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8
Harrison’s gaze moved down the curve in the road as he neared his driveway.The house three down sat quiet this afternoon, but he’d seen the carpet guys there this morning.And a cabinetry truck the day before.
He hadn’t seen Cass since the day before she’d left Hilton Head about three weeks ago now.Truth be told, he knew it was exactly nineteen days.He’d spent the majority of those days thinking about her while he kept his head down and his hands busy.
He had plenty of work to do now that his build had started, and he’d only come home this early today, because someone had left several pipes out, and he’d stepped on them.
Down he’d gone, and his back ached.He’d ripped his pants, and as soon as he showered and changed, he’d head back over to the construction site.
He made the turn into his driveway and went past the palms and bushes that concealed the front of his house from the road.As the third house inside the community, almost everyone had to drive past his house to get to theirs, and the landscapers had done a good job at making the front yards as shielding as possible for the residents.
He pulled in front of his porch, parked, and got out.The heat assaulted him, but he barely felt it.Construction was a year-round business here, and he’d lived in Carolina for his whole life so he understood heat and humidity.
He’d seen Grant and Bea a few times over the past nineteen days, so he knew Cass would be back on the island before Independence Day.He had no idea how to do much more than see her by happenstance, and with his work schedule, that would be a miracle.
Frustration moved through him as he tapped in the keycode for his front door.At least the air conditioning worked, and he drew in a deep breath of it.Water.He needed water.
He drank, showered, took some painkillers for his back, and got dressed in the same thing he’d been wearing earlier.A clean pair of jeans and a clean Tate Construction T-shirt, but the same thing.He rarely wore anything different.Sometimes, after work, he put on gym shorts and a clean T-shirt and hung around the house or in the hammock, but sometimes he simply ate and fell asleep on the couch in his construction attire.
Maybe when Cass moved in down the street, he could take her a neighborly gift and welcome her to the community.Mrs.Benson a couple of houses down from Cass certainly would.
Maybe he could find a reason he needed her number and ask Bea for it.He spent the drive back to the construction site obsessing over reasons he might need Cass’s number.
“Maybe something with the house,” he mused.“Something’s wrong with it.”If that were the case, Bea would want to come see.She’d want to call herself.
He shook his head.That wasn’t going to work.Unless he wanted to confess his feelings for the pretty brunette to her best friend, he had no way to get Cass’s number.
“What would you do with it anyway?”he grumbled to himself as he made the turn and bumped down the dirt road to the site.
Of course, a person would call or text another person with a phone number, but Harrison didn’t know what to say.Could he ask her when she’d be back?
He already knew that.
He wasn’t sixteen years old and couldn’t just send a “Hey,” to a woman like Cass.Being from Texas, she’d probably say hay was for horses.
Harrison hadn’t felt this out of his element since the first few days after Claudia had left.They’d been married for thirteen years, and he was suddenly alone.Things had just…ended.
He’d had no indication that she wasn’t happy in their marriage.Sure, they’d had a few conversations about how much he worked, but she had a very busy career too.They’d always had each other to come home to, and he’d been satisfied and happy with that.
Apparently, she hadn’t been.
He thought about when Cass had asked him to talk about her.He hadn’t wanted to—and he still didn’t—because he didn’t have anything to say.He didn’t know where Claudia had gone when she’d left.She’d filed for divorce, and he’d signed the papers without contest.He saw no reason to fight her for anything, and he’d sold the house they’d bought together, given her half of the money, and moved into this new house on the coast.
It was far too big for him alone, but he’d gotten it for a screaming deal, as he’d been the general contractor on the build.He’d had a lot of cash to put down, and the financials for his construction firm were healthy and strong.
He wondered if Cass would have any trouble selling her house in Texas, and—
Someone knocked on his window, which ripped Harrison out of his thoughts.He had no idea how long he’d been sitting in his idling truck, and he twisted the key and pulled it out.
He opened the door and got out, saying, “Hey, Reid.Sorry, I was thinking about something.”
“No problem.”Reid reached up and adjusted his ball cap, his sign of nerves.He had sandy brown hair that curled around his ears and the back of his neck.He worked hard, laughed loud, and always came in for extra hours.
He’d been married for about six months, and his wife was already pregnant.Reid wanted as much money as possible, and he was willing to work for it.
He hooked his thumb over his shoulder now.“We’ve got a problem over on pad four.”
“A big problem or a small problem?”Harrison asked, already weary from the morning.Not only that, but it was Thursday, and he really needed a weekend.A real one, not a one-day thing where he padded around his house shirtless on Sunday.
