Page 30 of To Bring You Back
Tegan motioned at a sheet of paper on the counter. “Before you read it, remember, the church offered to do it for free.”
To the soundtrack of Bruce chomping his kibble, Adeline picked up the second price quote. The total wasn’t as high as the painter’s, at least, but if she couldn’t pay the painter, she certainly couldn’t pay the painterandthe carpenter.
She took another look at the painter’s paperwork. The decimal point remained firmly where she’d initially thought.
“I get why you wouldn’t ask Gannon for money, but you can accept the church’s help with the porch.”
“I’ll have to. And how do you feel about painting?” She passed over the painter’s quote.
Tegan pinched the paper as she read each of the line items. “It’s a big job. Maybe he’d take installments? Or the youth group could help as a service project.”
More charity. “If I do a little at a time and keep working at it, I could get it done in three months.” But did she want to spend every spare moment painting for the rest of her summer? She’d have to sacrifice her annual kayak trip—that cost money anyway—and regular lakeside hikes.
“If the concern is curb appeal, could you just paint the front?” Tegan asked.
“The letter said anything visible from the street, which includes both sides.” Even if she’d planted a few trees when she’d moved in, they wouldn’t have grown large enough to shield much from judging eyes.
She should’ve gotten a smaller house instead of this mammoth, two-story fixer-upper, but she’d been so enamored with the view of the lake, she hadn’t considered the cost of upkeep.
“Unless I want to have to redo the work every couple of years, I’ll need to do it right. Strip as much of the old paint as I can. Sanding. The whole nine yards.”
“That’ll take until October.”
“It might.”
“I’ll help, but I can’t make a full-time job of it. Though speaking of jobs, the college position is still open. They did a bunch of interviews, but they weren’t happy with the applicants.”
Adeline tossed the quotes onto the table. To change her life so drastically sounded like an even bigger task than painting the house. Could she handle the responsibility of the university job? What if she made the change and got fired for underperforming a few months later?
Superior Dogs and the church weren’t glamorous, but she knew she wouldn’t let anyone down there. “Asher’s offering more hours to deal with an increase in sales. College students have been walking down in hopes of spotting famous people.”
Tegan snorted. “Who shall go unnamed.”
Her last talk with Tegan hadn’t left her feeling much better. She hadn’t come clean about how far she and Gannon had gone, nor had she confessed the ocean of feelings she still had for him—one wave of which had prompted her to program his number into her phone. But at least she’d started talking. If she kept it up, eventually she might get the whole thing out. “All three members of the band are here now.”
“Because of you?”
“Gannon, initially, but this is something else. Vacation, I guess. Once they leave or people get bored, it’ll be back to business as usual.”
“How long do you think that’ll be? Even my summer readers are talking about him. Before class started today, they were playing the acoustic version of one of his songs.”
“Sixth graders?”
“Sixth-grade girls. I doubt they listen to most of his music, but even you have to admit the way his voice sounds in that song …” She lifted her eyebrows as if Adeline would finish the thought. “It’s the one about surrender that’s on all the time lately.”
Adeline could only shake her head.
“You haven’t heard it?”
“I don’t listen to the radio.”
Tegan’s chin dipped with suspicion. “Just to avoid Awestruck?”
“I hardly drive anywhere, and I play Christian radio at church.”
“You aren’t curious what your friends are famous for?”
“I already know, remember? I used to be part of it.”
