Page 7 of Beau
“Yes, I have to agree with you on that.It has been a junk pile of things.I’m just glad we have the faeries to help us out, or there is no telling what we’d have to do to get this place in shape.”She nodded and looked around the room he was in.“I was thinking that I’d take this room since it seems to be bigger than the others.”
“I’m still sleeping in the living room for now.I want the master suite to be just for us.No one else will sleep in there but the two of us when we get to that point in our relationship.”He loved it when she talked like that.It made it seem like she was thinking about the two of them as a couple and not someone who was just staying with her while she got the house under control.“I suppose that I could sleep in one of the other bedrooms that are finished, but I’ve not had the energy to go up to bed yet, much less try and blow up the mattress again.”
They both laughed.There was a bed in each of the rooms that the faeries had put in there for them.The empty bedrooms were finished as well, but for the bed, there was nothing at all in the room as yet.He knew they’d need a dresser or two, but they were focusing their time on the rest of the house for now and would get to that part later.
“I’ll help you with your mattress.The one that I’ve been sleeping on is really nice.You should take the next bedroom so that you’ll get off the floor.”She said that she was thinking that very same thing.“Good.I hate using a bed when you’re still using the air mattress in the front room.”
They were getting along well, he thought.They talked most evenings about everything that they were doing to the house.Then, in the morning, over toast and tea, they would gather up the faeries that were still working in the house and tell them what they were planning.Most of the time, they’d be very helpful, but there were times when they’d be in the way more than not.But they loved having them around, and they were a great help when it came to getting the rooms up to par, like they wanted them to be.
“Mistress, we have a surprise for you.”She looked like she didn’t want another surprise, but told them to tell her what they’d done.“Come see the kitchen.We have been taking ideas from the master, as he knows how to cook, and have come up with a good idea of what he wanted in the room.”
“You remember that the stove and refrigerator are going to be delivered tomorrow, correct?You didn’t put on in the places that we discussed, did you?”He assured her that the kitchen would be ready for the two things now.“I thank you for doing this for us.You guys are working so hard that I feel bad when you do something like the kitchen for us.”
“It is our pleasure to make you happy.”He’d told Danielle that before.They lived to make the people that they worked for happy.“We think that you’ll both love the kitchen now that it’s finished.”
Walking into the large room, he nearly fell over when he got a look at the room.It was finished, and it looked like a cook’s dream.The countertops were beautifully laid and looked so nice with the new splashboard above them.There was a sink that was large enough to put pots in to be cleaned, and a faucet over the stove to fill pots when needed.
He could see himself cooking all kinds of meals in this room and never tiring of it.The way that it looked right now had him wanting to fill it up with scents from the garden and eat right on the beautiful small table when it was finished.He looked at Danielle to judge her take on the room.
“It’s beautiful and makes me want to learn to cook.”Beau laughed, and it felt good.He looked at the smaller appliances that were scattered around the countertops and went to see what they were.“Did you see the tea maker?We can have fresh tea made daily for us when we want.I love this room.”
They talked about the different things that the room had.There was a pantry just off the main area that would hold a plethora of things that they might need.Also, he noticed a washer and dryer had been put in the space for cleaning the kitchen things when they were dirty.The spaces for the fridge and stove were spotless and looked ready to be hooked up to the new ones coming tomorrow.He couldn’t believe how much room he had in the room that he was going to use as much as he could.The heavy-duty mixer was going to be perfect for making bread and pasta.There was a microwave that looked large enough to cook a turkey in.They marveled at the dishes that were in the cabinets for everyday use.He even loved the double dishwasher so that when his family came over to eat with them, there would be plenty of room to get the dishes cleaned up without someone having to hand-wash them all.
“You do like the room, do you not?”They both answered at the same time and said yes, they did.The room was spectacular.And just the way that they wanted it.“We have worked very hard in keeping it a secret from you two.I thought for sure you knew what we were doing when you said you might have us do the kitchen for you.We had a great deal of fun with it, too.”
“I can tell.It looks like you’ve spent a great deal of time in here getting it ready for us.This is the best surprise you could have given us.The room is going to be a big hit with my family, too.”Beau wanted to invite them over tonight, but knew that without a fridge in the room, they couldn’t keep anything cold.And without a stove, he’d have to microwave everything, and that wouldn’t be good.“I’m going to have my family over as soon as the house is finished up.I’m betting that any day now we’ll be thinking we’re done and can relax.”
“We are most rewarded by helping you two.You have made things very easy for us without overwhelming us.”He thought about the sugar cubes that he’d purchased that were being delivered tomorrow for them all.Plus, with the new flowers that were coming up in the garden, they’d have plenty to eat and have treats as well.“Thank you for not being upset about the kitchen.It was fun for all of us to have a hand in working on getting it fixed up for you two.You’re the best masters we’ve ever had.”
