Page 9 of A Breeze Over Rosewood Beach (Rosewood Beach #9)
CHAPTER SIX
Jacob walked slowly down the aisles of Turner’s Hardware, looking around intently for the right kind of spackling.
There were plenty of holes big and small in the home that he’d just purchased with Hazel, and he knew that in order to fill them properly, he needed a high-quality spackling.
He’d done plenty of home repair, and he knew that having the right tools for the job was always the first step, and usually the most important one.
He chose the spackling that he liked the best and tossed a couple of big containers of it into his cart. He would also need drywall, and a little insulation, but those items he was going to get another day.
He was starting toward the front of the hardware store when he noticed the windows selection out of the corner of his eye.
He and Hazel needed to replace a couple of windowpanes in their new home, and they also wanted to add a picture window in the living room.
He would have preferred to check out the window selection with Hazel there, but this way he could take pictures for her and they could have a better idea of what they wanted before they came back with the intent to actually purchase the windows.
Just as he reached the windows section, Cedric Turner, the owner of the hardware store, walked around the corner.
“Jacob!” The older man’s face lit up with a smile when he recognized Jacob. The two of them were good friends, and Cedric had been a kind of mentor to Jacob ever since he’d started working as a handyman. “What are you in for today? Somebody need their walls repaired?”
“Yup—I do.” Jacob laughed. “Hazel and I finally got everything straightened out with our house, and we’re starting the repair work on it.”
“That’s wonderful.” Cedric clapped Jacob on the back warmly. “I’m so happy for the both of you. You showed me pictures of that house, and it’s really a marvel.”
“We love it.” Jacob grinned, always delighted to have Cedric’s support. “There are all kinds of things that need to be done to it, but we’re so excited. She loves decorating and it’s not like it’s my first time repairing a home.”
Cedric chuckled. “You don’t say? No, the wife and I were actually talking about that. We were saying that you two make a perfect couple, especially when it comes to this new project of yours. What are all of the things you want to do to the house?”
“Well, our list keeps expanding all the time.” Jacob’s eyes were alight with enthusiasm.
“Right now, it’s a combination of things that need to be fixed, and renovations we want to get done.
Hazel wants to add a bright backsplash in the kitchen, something cute and ‘cottage-y’, as she calls it, and we want to put a picture window in the living room.
We also want to add a fireplace in the master bedroom, since it’s right above the original fireplace and shouldn’t be too hard to do, and we want to knock down a wall that leads into this tiny sort of closet with a window in it.
We want to turn that into a kind of reading nook for Samantha—it’ll be right off her bedroom.
All three of us are just bouncing off the walls with excitement over the whole thing. ”
“I can imagine. And that’s good—you’ll need all that energy for all the work you’re in for. You two have quite the plan in mind.”
Jacob smiled. “I know, but I want Hazel to have everything she wants. She’s leaving the house she’s been nesting in for years, and I want to make sure that this one makes her even happier. This fixer-upper is going to be our dream house, I’m going to make certain of that.”
“I’m sure it will be.” Cedric smiled at him affectionately. “It has great bones, and you two make a great team. Keep me updated, will you? You know I love hearing about all that kind of thing. It’s why I run a hardware store.”
“I definitely will.” Jacob nodded. “And I’m sure I’ll be asking you for advice now and again as well. Some of these things I’ve never done before—like opening up a wall for a picture window. And I’ve repaired plenty of fireplaces, but I’ve never installed one before.”
“Oh, certainly, anytime.” Cedric looked pleased that Jacob was planning on asking for his advice. “Just call me and I’ll give you what help I can over the phone—and if I need to actually see the issue to help, I’d be more than happy to come down there and help you out.”
“Perfect. Thank you.”
Jacob and Cedric continued to chat for a few more minutes, and then Cedric got a phone call and had to excuse himself.
Jacob browsed the window selection for a while, liking what he saw very much and taking numerous pictures so that he could show Hazel all of the windows he thought they both would like.
I’ll show them to her later, over dinner, he thought with a smile as he started toward the front of the hardware store. We can pick out what windows we want and then we’ll be that much closer to having our dream house.
His heart swelled with happiness. He was ecstatic over the plans for the house that he and Hazel had, and he couldn’t think of anyone he would rather share that adventure with.
Hazel clasped her hands together tightly as she watched Jacob work.
They’d been so excited about the picture window that they’d gotten to work on it immediately, and after getting some advice from Cedric over the phone, Jacob had carved out enough of the wall to fit the new window into place.
It had taken a lot of time and effort, but she could already see that the effect was going to be more than worth it.
Jacob let out of a huff as he finished securing the window frame in place. “She’s going to be a beauty,” he said, turning to Hazel with a grin. “And just in the nick of time—remind me why we decided to renovate in the winter again?”
Hazel chuckled. They were both wearing winter coats and hats, and she’d tugged her mittens on again the moment she could. Thankfully, it was a sunny day and not too cold, and they had the heat running inside the house, which helped with how chilly it was.
“It’ll be worth it once warmer weather comes around and we’ll be all ready to nest in this house to our hearts’ content,” she said cheerfully. “We do the hard work now, and come summertime we’re going to be sitting on that porch, relaxing on a porch swing with cushions and sipping iced tea.”
“A porch swing,” Jacob said with a grin. “Another great idea. I’ll add that to our list.”
He nodded decisively before going back to work on the window frame. Hazel watched him with a glow of joy in her chest. She felt like a child on Christmas Eve, hardly able to contain her excitement.
“Okay,” he said, stepping back and giving the window a careful look over. “Yup, that’s it. We’re ready to install the window itself.”
She squealed and gave him a huge hug. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
He laughed and rocked her back and forth. “You’re so welcome. Now come on and help me put this thing in.”
They lifted up the heavy picture window together, and Jacob stood on the outside of the house while he secured it into place to make sure that it didn’t fall and break.
Hazel stayed inside the house, holding up the window on the other side, and she felt warmer and warmer as the picture window became locked into place.
Finally, Jacob gave her a wave and a grin and then hurried over to the front door. He stepped inside along with a gust of cold wind a moment later.
“There,” he said proudly. “That’s all done. We’ve got a picture window.”
Hazel stepped back and surveyed their work, her eyes shining. She clasped her hands beneath her chin, feeling her heart beat with excitement. She could hardly believe the house was really theirs, and that it was already starting to look more and more like their dream home.
“It’s so beautiful, Jacob!” she exclaimed, hugging his arm.
They were both still wearing their coats, and she was beginning to be too warm, but she didn’t want to stop staring at the picture window and the wonderful view it offered of their yard.
“Look at how much light it lets in!” She turned and looked at the way sunlight was streaming across the old floorboards.
“Early mornings are going to be so lovely in this room.”
“You’re right.” He kissed the top of her winter hat. “We can come in here with our coffee in the early morning and watch the sun rise through our picture window. And on days off, we can just stay on the couch and read or watch TV.”
“It’ll be so cozy,” Hazel agreed, thinking with relish of getting to relax on the couch with Jacob and soak in the golden sunlight in the morning, or of getting to sit and read with a cup of tea while curled up in a comfy armchair.
She turned to look at him and saw that he was looking at her with a sappy smile on his face.
“What?” she asked, laughing. “What are you looking at?”
“I’m just really enjoying seeing you so happy,” he told her.
She hugged him tightly and gave him a big kiss. “Jacob Dorsey,” she told him, looking up into his eyes. “I have never been so happy in my life.”