2. Tomás

Tomás

T omás Wilson ate the last of his sandwich and struggled to ignore the sight of his friend, Juan, stuffing a whole donut in his mouth. That really couldn't be healthy, and Tomás wasn't sure he remembered how to do the Heimlich.

"Make sure to get a key from Henry when you go by the farmhouse," Carter reminded Tomás, grabbing the check from the table. "Then, meet me at the Tolliver house. I'll need your help putting in their new bathtub."

"Mmhhgh neggmhgh hepthhgh," Juan said, mouth full.

"He says he needs my help framing the bedroom addition on Peach street," Tomás translated.

Carter made a face. "Nope. I need you more. Plumbing is harder than carpentry. Juan will have to deal."

Juan swallowed his food. "Well, I am pretty amazing, so I guess I'll be alright."

Carter rolled his eyes. "Just finish the job by next week. The farmhouse is going to need all our attention, even your pitiful carpentry skills."

Juan leaned back with a grin. "No need to be jealous, man. You're good at all kinds of things, like plunging toilets and tightening faucets."

Tomás snorted a laugh. Juan and Carter constantly teased one another about the quality of their work. In the jobs they took, Carter usually handled the plumbing, Tomás the electrical work, and Juan the building. How it had become a competition, Tomás would never know. They all pitched in when needed, so it made zero sense to him.

"Ain't no one smarter than a carpenter," Juan sang. "Ain't nothing dumber than a plumber. Everyone bitchin' about the electrician." He paused his song. "I can keep going if you want."

"Why are we friends again?" Carter asked, sighing.

"Hey there, Carter," Ted Langley sat in the booth beside them with his wife. "Heard you had a big job coming up. Who's the new client?"

Carter smiled at the older man. "Henry Powell. He bought the old Victorian farmhouse next door to the animal sanctuary."

Ted winced. "The rich fella? I already feel bad for you. Bet he'll complain about everything."

"He's a snot for sure," Elsie, Ted's wife, said, leaning over the short wall separating their booths. "Any time I see him in town, he's rushing off in his fancy car, never stopping to chat or lend a hand like others do."

"Maybe he was in a hurry," Juan said, shrugging.

Elsie snorted. "No way. I hear he's a laze-about that lives off his daddy's money. With all that wealth, you'd think he'd make time for us little folks, but no. Lynn down at the salon said he refused to let her cut that fancy hair of his. He doesn't do any shopping in town either. Thinks he's gracing Hobson Hills with his high and mighty presence."

Tomás arched a brow. He wouldn't let Lynn cut his hair either. She usually only did perms for the elderly ladies of town.

"Henry seems like a nice guy," Carter said, smiling cooly. "Gramps really likes him too. I think we should all just get to know him."

"Agreed," Juan said, face unusually stern. "Making assumptions about a person usually just makes life more complicated for everyone."

Elsie sniffed, looking insulted. "Well, you boys are the ones that have to work for him. Good luck."

Tomás silently followed them from The Cozy Kitchen. Henry Powell , he thought to himself. He'd seen him from a distance a few times, but they'd never managed to meet. The omega rarely came to town and never spoke to any of the townspeople who visited the animal sanctuary.

Rumors like Elsie's swirled in town, claiming he was rich and stuck up, thought he was too good for the small town of Hobson Hills, etc. They even worried he'd cause problems for Sam and his aunt, Mia. How, Tomás didn't know, but the gossipmongers were sure he was no good.

Tomás tended to ignore the gossip. He had learned a long time ago that appearances were deceptive. He never formed opinions on a person without getting to know them first. Plus, as Carter had pointed out, Henry had made one friend in Hobson Hills – Gramps Wilson. That told Tomás the omega couldn't be that bad.

"Drive carefully." Carter slapped Tomás's shoulder. "See you in a few."

"A'int no one smarter than a carpenter," Juan sang softly, as he climbed into his truck.

"Oh, fuck off." Carter stomped to his own vehicle and left.

A short time later, wet snow and mud squelched beneath the tires of Tomás's heavy work truck as he pulled into the driveway of the old Victorian farmhouse. It had seen better days, but the roof was solid. At least, that's what Carter had said. It was large, two stories with a rough tower and wrap-around porch. Care had gone into building her, and he thought she must have been lovely in her heyday.

Now, though, she could really use some work. The wood siding was missing in places and what was there was rotting with age and grime. The porch sagged in the middle, the once beautiful spindles were broken and the stick detailing on the gable was in pieces. The large windows would need replacing and the door resealed as well.

He winced, thinking of how much work it would take to make her beautiful again. He was almost afraid to see the inside. At least I'll have plenty of work for the next six months , he thought.

Cold rain pelted his windshield, so he grabbed his thermos of coffee before he hopped out of the car. A young man stood on the porch, shivering. He looked out of place in his expensive green coat and designer jeans. Even the pricey gray dog carrier bag on his shoulder stood out.

"Tomás Wilson," he said, introducing himself and holding his hand out as he came up the steps.

"Henry," the omega said, flushing as he smiled shyly. "Gramps told me all about you and the other Wilsons. I feel like I know you already."

