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“And if there isn’t work here?” Walt asked.
“There will be,” Paul said. “But until it’s established, I’ll keep the house in Grants Pass. If I have to, there’s always a lot of work for me there. But, General, people have such a hard time finding a contractor around here, I have a feeling there will be too much work, once my name gets out. We have a good reputation in Grants Pass.”
“Hmm,” he said. “Just how many houses can you build at one time?”
“We’ve gotten pretty big in Oregon,” he said with a shrug. “We’ve gotten up to a dozen or two structures in progress at a time, depending on the size, whether they’re commercial, family units or multifamily—apartments. Our specialty has been custom homes from the beginning—I don’t know how much of that I’ll find around here. But there’s lots of renovation work. How long did it take you to renovate this house?”
“Almost two years,” Walt said.
“See, that’s it—we could’ve had it done in a few months, even if we started with a lean-to. Six at the most. I sense a serious market.”
“Can you make a living on a few a year? Renovations or custom homes?”
“A damn fine living,” Paul confirmed.
Walt hmmed again. “Give me a second.” He left the room and Vanni and Paul exchanged confused glances. Then Walt was back. He held a thick, folded document. “This was impetuous of me, and if it doesn’t appeal to you, there will be no hard feelings. But then again, if you like the idea, you can consider it an early wedding gift.” He handed the pages to Paul.
Paul unfolded the document. At the top was printed, in boldface, DEED.
“I have a lot of land here. I wanted a lot—in case the surrounding acreage sells off at some point. I need space to ride. I thought a couple of acres on the other side of the stable might work out for you. If you’re interested, that is. If you’d rather scout around for your own land…”
“Oh, Daddy,” Vanni said, so deeply moved that her hand rose to her throat and her eyes swelled with tears.
“It’s going to belong to you and Tom one day anyway. I have Shelby taken care of. If you’re inclined and want to keep your own horses, we can always enlarge the stable and corral.” He grinned. “I know a builder.”
Gently, Paul pushed Vanni off his lap and stood, facing Walt. “This is very generous, sir,” he said.
“It’s very selfish, Paul. I wouldn’t mind having my daughter and grandchildren nearby. Frankly, a year ago I didn’t think that was an option.” Then he looked at Vanni and asked, “Honey, can you be happy in a little town like this? Your husband building around the area, nothing much to occupy you but children and horses?”
She laughed a little emotionally. “You’re kidding me, right? Dad, not many people even have the opportunity for this kind of life. The only complication is whether there’s enough work here for Paul.” She reached for his hand. “He loves building houses. And he’s brilliant at it. We have to keep him at it.”
“Well, here’s the thing, Vanni,” Paul said. “Before approaching my dad and brothers with this idea, I called around. I said I had house plans and needed a company to build—the soonest I could get someone was a year. There’s plenty of work if they’re backed up a year, plenty to spare.” He looked at Walt. “I’d be willing to call Joe Benson in the morning, tell him we’re ready to discuss our own plans. If you’re sure…”
“You’re holding it in your hand, son. It’s your future wife’s property. I’m sure.”
Twelve
W hen May arrived in Virgin River there was love in the air. Paul and Vanni had been back and forth to Grants Pass for a couple of weeks, unable to be apart for even a few days. Paul was working out a deal with Joe Benson and his family business to build Preacher’s add-on, and Mike and Brie’s house. Then there was Tom and Brenda—young lovers, too hot to touch, getting ready to say goodbye for Tom to go to basic training and then to West Point. It was prom weekend and Vanni and Paul were back again to see the prom couple.
Mel Sheridan made it to May with that new baby girl still growing, and she was damn happy about that. One morning she woke up at 5:00 a.m., well before Jack. That almost never happened, especially when she was pregnant. But she was up and full of energy, so she started her day by making her husband a pot of coffee and began cleaning out the refrigerator. She would routinely bring home groceries and they would inevitably rot while they took their meals together at the bar, or packed up some of Preacher’s delicious meals to take home.
Just getting rid of the old food wasn’t quite good enough. Mel was on a roll, so she filled the sink with soapy water and began to scrub the inside of the fridge.
“What are you doing?” Jack asked as he wandered into the kitchen.
“I’m cleaning out the refrigerator,” she answered. “I’m going to stop bringing food into this house—we let too much go to waste.”
She heard David start to stir and lifted her head like a doe smelling a hunter.
“I’ll get him,” Jack said. “He’s heavy.”
“Okay. I’ll get his breakfast ready. Would you like me to make you an omelet or something?”
“How old are the eggs?” he asked.
“Hmm,” she said, looking. “I don’t think they’re deadly yet.”
“I think I’ll pass, thanks.”
“Coward.”
David had his Cheerios, then his playtime in the great room with all his toys while Mel started the laundry and Jack went outside to spend a few minutes on his favorite morning activity of splitting logs. By next fall there would be a nice huge stack of firewood ready for the winter. Some of the trees that had been felled to widen the driveway were stacked at the tree line on their property, and he was working on turning them into fuel for the fireplace.
