Page 16 of More Than A Fixer-Upper (Hope Runs Deep #13)
Chase
What the fuck was I thinking?
The words fly out of my mouth before my brain can stop them. Rosalie starts to shake her head, but I raise a hand to pause her.
“I’m not trying to take over,” I say. “But this gives me a better idea of what we need to order. You’ve already done a ton of work. I know a few places we can check out especially if you’ve got a plan in mind.”
“Oh, that makes a lot of sense. If you don’t mind helping, I’d love your opinion. Did my grandmother have a vision for the kitchen and downstairs, or was this all you?”
“I actually designed the space. Mrs. Rosa didn’t know exactly what she wanted just that she wanted open spaces.”
I scroll through my phone and show her the before pictures. The look of shock on her face makes every hour of labor worth it.
“Chase,” she breathes, “I can’t wait to see what you do with the bed and breakfast. I think my ideas are going to be dull compared to your vision.”
I chuckle. My phone buzzes Seth. He’s taking the day off. His dad messed up the plumbing, and now they’ve got no water. I ask if he needs help, but he says he’s got it. It’s going to be an allday project, especially with his dad “helping.”
Drew tells me he’s taking the day off too, and Hailey shows up about twenty minutes later. Rosalie does the dishes, and when I offer to help, she waves me off says I helped cook, even though I mostly give advice.
We walk to the bed and breakfast. Rosalie talks about how she’s still in awe of the mountains in the background; how lucky she feels to be here. I think about how I’ve lived here my whole life and probably take it for granted.
My phone buzzes again. It’s Lacy. I ignore it.
“You can answer,” Rosalie says gently. “I’ll wait inside to give you some privacy.”
She touches my arm and heads inside. The spot where her hand lands burns. Did she feel it too? Or is it just the effect she has on me?
Lacy calls again. I finally hit accept.
“What?” I snap.
“Why did you give Dad my number?” she barks. “He’s been calling nonstop asking for money.”
“I didn’t give it to him. Maybe Ward did. This is who Dad is if he’s not drunk, he’s calling for money to get drunk. He blows his check the first of the month on alcohol.”
“I don’t have time for this, Chase. I have a fulltime job.”
I picture her in some high-rise office, floor to ceiling windows, dressed like she’s in Suits , looking down at the world like she does the people here.
“And what the fuck do you think I do every day? Sit around with my thumb up my ass? I run my own business. Multiple projects. My day starts at five in the morning and ends around ten thirty or eleven at night. Don’t call me to say you’re too busy to deal with Dad.”
Lacy sighs. “Why don’t you call Ward?”
“He’s not answering.”
“I don’t know what to do. I can’t keep having my secretary pull me out of meetings because Dad’s screaming at her. I paid his and Uncle Randy’s bail. They got arrested together.”
I smirk. Ruth and I laughed about that for hours.
“I need to go. I’m with a client. I don’t have the luxury of a secretary screening my calls.”
“Fuck you, Chase.” She hangs up.
I roll my eyes.
ME: Lacy called. Ward’s MIA. She’s taking it out on me. RUTH: Fuck her. She called me too. I hung up when she asked me to pay her back for bail. I told her I’d send her the bill for everything I spent on her daddy. ME: LOL That’s awesome.
I walk onto the porch, run my hands through my hair, and take a deep breath before stepping into what’s going to be my office for the next few months.
Rosalie’s at the lobby desk, looking at pictures and scrolling through Pinterest on her iPad.
“What are you doing?” I ask, making her jump.
“Will you please make some noise when you enter a room? Jesus. That’s twice now.” She smiles. “Gerald brought me pictures from past holidays and parties. I’m trying to get ideas.”
I move around the desk and sit beside her. Mrs. Rosa’s front and center in most of the photos.
“She was a force of nature,” I say. “If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have been able to give my siblings Christmas presents.”
“Are you thinking of a color palette?” Rosalie asks, hesitating like she wants to ask something else.
“I’m not sure. The first floor is all one color in different shades. I want to pull from the mountains, forest, and sky. People come here to relax. I’m thinking spa like bathrooms too. What do you think?”
“I like it. I hadn’t thought of it that way. Do you know if the guest list leaned more family or couples?”
“From what I can tell, it’s a mix. I love Drew’s idea horse trails, hiking paths, playgrounds. What do you think about dedicating one floor to suites? Or building cabins for families?”
She bites her lip and leans back, nervous. I want to keep talking to her.
“I like the idea of a few cabins and maybe a couple of suites,” I say. I ask her to give me a minute and run out to my truck. I grab my iPad, sketchbook, and laptop.
Back at the desk, I fire up my laptop, connect to my hotspot, and open AutoCAD. We spend the next two hours sketching cabin layouts. They’ll be uniform in structure but decorated differently. She trusts Seth and me to pick the location.
“I noticed there aren’t any handicapped rooms,” Rosalie says. “I want at least one per floor. The cabins will be accessible too.”
She’s making smart decisions.
“I made pulled BBQ sandwiches last night. Want some for lunch?” she asks just as my stomach growls.
We laugh. I gather my stuff.
“We can work at the house. The internet company’s coming today to fix things. With the kids and their gaming, laptops, social media, and schoolwe needed the upgrade.”
It doesn’t feel like work, being around Rosalie. I’m usually the grump who prefers solitude.
But with her?
I wonder if I could do the stepfather thing… after the childhood I had.