He didn’t particularly care for being called ‘master,’ but he’d talked to them about it before and hadn’t come up with anything better for them.When he suggested they just call them by their first name, they said that was too familiar and wouldn’t do it.He was going to have to think of something soon, or his brothers were going to have his head.
Chapter 4
Walking around the garden, Danielle couldn’t believe how lovely it was looking.There was very little in the way of flowers this time of year, but she could see where the stones were in the garden and the planters, all lined up around the fountain, were looking good as well.She couldn’t wait until spring, when the faeries promised her that things would start to come up and look beautiful.Then in the summer, things would be in full bloom all the way until fall, when the last of the flowers would be blooming.
“You like the garden?We still have plenty to do, but it is well on its way to being the showcase that it once was.”She told Honey that she loved how they’d made it all new-looking.“It was easy once we got all the grass taken out and the bulbs given enough room to heal and become flowers again.In the spring, they’ll push their stems out, and you won’t believe how beautiful it will be with the butterflies and birds coming around to feast on the blooms.Some of us will be here to make sure that things are watered and working well together.I’m excited as well.”
“I noticed that you’ve taken out the trees that seemed to be growing at a fast rate here.Were they planted or just coming up on their own?”He told her that they were once weeds that had grown almost too strong to be in a garden.“You must let me know if you need anything removed that is larger than you can handle, Honey.I’d gladly pay for the removal rather than any of you be hurt.”
“We were able to make it work this time, but I shall keep that in mind when we have to do the back garden.There are trees back there that have died and are now in the way of other flowers and bulbs.”She told him to tell her which ones, and she’d have them taken out with a professional.“I believe that if you were to ask any of the Sheppards to help you, that would be all that it takes.They’re strong men and will help you in any way that they can because you are their sister.”
She didn’t know about that, but she’d ask Beau about it.He’d know someone who could take them out if his brothers were too busy to help out.And from what she knew of them, they seemed to be busy all the time with one thing or another.She sort of envied them at their work.Danielle needed something to keep her from being at the house all the time.While she was glad that she was able to get the house in working order, it’s all she’d been doing for a month.Even Beau would go and help his brothers when he was needed.
Filling out applications for the few jobs that were around town hadn’t gotten her anything yet.But she also knew that she was new to this town, and they might not want to hire someone they didn’t know.Being all right with that was fine, but she was no closer to getting a job than she had been before.Frankly, she was bored with housework.
Every day for a month now, she’d been working on the house.It looked like it was coming along, but there was still so much to do.When she thought about it, she realized that she had a lot more finished up than she’d thought.All of the third floor was finished and ready for furniture.The second floor only had the master suite to go.Now that there were bathrooms in every bedroom, too, she knew that cleaning them was going to be a chore.But having a single bathroom on each floor had to go.There were just too many bedrooms for a bathroom to handle them all.
The master needed to have the floors redone.She wanted to ask the faeries to do it; they did such a wonderful job in the living room, but they were working so hard that she didn’t want to add to their workload.As it was now, she thought they were overworked and didn’t know how to pay them.When Beau said he’d take care of it, she depended on him to do it.But so far, she’d not seen any kind of exchange of money for them to keep them going.A few blooms and sugar cubes didn’t seem like nearly enough for what they were doing.
Going back into the house after her tour of the gardens, she still couldn’t believe how lovely thekitchen looked.With the appliances in place, Beau had been cooking them some fantastic meals.He was even leaving her something for lunch when he had to work with his family.That was the nicest thing he could have done for her because she was sick to death of sandwiches from the sub shop.
She’d finished the office just this morning.She’d not been joking when she told Beau that if it was paper, she would shred it.There was no point in leaving things to chance if she didn’t have to.Knowing that someone could get all kinds of information from old mail, there was no way she was going to allow herself to be caught in that trap.It was something that she’d learned in college when she’d been there for business management classes.She missed those days of going to classes every day.
Danielle needed to get out of the house.And not think about working on it for at least twenty-four hours.Gathering up what she’d need to leave, she was at the door when she thought of something else.Calling for Honey, he came to her right away.It might have been her frantic tone, but he looked nervous when he flittered around the room in front of her.
“I’m going to go and find me something to do that has nothing to do with this house.”He nodded.“While I’m gone, I want you to finish the house up.I know that I said I wanted to do it all by myself, but those days are over.Finish it up the way you think it needs to be done, and I’ll be happy that I don’t have to mess with it anymore.”
“Yes, my lady.Does that mean the things that need to be repaired as well?There is still the matter of the leak in the basement that you said was too big for us to do.”He looked like he thought that she’d been wrong on that as well.She told him everything.“Very good, my lady.You’ve made us very happy to serve you.It will be finished in no time at all.”
