Page 14 of V is for Valentine
He’d just mounted a new sill when he heard the distinctive sound of the edge of a heavy gypsum board hitting the ground too hard. A few seconds later, the lift went into action, so all was well, but really? The wall boards weighed a little over fifty pounds each, and he wondered how long she was going to continue hauling them off the stack.
His answer came less than ten minutes later when a resounding crash made the hardwood floor vibrate beneath his feet.
“Felix?”
He lowered the board he’d just lifted to the sill back to the floor, leaning it against the frame before heading to the crash site.
When he came around the corner, he found Felicity working her way out from under a board.
“I slipped,” she muttered as he reached down to lift the board.
“Did you hit your head or anything?”
“Just my backside.” She pushed herself to her feet and then dusted off her pants. She frowned at him, then shook out her arms. “The gym didn’t prepare me for this.”
“Still want to work alone?”
“It’s faster.”
“I think you’re going to pay for it tomorrow.”
“Maybe so.”
“And if you keep busting up the wallboard, we aren’t going to have enough.” He nodded at the crack in the gypsum beneath the paper covering.
Felicity muttered an indelicate word as she shoved her hand through her hair, knocking her bandanna askew.
One long breath later, she met his gaze as she pulled the bandanna into place. “I’ll be more careful.”
And I’ll just silently tear out my hair.
“If you hurt yourself…”
“When I get tired, I’ll tell you. We’re wasting time.”
Danny turned and strode across the floor without another word. Yes, it was faster working like this, but it was also dangerous, as she’d just proven. He was halfway across the room when he turned back.
“Let me help you move the broken sheet.”
“Thanks.” The word came out sincerely. “We can use it in a place where we’re making a cutout.”
Together they shifted the cracked wallboard out of the way, then without a word, Danny helped her load the next sheet onto the lift.
“This isn’t stubbornness talking, Danny. It’s necessity.” She met his gaze as she spoke. Determination and a touch of uncertainty crowded the stubbornness in her expression.
“I understand necessity, Felix. I also understand working recklessly.”
“I fell downonetime—lost my grip, and when I tried to catch the board, it toppled back on me.”
He refrained from rolling his eyes. “It’s your project,” he said.
“Yes.” She turned to the lift and Danny headed back to his work area, his jaw muscles tight.
No big deal. Just his boss/partner refusing to listen to reason…one of the reasons he was now his own boss.
A clatter sounded from Felicity’s end of the building.
“I’m fine,” she called.
