Page 13 of Biker's Temptation
I waved my hand, “I’m friends with Jerry down at city hall.He’d give me one if I needed it.”
“Well, all right,” she conceded.“You’ll need to give me your Venmo when we’re done or I can write a check.”
“For what?”
“The cost of materials and labor!”
“I’m not charging my girlfriend for repairs!”I couldn’t believe she expected to be nickel-and-dimed by me.
Her eyebrows rose.“Girlfriend?”
Too late, I realized what I had said.I felt the tips of my ears get hot.
Before I could come up with some lame ass excuse, she saved me with, “You can call me whatever you want if it means you’ll make me scream like you did last night again.”
That was a challenge I happily accepted.
“Let me eat and find my shoes.”She retreated toward the house.“Then I’ll come back out and help you.”
Twenty minutes later, she had opened the door of her detached garage and led me inside the neatly organized space.I wasn’t at all suprised by the very sensible Honda Civic sitting inside.Safe.Great gas mileage.Affordable.The happy blue color did surprise me.
It was easy to see her librarian’s touch here with the rows of clearly labeled storage totes on sturdy shelves.A pegboard wall displayed all the necessary tools for keeping a house maintained.She had a small selection of landscaping equipment in one corner including the wheelbarrow I needed.
We worked well together.She took direction easily and anticipated the tools I would need.I shouldn’t have been surprised, not after finding out about her father.I suspected she had spent hours in his shop, learning at his side.
By the time lunch rolled around, we had the new metal post cemented in place and supported with braces until it cured.Setting and affixing the actual library would have to wait until tomorrow.I wanted to take the box home with me and do some minor repairs to the woodwork anyway.
“We’ll need to replace this sod,” I muttered, crouching down to inspect the deep gouges left in the lawn.My gaze traveled to the crushed section of her flowerbed.“New flowers, too.”I stood up, ignoring the twinge in my knees.“We could head over to Martinez Sod and Nursery?”I glanced at my watch.“Grab some lunch?”
“Fine, but I'm paying.”
I frowned.“Not if I get my wallet out first.”
She frowned right back at me.“Keep it up, and I’ll make you take me grocery shopping, too.Fill up my fridge on your dime.”
Enjoying her silliness, I said, “Kroger or Arlan’s?”
“Depends on the weekly ad and sales,” she said honestly.“That librarian salary doesn’t stretch as far these days.”
“I don’t doubt it.”I was luckier than most when it came to money and being comfortable.Even in my youngest days, I had invested my ill-gotten gains in businesses and real estate.Between my carpentry, what I had wrapped up in the stock market and a handful of small rental properties, I didn’t have to worry.
“I’m not, like, destitute,” she clarified a little while later as we drove to a lunch spot I enjoyed.“I did okay in the divorce.More than okay,” she added honestly.“I just like to be careful, especially in this economy.”
“I hear you.”
“Is carpentry your only business?”
I shook my head as we idled at a red light.“I own a piece of Margie’s bar and another one down near Surfside.Both under the table because of licensing laws,” I explained.“I also have some rental property up and down the beach.”
“Airbnb type rentals or long-term?”
“A mix of both.Short-term is more profitable, but it’s a headache when things go wrong.”I turned into the parking lot that hosted a selection of food trucks.Many of them were owned by friends, and Pham’s Cajun Vietnamese fusion was my favorite.
“My cousin Nataly has been on my case to try something like that.She keeps watching these YouTube real estate gurus who flip houses and turn them into Airbnb locations.She’s convinced we should try it.”
“Only if you’ve got money to burn,” I remarked, certain that was a quick way to get in trouble.“And even then...”
“She’s got that WNBA money,” Melissa remarked, grabbing her purse.“Just begging to be spent while it sits in her bank account.”
