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At that, Logan brightened. He smiled and the bravado faded away. “Sure. Just let me know when.” Logan reluctantly stepped back from the door. “I’ll see you later, Pepper.”
Pepper waved as he disappeared through her yard and down the street. The incident was averted for now, but she knew it wouldn’t last long. If she continued to see Grant, eventually her mother would find out and that would turn into a huge scene she’d rather avoid. But unless she and Grant went their separate ways at the end of this week, it would come to that.
After all, she was sleeping with a Chamberlain. She had broken the cardinal rule of the Anthony household.
Pepper could ignore all the problems while she and Grant were working on this house, as if they were in a protective bubble from reality. But she knew it was certain to end badly sooner or later.
She didn’t need Logan or her mother’s help there.
Chapter 8
“Um . . . why is the ladder truck parked outside my house?”
Grant came out of the bedroom, his face covered in a mask and every inch of him covered in drywall dust. He looked out the window and tugged the mask down to his chin. “They’re here!” he declared. “Great!”
“Wait, wait,” Pepper said, her eyes growing wide. “Who is here? Why are they here?” She turned back to the window, watching Mack, Kyle, and Paul make their way up the stone path with heavy toolboxes clutched in each hand.
“They’re here to help,” Grant said.
“No . . . I can’t have all these people in the house. You’re the only one I’ve let in. Tell them to go home.”
Grant turned to Pepper and gripped her shoulders in his hands. “The two of us can only do so much, Pepper. If you want to get your four thousand dollars out of this week, you need their help. Mack does electrical work, Kyle has experience with plumbing, and Paul used to work for his father’s drywall business. They’re here to help until they get a call and all they want in exchange is some pizza. I suggest you take full advantage of the opportunity while you can.”
Pepper’s lower lip trembled as she considered her options. Grant couldn’t understand why she was so hesitant to let people in her house. So it needed work? People couldn’t help her when they were standing on the sidewalk, gazing in her windows.
“Okay,” she said at last, but she still seemed doubtful. “Who’s watching the fire station?”
“The paramedics and the dispatcher are still there to take the calls. If something comes up, they’ll radio Mack.”
She reached for the doorknob and opened the door just as the guys reached the porch. “Morning, boys!” Grant shouted at them in welcome. “Come on in. Thanks for coming.”
The three men piled into the house, greeting Pepper and taking a look around. “No problem,” Mack said with a warm smile.
Mack had the radio strapped to his hip, so they’d instantly receive any distress calls, as he’d told her. Weekday mornings tended to be relatively quiet, so Grant was hopeful they could make serious headway before anything came up.
“Where’s Travis? He was coming off the night shift with Paul, right?” Grant asked. They were a five-man firehouse, with only one of them off at a time. The remaining four alternated nights and days in twelve-hour shifts, with everyone on call in a major fire emergency. The firehouse worked in concert with the EMTs next door to make up the Rosewood Fire and Rescue squad. Th
ere were always two paramedics on duty as well to drive the ambulance.
“He’s coming,” Kyle said. “He went to his brother’s house to pick up the window and some sheets of drywall.”
“Window?” Pepper asked, looking confused.
“Travis’s brother owns a construction company in Trussville. He got us a deal on a new window for the bedroom and enough drywall to redo the other room.”
Pepper’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really? Can I . . . I mean . . . I didn’t think I’d have enough money for that.”
Grant nodded. “You do. Travis’s brother got him the supplies at cost.” Pepper’s money would cover some, and if not all, Grant would cover the rest. With the peeper on the loose, he didn’t like the idea of her having an insecure bedroom window. It didn’t matter to him if it was full price, he’d pay for it himself to keep her safe.
“So where do we start?” Mack said, looking from him to Pepper for guidance.
Pepper held out her hand to Grant. He brought them here; he knew best what to have them work on.
“I’ve got to rip out all the drywall in one of the bedrooms. That’s what I was working on, so if you can help me with that, Paul, that’d be great. Once we get that down, I need you to check the electrical wiring in there, Mack. None of the switches or outlets work. If we need to do anything, I figured doing it when the Sheetrock was down would be easiest.”
Mack nodded. “I can check the other wiring in the house while you’re working on the drywall. These older houses usually need a good bit of updates.”
“Sounds good. Pepper, could you show Kyle the problems you’re having with the hot-water heater and the faucet in the bathroom? That should give us all a starting point.”
