AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hello!” a booming voice rang out. If his day couldn’t get any better, Milton Davenport had to show up himself just then. “Hi, boys! Just came to see how things are progressing.” Davenport’s words cut short when he looked at the countertop.
“It’s coming along,” Ryder said.
“Looks like a mistake,” Davenport said, pointing a pudgy finger at the counter.
“Nothing that can’t be fixed,” Ryder assured.
“There’s a lot of money at stake here, and you’re messing up with granite? Do you know how expensive that is?”
“Yes, I do.” Ryder was trying to stay calm. “I’ll take care of it. The cabinet and countertop will be solid and one piece like you wanted.”
Davenport shook his head. “What other mistakes are being made?” he asked with a hiss to his tone.
The crew was dispersing. Huck stood his ground, ready to support his friend, but Ryder gave him a subtle signal to go on with the rest of the crew. As much as he’d like to have his friend there for backup, Davenport would respond better if they were alone.
“I can assure you, everything is going smoothly.”
Davenport eyed the counter, then Ryder. “Let’s hope so. For your sake. You get your business by referral, and I’m not going to sugarcoat what I think of your work. Diamond or not.”
“I stand by my work and my crew. The Hall will be finished the way you wanted, and on time.”
Davenport lifted his chin and eyed Ryder. “All within budget?”
“Of course,” Ryder said with the best smile he could muster. Because if it took him every waking hour he had for the next week, he’d fix the damn cabinet himself. There was no way in hell he’d leave this job without a stellar seal of pride and workmanship.
“Good,” Davenport said and turned to walk away.
Ryder knew right then that he was staring down the barrel of a long few days.
The week passed in a blur. After having girl time with Penny and Lily, Whitney thought more about Kacey and how much she missed her. How things could have been different if she’d survived. Maybe that was a sign she was settling too comfortably in Diamond. Because the point of her moving from place to place was to experience life and live for adventure. Not to get caught up in thoughts of her sister, and all the sadness and guilt that came with them.
Yet the thought of splitting didn’t spark excitement the way it should.
But she would leave. She had to.
She wanted to see Ryder at least once more before she left. From the gossip she’d picked up, not to mention Penny flat out telling her, Ryder was working long hours over at that old building on Main Street. There was some kind of event coming up the next weekend, and between Penny running over bags of food to the crew, and everyone talking about this extravaganza like it was the second coming of Cinderella’s ball, Whitney knew it was a big deal for the town.
The hell of it was, she was missing Ryder. She’d been working a lot as well, to keep herself busy, and it was adding up to a nice chunk of change. So nice that it was looking like she wouldn’t need the whole summer to reach her money goal. And that was shitty since the thought of moving on should invigorate her, but it was making her pause. Mostly to think of a pair of gray eyes that gave her goose bumps.
The truth was, she could have taken lunch or dinner to Ryder on one of the nights Penny offered the job to her, but she hadn’t. Because she didn’t trust herself that she would be able to turn down another invitation from Ryder for a date. Or worse, face the disappointment if he didn’t offer again.
It was stupid and silly, and she shouldn’t even be thinking in these circles. But there was something about him that went deeper than people saw. He wasn’t just thoughtful and determined. There was a heart bursting with affection for the people he loved, but he held that part of himself under such tight control that it almost never came out. But for some reason, he let that part out when he was in private with Whitney.
Every time she was with him he delivered an experience, but he’d iced the cake with the heavy machinery. Not to mention, she’d never gone skinny-dipping like she had with him.
That was so far beyond awesome it should have its own name. Like Ryder-dipping.
He got her hackles up, all while making her wet with a single glare. She didn’t want to ruin the time they had with good manners. She wanted more of his wild, impulsive side. But he’d been clear those encounters were numbered. Hell, if he’d had his way, even the skinny-dipping would never have happened.
She wiped down the bar just as Lily came through the door with Alex and sat down.
“You okay all alone in here?” she asked.
Whitney poured her a Diet Coke and tossed in a cherry—Lily’s favorite, she’d learned over these past weeks.
“I’m good,” Whitney replied, but Lily didn’t seem to be buying it. Before that questioning blond brow was followed by an actual question, Whitney looked at the cute kid climbing up on the stool next to his mom. “You must be Alex,” Whitney said.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.
