Page 21 of A Breeze Over Rosewood Beach (Rosewood Beach #9)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Jacob pushed open the front door of the new house, smiling as soon as he saw the interior.
They’d finished painting the walls of the living room, and although there still wasn’t any furniture inside, the color made him feel as though the house was really theirs.
Somehow it made it easier to imagine the three of them living there soon.
It’s Hazel, he thought, feeling his heart swell with love for his partner. It’s like there’s a clear sign of her love and care in the house now. That makes it feel like a home already, even without the furniture.
He strolled into the kitchen, wondering if Hazel was still putting up the sunshine yellow window curtains that she’d bought earlier that day. The kitchen was empty, however, although he smiled when he saw the way the yellow curtains brightened up the room.
All at once, he heard a loud thunk, and he glanced at the ceiling. The sound had clearly come from upstairs, and it sounded as though it had come from the direction of the guest bathroom.
Curious and a little worried, he climbed the staircase.
“Hazel?” he called. “Are you up here?”
“Hi, honey!”
Hazel’s voice, sounding exuberant and energetic, was coming from the guest bathroom, which opened out onto the upstairs hallway.
He stepped up to the doorway, and saw Hazel crouched down on the bathroom floor with a cluster of metal pipe sections lying at her feet.
“I’m putting in the new sink!” she said proudly, gesturing to the beautiful porcelain sink that was resting in the corner of the room.
It had a charming floral pattern which fit perfectly with Hazel’s cottage theme for their home’s décor.
“It arrived earlier today, and I got so excited about putting it in that I didn’t want to wait another minute to install it.
I just need to finish with this plumbing here, and then I’m going to put the sink itself in. ”
Jacob smiled at her warmly. “Yeah?”
“Mm-hm.” Hazel grunted a little as she wiggled a wrench back and forth, trying to tighten one of the pieces of pipe that she’d already installed. “I watched a couple of YouTube videos and they explained everything really well.”
“They did, huh?” Jacob crossed his arms and grinned at her.
She turned to him, making a face. “What does that mean?”
“It means your audacity is adorable.”
“Oh, come on, it’s just putting in some pipes. It’s not that hard. And like I said, I watched the videos. I know what I’m doing.” She flashed a grin at him.
He shook his head, chuckling. “I’m glad you feel like it’s not that hard. Maybe you’re right. I know you’re really smart, Hazel, but I don’t think even a really good YouTube video is going to show you everything you need to know about how to install a sink.”
“But I know what to do,” she insisted, sounding proud of herself. “I know what all the steps are and how to do them. What could possibly go wrong?”
“All of the million and one things that can go wrong with plumbing.” Jacob laughed as Hazel wrinkled her nose and turned back to her work. “You have your fun, sweetheart,” he told her. “Whatever happens, I’m proud of you for giving it a shot all on your own like this.”
“You don’t trust me.” Hazel shook her head, still grinning triumphantly. “Just wait. I have a few more parts to put in, and then I’m going to turn the water back on.”
Jacob shrugged. “Sounds good to me. If you want help, let me know, otherwise I’ll just wait here on standby.”
“I won’t need your help, but thank you for offering your assistance,” Hazel said primly, and then grunted loudly as she gave the wrench another yank.
Jacob watched as Hazel finished up connecting the pipes that led to the faucet. As far as he could tell, her work was sound, but he still felt a little doubtful that she was ready to be a plumber after one afternoon of watching some YouTube videos.
“Okay,” she said finally, standing up with a sigh of satisfaction. “I’m ready. I’m going to turn the water back on.”
She twisted the valve that turned on the cold water with an expectant smile on her face. A moment later, she squealed in alarm as water began to spray from the pipe joints.
“Oh no!” she wailed, trying to shut the water off but unable to find the valve because water was spraying in her face.
Jacob burst out laughing. He couldn’t help it. He knelt down next to her and shut off the valve, and by the time the water stopped spraying, they were both laughing. Hazel leaned her head against Jacob’s chest, shaking with giggles, and Jacob patted her back as he shook with amusement.
“Oh, that’s frustrating!” Hazel said, wiping tears of mirth off her face. She sighed. “I really thought I was going to get this finished tonight. I don’t think I have the juice left in me to fiddle with this anymore now. I feel too irritated that it didn’t work.”
“You know,” Jacob said slyly, wrapping an arm around her. “I have an idea for a project that will help get your mind off this setback. And I think it’ll help you release some of that frustration too.”
“Yeah?” Hazel asked curiously, lifting her eyebrows. “What is it?”
“Come on.” He stood up and helped her to her feet. “Follow me.”
Feeling impish, Jacob led them into Samantha’s room, where they had been planning on knocking out one of the walls so that the large closet in the room could become the perfect reading nook.
“I think it’s time to get out the sledgehammers, don’t you?” Jacob said, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
“Yes!” Hazel hugged him sideways. “I would absolutely love to knock down a wall with you tonight.”
Jacob grinned. “It’ll be hard work. Are you sure you’re not too tired?”
She shook her head. “My brain is tired. I can handle some more womanly labor.”
“Womanly, huh?”
“As opposed to manual.”
“I don’t think that?—”
She held a finger to his lips. “Shh. Where are the sledgehammers?”
Jacob went downstairs to get all of the tools they would need, including masks and goggles. By the time he got back, Hazel had finished laying down a sheet of plastic, which would help them with the process of cleaning up all the pieces of drywall afterward.
“Are you ready?” he asked with a grin.
“So ready,” Hazel said, brandishing her sledgehammer as if it was a broadsword.
Laughing, they got to work on the wall, slamming their sledgehammers against it. It was hard work, but Jacob always enjoyed that sort of thing, and considering the wide grin on her face, it was clear that Hazel was enjoying it as well.
Finally, there was a pile of drywall on the floor and an empty space where the wall used to be.
“This is going to be so cute,” Hazel cooed, her voice somewhat muffled by her mask. “Samantha is going to absolutely love it.”
Jacob pulled her into a hug and rocked her back and forth. “Yes, she is. We did great.”
“How about we head over to my place and eat some leftover meatloaf and mashed potatoes? Mom dropped some off yesterday. She knows I’ve been too busy with all this remodeling to cook very much, and she wanted to help us out.”
“Your mother is an angel,” Jacob said, his mouth watering at the thought of the meatloaf, which was another secret Owens family recipe.
He felt pretty confident that the secret sauce was one of the ingredients, and there were definitely onions and plenty of garlicy breadcrumbs in the delicious meatloaf. “I can’t wait to eat that.”
“You got it, handsome,” Hazel said, slipping her hand in his. She took another look at the progress they’d made on the wall and smiled. “Just think, soon it’s going to be our home.”
You’re my home, he thought, and kissed her head before they headed down the stairs together.