Page 60 of Hidden Nature

“Got your work cut out for you,” he said in his cheerful way. “Gonna have yourselves some fun.”

“We had some today.” As the four men trooped back down to the main level, Theo nodded at the demoed wall.

“You’re going to have a lot more natural light in the kitchen with this wall gone,” Dean pointed out. “I don’t always go for the open concept in these old houses—takes away some of the character. But you needed it here.”

“We’re vaulting the ceiling, adding skylights in the kitchen.”

Dean looked up, then over at Theo. “I can see that. Nice. It’s going to keep you busy.”

“We’ll take it as it comes,” Nash said. “No rush. The business, and whatever clients we get, come first. Along with a dumpster, which should’ve come first. Be nice if the snow holds off until it gets here.”

“Work around here doesn’t stop when the snow falls. Work’s why we stopped by,” Dean told him. “Jonah and I are licensed, and we take care of some of the general work. But we lost our contractor.”

“I heard.”

“We’ve got eighteen vacation units, five rentals, five retail spaces in town, and eight apartments, plus our own offices. Too much for just me and Jonah. With our contractor and CJ, we kept up. There’s always going to be a list, but with the four of us, and an occasional laborer, we kept up.”

“You need another contractor.”

“We do. Me, Jonah, CJ? Not enough.”

“CJ? He’d be willing to work with us?”

“She,” Jonah corrected. “Catherine Jane. Licensed plumber, and a hell of a good carpenter. Like Dean says, the three of us? Not enough to keep things running by All the Rest’s standards. We keep ’em high.”

“We do. And we’re always happy to give a new business a boost.”

“But,” Nash finished, “you need to know more about what we can do, have done, and are willing to do. How about we have a beer and discuss it?”

Dean came home with Jonah in tow.

“Brought this moocher home for dinner. Gina’s got a girls’ night, and the kids are with her mom,” he began, then his jaw dropped when he saw Sloan at the counter.

“You—your hair. You cut your hair.”

“I whacked it. Mom fixed it.”

“It looks— You look—”

“Hey, Tink.” Jonah dropped down at the counter beside her to scrub at Mop. And earned a sour look.

“You look beautiful.” Dean walked over, wrapped around her.

“Dad?”

“My girl again.”

“Without her hair?”

He shook his head before he eased back. Then kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her lips. “Look at that face. There you are. Nobody holds Sloan Cooper down. Jonah, we’re having another beer.”

“I hear that. I like it, if that counts.”

“It doesn’t.” Sloan drilled a finger in his side. “But thanks.”

Since Dean would make dinner, Elsie got the two beers. “What’s the word on the Fix-Its?”

“I liked them, too,” Jonah said. “It’s going to be a cool house when it’s finished. Pretty much have to touch every inch of it to get there, but they’ve already busted out a wall that needed it.”

---