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Chapter 12
After this week’s coffee session with Ashley, she insisted we go see the house for updates.
Ashley and I pulled up to Gram’s house and made it to the back porch. I reminded her not to embarrass me any more than the last time, and she bumped her hip against mine.
“When have I ever been known to embarrass you?” I gave her a side-eye look and she opened the door.
We walked in and heard country music playing loudly over some hammering in the background. We made our way to the kitchen, and I gasped at the changes made, the house looked completely new.
The once brown cabinets had been replaced with white shaker cabinets, and the walls were painted a light gray. Old linoleum was removed and those old hardwoods shined through. There is a charcoal herringbone backsplash and the new appliances I showed Grant are in. It’s exactly what I showed him, but better.
“Wow. Is this even the same house?” Ashley questioned as she took in the new updates. I had expectations, I had dreamt at night of this home being completed. But none of those dreams held a candle to what was in front of me. It was modern but with added character from the old parts of the house. Grant had saved every piece that I said was important to me and replaced what he knew needed to go. He exceeded every one of my expectations and I caught myself unable to describe my gratitude.
“I- I can’t believe...” I couldn’t find the words for what I felt at that moment.
Delight at the beauty that was in front of me.
Excitement for the house transformation.
Sorrow for Gram never seeing it so beautiful.
Guilt that I couldn’t share this moment with my family.
There were hundreds of words to describe how I felt toward what I had just walked into, but I couldn’t find the space in my brain to get them out.
Before I had the chance to continue, Beau walked in.
“Glad to know y’all like it.” His charming southern drawl projected out in the room, and I can already hear Ashley basically panting over him.
“Hey Beau, this is my best friend, Ashley.” Beau walked over to her and shook her hand and I saw her thoughts come to a halt and I felt like her eyes were going to pop out of her head. I can already hear at our next coffee talk, ‘June, I’m in love!’
Ashley shook his hand back and gave a brief hi. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her shy before, and I’m not sure how to react myself.
I break up the conversation, “Is Grant here?” Beau looked from Ashley to me and had a mischievous smirk on his lips. “Yeah, he’s in the bathroom doing the tile shower.” I made my way out of the room and headed to the main bathroom, leaving them behind. Which I would probably regret later.
I skipped through the house, seeing further updates, but I had to say I was most excited to see the man at the end of the house. I walked into the bathroom unnoticed and saw Grant leaning over, placing grout on top of the tile I picked out. Heat spread through me, and I ran my fingers through my hair to smooth it down. As if he sensed my presence before I even announced my arrival, Grant turned toward where I stood. I did a little half-wave, and he places his tools down and takes his headphones out.
“Hey, I’m sorry to bother you, I was just thinking it’s been a while since I’ve seen the house.” He wiped his hand off on a random cloth and made his way over to me.
“Don’t apologize for walking in your own house, Hart. I like it when you stop by.” I smiled up at him as he leaned against the door frame with an arm hanging over me. I felt the need to curl into his side and purr like a cat snuggled up in some warm laundry.
Friends, June.
“You have done an amazing job. I mean this is better than I could’ve imagined.”
He looked around the bathroom, checking with a fresh perspective.
“I’m actually pretty excited about how this turned out. I figured we need to make your grandmother proud, right?” That lopsided grin came out and my heart sped up thinking of how much my grandmother would love Grant. She had an attitude but a big heart, and I could imagine her telling me how to lock him down by bringing him various baked goods.
“Definitely.” He smiled down at me, white paint smeared across his temple. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look so handsome. Even when he was dressed nicely in the bar, or when he wore that tight shirt in my apartment. No, this is by far the most I have ever been floored by Grant’s appearance. As dirty and sweaty as he is right now, he looks so complacent about being in this bathroom with me. His dark hair was tucked in his same Atlanta Braves cap, and his work boots had added an extra couple of inches to his height, which made him tower over me more than he ever has. He must have been able to tell I was admiring him because his eyes looked hungry at me, making me clench my muscles tightly to avoid jumping him.
In the other room, I heard Ashley and Beau laughing. I looked up at Grant. “It probably wasn’t the best idea to introduce those two.” His eyes crinkled at the corner, and his shoulders shook with a chuckle. “Probably not.”
I invited Ashley to take a look at the bathroom, she and Beau made their way through the house to where Grant and I stood.
“June, this is unreal! I mean, look at this place. Your mom will lose her mind when she comes to see.”
I could already hear my dad: well, they should have replaced those GFCIs with a different ground. And mom’s famous It’s not exactly my taste, but I suppose some people might like that. Even if they both loathed it and I’d have to hear about it at every holiday gathering, I knew I was doing the right thing. This house belonged to someone who’s going to love and cherish it. It doesn’t deserve a for sale sign in the yard, along with an investor coming in to buy it for a cheap rental. No, this house deserves warmth, love, and affection.