Mel wiped down the kitchen cabinets with lemon oil. Paul and Jack had truly outdone themselves on the kitchen with its gorgeous oak cabinets, black granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances. The house was absolutely magnificent, and much more than Mel had dared allow herself to expect. Compared to that little cabin she’d lived in for almost two years, it was huge—over three thousand square feet—but she’d managed to fill it up very quickly with furniture and accessories.
Once done with the cabinets, Mel did another laundry shuffle, then got a clean diaper for Davie. She followed that by getting to work on the shutters with the lemon oil. Then she busied herself with a special cleaner for the leather furniture, followed by one more load of laundry. When Jack checked in on her before lunch, she was pulling the tags off new little pink things that she’d had for a long time—gifts for the baby from Jack’s sisters and her sister. Mel laundered and folded all these infant garments, something that probably should’ve been done weeks ago.
Having babies barely a year apart creates a need for two nurseries—she cleaned David’s room and gave the new baby’s room a little cleaning, too, putting away the clothes and getting out the newborn diapers and bath towels.
By afternoon Jack found her down on her hands and knees scouring the bathroom floor around the toilet and tub. “For the love of God,” he said.
“What?”
“What the hell are you doing? If you want the bathroom cleaned, why don’t you just tell me? I know how to clean a goddamn bathroom.”
“It wasn’t all that dirty, but since I’m in the cleaning mood, I thought I’d whip it into shape.”
“David is ready for his nap. Why don’t you join him.”
“I don’t feel like a nap. I’m going to vacuum the area rugs.”
“No, you’re not,” he said. “I’ll do that if it has to be done right now.”
“Okay,” Mel said, smiling.
“I’ve been tricked.”
“Only by yourself, darling,” she said, whirling away to get the Pledge and Windex. After that was done—and there was a lot of wood and glass and stainless steel to occupy her—she was sweeping off the porch and back steps. Not long after that, she was caught dragging the cradle into the master bedroom.
“Melinda!” he shouted, startling her and making her jump.
“Jack! Don’t do that!”
“Let go of that thing!” He brushed her out of the way and grabbed the cradle. “Where do you want it?”
“Right there,” she said. He put it beside the bed. “No,” she said. “Over there, kind of out of the way.” He put it there. “No,” she said. “Against that wall—we’ll put it where we need it when she comes.” He moved it again. “Thank you,” she said.
The phone rang. “I’ll get it,” he said. He picked up a pencil and put it in her face. “If you lift anything heavier than this, I’m going to beat you.” Then he turned and left the room.
He has cabin fever, she thought. Spending too much time at home with me, making sure I don’t pick up anything heavier than a pencil. He should get out more, and out of my hair.
When Jack was done with the phone, she was on her knees in front of the hearth, brushing out the barely used fireplace. “Aw, Jesus Christ,” he said in frustration. “Can that not wait until at least frickin’ winter?”
She sat back on her heels. “You are really getting on my last nerve. Don’t you have somewhere you can go?”
“No, but we do. Go shower and get beautiful. Paul and Vanessa are back and after they view the prom couple, they’re going to the bar for dinner. We’ll all meet there, look at some pictures.”
“Great,” she said. “I’m in the mood for a beer.”
“Whatever you want, Melinda,” he said tiredly. “Just stop this frickin’ cleaning.”
“You know I’m not going to be able to do much of this after the baby comes, so it’s good to have it all done. And the way I like it.”
“You’ve always been good at cleaning. Why couldn’t you just cook?” he asked. “You don’t cook anything.”
“You cook.” She smiled. “How many cooks does one house need?”
“Just go shower. You have fireplace ash on your nose.”
“Pain in the ass,” she said to him, getting clumsily to her feet.
“Ditto,” he said.
An hour later the three of them were on their way into town. “So, you did it,” she said. “You got Paul down here staking out his territory. And now they’re together.”
“You should at least give me a little credit for trying to get a couple of people together instead of trying to keep them apart.” Then more softly he added, “Like I did Preacher and Paige, Brie and Mike.”
“I should—apparently it all worked out just fine…” she said a little dreamily, rubbing her hands over her tummy.
“Do you feel all right?” he asked, glancing at her. “You’re a little…pink.”
“I feel fantastic. Probably just the calm before the storm.”
“Probably,” he said. “You do that again tomorrow and I’m tying you down. You make me crazy sometimes.”
“Jack…” She laughed. “When did you get like this? You’re so annoying!”
By the time they got to the bar, Brie and Mike were there and of course Paige and Preacher and Christopher. Doc came in, but before he could get comfortable his pager went off. He made a phone call from the kitchen and headed out for a house call. Next, Vanessa, Paul and the baby, along with a bouncy baby seat, had all arrived. The crowd was treated to digital pictures of Tom and Brenda and another couple all dressed up in their fancy clothes.
