makes you very intimidating. When you smile, it softens your entire look.”
“Maybe I don’t want to look soft.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever, Mr. Grumpy. Thanks for returning my umbrella. Oh, and I saw my garbage cans were out at the curb this morning, but I hadn’t put them there. Did you?”
He shrugged. “Needed to be done.”
“Well, thank you again.”
Fox turned and took a few steps. As per usual, without saying goodbye or anything. But before he stepped off the porch, he turned back. “Why are you here?”
“You mean in Laurel Lake? I’m fixing up the house.”
“The town gossip told me you have a good job. Why not hire someone to fix up the place? You’d be able to make it back renting the house out.”
“I needed a project to keep myself busy.”
“Why not keep yourself busy at work?”
“I…I took a leave of absence.”
Fox squinted. “Why?”
I sighed. “If you must know, I had a bit of a mental breakdown.”
His eyes roamed my face, like he was trying to gauge my sincerity. After a moment, he softened. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. It wasn’t your fault.”
Fox looked back into the house. “You’ve made some progress in there.”
I nodded, gesturing to the living room. “Even hung my first pieces of sheetrock today.”
Fox glanced behind me again. “You hung that yourself?”
“Yep.”
He walked into the living room, perusing the walls. “You want the good news or the bad news first?”
I joined him to stare at the wall. “What are you talking about?”
“Well, the good news is that you did a pretty decent job. Screws are eight inches apart on the edges and sixteen in the center. You didn’t sink them so far into the rock that it would make spackling time consuming. Looks good.”
I stood taller. “Thank you. I learned it all from YouTube videos.”
“I’m guessing you only watched one on walls, though, not ceilings?”
“I figured I’d watch some on ceilings when I got to that. But you’re making me nervous now, what’s the bad news?”
Fox pointed up. “Ceiling gets done before the walls.”
My eyes bulged. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
“The wall pieces are installed after because they help support the ceiling.” Fox put his hands together to form a T. “You also butt the wall sheets flush against the ceiling so there isn’t a gap to fill before taping the corners.”
My lips pursed. “Damn it. Those two pieces took me all afternoon.”
“At least you didn’t do the entire room. It’s pretty easy to take down.”
I sighed. “I guess I’ll be watching YouTube videos tonight instead of the last episode of Love is Blind. I saved it as a reward to myself and planned to add some vodka to my lemonade for the occasion.”
“What’s Love is Blind?”
“It’s a reality TV show where a whole bunch of single people get to know each other behind walls. They don’t see each other until after they’ve fallen in love and he’s proposed.”
“That sounds ridiculous.”
“Don’t be so judgy. What do you watch?”
“The news. Sports.”
“No wonder you have a perpetual scowl on your face. You might not have noticed, but the world is depressing.”
Fox’s lip quirked. “I’ll tell you what. You watch your dumb show, and I’ll come by tomorrow morning and show you how to hang the ceiling so you don’t have to watch YouTube videos.”
My eyes narrowed. “What’s the catch?”
“What do you mean, catch?”
“I mean, why are you being so nice now when you’ve been a jerk since the minute I arrived?”
“Maybe I’m just being neighborly. After all, this is America’s Friendliest Town, right?”