Page 28 of The Summer for Us (Golden Falls #1)

JULIETTE

Mom

Thanks for sending the pictures. You look beautiful! Looks like you had a great weekend with your new friends.

Dad

Agreed. Looks like a great time. Glad you are having fun.

Mom

One of your new friends can’t stop looking at you in the pictures. He’s very handsome!!!

A summer fling might be fun.

Me

Mom, no! No summer fling. He’s my neighbor. And Lily’s brother.

Mom

Oh, I think he’s more than that. Wow, and those muscles. I zoomed in on the second photo. I might need a glass of water to cool off.

Me

Mom!!!

Grant

I don’t think this conversation needs to be in the family group chat. And if it does, I’d like to be removed from it.

I pushed open the door to Hal’s, getting used to my routine with him.

I’d enjoyed getting to know Hal, his history in Golden Falls, and his everlasting love for his late wife.

Before opening his hardware store, Hal was a general contractor.

While he didn’t focus on remodeling projects anymore, he had a lot of knowledge to share. And I sure could use the advice.

“Hey, Hal. I’m here for my weekly visit,” I said with a smile as I entered the store.

“Miss Jules, always a pleasure,” he greeted. “What are you working on now?” He had his notepad and pencil at the ready to hear about my next project.

When I was working at Luxe Living, a lot of wealthier clients didn’t have a budget they had to work within.

I helped with the vision of the project and getting materials ordered, but my work ended there.

Other members on the team stepped in to work with contractors, and I moved onto the next client.

With my work here, I was a lot more involved in seeing the process through, and it required different skills, like repurposing existing furniture or thrifting.

I was making connections with the various general contractors and businesses in town but was doing the majority of the work myself.

Like for Lily’s café. I’d painted the walls, got the furniture over to her (with Wesley’s help), and arranged everything.

I appreciated the opportunity to be so involved and to use my creativity.

The other businesses and rental owners I was starting to work with also had limited budgets, so I knew there would be more of the same—and I couldn’t wait.

I’d need help, though, especially if I wanted to complete the various projects on time.

I was hoping Hal could get me in touch with some of the local painters.

One of the rental property owners who had reached out to me was Louise, who worked for Wesley at Lake Ridge.

She owned one of the cabins near where I was staying and wanted to upgrade her rental.

She had been struggling to attract business this summer and wanted my opinion on what improvements would make a difference.

I was more than excited to work with her, and she already had a few other leads for me.

Eliza and I were also talking about figuring out a plan to modernize her yoga studio.

“I’m working with Louise on her cabin, and I wanted to put some shelves in. I know what I want them to look like…but I have no idea what kind of brackets, screws, or wood stain I need.” I gave him a sheepish smile. “Think you can help?”

He grinned, nodding eagerly. “I’d be happy to.”

I set my bag on the floor and pulled my laptop out to show Hal my ideas, focusing on the shelves but also showing him my overall vision.

With a few small changes, Louise’s cabin would feel more modern but still have that rustic feel visitors were looking for.

I wanted to open up the living room by moving the storage cabinets to another area of the house and installing shelves instead that would hold local art and other thrifted finds.

I also wanted to hire someone to paint the baseboards and change out the light bulbs to a warmer color.

It was easy to get lost in the projects and forget I was only here for the summer. I had an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach just thinking about it, so I pushed those thoughts to the very, very back of my mind. I focused on Hal instead.

In less than an hour, I had a full shopping list of what I needed for the shelves and instructions from Hal. It shouldn’t be too bad—I hoped, at least. Hal seemed to have more confidence in me than I did.

“You’ll do great, Miss Jules. I know it. And if you need anything and I’m not available, you can always ask Wes. I’m sure he’d be happy to help.”

I raised a brow, unsure if that was a good idea. We were on better terms, sure, but that was part of the problem. Ironic, wasn’t it?

At first, I wanted Wes to like me, but now that he seemingly did, I was nervous to be around him. Nervous for the way my body reacted to him. His words from that night were pulled to the front of my mind.

“You’ve brought new life into this town.”

“It’s impossible to not like you.”

“Sure, baby, I’ll beg if you want me to.”

