Page 64 of Pick Your Spot

He wondered which room she would choose. Which they would all choose. But it would be first come, first served. It would be a tossup to see if Ford or Jolie would arrive first.

None of the rooms had bad views. The farm and its property were pretty. The space between the two farmhouses was full of trees and bushes, so even those views were good. Maybe someone would want to put in a garden. He added it to the list but that would be way down in priority. Functionality first.

When he entered the third bathroom, he groaned. Who had thought colored fixtures were a good idea? So far, he’d cleaned yellow and two blues. This one was a pale green. The eighties must have been an interesting time.

He hadn’t ventured into the other farmhouse yet. Were things the same over there? The building appeared to be less cared-for than this one. Maybe the decor was worse.

Amber would have her hands full, turning it into a B&B. If he could get her on board. Maybe she had another idea for the building. She could have solo decision-making on that.

Unless she was ready for a different direction in her life. Thea was right. Knox needed to have a solo tour with Amber once she had a new phone. Then he’d get a better read on what she wanted for her future and how he could help.

The next bathroom was pink. Pink. Why?

After he’d cleaned it so the room shined, he took a picture and texted both Lawson and Burke.Rooms are on a first come, first served basis. If you don’t make a decision soon, you might be stuck with this.

Grinning, he moved to the next room. Another yellow like his own and Jay’s. Curious now, he peeked into the rooms he hadn’t cleaned. Out of the eight upstairs bathrooms, four were yellow, two blue, and one each of pink and green.

An odd way to decorate a house. These days, most people would choose to have a similar look in each room. And most people would choose white. Or at least a neutral.

How much was it going to cost to upgrade? He figured it would be a fortune. And not a priority. Not as long as things worked.

Eventually, the bathrooms gleamed, and Knox turned his attention to the rooms with a sigh.

The bedding would all need to be washed. Each room sported a queen-sized bed, a couple of dressers, and nightstands. Bedding first. Then surfaces. Then floors.

His body ached at the thought.

But having a clean space meant it would be easier to lure in the family and Ford. Dodge would appreciate not being stuck with the pink bathroom.

He considered texting Thea and taking a break for lunch but decided to press on. Lunch with her would be his incentive to buckle down and get the entire job done.

Then he could show off his morning’s work and talk her into spending part of his lunch break in his bed. He was sure she’d be amenable to that plan.

Grinning, he changed out the water in the bucket again and grabbed new cloths.

Hard work first, reward second.

Thea filled another double-layered garbage bag with noxious plant stuff while Fox snoozed nearby. There were dozens of acres yet to deal with, but her progress was visible and satisfying.

Sharing the workload with Knox meant the farm was improving more quickly. To keep up with everything properly, there would need to be another half-dozen people. Or maybe a full dozen.

Grinning, she checked her phone for the time. Relief at not having another message from Triple-A filled her. She didn’t need to think about him ever again.

Thea shoved him from her mind and set the sealed bag in the sun before turning back to her compost. The Worminator would be amazing, but she’d keep this going as well. The more compost, the merrier, especially when the Worminator’s compost would be different from this more fungal style. Fox didn’t appear to agree that the compost differences were fascinating as he barked once, then loped off toward the pond.

She’d added scraps from the kitchen to the compost this morning. More people being here not only meant more hands to apply to the work but more food for the compost. The smaller material would speed up the progress of the bigger pieces like branches and limbs.

Hope for the farm bubbled inside. She could see the progress happening, and it fueled her to work even harder.

The imminent arrival of Jolie had nerves bubbling, too. From the video chat, she was sure the woman was kind and fun. But meeting her in person was a different thing. Would they get along? Would Jolie approve of her and her relationship with Knox? What would happen if she didn’t?

Thea shook out her arms, and turned her attention back to the compost while she thought about how to get the best use of the Worminator. It was an expensive piece of equipment, and she didn’t want the Malssums to regret a single penny of it.

They could use some animal manure to add to their compost. Maybe local farmers would like to team up with them. Same with coffee shops. She’d bet Ginny from the No Fail Diner would be willing to collect grounds and maybe even vegetable scraps. Thea could come up with appropriate containers and set up a weekly schedule for pick-ups. Now that she had Jay’s truck, she could arrange her own schedule.

She pulled out her phone again to add to her notes. There were other farmers in the area. Stan would probably have the contacts they’d need. She imagined Knox and Stan would be a charming team. They could get all the partnerships she dreamed of but hadn’t been brave enough to seek out.

Excitement rippled through her again. In the weeks since Knox had arrived, she had more hope for the future than ever in her past.

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