Page 41 of Thinking It Over

Jasper left us as I led Tanner around, pointing out areas that needed repairing. Once finished inside, we headed out so I could show him the external parts of the house.

“Anything else?” Tanner asked, eyes on the banister.

“I don’t think so. What do you think?”

We were out on the driveway, Tanner leaning against his truck. “I can get a quote to you by Tuesday. The earliest I could start is in about six weeks.”

I bobbed my head. “Okay. I should let you know that I have someone else stopping by tomorrow.”

“Makes sense.”

“It’s Don Bradshaw. You know him?” I asked.

He grinned. “I do. He’s a good guy and does good work.”

Surprise drew my brows up. It was refreshing thatTanner wasn’t the type of man who tried to disparage others. The fact that Jasper knew and clearly liked the man too told me a whole lot more about the guy. I trusted Jasper and his judgment in people.

“I’ll email it over on Tuesday. Is the email you originally gave me the best one to use?”

“Yes, that’s great, thanks.”

He pushed off his vehicle and reached out and shook my hand. “Completely unrelated, but will you be at the wedding next week?”

I shook my head. “Ian’s Jasper’s plus one. He’s heading over on Friday, and we have plans for dinner.”

Tanner studied me before he nodded, seemingly satisfied with what I said. With no clue what that was about, I simply smiled and stepped away. “It was good to meet you.”

“Yeah, you too.” He looked over at the front porch when we both heard movement.

“All done?” Jasper called out, jogging toward us.

“Yep.”

“Excellent. Say hi to Carter for me and have a chill weekend.”

“Will do, you too,” he answered. “See you next Saturday.”

Jasper grinned wide as his palm tucked into the back pocket of my jeans. “See you then.”

Once more, Tanner signaled goodbye to me before getting into his vehicle, starting the engine, and driving away.

“All good?”

I angled toward Jasper. “Yes. He seems like he’s a good guy.”

With a bob of his head, Jasper said, “He really is. So’s Carter, his partner.”

Dipping into my memory of what Jasper had shared about his life in Kirkby, I clarified, “And Tanner is Davis’s best friend, and Carter is the veterinarian who works with…” I hesitated, eyes zeroing in on Jasper’s sweet smile. “…Scott, who owns the vet clinic?”

“A+ for you.”

“That means I finally get my reward, right?” I teased.

“And that would be?”

“A shower.” Cupping his ass was as natural as it was leaning into the invisible thread between us. “Make sure Alexa is loud.”

With a quick swipe of his bottom lip with his tongue, Jasper nodded, his response breathy. “I think we can manage that.”

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