Page 44 of The Misfits of Copper County
“No,” I agreed, “but you don’t need to rush it.” I realized my hand was still on his arm and reluctantly withdrew it. “I wish I’d known—I wish I’dasked—about this before now. That’s on me?—”
“It’s not?—”
“I’ll make sure to lock the kitchen door from now on so she can’t get in here. Or we can go and stay with my cousin?—”
“Brewer,” Delaney interrupted. He looked almost angry. “I said I’m going to work on it.”
“Yeah, but?—”
“I didn’t ask you to move out, and I didn’t ask you to keep the door locked.” He forced out a breath. “I can handle it, okay? I’m a capable person.”
I raised my hands in surrender, shifting back slightly to look at him. I had no idea how the mood had shifted so thoroughly, so quickly.
“I didn’t say you couldn’t.” Delaney was one of the most capable people I’d ever met… except when it came to relocating power outlets. “I just?—”
“I do not need you and your large muscles protecting me from your dog or my stupid cabinet choices or… or anything.”
My eyes widened. “Whoa. Back up. My large—?” I glanced down at myself, then back to him. I shook my head trying to stay focused, though that was nearly impossible since I wasn’t sure what was happening here. “I thought we weren’t talking about the cabinets.”
He blew out a breath. “Yes. We are. I’m hereby ending the renovation ceasefire.”
“Delaney—”
“Look, I know your feelings on those cabinets, okay? You made it pretty clear when you canceled the order without even discussing it with me?—”
“Because I knew you had your heart set on those, but I wanted to show you I could do something custom that you might like just as much, and then?—”
“And then I insisted on these because there was no way my bossy contractor could possibly know better than me?—”
“I wasn’t being bossy,” I interrupted. “Or… shit, if I was, I didn’t mean to be. I was doing my job, trying to make your style work with the house, and?—”
“I know. Iknow,” Delaney said. “It’s like with the damn dog. I just don’t know how to trust that—” He broke off and shook his head.
“I guess I should have explained better,” I admitted. “And not expected you to… what’d you call it? Fling trust around like Mardi Gras beads?” I took a deep breath.
“Anyway, what I’m trying to say is?—”
“—I’m sorry,” we said together.
We stared at each other in surprise.
“You are?” I demanded. “Why?”
“For insisting on these cabinets and being dead wrong? I appreciate you trying, but they look awful, Brewer,” Delaney said in a small voice. “Just like you said they would.”
“You… you hate them?” I said, scared to hope that we might have gotten on the same page finally.
He glared up at me from beneath his lashes. “You sound way too fucking cheerful about that.”
I laughed. “I’m not! I… fuck. Maybe I am, kind of,” I said. “I thought you were going to insist, and I wasn’t sure how to handle it. I’m relieved.”
“Insist? After seeing that?” Delaney shook his head. “I can’t do it, even though I’ve exploded my own budget and my timeline.”
“Well…” I frowned. “I can’t do anything with the upper cabinets that I already hung. But Hen might be able to help us return the base cabinets and get your money back. And I can still make you custom ones, if you want. It might take a little longer, but I’ll show you the designs and the materials. I’ll make sure you like them.”
He nodded tightly. “I… I would appreciate that.”
I felt a smile spread across my face. I was relieved about the cabinets, yes, but this felt bigger than that.
