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I shook my head. Why would anyone name a girl Nolan?
“Well, do you mind if I loan her a few things?”
“Yeah, you can loan her some of my tools, but I am not going to take responsibility if she hurts herself with them, and I am not going to go over and bail her out when she gets in over her head—so don’t ask.”
Kayley put her hands up. “I won’t. I’ll help her with what she needs.”
I stared at her stomach, then lifted my eyes to her. “You shouldn’t be doing that in your condition.”
“Don’t you start too! I know damn well what I can and can’t do.”
I huffed. “You going to have time to help her?”
“I’ll do it at night and on the weekends. She’s going to be working during the day too, so that’s the only time she’ll have.”
“Aw, okay. Just don’t overdo it. You need to stay unstressed and get plenty of rest.”
“Yes, dear,” she snapped as her cellphone rang. “Excuse me. I have to take this.”
She stepped off to the side, and I focused on what I was doing. I had a bad feeling about her friend taking on a project that big. Just like when Daniella’s house had burned down, and my father had handed over my services to her without my approval. I was going to get wrapped up in having to help with Kayley’s friend too. Damn it. That was the last thing that I needed right now, especially if my sister decided to play matchmaker.
“Wow, okay, well, I’ll let her know. Thank you, Marianne.”
When Kayley hung up, I turned to her. “Whatever that was, it sounded good.”
“Nolan got the house. They even went five thousand under what she offered to give her extra money to work on the house.”
“Man, theyreallywanted to get rid of that property, didn’t they?”
“Yeah.” She shook her head. “And Ireallydid try to talk her out of it. This house is going to be a nightmare, but she’s determined.”
“Well, good luck to her.”
“She’s gone through a few tough years. She deserves happiness. The only reason I did put the offer in for her was that this is the first time that I’ve seen her excited about something in a long time.”
“Good for her.” I wasn’t interested in her friend’s personal life, but I didn’t want to be rude to my sister.
Kayley looked around. “Do you need my help?”
“Nah, I got this. I’m just going to spackle the walls and then head out. I have to pick up Tonya, and these walls need to dry. I’ll sand them in the morning.”
“Alright, well, I’ll be here bright and early. Think we can get the primer up on the walls tomorrow?”
“Yeah, we should be able to. If we both sand and get the second coat of spackle on, we can work on the trim while it dries, then get the primer up. They still haven’t decided if they want me to paint it an actual color. I told them that most people didn’t, but the wife keeps thinking it needs to be a color.”
Kayley chuckled. “Women, right? Okay, sounds good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yep, see you tomorrow, and tell your friend congrats on the house.”
Kayley started walking backward. “I will. You really should meet her. Now that I think about it, you two would be the perfect couple.”
“Go away, Kayley. There is no such thing as a perfect couple.”
“Ha! Look around you, Brad. Your entire family is full of perfect couples.”
I waved over my shoulder to let her know I heard her, and I was done with the conversation. I didn’t want to admit it to her, but she was right. My parents had been married for forty-two years, and over the last two years, my five siblings had all found someone to love and spend their life with.
I didn’t want to be alone for the rest of my life, but I also wasn’t ready to settle for someone who wasn’t perfect for me. I needed someone who would readily accept my children but not try to take over as their mom. I wanted a woman who didn’t expect me to make a million dollars and who would be happy eating leftovers at home instead of going out for a fancy dinner.
