Page 39 of Always My Love

“How about a trip to the hardware store?” he asked Harper.

Thankfully, Pride’s Hardware and Lumber Yard, had everything they needed, including a rustic double vanity and sinks that Harper liked. She picked out more of the tile that she wanted in the shower, a simple off-white tile with tan undertones, along with tan grout.

She even purchased two new wood-framed mirrors for over the dual sinks.

He, on the other hand, spent more of his time in the lumber section. He grabbed two-by-fours to build up the walls to separate the toilet and shower area from the sink area so that the sisters didn’t have to fight over the bathroom as much. According to Harper, it was the biggest issues they had living in the cabin, since it only had one bathroom.

He also grabbed the Hardie board that would line the walls of the showers under the tiles. He made sure to get everything he’d need to build the walls—nails, caulk, mud, and grout—and helped Harper pick out the color of paint that would go on the walls after all the work was done.

Since it would be cheaper to tile the floor after they were done, instead of repairing the old wood floors, she picked out rectangle wood-look tile that matched the coloring of the tile in the shower.

When they returned to her place with the truck loaded, Hailey was already home.

“What have you done to our bathroom?” Hailey said when they walked inside. When she saw Nick, she smiled. “Hi, Nick.”

“Hi.” He smiled and turned to Harper. “I’m going to start bringing everything inside.”

Harper nodded in his direction, and he heard her start to explain to her sister why their one and only bathroom was out of commission for possibly the next week.

When he came back in, carrying an armful of tiles, Hailey stood in the kitchen drinking a soda.

“I’m sorry she dragged you into this,” Hailey said.

“She didn’t drag. I jumped at the opportunity to help out. I think seeing what I accomplished at my place sparked her interest and her jealousy.” He smiled.

“Oh, I’d heard you’d fixed up your place. Actually, there are a handful of old homes in town that have undergone remodeling in Pride. I guess having a new home subdivision close to town has forced a lot of people to upgrade their older homes,” Hailey said with a shrug.

“That and a lot of my friends and family are getting married. Younger couples are flooding into town and taking something old and making it home. Like the two of you,” he added, thinking of a few new people that had either married in the past few years or had moved into Pride. “Look at this place. How long did it sit empty until you came along?”

Hailey glanced around the room they were standing in. “My great-uncle moved here in his twenties and then lived the rest of his life here. He died around five years ago.”

He frowned slightly, not wanting her to see it, and turned away to set the boxes he’d carried inside down. He was getting more information from Hailey than he had so far from her sister about their move to Pride.

Everyone had assumed that Hank Davis had been their uncle. He supposed it didn’t matter if he was actually their great-uncle.

“What made you decide to move in?” he asked, trying to sound casual.

Hailey shrugged her shoulders and then walked over to toss the empty soda can in the trash. “It was empty and we needed a place. But finding our jobs was the key to staying.” She smiled. “I like working at Baked and, as far as I can tell, Harper likes the Golden Oar.”

“It’s a job,” Harper said from the doorway. “Are you going to stick around and help us?” she asked her sister.

“Nope, I was just swinging by to shower and change. Now, I suppose, I’ll have to settle for showering down at the Boys and Girls club. I’ve got my first self-defense and boxing lessons from Reece,” Hailey answered.

“Good.” Harper glanced at him.

“Reece is going to teach self-defense at the club?” For the past few years, several people had tried to talk him into it but none so far had succeeded in persuading him to.

“I’m his first guinea pig,” Hailey said, then she disappeared down the hallway into the darker blue room.

“Should I be worried?” Harper asked quietly.

“About Reece?” Nick’s eyebrows rose in question.

Harper shrugged. “I don’t know him very well. He’s not a drinker and doesn’t hang out at the bar.”

“Reece is one of the best guys in town your sister could spend time with,” he reassured her. “Wyatt, Reece, and I, along with a bunch of the Jordans, were like the A-Team in Pride. If we saw injustice, we were usually the ones to fix it.”

He picked up the box of tile and carried it towards the bathroom.

“What do we do first?” she asked after they finished unloading everything.

“Now we build the new shower walls and the wall to separate the toilet and sinks from the rest of the room.” He motioned to the lumber.

“What can I do?” she asked, biting her bottom lip.

He thought about it. “I can show you how to use the table saw.” He motioned to the saw he’d set up in the hallway. It was raining outside and she didn’t have a covered porch, so it was the best place they had to work.

Harper took a step back and shook her head. “The thought of using that thing scares me.”

He smiled. “Okay, how about a hammer?” He held up the hammer.

She smiled. “That I can do.”