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“Yes, ma’am.” She bit her tongue against her own defense, knowing she’d regret the lack of Christmas presents for the kids, no matter how good it would feel to spew the truth burning in her throat.
* * *
“Watch your step!”
Seth yanked his thoughts from ruminating on his disturbing dream just in time to avoid taking a two-by-four to the face. His hard hat wouldn’t have protected him from a broken nose. His boss, Antonio Valenti, gripped his arm and pulled him back, as if he was still a young child.
“Pay attention, son. If I have to file a workman’s comp claim on you, I’m gonna make you do the paperwork. Actually, maybe I should knock you out. It might be the only way I get you to actually sit down in the office and learn the ropes. When you’re running things, you will need to have a finger on every pulse. It’s not all demo days.”
Why did every word of criticism make him feel ten years old? Maybe because the same man was delivering them then and now, a pitfall of working for Dad. Seth didn’t belong on the construction site. He knew it. The crew knew it. The only one refusing to acknowledge it was Dad. For two years, he’d been putting Seth on crews, giving him busy work, trying to convince him that he had a place in Valenti Brothers Construction. His plan was backfiring. While Seth appreciated the paycheck and the chance to do a little demolition every now and then, he didn’t love the repetition of construction. What he would love doing was anyone’s guess, so for now he would break down walls and haul supplies for his dad. He could help out his family while he figured out the rest.
The addition of an outdoor kitchen space on the back of a mid-century modern ranch was a two week job that his dad could do in his sleep. Though he could lay bricks or mud drywall with the best of them, Seth had no passion for it and zero patience for dealing with sub-contractors.
When he’d left the army two years ago, he had one unrelenting goal.Just get home.Beyond that, he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. The job helping his dad was the least he could do, literally. His heart just wasn’t in it, but he wasn’t ready to risk his heart on anything important yet, so here he was on another job site, taking orders from his dad. But there was only so much of that he could take, especially on a day when demons from his past were chasing him.
He turned and headed for the front of the house.
“Where are you going?”
“Coffee run. I’ll be back in fifteen.”
SOMEONE SPECIAL EXCERPT
* * *
Want to go back to where it all began? Someone Special was my very first romance novel. Meet Nick Gantry and Dani Carmichael as they fight their demons to find true love. Free on all platforms.
* * *
“This is better than cable!” remarked Mrs. Grady, from her habitual perch by the window. Dani looked up from the stove. Something good must be happening two stories below on their normally quiet street. Dani briefly turned her attention back to the bubbling pots on the stove. Confident that her three meals were coming along nicely, she tucked unruly curls behind her ear and turned from the kitchen to join her neighbor at the window.
Below, two very muscular men with shirts removed, in deference to the fierce sun and brutal heat weltering up from the pavement, were wrestling an ugly sofa in through the double front doors of the building. Their lean muscles and trim waists twisted and flexed with effort. Dani’s face flushed with heat, a welcome change from her recent numbness.
“They can move my furniture anytime! Then again, I’m not sure my blood pressure could handle it!” Mrs. Grady cackled. Dani continued to observe the scene below. While the slick and straining bodies held her gaze, the implications flooded her thoughts.
“I bet they’re moving in the new tenant across the hall from us.” An empty ache spread through her chest as Dani was hit by the grief that she managed to keep just below the surface. “Well, across from me. It will be strange having someone else living there in my old place.” Her throat tightened at the reminder that she was living alone in Helen’s apartment now.
She returned to the kitchen, grasping for calm, trying to avoid sinking into her grief. She drained the pasta, mixed in the homemade marinara sauce along with some freshly grated Parmesan, and reduced the chicken soup to a simmer. At least managing to create three large meals at once required her attention. She spun too quickly and knocked a wooden spoon to the floor. With a huff of frustration, she threw the offending utensil into the sink.
“Are you OK, Sunny?”
“Yeah, sometimes it just hits me that she’s gone. That she won’t sit at your Wednesday night dinner again. That she won’t ever tell another crazy story about her service or her travels. That no one will be there when I open the door. It’s just hard.” Dani’s voice cracked and her shoulders drooped under the weight of her sadness.
“I know, sweetheart. I miss her too. She was my best friend.” Dani let herself be bundled into a hug, even though it was a poor substitute for the hug she missed.
“Mine, too. Now that she’s gone, I feel lost.”
“That’s normal, dear. After all, you practically gave up your life to take care of her these last six months.”
“What did I give up? A lackluster career in accounting and a dead end social life down in Houston? You know as well as I do, I didn’t belong there.” Dani shook her head. “No. I gained so much more, moving up here to help out. I met all of you, and got to spend more time with Aunt Helen. And with how quickly her health failed…well, I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else.”
The pancreatic cancer had snuck in under the radar, and when they found it, it was too late. It hit vicious and fast. She’d been home for Christmas when Aunt Helen broke the news. Now, it was June and she was alone again.
“I know she loved having you with her. You were the grandchild of her heart.”
Her grandfather’s sister, Aunt Helen, had never married. She had no children of her own, and had spoiled Dani and her sister like crazy as a result. Summer trips wherever Aunt Helen happened to be living that year, fantastic surprises from abroad, and boxes of massive navel oranges every New Year’s were her trademarks. And her stories! Dani had vivid memories of curling up at the foot of her chair and listening to her tell stories of her time in the Navy in her irreverent and slightly salty way. Dani let the fond memories roll through her mind.
“Remember how pissed she was when Dad brought up the idea of a nursing home?”
