Page 112 of Hidden Nature

He put on his playlist, then the rubber apron. He shoved his feet into the old galoshes, secured them. He put on the plastic cap—though he’d shower and shampoo good when he finished the work. He added goggles and the long rubber gloves.

He picked up the bone saw.

He didn’t mind this duty, or the mess. His father had been a butcher, and what was on the worktable was just meat. What counted had gone to his grandfather’s, after all.

He turned on the saw, and sang along with Rihanna as he got to work.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Dean Cooper dropped in three times while they worked on his daughter’s bathroom. Nash figured he couldn’t help himself.

Dean also made clear he wanted whatever Sloan wanted, which, with Nash’s history, came as a novel parental stance.

He swung in twice at the Littlefields’ next door while the subs worked on the electric and plumbing. He even walked around with the inspector—another friend, no surprise to Nash at this point.

It took some juggling and a lot of long days, but they managed to keep the balls in the air.

Dean dropped by again as Nash and Theo finished up the bathroom job.

“It looks damn good. I wondered about the tile, but Sloan knows what she wants.”

“Clearly,” Nash agreed.

Pride showed as Dean looked around the bathroom.

“She got the design gene from her mother. Some of that’s rubbed off on me over the years, but she got it from Elsie. Good, quick work here, Fix-Its.”

“We were lucky we didn’t run into anything behind the walls.”

Nash installed a towel rod while Theo handled switch plates.

“She’s going to be happy with this. Where’s Robo?”

“I sent him to start a paint job. He can more than handle it solo, and it’s pretty tight in here.”

Tic bounced over to attack Nash’s bootlaces.

“Speaking of which. Theo, I can finish here. It’s just a little punchout and cleanup. Take this idiot dog home. Walk him over and you can start taping drywall.”

“Got the drywall up? I’ll give you and the pup a lift, Theo. Going your way.”

“Good deal. Come on, Tic, let’s go for a ride.”

The wordridealways sent Tic into yips of joy. He rushed out toward the door before Theo edged out after him.

“You and Theo sure came along at the right moment,” Dean commented. “First time I’ve had breathing room since my contractor started making serious retirement noises.”

“We aim to please.”

“You’re hitting the mark.” He glanced around the bathroom again. “She’s going to be happy with this,” he said again. “See you around.”

No doubt of that, Nash thought.

He considered himself lucky that he sincerely liked Dean and Elsie Cooper—and it appeared to be mutual. On a personal level, because his brother was well and truly stuck on their younger daughter. Professionally, they did excellent work, and valued others who did the same. They’d given the business he and Theo began a good solid jump in Heron’s Rest.

He finished installing the rod, then the smaller one for hand towels by the sink. The robe hook. He took a good look around, making sure he’d missed nothing, that the paint didn’t need touching up anywhere.

He carted out the trash first, and noticed Theo had neglected to grab the dog’s chew toy. Picking it up, he stuck it in his pocket, then returned to pack up his tools.

---