Page 2 of I Choose You (Wilder #2)

Reid

Was there seriously nowhere to park?

My father’s house had a driveway that could hold two cars, currently full with his beat-up pickup truck and my brother Wyatt’s newer-model pickup right behind him.

My other brother Luke’s SUV was parked out front of the house, and for some unknown reason, Maeve must have driven her own car here and parked behind Luke.

Wyatt had finally taken his head out of the sand and realized he was in love with her not long ago.

They had been raising a little girl together for months, and he somehow got it into his head that he and Maeve were “just friends” when the rest of us all saw that freight train from a mile away.

She was good for him, probably too good for him.

But I didn’t know why she couldn’t have had him pick her up on the way over. Save some parking spaces for others.

Even the spot outside of Mrs. Adams’s house was taken. Of course she would have her grandkids over today of all days.

I pulled my truck around to park on the opposite side of the street, two houses down. It was a narrow side street, so I had to leave enough space for traveling cars to weave around the parked vehicles.

My breath propelled out of my lungs like someone had sat on my chest. I needed to get it together.

Getting huffy because our sweet-as-can-be neighbor had her family in town was probably not the best attitude to have.

I was about to walk straight into the lion’s den, and I already wanted to just turn around and drive home.

Three sets of couples, two of which were still new and lovey, waited for me on the other side of that door.

Well, the door that was two houses down and on the other side of the street because there was no freaking parking.

As I walked into my father’s house, the delicious smell of pot roast filled the air. The best thing about him now dating the owner of the Downtown Diner was that our Sunday night dinners had definitely leveled up. I mean, he was happier too, so that was nice to see.

It seemed like everyone was happier nowadays.

Wyatt was sitting on the couch in the living room, Jane snuggled up against his chest. Luke and his wife, Juliet, were on the other part of the old, beat-up sectional.

Luke and Wyatt were talking over the Patriots’ game, discussing God knows what.

Juliet had her head down, scrolling through social media on her phone.

“Where’s Maeve?” I asked, taking a seat next to Wyatt. “I saw her car out front. You two couldn’t have driven together and left some space on the street for me?”

Wyatt side-eyed me. “She had a lunch thing with Josie, so she had to meet me here. Now she’s in the kitchen helping Dad and Sheila with dinner because she couldn’t stand the thought of other people doing all the work,” he said.

“And if I catch you talking to her like that, you and I are going to have words.”

I held in my eye roll. Mr. Protective over here.

“Oh, good. Everyone’s here.” Sheila walked in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dish towel. “Food’s ready. Come and eat.”

Sheila’s pot roast tasted as good as it smelled. Everyone gathered around the old family dining table, making plates piled high with roast and potatoes, carrots and green beans.

Multiple conversations were happening around me. It was always like that at family dinners. No one could wait until another conversation stopped before starting a new one up with someone else.

“Reid, what’s new with you?” Sheila asked.

“Living the dream.”

“What are you, fucking sixty?” mocked Wyatt. “Seriously, what’s been going on? You’ve been pretty MIA lately.”

I shoved a forkful of food into my mouth. Why couldn’t they just keep talking around me?

“David Pratchett asked me to take on the Delano Library project, but I said no. I’m not taking on that job.

That place is fuc…freaking haunted.” I’d been trying to watch my language ever since Jane came into our lives.

She was still too young to understand any of it, but one day, she wouldn’t be, and if the first word out of her mouth was “fuck,” I didn’t want it to be on me.

“It is not,” my father said.

Luke and Wyatt both nodded their heads at me.

“Yes, it fucking is,” Wyatt shouted, apparently not as concerned about Jane’s vocabulary as I was. “There’s the ghost in the basement, always making the lights flicker. ”

“That’s why it needs new electrical,” my father said sagely.

“You could hear her moaning, all ghoul-like and creepy,” Luke added with a shiver.

“That was the boiler, dumbass,” my father said, less sagely.

“Oh, my goodness,” Maeve exclaimed. “I remember, before it closed, how books would literally fly off the shelves. It was so spooky.”