Who said that?! Was he just being nice? Was he flirting? Did it even matter? I hadn’t seen him since the Fourth, and that was good. Less complicated. I couldn’t avoid Wes forever, but I could at least avoid him for now.

“I’ll keep that in mind and reach out if I need help,” I said to Hal. “I should be okay to start, at least.”

“I believe it. Just want you to know you don’t have to do it alone.”

“Thanks, Hal.” I couldn’t help the way I got a little choked up. That was the thing with small towns, right? People knew each other’s business, but they also were willing to help out. You had people in your corner regardless of where you turned.

“Besides, I saw the way Wesley looked at you,” Hal started, “and word on the street is you two watched the fireworks together. Sounds romantic.”

“Hal, how—” I shook my head with a laugh. “How did you hear about that?” That was the other thing with small towns. Word traveled fast. “We’re neighbors who got off on the wrong foot and are friendly now. Besides, I’m leaving at the end of the summer, remember?”

Hal hummed, a smile on his face like he didn’t believe me. “If that’s what you say, Miss Jules.”

What did he know that I didn’t? And how had Wes been looking at me?

I grabbed my laptop, closing it and sliding it into my bag along with my notes. I gave Hal another smile. “I gotta get going. Eliza, Lily, and I are heading to Lake Ridge tonight. I have a few more things to get done before then, but I’ll see you next week?”

Hal nodded, amused. “I’ll see you then. You girls have fun. Say hi to Wes for me.”

“I likely won’t see him tonight, but if I do, I will.”

“Okay, ladies, one shot before we leave.” Eliza didn’t wait for our confirmation before filling three shot glasses with tequila. She had the lime wedges and salt ready, too.

“Tequila?” I scrunched my nose, able to conjure the sharp taste even before taking the shot. It was going to be an interesting Saturday night if we were starting like this.

We had spent the last couple of hours getting ready in the cabin and listening to Shania Twain, Dolly Parton, Rihanna, and other artists.

“Yes! Perfect way to start the night.” Lily made her way into the kitchen, her golden curls bouncing behind her. She was wearing a cropped tank with flared jeans that hung loosely on her hips. “How did training and onboarding at Lake Ridge go? You finished your first full week, right?”

Eliza set the tequila bottle down, handing each of us a shot.

She had on black shorts paired with a chunky belt and a crochet halter top.

“It was good. Honestly, pretty similar to the bartending job I had in college. I’m feeling ready and looking forward to making some extra cash.

Everyone is really helpful, especially Louise.

She gave me some tips and tricks for making drinks faster and remembering what the regulars order.

I will say though”—Eliza had a mischievous smile on her face as she looked over at me—“Wes seemed distracted all week.”

“Why are you looking at me?” I squeaked.

“Uh, because it’s obvious,” Lily said with a laugh. “My brother literally didn’t stop staring at you all of Fourth of July, and then the recluse invited you to watch fireworks with him.”

“Because we’re, well, friendlier these days.” Although I hadn’t heard much from him this week. Not that I expected to. And not that I wanted to.

Eliza laughed at the same time Lily quickly waved her hand. “Nope didn’t need to know that.”

“Not like that!” My cheeks flushed.

“Twenty bucks Wesley says something to Cooper about staying away from Jules,” Eliza chimed in.

Lily bumped her hip against mine. “We’re giving you a hard time. I mean, I still don’t want details, but whatever is happening is between you two, as long as it doesn’t impact our friendship, I’m happy.”

“I appreciate that,” I said slowly, “but there’s nothing going on.

” I didn’t like how defensive my voice got.

I might’ve developed a tiny crush on Wesley, but that wasn’t something I needed to share.

It wasn’t like this would go anywhere. I didn’t want complicated, and getting tangled up with Wes would be exactly that.

Lily looked down at her phone as the screen lit up. “Okay, let’s take this shot. Wes is going to be here in five.”

Of course, Wes was our driver for the night.

“To girls’ night!” Eliza said, and we all cheered.

We licked the salt off the back of our hands, knocked our shots back, and quickly chased the burn with the lime wedges.

“That never gets any easier.” I shook my head, my face pinched.

“No, it doesn’t.” Lily coughed. “But we’re going to have a blast tonight.”

When I looked at the two of them, Lily was struggling while Eliza looked like she was ready for another.

“Couldn’t agree more,” I said.