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A three-bedroom house with an extra half bath and a den would fetch a much greater price. And it wouldn’t take long to complete it at all.
As he walked back downstairs, the thought pervaded that he’d just like more time to make memories here with Teagan. Maybe it wouldn’t be so abysmal if he could feel her presence here like he could at her place. It’d be safe. Like her apartment was safe.
It was a stupid thought. A house couldn’t keep her safe from learning that her boyfriend was scum who’d screwed over her father. And Dave. Fuck, he hadn’t thought about how this was going to affect Dave.
He breathed in and out, pushing those negative thoughts out and refocusing on the task at hand.
It could take him at least another couple of months to fix everything. In the meantime, he’d like to make memories here with Teagan.
Ones that weren’t being caught by her sister and freaking her out with the thought of his past paramours.
Stopping at the bottom of the stairs, Jaxon glanced at the couch and the floor. He had to get a bed. He’d taken none of his girls to bed and if he took Teagan to one, it’d be different. She’d feel more secure. In her position.
Which was what, idiot? My woman?
As much as he hated to think of owning anyone, he sort of liked the idea of Teagan being his. He was already hers, so it was only fair, right?
But back to the bed. He’d need to either buy or procure a bed frame. There was a box spring and a mattress with a few of his other belongings stashed in Brad’s attic.
There was always the possibility of buying a bed frame at Quincymart, but there was another option that appealed to him more. He could build one. It wouldn’t take much time at all. A couple of days, perhaps? He’d have to make the frame and the legs, and then a headboard.
Jaxon pulled out a small notebook he kept in his back pocket and started sketching out a design, using his phone for the measurements of a queen-sized mattress, because that’s what he had at Brad’s.
After running a few calculations through the corresponding app on his phone, he figured that if he hurried, the bed could be ready by the weekend.
He exhaled and saw his breath puff out in a cloud around him. Right. HVAC. Pulling out his phone, Jaxon made the call. They were professional. Perfunctory. He’d worked with them in the past so they knew what he was looking for.
They’d send someone out here tomorrow to run diagnostics and fix whatever was wrong with the motor. He had to assume it was the motor because everything else seemed to work, but no air was being pushed through the vents. It was outside his pay grade and training to fix it himself. Plus, he despised heating and cooling systems and therefore was fine hiring someone else to take care of it.
After getting off the phone with the HVAC company, he locked up and went back out to his truck to drive to the lumberyard.
He was more upbeat on this drive. Didn’t feel so much like a nail getting hammered into the ground. In fact, he was whistling by the time he parked in the lumber yard. He had a spring in his step while he walked through the warehouse, looking at the different wood and pricing which one he’d need.
He did approximate math in his head to see just how much it would cost.
“What are you building? A coffin to lie in after all this is out in the open?”
The voice made his skin crawl and when he turned around, he couldn’t keep the contempt from his face. “No.”
Eric smirked and reached out to swat at one of the price signs hanging from a pile of 2 x 4s.
Jaxon considered hauling off and smacking him with one of the nearby planks, but there were too many witnesses here. Eric hadn’t replied to his previous statement so he snapped back at him. “What do you want?”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Touchy, touchy, Jaxon. You’ve been downright unkind to me the last two times I’ve seen you. This isn’t how you treat old friends. I’m liable to just stop reaching out altogether.”
“Tell me how to get there and I will,” Jaxon muttered.
“Oh, trust me,” Eric sneered. “You’ll want some kind of warning of what to expect. I find it makes people squirm more, but also makes them think they have a fighting chance. And you know how much I love the fight, Jaxon.” He glared at him until Eric spoke again. “It’s so nice to see you again.”
Eric raised his eyebrows and since there were people milling around in the warehouse, Jaxon pressed his lips together and repeated. “It’s so nice to see you again.”
“Oh, that’s much better. How’s Teagan?”
Jaxon inhaled, something twisting deep in his gut and he had to grip the edge of the wood in front of him to keep from attacking him for even daring to speak her name.
“She’s fine.”
