Page 36 of Love It or List It
Laughing, Joe pocketed his phone once more.He figured they had about an hour before the kids invaded the house.
“Hey, Austin, what do you think we can get done in an hour?”
“A lot of belly rubs?”he said ruefully.Under his hand, Pepa let out an enormous sigh and closed her eyes.“I kind of don’t want to leave her.How do people with dogs get anything done when they’re sick?”
“They probably don’t,” Joe decided.He didn’t want to leave the room either, but they would have to eventually, and Pepa needed to sleep to recover.Soon enough the painkillers would start wearing off—she’d need them more then.They should let her sleep while she could.“But they also probably don’t have a hundred things to do before they can move into their house.”
Austin raised his eyebrows.“You moving in?”
Joe gestured around them.“I mean, we’ve got a lot of work to do.And now we have a dog to look after.You think I’m going to miss out on my baby’s childhood?”He shook his head.“Besides, if I make it my primary residence I don’t get dinged as much on taxes when we sell it.”
You should move in properly too, he thought.The idea of Austin staying in the trailer when there were coyotes in the yard—when it was halfway through November and the smell of snow had started to hang in the air—sat wrong with him.But Austin wasn’t Joe’s kid; Joe couldn’t tell him what to do.
“Point.”Austin heaved out a breath and then dragged himself to his feet.“Okay.Let’s go rip up the kitchen floor.”
Chapter Eight
MONDAY QUICKLYbecame very expensive.
Between Pepa and the septic servicing, the Beatles album was a write-off.That was okay; they’d make it back when they sold the house.
At least Austin had a contact he could unload the record on pretty quickly.They wouldn’t get top dollar, but they wouldn’t have to wait months for the right buyer either.
While the septic guys went in and out to test the drainage or whatever the fuck, Austin and Joe pulled up the floorboards and then the subfloor in the kitchen addition.
“That’s not dry rot,” Austin said, wiping the back of his wrist over his forehead.
“No, that’s just the regular kind,” Joe agreed.He kicked his work boot into a joist.From Austin’s understanding of construction—and what he could see of the boards that were in better condition—it should’ve been a two-by-ten.Three or four inches had rotted away.No wonder the kitchen floor was more like a skate park.
Austin nodded.“So can you fix it?”
Joe gave him a look.“You’re the mechanic, aren’t you?The one who said, ‘Oh, we should fix it up’?”
Austin sincerely hoped Joe was fucking with him.“I fix metal things,” he protested.“You want me to weld something, grease it, use a wrench, change a tire, replace an exhaust system, I’m your guy.This?”He gestured to the floor.“This organic-material bullshit?That’s your job.”
For a minute he was sure Joe was going to tell him he didn’t know what the fuck he was doing either.
Then he grinned.“Yeah, man, I’m good with this shit.Let me just get my I Heart Hardwood shirt.”
Austin laughed in relief.“Fuck off, you had me going.”
“I’ll make a shopping list if you wrangle the kids.”
“You don’t want to be the one to introduce them?”
“I don’t want to send you to the hardware store,” Joe corrected.
Okay, that was fair.Austin didn’t mind the hardware store, but he didn’t fuck with the lumber section.“Guess I’m on babysitting duty.”
On cue, the door banged open and the kids—minus Meg—piled in.
“Dude, your yard isgross,” Gavin commented.Then he peeked into the kitchen and said, “Oh shit, your floor is bad too.”
“Are you giving me crap when you’re literally cutting class to meet my dog right now?”Joe asked.
“It’s our dog,” Austin corrected.
Gavin looked at Alex, then at Joe, and then said, “What, co-owning a house wasn’t enough for you guys?”
