Page 26 of Paradise West
Jack snorted and turned his head to follow the clearing process. “They regulate everything in KeyWest. Just wait until we start working on the main house. Any change to the structure will require approval.”
“Huh.” Despite wearing her darkest sunglasses, the sun’s brilliant glare was still blinding. Charli shaded her eyes and looked over the wall. She was pleasantly surprised at the progress the workers had made. “Wow, it looks better already.”
Jack leaned both arms on top of the wall. “Yeah, we have the best crew in the Keys.” He glanced back at her and dug his phone from his pocket. Pulling up a photo he’d taken yesterday in Art’s office, he magnified a section and showed her. “Based on this plat map, we’ve already found the majority of the markers for the original garden. We shouldn’t have any problems recreating the design.”
“Plus we plan to add a few elements that are documented in other historic gardens,” Gus added. “We have people searching antique stores up and down the keys for a few items.”
Charli nodded absently then peered up at Jack. “Did I hear you fighting with George this morning?”
Gus cackled, and Jack gave her a look of disgust. He held up his right arm that sported several long, red scratches. “The little bastard was not happy that we were moving his brood.”
Charli chuckled. “I’m glad I’m not the only one he’s pissing off. Do you know he crows at 6 AM every morning?”
Jack grinned. “Yeah, I do. He’s a real asshole, isn’t he?”
“Mmmmm,” Charli hummed in agreement. “Did you put the chickens in the back?”
Jack gestured over his shoulder. “You wanna see?”
“Sure,” she replied, being careful not to move her head too much.
Jack gave her a soft, sympathetic smile and placed his hand lightly on her middle back, sending shivers shooting down her spine and heat blooming through her core.
What was it about this guy that made her tingle?
“Come on,” he urged lightly. “George isn’t around right now—I’m sure he’s out terrorizing some poor tourist. But Henrietta and her babies are all nice and cozy by the old pool. We won’t have to worry about them moving through the front garden while we’re cleaning out the area. It’s too much noise and activity.”
Charli waved a goodbye to Gus as Jack led her away. She glanced over the wall several times as they walked to the entrance toward the rear of the compound, taking in the weathered wooden gatedoors. “I can’t believe how run down it all seems now.” Her heart sank at the thought of her aunt being overwhelmed by the property that she had loved so much. Charli looked up at Jack as he stopped to open the gate, emotion clogging her throat.
“Why didn’t she ask for help?” she choked out. “I would have been down here in a heartbeat if I had known it was this bad.”
Jack reached for her hand and gave it a light squeeze. “She didn’t have to ask anyone—we offered several times, but she refused.” He shrugged. “Like I said, she would say it wasn’t the right time. That it wasn’t ready.”
Charli cursed under her breath, tired of the cryptic postmortem messages from her aunt. She looked up to the sky and nearly shouted, “But why?” The question was rhetorical, of course—she knew Jack didn’t have the answer. “Why waste all this time and let it get like this?”
Jack’s lips pressed together as if he were holding his answer back, and then he released a deep breath. “I asked myself that a thousand times. But it was her choice to make.” His hand landed on her arm and rubbed up and down, soothing her. “Come on. Let me show you what we set up this morning.”
As they walked on the gravel path between the buildings, several chicks scampered along the edgeslooking for bugs, bringing a smile to Charli’s face. “Aww...they’re so cute and fluffy.”
“Mmmhmmm,” Jack responded. “For now. Then they grow up to be little assholes like George,” he added sarcastically.
Charli laughed. “How many are there?”
Jack pursed his lips. “There’s no telling. I haven’t counted how many chicks are running around in here right now. But George and Henrietta have progeny all over the island.”
“Really? That’s amazing.”
Jack snorted. “This island is crawling with chickens, and they’re protected, so they tend to stick around.” He pointed to what looked like a large wooden dollhouse with several openings and numerous little ramps located around it.
Charli’s brows shot up. “You made that?”
He gave a sharp shake of his head. “Gus had the guys pull one together for us. This and all the noise we make should keep most of the brood from wandering near our construction areas for now. They’ll like all the bugs in this spot.” He gestured behind them at the other buildings. “When we start working back here, we’ll move them up to the front section.”
Charli hummed. “Looks like you’ve thought of everything.”
Jack grunted and gave her a wary expression, as if hesitant to say something. “There is something else I wanted to talk to you about today.”
“Yeah? What about?” she asked, shading her eyes as she looked up at him.
