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Colton nodded, and Roy’s chest swelled. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why precisely he knew that everything would work out, but he had complete faith in Beverly.
ChapterSix
Beverly stayed outside the door, watching the sun set over the horizon and enjoying the sweet scent of apple blossoms which filled the air. This orchard really was beautiful, and she couldn’t wait to get started on the work. If everything was to be done before Easter… She and Roy were going to have their work cut out for them. They might have to recruit some high schoolers, or else that deadline would be really tight. Six weeks to do a barn was doable, but all the rest? She had to admit that she had been a bit surprised that the completely enclosed barn had been filled with only hay. If she could convince Roy to have a pole barn instead, that would take half the time to build. She could make certain it was reinforced with metal, at least at the corners, to ensure that it wouldn’t collapse with another freak storm.
Impatient, Beverly turned back to the office building, one of the only buildings to not have structural damage. Obviously Colton hadn’t been inside when Roy had brought her over to the office to check on the place.
The door opened, and Roy stood there with a smile on his face. “Colton would like to meet our construction worker.”
She grinned back at him before entering the office.
Colton was tall, a little older than Roy, and he seemed a bit frazzled, not that Beverly could blame him, what with everything he had on his plate.
“Beverly, right?” Colton asked as they shook hands. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Very nice to meet you,” she said with a nod.
“How long have you been in construction?”
“I’ve been working with my father for well over ten years,” she said. “The company was his, and once I graduated high school, I worked for him full time until he made me his partner. He…”
She swallowed hard and willed herself not to cry. Beverly glanced over at Roy.
“He’s no longer with us,” Roy murmured for her.
“But I can handle the work, not a problem at all,” Beverly said in a rush. “You can count on me, and the deadline of Easter will be met. You don’t have to worry.”
Colton laughed. “The Easter deadline is Roy’s doing. If it takes you longer, that’s fine by me. How much do you think the cost will be?”
“Well, that depends,” Beverly said slowly. “The hay barn, I was wondering if there was a specific reason why it wasn’t a pole barn. The construction of a pole barn would be so much cheaper and quicker, even with the metal I’m thinking to make sure it would survive another freak storm.”
“God willing,” Roy said, pressing his hands together in prayer form as he looked skyward, “that freak storm was an anomaly.”
“Most likely,” Colton said, “but it doesn’t hurt to take precautions. A pole barn would suffice for now, but most likely, I would want another second barn. If everything goes well, we would hire you of that as well.”
“Perfect.”
She did some quick calculations and gave him a rough estimate. Before adding the charge for labor on top of the material, she had hesitated before putting in the amount her father would’ve charged. She didn’t have as much experience as her father, but she still had worked in the field for well over a decade, so her experience counted for something. If Colton balked, though, she would let him haggle her down but only to a certain extent.
“If Roy truly wants that deadline, and we encroach on it, then I can hire some high schoolers to help. The students would get paid out of my earnings, so it’s no charge to you. We… The company has insurance that covers all employees, so the high schoolers would be covered should something happen, which never has in all the years my father has used students. Plus, the students get credit toward their school too.”
“That sounds wonderful,” Colton said.
“So you don’t mind if they might have to be used?” she asked. “Some people don’t prefer teenagers to work on the sites.”
“I leave that to your judgment,” Colton said, looking first at her and then Roy. “This strikes me as… a little low.”
“Low?” She blinked in surprise.
“You don’t have a charge for a rush job.”
“Oh. Well, yes, the deadline… It’s fine. I don’t need to charge for that. Especially since Roy here is insisting on help me.”
Colton nodded. “I see. All right. If you discover you need more materials than what we already have and the price of the project changes drastically, please let me know.”
“I will. I don’t foresee that, but if anything changes, I’ll let you know. I’ll keep you abreast of everything at the end of the day, if you would like.”
“That would be great.” Colton nodded, a clear dismissal, and Beverly followed Roy out.
