Page 7 of V is for Valentine
Yes. Her middle sister was practically glowing. Felicity turned back to her father. “I think it has something to do with the tree farm.”
“Or the tree farm owner?” Pete asked.
“They came to an understanding,” she agreed. Over the course of planning and executing a wedding, it appeared that her sister and the bride’s brother had fallen in love. “They seem pretty happy about it.” Felicity unfolded her arms and crouched low so that she and her dad were at eye level. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
He shifted his gaze away for a fraction of a second, then let out a breath. “Yes. There is. I didn’t get a chance before, what with you tearing off to Seattle so fast. I didn’t even know what your plan was until this morning.”
“I told you that I was finishing the project. An opening for a confession if I ever heard one.”
“Those are some painkillers they give you in Holly General. Nothing is straight in my head between the emergency room and getting green Jell-O for breakfast this morning.”
Felicity stood and pushed her short hair back from her forehead. “Okay. I’ll give you a pass, but Dad, how did you expect to keep this a secret? I’ve seen the site. You couldn’t have finished alone in the time you have left.”
“I thought I had someone else lined up. I was talking on the phone with him when the dog hit me.”
“Great,” she said feeling a wave of relief at the prospect of not working alone with Danny. With three warm bodies, they could get the project done by deadline. “The guy, not the dog,” she clarified.
Pete shifted his gaze. “He’d called to say he couldn’t make it until after the project deadline.” His gaze came up to hers. “You can’t do this alone either. I’m going to have to pay the penalty fees for the delay.”
“I’m not doing it alone. I…uh…” She made a popping sound with her lips. “Danny Montgomery is helping me.”
“Just what I need,” Pete muttered. “Blood on the walls.”
“Ha, ha,” Felicity said, rising to her feet. “Actually he offered, and I accepted. He’s doing it for you.”
“We’re paying him, right?”
“I assume we’re paying him whatever you were paying Zach,” Felicity said, wondering if money might have also factored into his decision to offer help. “Does Danny have a job right now?”
Pete’s forehead wrinkled. “He started a business some time back. Something to do with electronics, maybe? I’m sorry to say that I don’t know if it succeeded. I haven’t had time to keep up with anything lately.” He grimaced ruefully. “Got some time now.”
“Let’s talk about the project,” Felicity said.
“Did you tour both floors?”
“I did. You have the drywall up on the second floor, but it needs tape and texture. The ground floor needs drywall mounted. After that, painting. I didn’t see molding for windows and doors.”
“It’s out of the way in the basement storage room. We had it stripped and refinished. It’s ready to mount. The fixtures are there, too, along with the hand railings, the doors, all the finishing stuff.”
“Why is every door in the basement locked?” she asked.
“They stored a lot of school files there, and there was also an issue with supply theft, too. The master key opens all the locks.”
“So someone with the master key could get the files and the toilet paper?”
“Pretty much.”
“I have a master, right?” She hadn’t bothered to check.
“The dark blue key. But they don’t store the paper products down there anymore.”
“Ha, ha,” Felicity said, glad that her dad was feeling well enough to joke.
“Stevie and Tess have offered to help with the painting and mounting the trim, but I don’t trust them with the joint compound.”
“Good call.”
“Stevie wanted to help full-time,” Felicity continued, “but broken bones have become a trend. A sixth-grade teacher broke her ankle snowboarding this weekend and Stevie is taking over her class.”
