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He reached inside and grabbed the two five-gallon buckets of paint, carrying both of them with ease.
Okay then.She’d wondered how she was going to get those into the house, but apparently that was no longer a problem.“Just set them inside the door.Thank you.”
“No problem.”
She made one more trip for the last two bags and spotted the tarp on the roof.Given the dark clouds rolling in and the rain they’d gotten overnight, she welcomed Bryson’s forethought.
“The supplies should be here in the next day or so.I’ll work on the repairs in the evenings.”
“Thank you.Be sure to get me an invoice.Oh, and I’m going to need that fence sooner rather than later.”
His gaze narrowed on her.
“What did you do?”
Hadley shrugged casually but couldn’t contain her grin.One, she noted, Bryson matched with ease.The fluttering in her stomach returned at the sight.“I couldn’t help myself.It’s not a done deal but…a definite possibility.”
His chuckle warmed her insides because he was so dang cute when he smiled.
“I see.I suppose I can make it a priority.”
“After the roof,” she said.
“Yeah, after the roof.So you really got a dog?”
A laugh bubbled out of her, and she pulled her phone from her purse, unlocking the screen and flashing Hershey’s sweet face.“Could you have resisted this?Look at her.”
Hershey had stared up at the camera with her big brown eyes, very much the sad puppy she was.
Bryson smiled and shook his head.
“Ah, probably not.What’s his name?”
“Her name is Hershey.If my application is approved, I should hear something tomorrow or maybe the next day.”
“I’ll see what I can do tonight then since the roof is on hold anyway.”
“You don’t mind?”she asked.“I don’t want you to get into trouble with your boss.”
Hadley watched as Bryson opened his mouth to say something but then closed it and shook his head.
“It’ll be fine.Are you going to start painting now?”
She looked at the bags and the walls of furniture and frames and shook her head.She wanted to do this right, and that meant watching some more videos online and making sure she had a solid grasp of the dos and don’ts.“No.This can wait until morning.I’m hungry and some of my cousins said they’d drop by.They should be here any minute.”
“I’ll leave you to it then,” Bryson said.“Enjoy your evening.”
“Thanks again.For everything.”
She walked him to the door and watched as he left, his broad shoulders and muscular form drawing her notice even though she warned herself not to ruin what was turning out to be a surprising friendship.And a comfortable one.There was just something about Bryson that left her feeling…safe.Not in a boring way but…it was hard to explain.
Bryson had no sooner walked between the hedges dividing the properties when gravel crunched and Hadley turned to find Izzy’s pulling into the driveway.
She made her way onto the porch and waved at the woman.“I’m so glad you’re here!”
“Of course you are,” Izzy said, smiling as she climbed out of the vehicle and retrieved a gift bag from the backseat before heading toward Hadley.“A couple of the other girls are on their way.The rest send you hugs, say Kyle is a louse, and will be sure to visit on their next trip to town.Oh, and Michael can’t make it, but he said if he sees Kyle, he’ll give him a beatdown—his words.In the meantime, happy housewarming!”
As Izzy made her way to the porch, Hadley watched as Izzy’s eldest sister, Allie, pulled in and parked behind Izzy.Lily and Zoey, Tessa’s daughters, arrived next.“You guys, thank you so much!I wanted you to come visit but I didn’t expect this!You’re wonderful, all of you.”
