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Tricia and Shelby followed along behind their men, getting into the back seat, so the two of them could continue discussing what they wanted to do.
It was a short drive to the new house, and Tricia and Shelby stayed quiet as the men talked nonstop about the business of flipping houses. “There are some things I’m good with, and some I have no clue what to do with,” Jeff said.
“Oh, I call in crews for some of it. For instance, I shut off the water, and pulled out the bathtub today, but I’ll buy the fixtures and hire someone to come in and do the actual plumbing work. Thankfully, I’ve got a guy on my crew who’s a plumber, and he’s always looking for a few extra bucks, so he’ll work on it one weekend, and then I’ll get in and lay the tile and do the painting. I’ll build new cabinets myself, but I won’t put the sinks in. I have an electrician on my crew, and he’ll do anything electrical. I know how, and I know where to buy everything, but then I have him take care of the rest.”
“Makes sense,” Jeff said, gasping as they pulled into the driveway of the new house, with large trees on either side, delineating where they should drive. “Oh wow! I had no idea it was a house like this! It looks like something out of a Civil War movie!”
“I know! This is truly my dream job. I’ve done my before pictures, and I’ll show you what I have planned and what I’ve done so far.” Nate turned the key to kill the engine, and then the four of them went inside. In each room, Nate explained exactly what he planned to do.
In the kitchen, he explained that he wanted to update all the appliances, create new, modern-looking cabinets, tear up the linoleum and put down tile, as well as build a large island in the middle. “I figure the island will be where the majority of the prep work is done. I’ll put double outlets on each end, which will mean plenty of power for all of the kitchen gadgets I find myself using.”
“How long will it take you to do a house this size?” Jeff asked.
Nate shrugged. “At least a year. If I’m dead all winter with my business, I can get it done in twelve months. If we’re as busy as we were last winter, it’ll be eighteen months or so.”
“Wow. And you’ll just live here with everything all torn up.”
Nate nodded. “I’m making sure the master bath and bedroom are done before we move in, but I want the kitchen functional as well. I have a month, so I’m sure to get it done.”
“Could you use another pair of hands that will work for free for the knowledge you impart?”
Nate nodded slowly. “I could. There’s a lot to be done.”
“And it would help me, because after working on this place with you, I’ll be ready to take on my own place.” Jeff rubbed his hands together excitedly.
“A small place to start,” Tricia said, shaking her head. “We want to wait a couple more years before we start having kids, but I don’t want them growing up in a construction zone.”
“That makes sense,” Shelby said. “We want kids soon, but I don’t see me putting them in their own room for a while, so it’ll work out fine.”
“Yeah, I’m thinking a small two or three bedroom house that we can do while we live there. Something like this would be overwhelming.”
“It would be for me too,” Shelby agreed, “but Nate has worked his way up to a house like this. It’s amazing that he turned the house we’re in now to such a beautiful place.”
“It is!” Tricia said. “I’m not sure Jeff has the skills he needs to do something anywhere near that scale.”
“He will after helping Nate with this house,” Shelby said. “Nate not only knows what he’s doing, but he’s a good teacher.”
They moved on to the upstairs and kept listening as Nate explained what he wanted to do. When they got to the master bath, Jeff’s eyes widened. “How long did it take you to do all this already?”
“We were here for about five hours,” Nate said. “Shelby did a great job of staying out of my way, so it didn’t take very long. I’ll get a couple of guys from my crew to help me get the tub to the dump on Monday, and I’ll get what I need shopped for and delivered by Wednesday night. Then I can have my plumber working with me next weekend.”
“I’m really amazed at all you do,” Jeff said, shaking his head. “And I want to learn to do every little bit of it.”
Nate nodded. “I’ll teach you.”
Chapter Nine
The next month seemed to pass by so quickly, that it was hard to believe they’d been married for five weeks. Nate and Shelby had packed up the whole house, and were moving that weekend.
Tricia had helped a great deal with the packing, and the other couple was helping move them into the new place. Nate had drafted a bunch of his employees to help as well, so things went smoothly.
As soon as everyone else was gone after a feast of pizzas, Shelby sank into the couch, refusing to empty even one box. “Tricia and Mom and Rachel will all be here tomorrow to help unpack,” Shelby said with a yawn. “Tricia and I got sheets on the bed before she and Jeff left, so we can sleep. I don’t think we’ll be able to eat here until we all get the kitchen unpacked, but that’s all right.”
“Angela isn’t coming?” he asked, surprised. She’d always been closer to Angela than she had to Rachel.
“The twins are teething, and she doesn’t feel like she can leave them with anyone. All they’re doing is crying.”
“Probably best if she’s staying home then. Anything you can do?”
