Page 8 of My One and Only

“I’m damn sure you’re mistaken, Jo. Those aren’t the specs we use when we build. I pride myself on the quality of our work.” His face heated with a flush of anger. He wanted to attack her for implying he was cheating on the houses he was building.

“Then come with me and take a look at my mother’s house. Before everything gets covered up with drywall.”

Cam tapped one foot on the floor as he studied Jo. She looked as if she believed everything she was saying. “Tell me this,” he asked. “Did you see the building inspector come out of the house?”

“Hell, no,” she replied immediately. “He never went into the house. I pulled up right after he did. He got out of his truck, walked up the driveway and the carpenter came out of the house. Met him on the driveway. Handed over the money, the inspector rifled through it, then got back in his truck and drove away.”

“And how do you know about all the so-called defects in this house,” he asked.

She shot up ramrod straight. “Because I walked through it. Looked at everything. The defects weren’t minor, Pierce. They were very obvious. Blatant.”

“Did you sneak in behind the carpenter’s back?”he asked, scowling.

“Of course not.” She gave him that cool smile that had driven him crazy in high school. “I talked to Billy Simms, told him my mom was buying this house, and she wanted me to check it out. Make sure everything looked good.” She shrugged. “I figured, why not? I wasn’t expecting to find all that shoddy work.”

A knot of unease twisted in his stomach. He had a carpenter named Billy Simms working for him. But instead of telling her that, he lashed out at Jo. “PK Construction doesn’t do shoddy work,” he said, anger flaring.

She tilted her head. “Do you check every house that’s built?”

“No, I don’t. That’s what my foremen are supposed to do.”

“Well, they’re not doing their jobs, then.” She jerked her head toward the door. “Come with me and look at my mom’s house and tell me those are your company’s standards.”

He wanted to blow her off. Tell her he’d check later, or that he was certain everything was fine. But he knew what he’d see if he said that. Pity and scorn. And he didn’t want to be a person Jo pitied and scorned.

“Fine. Let’s go right now.”

“Great.” She bounced up from the couch. “I’ll show you which house my mom is buying.”

He wanted to tell her that he knew, but he’d had no idea that Mrs.Finster had bought one of his houses. He wasn’t in the field. He ran things from the office.

Maybe that was a mistake. Maybe he needed to get into the field more often. Be more ‘hands on’. Like he was when he’d just started the company.

But he couldn’t do field work anymore. He needed more stability than that allowed. He needed a nine-to-five schedule.

He opened the door for Jo and waited for her to walk through. Then he closed it and steered her toward the employee parking lot.

“I’m parked in the visitor’s lot,” she said.

“We’ll take my truck. I’ll bring you back afterward to pick up your car.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Wouldn’t it be easier for us to drive separately? Then we can both go our own way after you look at the house with me.”

“The fewer cars driving through the building area, the better. I don’t want you to get a nail in a tire.”

She sighed. “Fine. I don’t want that, either. Especially since it’s a rental.”

The truth was, he was reluctant to let Jo go. The last thing he’d ever expected was having her come into his office. Take him to task for the quality of the work on his houses.

He’d had a massive crush on Jo in high school. Back then, he’d dreamed of a happily-ever-after for them. But those had been the dreams of a kid. Jo clearly hadn’t felt the same way, since she’d taken off right after graduation and joined the army. She’d even gotten married, for God’s sake.

So had you, a tiny voice reminded him.

He stepped into the frigid air, letting it cool his face, and held the door for Jo, then pointed to his truck. A big, red Ford with a covered bed and a cab that could seat five.

Jo glanced at him and raised one eyebrow. “Fancy ride.”

“I’m in construction,” he said, shrugging. “I need to be able to carry stuff in my vehicle.”

---