Page 2 of Foxer Upper (Harmony Glen #8)

Good grief. There are simply too many choices, and it’s impossible to pick them out without seeing them in the house.

I gather a few more swatches in various colorways and tuck them in my bag.

When I get home, I’ll tape them up on the walls and see how they look in different lighting.

From there, I can get samples to actually paint on the wall.

And of course, I’ll send pics to Laney to get her opinion.

With that decided, I gather up all my purchases and take them to Gabe at the front. He rings me up and sends me on my way with a business card. “My number’s on there,” he says. “Just in case you decide you need me.”

GABE

After I lock up for the day, I walk next door to Mack’s, but I head for the back door, assuming he’s heading off shift.

“Hey!” I shout when I walk in, just so he knows I’m there.

The stocky werebear acknowledges me with a nod and a grunt.

“You all set here?” he asks Dawn, his evening shift employee.

“All good, boss.”

“Good.”

Even in his human form, Mack gives off an ursine vibe. He’s a big, burly man with a bushy brown beard and dark, penetrating eyes. Not to mention a sort of gruff exterior that you have to get past to really understand the man underneath.

He wraps up what he’s doing and nods toward the stairs that sit between the back door of the store and the back door of the building.

A lot of the businesses in Harmony Glen were built with apartments above them, and Mack takes advantage of that by living above his store.

Personally, I prefer having a house, but it’s good to know my apartment is there if I ever need it.

I follow him upstairs, and he immediately heads to the fridge to grab us a couple of beers.

“Long day,” is all he says, handing me mine. I nod, and he actually keeps talking. “What brings you here?”

“I need a reason?”

“No.” He shakes his head. “But you usually have one.”

I shrug. “Dunno. Didn’t feel like going home yet. Thought I’d see how you’re doing.”

“Same as usual,” he says in his deep voice. He could give Barry White a run for his money…well, if Barry were still around, that is. “Today was busy. Lots of people taking advantage of the last remaining beach days before it gets too cold.”

“Makes sense.” Tourists come from all around to enjoy our lake.

“Your day okay?”

“Yeah, it was good. Met someone, in fact. There’s a new woman in town, name of Maggie,” I say. “Well, sort of new. I guess she used to live here, moved away, and just moved back. She’s trying to do a home reno on her own.”

Mack narrows his dark eyes for a moment, no doubt flipping through his mental database. “Blonde, overalls?”

I tip my bottle at him. “That’s the one.”

He nods. “She was in earlier. Bought cat food.”

That’s the thing about Mack. He doesn’t say much, but he has a memory like a bear trap, pardon the pun. Nothing gets by him.

“So, what about her?” he asks.

I shrug. “Nothing, really. She came in and bought some supplies. I told her to let me know if she needs help with her project. That was it.”

He raises one bushy brow. “And you’re bringing her up, why?”

“Well, meeting her was probably the most interesting part of my day. Better than cutting lumber and doing inventory on plumbing supplies. Other than that, I don’t know.

Something about her struck me as intriguing, I guess.

Taking on such a huge project by herself takes a certain level of self-assuredness and confidence. It’s kind of impressive.”

These days, I don’t do much work as a contractor. I mostly work in the hardware store and do little handyman jobs around town. It’s been a long time since I had to think about things like foundations or load-bearing walls.

“So you noticed her purely on a ‘fellow handyman’ kind of level?”

“Yes. Well, no, not really. Hey, is handyman a gender-neutral descriptor? Or is handywoman a word?”

“It’s a word,” Mack says. “And that wasn’t an answer.”

I sigh and fold my arms. I don’t like talking about dating, generally speaking. He knows this. But this woman did spark my interest, so maybe I should open up. “She was pretty, and she knew exactly what she wanted in terms of tools. I guess I just liked her. Kinda felt drawn to her. That’s all.”

“Does your kind have a fated mate thing?” Mack asks. “Could that be what this is?”

I nearly spit out my beer. “Jesus. I’m just saying I met her, not that I think she’s my mate. And no, of course not. I mean, we do bond, but it’s not like a predestination thing. You know that. Otherwise I’d still be with Lara.”

Mack’s features darken, making him look grumpy and a little feral. “Lara. Ugh.”

“My thoughts exactly. Besides, it’s not like I’m desperate to bone Maggie. I just…want to get to know her better. Maybe it’s because I haven’t met many women who are as interested in ripping out walls and putting down tiles as I am.”

Mack shrugs and sips his beer. “Sounds normal enough to me. You met a pretty woman with common interests and now you want to know more about her. Isn’t that just basic dating?”

I sigh and lean back in my chair. “Maybe it is, Mack. Maybe it is. But I suck at basic dating.”

“No, you don’t. You just sucked at choosing a decent woman. Face it, man. You’re attracted to her. You should ask her out and see where it goes. It’s time.”

I take a long slug of my beer and sigh. It’s true that it’s been quite some time since I bothered with dating, but that’s for a good reason. All the same, I think my friend is right. I should probably get back on the scene.

But can I really ask out a customer I met for all of twenty minutes? Would that be assertive or creepy? It’s hard to say. I’ll have to give it some thought.

I lift my bottle in a toast.

“You’re a wise man, Mack.”