The eye is still scowling, but he blinks twice, listening at least.
“What did yousay?”Millie asks, sounding stricken.
I look up and have the sudden realization that her scowl is identical to Emmett’s. That, and my current position down on one knee is an ideal one for having my teeth kicked in.
“I’m sorry, but when I met Emmett at the bus, I said we’d better get inside before we drowned.” Her eyes snap wide like I’ve struck her. “I should have been more careful.”
This is what makes me an idiot. Not that I didn’t know how his parents died, but that I even mentioned dying to a little kid who just lost the two most important people in his life.
Pendejo.
Upsetting a client is the last thing I want on any given day. What I’ve done to Millie and her family today alone should carry some jail time as far as I’m concerned. Too far from good enough. Miles away from great. Galaxies from frickin’ perfect. And everything I’ve fucked up today is even worse.
Because it’s Millie.
I look back at Emmett, but my words are for her. “I want to promise two things, Emmett. One: while we’re here, I’ll make sure no one says anything upsetting to you, your sisters, or your brother.” His scowl is gone, but I still have his full attention. Millie and Mattie’s, too, for that matter. “Two: I’m going to fix your kitchen so that you and your family love it so much. You’ll love everything about it. Just give me some time.”
Emmett takes a deep, shuddering breath, but he isn’t crying, and he’s not looking at me like I’m a monster.
“Does that sound good to you?”
His lips pinch together, bunching to the side. He shakes his head.
“No?” I ask, a shock running through me. He’s eight. Isn’t he too young to hold a grudge? No matter what, the opinion of an eight-year-old never seemed so important to me. Not even when I was eight. “Well, tell me, what else can I do?”
Emmett says nothing for a good five seconds, still tucked into Millie’s embrace, watching me.Santa Maria, Madre de Dios, ayúdeme.
“I don’t like surprises,” Emmett says, eyeing me with steady focus. “Even candy or parties. If something good is going to happen, I want to know.”
He looks up at the stripped and scarred walls of his gutted kitchen. “If something bad is going to happen, I want to know.” He swings his gaze back to me. “I want to know what you are going to do every day.”
I bite down on my grin, a quick glance at Emmett’s sisters tells me I’m not alone. I nod. “I can do that. At the end of every day, I can tell you what we’ve completed and what we have planned for the next day,” I promise my new boss. “If you’re not here when I leave for the day, I’ll write you a note.”
This,Gracias a Dios,makes him smile.
“Sound good,jefe?”
Emmett frowns. “What’s that mean?”
I grin. “It meansboss.We got a deal?”
Beaming, he nods.
“Let’s shake on it,” I say, offering him my hand.
He peels an arm away from Millie’s waist and puts his small hand in mine. I squeeze, and he squeezes back with surprising strength. And then I get to my feet.
Aware that the three of them are still watching me, and Sam and Donner are waiting patiently in the garage—hopefully unable to hear everything that’s just happened—I glance at the kitchen and then at my watch.3:27.It’s been a long ass day, but it ain’t over yet.
I look at Millie and then back at Emmett. “There’s more work we have to do today.” I glance back at Millie and hope she can read the question in my eyes.Should we call it a day? Start fresh tomorrow?“The next things on the list are pretty big.”
I look around the kitchen again, stomach tensing. He’s not going to like this.
Emmett blinks up at me. “What’s next?”
I reach back and scratch my neck, nervous. “We need to, uh, break up the tile and then remove the lower cabinets.
The whites around Emmett’s pale blue irises bloom. He looks at the white subway tile on the countertops and backsplash. “How do you break it up?’