Tomás laughed happily. "That sounds like the old man. He'd talk for hours about his family if someone would listen."

A small, furry head poked out of the pet carrier bag. The Pomeranian mix watched Tomás with a serious expression on its little face.

"This is Journey," Henry said, smiling softly. "He's my sweet baby boy."

"Hello, Journey." Tomás held his hand out for Journey to sniff. "I have a pup of my own. Mitzy is a Havanese-mix."

Henry's shyness seemed to melt right in front of him. The omega's smile brightened, his eyes filling with joy.

"Aren't dogs the best? Journey is super smart. He sits, shakes, and speaks on command. I'm still trying to teach him to rollover, but he'll get it soon."

"Mitzy isn't the brightest, but she is fun." Tomás chuckled. "My horse, Paulo, is smart, though. Did you know horses can learn to shake hands too?"

"I didn't know that." Henry looked impressed. "We don't have any horses at the sanctuary, but we have a couple of donkeys. I wonder if I can teach them to shake."

"What other kinds of animals does the sanctuary have?" Tomás asked, suddenly enjoying the rain pattering against the roof of the old porch. At the moment, Henry and he were the only two people in the world.

Henry happily listed the animals at the sanctuary and told Tomás a few funny stories, his face glowing with happiness the whole time. "We have a chicken named Sophie who is the sweetest little thing. The other chickens pick on her, so she's all by herself. I wish…" Henry trailed off with a wistful look.

Tomás was fully invested now. He absolutely had to know what the omega wished for. "Here, let's sit down and you can tell me what you wish for."

Henry let Tomás lead him to the old bench next to the front door. "Well, it's silly really, and I don't know how Teague would feel about it."

Tomás opened his thermos and filled the thermos lid with coffee before handing it over to Henry. He gave the omega an encouraging look, giving him time to find his words.

Henry sipped the coffee, humming in appreciation. "Thanks for that. So, um, I want to build a chicken coop here for Sophie."

Tomás grinned. "Why would that be a bad idea? Carter said there were a few ramshackle sheds on the property. I could use one of them as a starter for the coop. It wouldn't take long at all."

"It's mud season right now," Henry pointed out, shaking his head. "It would be too hard."

"Not at all," Tomás said, waving away the omega's worry. "Don't worry about that. I'll have a coop for Sophie ready by the time you move in. Okay?"

"Really?" Henry looked excited. "It wouldn't be too hard?"

"Trust me," Tomás said, nudging Henry's shoulder with his own. "I can handle it."

"Thank you so much." Henry wiggled in place, then pulled Journey out of the dog carrier bag. "Let me show you inside the house. It may look rough at the moment, but you have to picture it all fixed up. Okay?"

"Okay." Tomás trailed after the omega as he spoke about all his plans for the house. Like most older homes, the house was full of small, cramped rooms, so opening it up would be a good start. The wiring was a mess, and the plumbing needed to be completely redone, but there were treasures to be found. At one time, someone had put a lot of love into the house.

"What kind of flooring are you thinking about?"

"Um, I don't know for sure." Henry watched Journey sniff around edges of the wall. "My sister thinks we should do some kind of Art Deco thing."

Tomás hummed to himself and bent to study the carpet in the tiny living room. It was in horrible shape and would have to be pulled up. He took a pocketknife from his back pocket and cut a square of the carpet away.

"Look at that," he said, moaning as he pulled more of the carpet away. "That's antique heart pine. Back in the day, long leaf pine trees almost went extinct from logging because everyone wanted this right here. It's making a return now, slowly but surely, but it would be a shame to cover this beauty up."

"What do you suggest?" Henry knelt beside him, close enough Tomás could smell his rich, omega scent.

The man was handsome, there was no doubt about that, but there was more pulling Tomás toward him. His shoes , Tomás thought, studying Henry's expensive brown boots. Everything about him shouted wealth, but those shoes had some miles on them. They were scuffed and well-worn. They stood out just like that bright smile on the omega's face when he talked about this house or the animals at the sanctuary.

After a moment, Henry elbowed him. "Tomás? What would you suggest I do with the flooring?"

Tomás shook himself. "Yeah, okay. I would pull up the carpet and take a good look at the floor. Then, we could sand it down to clean away any grime. After that, a coat of clear poly would show off all its perfect imperfections."

Henry watched him with rounded eyes, seemingly hanging on Tomás's every word. "Perfect imperfections?"

"My brother, Harper, is a woodworker, and he told me that every piece of wood has its own story to tell. Of course, there's a piece's species, grain pattern, and appearance, but if you do it right, you can show off its personality. Look at this plank here. It's warm, inviting, and you can even see a knot in the wood grain. At one time, when this plank was part of a tree, a branch grew here. Now, it's part of your home."

"We can't cover this wood up." Henry gave him a fierce look. "Everyone needs to see its story."

"Well said."

Henry's answering smile lit something in Tomás, and he fought the urge to lean over and kiss the omega. He desperately wanted to keep Henry smiling. This job will be the death of me , he thought, sighing.