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My gaze flew to Tood. “The plumber is your wife’s cousin.”
“Yup, but his bid came in lower.”
I shook my head. “Doesn’t matter much if he doesn’t show up.”
Joe nodded. “Ditto.”
“I’ll call him and see what’s going on,” Todd grumbled, walking away.
“I had no idea Todd hired a relative.”
Joe shrugged and looked toward the building in question.
“What do you think?”
“About what?”
“Think we can get it done before fall?”
“Not if we keep hiring Todd’s relatives.”
I chuckled and nodded in agreement as I walked toward the building and the maze of materials and equipment that were sitting in the parking lot.
When I reached the apartment building, I looked up and scanned the structure. At least it would be a solid investment when it was all over with.
My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out to see a text from Emily. My entire body relaxed the moment I realized the message was from her.
Apparently, I hadn’t done a great job of pretending to myself that I wasn’t concerned that she hadn’t texted last night or this morning.
That is very desperate and very questionable. Sorry I didn’t text. I messaged my sister last night, crawled in bed to text you, and woke up this morning to Nadia honking her horn outside the cabin. Place is great. Magical, really. I didn’t know I’d be able to find a place as amazing as Marigold. Off to workshop some of my writing. Love you.
I chuckled at her response about Oscar and wrote a quick love you back and felt great about her excuse for not texting last night or this morning.
But I couldn’t get my mind to skip over her love for her new surroundings. The kicker was that if her grandpa hadn’t wandered outside that one morning, I never would have thought about it. Now, the idea of her running away and never coming back was on the top of every thought.
My phone rang with a number I didn’t recognize, and I let it go to voicemail as I watched Todd make his way back over.
“Plumber issue is resolved.”
“Yeah?” I asked. “He’s coming when originally scheduled?”
Todd shook his head. “No. I fired him, but the new plumber will be here tomorrow.”
I chuckled. “Ouch. That’s going to make for a rough holiday dinner.”
Todd smiled and let out a deep breath. “Honestly, it was a favor for my wife. His bid came in low, so I gave him a chance.”
I nodded, feeling the buzz of the voicemail notification in my pocket. “It sounds like we’re back on track, and the drywallers will be able to come when they’re scheduled next? No relative situation with them, I hope?”
Joe chuckled as Todd shook his head, and I made my way to my truck.
When I slid inside, I pulled out my phone and clicked on the voicemail, thinking it was probably just spam.
And then I heard it.
Clara left a message, hoping to catch up over coffee.
I stared out my windshield, wondering what world I was in where the woman I wanted was thousands of miles away, and the one I couldn’t run from fast enough seemed to be within a one-mile radius at any given second.
