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“You are a lifesaver, you know that?” She beamed at him.
With Valerie oversleeping by so much that morning, she hadn’t had time to stop in the lobby for coffee or to grab anything for breakfast. And her stomach had already growled three separate times on her run from the Warm and Bright to where she was due to meet Clark.
“Well, let’s be a double life saver and go inside where it’s warm so you can eat.”
He nodded his head toward the house, and Valerie followed after him as he led the way. She was a bit shocked that they were the only people there. When he had invited her the other day to work on the house, she had assumed that there would be other people there working on it with her. Not that it would have stopped her from saying yes. In fact, the idea of spending some alone time with Clark was enticing enough that it might have actually been even more incentive for her to say yes. But it still would have been nice for her to be able to prepare herself mentally for their time alone.
Maybe I would have accepted being late and actually fixed my hair,Valerie thought as she caught sight of her reflection in the glass on the front door.
She had been in such a rush when she had opened her eyes and realized what time it was, that she had barely even taken the time to throw her hair into a messy bun before tugging on leggings and a sweatshirt and running out the door. With horror, it dawned on her that she hadn’t even remembered to brush her teeth.
Valerie was even more glad for the box of pastries in her hand, at least eating something would serve to disguise any morning breath that she might still have.
“What are we working on today?” she asked once Clark unlocked the door, pushing it open and holding it for her so that she could walk in.
“I figured I could get you sanding the wooden banister for the stairs,” he answered, not turning to look at her as he led the way to the kitchen and set the food and coffee down on the new counter that had been installed. “And I need to do some work on the windowsills today.”
“Will anyone else be joining us?” She wasn’t entirely sure what answer she was hoping for, but that didn’t stop her heart from soaring when Clark shook his head.
“Probably not. I mean, one or two people might pop in and out. But I don’t expect them to stay long. The main group was planning on coming out here tomorrow morning to do some more work on the walls and drywall.”
“Gotcha.” Valerie nodded, glad for the stall in conversation as he opened up the box and then held it out to her.
She stepped forward, taking a peek inside. She wanted to eat everything that he’d bought. But controlling herself and her voracious appetite, she reached forward and plucked one of the breakfast sandwiches out of it. The moment she bit into it she groaned with pleasure.
“They’re my favorite,” Clark explained, choosing the other breakfast sandwich for himself as well. “The sausage they use is chorizo, and it’s perfect.”
“I think this might be the best breakfast sandwich I’ve ever had,” she complimented around a bite of food.
The two of them were silent for a moment as they ate, and Valerie was surprised to find that she didn’t feel the slightest bit awkward. She got the sense that, while Clark was often talkative around her, that he was a man that appreciated quiet moments, just like she did.
When they were done eating, they closed up the box, Clark assuring her that any time she got hungry she could come in and eat whatever she wanted from it. He walked her through how to begin sanding the banister, then walked toward the windows at the foot of the stairs and began his portion of their job.
“Have you always lived in Snowy Pine Ridge?” Valerie asked, keeping her attention focused on the sanding while he began working on the trim of the window.
“I have,” Clark answered. “My family has lived here for generations. My great-grandfather is who opened up the hardware store, but even before that we had a long line of laborers and handymen in our lineage.”
Valerie paused for a moment, letting that information ruminate. She couldn’t really imagine knowing that much about your family, or what that must feel like to know what so many people before you did. Her own mother had been estranged from her family when she’d moved to Los Angeles. So Valerie had never really gotten the big family thing, let alone being able to recite all of the people that came before her.
A question flew to her lips so fast, she didn’t have time to stop it.
“Did you always want to take over the hardware store? Or was it just kind of what was expected from you?”
The moment she asked the question, she wished that she could take it back. It was intrusive and rude, and she didn’t know him nearly well enough to ask about stuff that sensitive. But Clark, for what it was worth, didn’t appear upset in the slightest. No, when she threw a glance over her shoulder, looking back toward where he stood at the windows.
He had stopped working, his hand still pressed against the trim of the window. But he had glanced sidelong at her as well, and his expression was unexpectedly pensive as he thought about what she had asked. Valerie didn’t interrupt him as she waited for his answer, giving him all the time that he needed to sort through his thoughts.
Finally, he shrugged one shoulder and just said, “A little bit of both, I guess. Did you always want to be an actress?”
She nodded, turning back to her sanding as Clark also turned back to his work. “I literally can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be some kind of performer. Even when I was little, I was obsessed with the movies. And on the rare days when my mom would be able to take me, I would ask her to show up as early as possible, as soon as the movie that played before the one we were seeing ended. That way, I could use the space between the first row and the screen as a stage.”
“You did not?” Clark asked, amusement lacing his tone.
“I totally did.” She chuckled, remembering it all fondly. “I would stand down there in that space that seemed so massive, and I’d look up at all the empty seats, imagining them filled with people. I’d sing, dance, recite passages from books that I could remember and act them out, even reciting some Shakespeare as I got older.”
“That might be the cutest story I’ve ever heard.”
She glanced over her shoulder, finding Clark looking at her with dancing eyes. She stuck her tongue out at him before asking, “What would you have done if you ended up not taking over the store?”