“See, Dad? Even Maeve agrees that place is haunted. I’m not taking on that project.”

My father rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

“Besides,” I continued. “I don’t have the time for that right now, and he wants to get started right away.

They have to spend a certain amount of money this calendar year or something like that,” I told them.

I had been building my business from the ground up for years, starting as the town handyman and working my way up to small repairs and basic construction jobs.

Earlier this year, I had been able to sign up some high-profile work showcasing some more intricate craftsmanship.

A job like this could put me on the map as a master craftsman. It would have been a dream come true a few months ago, but my heart hadn’t been in it lately. A job like this would take up all my time and energy. It was a huge undertaking.

“What else do you have going on that you don’t have the time for something as big as this?” Luke asked with his arms crossed in front of his chest. “This could be a huge opportunity for you.”

“Leave him be,” Juliet chided.

Thank you, Jules.

“He’s still emotional,” she added .

I clenched my jaw in annoyance. Everyone had been on my case lately about my grumpy attitude.

It always came back to the breakup. Like a guy couldn’t just be in a shit mood sometimes.

Maybe my shit mood started a few months ago, and maybe it hadn’t really let up since, but would it kill them to cut a guy some slack?

My father spoke up, twisting the sentimental knife in deep.

“David was always one of your mother’s favorite people.

He was the reason she started with the Historical Society to begin with.

She used to give these impromptu tours to the tourists whenever she would see them eyeing one of the historical sites.

When David became the head of the society, he called her up and asked if she wanted to do the tours officially. ”

The table fell silent. Sheila reached out and grabbed my father’s hand, giving it a little squeeze. He turned to her and smiled softly.

My shoulders slumped in defeat. Fuck. It looked like I was taking on a creepy-as-hell historical library renovation.

* * *

I parked my pickup in front of the Calla Bay Town Hall and shut off the engine.

Massive oak front doors welcomed me into the historic brick building.

The floors were polished and shined hardwood.

Steel castings framed the doors, which were also made from the same heavy oak hardwood.

The moldings and finishes were intricately designed and meticulously maintained.

This level of craftsmanship hadn’t been seen in generations .

I wanted to bring it back.

I wanted to be known as the carpenter, the craftsman, who left behind buildings like this.

David Pratchett and the Calla Bay chair of selectmen, Frank Ahmad, were meeting with me in a small conference room to go over the details of the Delano Library renovation.

David had already mentioned to me that they would want to get started right away, but I was still a little taken aback when we were going over the plans and Frank told me he wanted me on-site on Monday.

“I’ve got a couple of jobs lined up that I’ve already committed to,” I told them.

“I can’t just bail on them last minute. I’ll need another two weeks to get everything completed before I can start on this.

Besides, I’d like to take a little time to go over the plans on my own so I can really get an understanding of what this will entail. ”

“Two weeks?” Frank’s eyes rounded, and he infused as much righteous surprise into his voice as possible, but I wasn’t buying his act.

“Nonnegotiable. I won’t be that contractor that pushes people’s projects back or overcommits his schedule. Let me finish what I’m working on, then I can get started on this and give it my full attention.”

“That’s fair, Frank. We just got him on board; we had to expect he had some work lined up,” David piped up.

Honestly, I could probably finish what I had on the schedule in eight or nine days, but this was going to be a beast of a project, and I was going to need to get my head on straight if I wanted to do it right. And I did want to do it right. This was going to have my name on it for years to come.

I almost didn’t hear what Frank said, my mind racing with the possibilities a project on this scale would provide.

“Two weeks will have to do. I was hoping you would have most of the demolition completed before our historical preservation designer gets here, but I’m sure it will be fine.”

“What? Who?” I asked, my head swiveling between Frank and David.

David was looking at the table, refusing to lift his eyes to mine.

Frank wasn’t nearly as cowardly, unfortunately.

“Oh, did David not inform you when he brought you on? One of the stipulations to receive the funds was that the renovation needs to be historically accurate from top to bottom. The Delano Library was built in the 1700s and modernized through the late 1800s, but the last thing we want is to rip out all of its character and throw a cyber building up in its place.”