Page 10 of Call It Home

And with a possible timeline moved up, maybe part of that luck was thinking more seriously about Cam’s offer.

The thought made me grimace. I loved woodwork. I even liked all the rest of the construction process. But doing it on a crazy timeline? Followed around by a camera?

When I’d gotten home last night, I pulled up an old episode ofRenovation Stationon my phone. I had to admit, I got a little sucked into watching it, mostly because I couldn’t see how they were going to pull it all together. Then again, maybe it was the magic of TV editing that made it seem so dramatic. I was all too familiar with how things could have a spin put on them.

Still, maybe it was the universe telling me I needed to leave my comfort zone.

My cell phone chimed through my earbuds. Hearing it was a call from Bristol, I reduced my jog to a walk. “Hey. How’s it going?”

“Hey, Mac. I’m doing great. Better than your truck.”

I closed my eyes and pinched my nose, knowing I wasn’t going to like what she had to say.

“I’ve got it in the shop and took a thorough look at it this morning. I hate to say it, but your alternator is gone, and honestly, I’m not sure the entire engine isn’t going to quit someday soon.”

“Can you fix it?”

Bristol sighed. “Yeah, of course, I can,” she answered, almost sounding offended. “But, Mac. I really looked it over. Your transmission has a small leak and frankly, I wouldn’t trust those brake lines much longer. That’s dangerous anywhere, but especially with our hills. Honestly, it will cost more to repair than the truck’s value. I hate to say it, but Mac, this truck isn’t worth the cost anymore, especially considering all the small things that don’t work and how rusty parts of it are.”

I sighed into the phone and looked up at the sky. “Yeah, I was afraid you were going to say that.”

“I’m more than happy to go with you to some used dealers if you want and look over anything you might be interested in, so at least you know what you’re buying isn’t another piece of crap.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that, but it’s not the news I was hoping for.”

“I wish I could tell you something different, but seriously, Mac. It’s time.”

I bowed my head. “Yeah. I know you’re right. I really appreciate you looking it over and not just fixing something that’s equivalent to throwing money away.”

“You bet. And hey, you should come out with Reid and me next time we go to Ferg’s.”

That brought a small smile to my face. “I’d like that.”

Not that I liked to go out that much. I was more about saving money, and I didn’t care for crowds of people. But I liked Bristol’s no-nonsense style, and while law enforcement personnel, in general, weren’t my favorite breed, Reid was cool. I felt like he saw through a lot of bullshit, but he never called me out on mine. He and Zach had occasionally invited me out with them, and Zach in particular never took no for an answer. And that meant Chase Allen always came along, too. They were all close. They seemed to be a great group of guys, always joking around but always volunteering if another had some kind of need. And since Chase was the only other single guy in the group, we’d kind of teamed up against the “taken” guys.

After I hung up, I walked the rest of the way to the waterfall, needing the extra time to think.

“That’s 50,000 dollars…”

I had enough saved to make a decent earnest money deposit when the time came to buy property. That was necessary since neither Trey nor I had much in the way of credit history. Not to mention, we were going to need additional tools, the money for a website and other marketing needs, as well as some basic furniture. Buying something like a new truck, even a used one, was going to take a big chunk of that money.

Shit. Was I really reconsidering the idea? Sure, I’d told Trey I would, but I’d have sworn an oath to the devil at that moment to keep him from shutting me out. There had to be another answer.

“That’s 50,000 dollars…”

There was so much I could do with that money. Of course, it meant we had to win. And more importantly, it meant I had to work directly with Cameron.

Could I do that? Sure.

Could I do that without wanting to strangle her multiple times a day? Maybe.

Could I be around her sassy mouth and sexy body all day and not be tempted to want her? Doubtful.

I’d been in difficult situations before. I could do it again. She was probably high maintenance. She always looked so put together, with cute outfits and professionally applied makeup. Chances were good that she wasn’t used to doing a lot of work, so hopefully, she’d be gone from the site most of the time, off shopping for furniture or other shit.

What was the worst that could happen? We lost? I’d still be making the same amount of money as if I stayed home. Deep down, I knew I had to try anything that would put me further ahead of my plan.

Shaking my head at the fool I was, I turned around and jogged back to my house to make the phone call I hoped I wouldn’t regret.

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