“That’s big, that’s a whole neighborhood!”
“That’s right, we’ll be booked for a while on this one. They have forty houses, so far, in the plan.”
She heard voices in the background. “Where are you?”
“Bought the crew dinner. I knew you were working, and they really put in the extra to get this, too.”
“I get it, that’s great. You’ll need to have a good crew for this job. May as well buy them all a beer.” She tried not to sound worried.
“Don’t worry. They’re having beer. Me? Diet Coke, and I’m going to be sure they all get home safe. Like you said. I need all of them to do this new job.”
“Right.” Dean was a good boss. She saw that. And he was sober. He had been. Since he promised her. He’d got the bid in. He’d taken care of his crew.
She’d taken care of everything else. But then she remembered the last few hours. She’d had a few mini disasters while Dean was having this triumph.
“You know, you were right,” Dean added. “Getting it in today did make the difference.”
“Wait, what? Let me get the tape recorder. I waswhat?”
“You were right, babe. Getting it in got us the work, and they loved that I was going to be available, also like you said.”
“Good. Well, have fun. Congratulations. I’ll see you when you get home.”
“Don’t wait up.”
“Don’t worry.”
They hung up. J.J. had moved heaven and earth to be sure that nothing was in Dean’s way. She knew they were a team on this, even though he got to run in for the touchdown, and she was stubbing out Virginia Slims with her fingers.
The main thing to focus on was the job. He’d gotten this big job, and they’d have a good income for the next couple of years! It was hard to see the wins sometimes when she was in the deep end of work and the kids and the bills.
But her hard-drinking, rough-edged boyfriend had turned into a responsible business owner. And a good dad. She wanted to celebrate that with him. They deserved a night out.
Maybe later, she was too tired to do anything—oh crap, the laundry! She’d forgotten to move it to the dryer.
ChapterSixteen
Present Day
J.J. wanted to get her eyes on D.J. She used the haircut as her excuse. He needed one, and she was going to give him one. Period.
Even though she’d called and texted to let him know she was coming, D.J. still seemed surprised to see her. She’d arranged to do the cut early in the day at the construction trailer. He’d be hard-pressed to come up with an excuse. Plus, he’d be able to get right to work after the haircut. Her sheers and cape were packed into her tote, and her other hand balanced a Styrofoam coffee holder with two piping hot cups. J.J. didn’t have an extra hand to spare, so she kicked the trailer door gently instead of knocking.
No answer. She knocked harder, and finally, she heard something, and it rocked with the footfalls of her son.
“Coming!”
The door opened, and there he was. Looking disheveled, to put it mildly.
“Mom, hey. Yeah.” He was in his work jeans and a t-shirt.
She noticed a Tucker Construction polo shirt balled up on the bench near the table. She picked it up.
“It’s quite a mess in here, D.J.”
She didn’t want to be that mom. But it was too late. She was going to be that mom. It was hard to even find a surface on which to place the coffee she brought. J.J. picked up a paper plate with a half-eaten sandwich and piled it on top of a paper towel with a pizza crust.
“This is lovely, D.J.” She wanted to ground him, take away his Xbox or something, but of course, he was a grown man. Although, this was not how a grown man running a business should live or work.
