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I took my notepad, jogged up the steps to the rolling barn door, and snuck inside.
“I remember what a mess it was getting this building here,” a red-haired woman in beat-up work boots and dark jeans with a tape measure clipped on her hip said to Atley.
“Didn’t one section get stuck in the downtown square? Caught on a tree branch or something?” a second woman who was almost as tall as Atley asked. Her outfit was business casual slacks and a starched button-down.
“The truck driver couldn’t make the right turn by the courthouse. Took twenty minutes for him to wiggle through. He wasn’t even supposed to be on that street. His GPS sent him the wrong way,” Atley answered.
Laughing, they all three turned to me when I accidentally scuffed my cowboy boot over the floor.
“Morning, Rae.” Atley’s deep voice struck a chord, and my knees threatened to give out. The combustible relationship between his sexy drawl and my newly unleashed desires would make staying focused a challenge.
“Morning.” I sounded way too chipper for seven thirty am on Monday. Way to play it cool.
“Ladies, this is Rae Phillips.” Atley’s eyes ran up and down my body, lingering in all the right places to get my nipples hard and my panties damp. He looked good enough to eat this morning with a bit of scruff on his hard, normally clean-shaven jaw and a white work shirt tucked into his well-fitting jeans.
“I’m Harley Stenson, this is my wife, Annabelle.” The red head held out her hand.
I shook hands and made small talk, only stuttering a little as I recovered from Atley’s attention.
“They are the best builders in town. They’ve done a lot of projects here over the years.” Atley started leading our group toward the back of the dancehall where so much work needed to be done. I ogled his ass, because damn, it was fine.
“Not this building or the main house reno,” Annabelle grumbled.
“Be happy you didn’t; both projects sucked.” Atley ushered us into the hall and down to the first bathroom.
“She’s always grumpy when an outta towner gets a job in Elmer.” Harley stopped in the middle of the room and gave a long, low whistle. “This is going to cost more than a dollar.”
“And we need it done ASAP. I’m already selling tickets for a grape stomp opening event.” The incomplete bathroom looked worse than I remembered. I jotted a few more missing items on my shopping list: TP holders, for one.
“They are both like this, men’s and women’s rooms?” Annabelle asked as she snapped a few photos.
“Yes, ma’am.” Atley’s standard reply made the side of my lips quirk up in a half smile.
“Kitchen too. But we can wait on that until later.” My food truck contact in Austin had already sent me a proposal to review. He would schedule trucks to rotate through the winery when he didn’t have room for them in his trendy south Austin food park. It was an attractive plan, but I needed to go try a few of thetrucks before I committed. Convenient was nice, but I wanted the food to be good too.
“There’s also an incomplete septic system to deal with, and we’re going to need a parking lot.” Atley couldn’t have sounded less excited if he was planning Major’s funeral. So different from his personality Saturday at the pool. Then again, on Saturday we didn’t talk about Blue Star or marketing wine or building out the dancehall.
“Anything else?” Harley asked.
“The chandelier?” I couldn’t wait to see it hung.
Atley explained his concerns about changing bulbs and cleaning it, and the ingenious winch that The Enclave had. Harley was confident they could replicate something like that system.
“Timeline again?” Annabelle had her phone out and was scrolling through a calendar app.
“First week of September.” Atley winced.
“Rush job. I love you, Atley, but we’re charging you extra for that.” Harley said.
“My brother will pay.” Wilson knew this would cost a pretty penny.
Atley shot me a look that reminded me this was a negotiation; I shouldn’t be reminding the contractors that Wilson was a bottomless well of funds. My bad, I was excited, so I smiled back at him, ignoring his censure.
“Alright, we can do it. I’ll have a full scope of work and a price for you by the end of business today. You approve it and we’ll have people here tomorrow.” Annabelle added notes to her phone.
“We’ll need all the bathroom fixtures, tile, and everything else sourced and on the job site as soon as possible,” Harley said.
“I’m handling that. I’ll go to Austin and start shopping today as soon as I cancel bunco with the mayor.”
