2. Life Got In The Way

2

LIFE GOT IN THE WAY

E aston never realized how sexy it was to watch a woman scorned kicking some ass.

The last thing he thought he’d be doing this morning was getting help from a hot chick while laying paving stones in his cousin’s backyard.

But since Abe was in Florida helping to care for his Aunt Carrie, Easton owed it to the family that took him in and raised him to keep things going for the family business.

In the two weeks he’d been here, he hadn’t done much more than go out to sites and take a bunch of pictures to send his cousin to firm up quotes. Abe would be back in a month with any luck. Maybe sooner if need be, but Easton could hold down the fort with Abe’s crew with the weather getting nicer.

He figured since he was in the house he grew up in, he’d do some work too. He wasn’t really on leave from his job as much as he was working longer days and nights, but being remote, it was fine.

He was on a few projects in other time zones that had him starting his day at three in the morning and ending by noon most times. Not always, but it allowed him to keep things going for his cousin, take some breaks to run out and do things, then come back and get five or six more hours in after-hours across the pond.

If he was burning himself out, it wasn’t the first time.

The quieter life here so far had actually been better for his mental health.

He was pulling up the stones and moving them to the side. Abe had mentioned he wanted to build out the fire pit and Easton figured he could repurpose these stones to do some of it.

When he heard a door shut, he turned his head and saw Laurel walking across her driveway and into his backyard. Her house was set up closer to the road which would explain how she saw him moving the paving stones that he had delivered a few days ago at the end of the driveway.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hi,” he said back. She had jeans on, a pair fitted to her well, but he could tell there was some stretch to them. A heavier sweatshirt that didn’t fit her body as well as her shirt had. At least he’d seen what was hidden under it already. She had work boots on her feet. That surprised him. They were well worn too.

“I’m ready for you to put me to work,” she said, pulling out a pair of gloves that had seen better days too.

“Looks like you’re no stranger to manual labor.”

“Nope,” she said. “Why do you look so surprised?”

He shrugged. “Most women don’t offer to help move and place stones on their weekend off.”

“Gives me something to do. I’m new to the area, which I’m sure you know since I’m living next door.”

Abe had told him there was a new neighbor, but he’d brushed it off. He wouldn’t be here long enough to chat most people up.

At least he didn’t think so, but that was being proven wrong.

“I tend to keep to myself,” he said. “I don’t watch much going on around the neighborhood.”

“Unlike me,” she said.

“Nah,” he said. “You saw me out the back window. Makes sense. I’ve been in your house before. There used to be a little table in the kitchen by the driveway too that looked over here.”

“Still there,” she said. “I’ve got the shades closed. I don’t like looking out or people looking in and knowing my business.”

“Unlike having it exposed on your front porch.”

She squinted one eye at him. He was smirking at her. “Not planned.”

It was the roll of her eyes that had him laughing. “Can I ask what you saw in him?” He paused and then frowned. “That’s wrong of me. First glance of you on the front porch, I could see you together. He looked like a pretty boy and you...”

“Can come off as high maintenance and now I’m not. You don’t know what to make of that, do you?”

He laughed again. “It’s not for me to make anything of it,” he said.

“But you’re curious?”

“Like a cat,” he said. Easton picked up a new stone and laid it down. “I’ve got a pattern I’m going to follow.”

“I can just hand you the stones if you want to save yourself from bending down and picking them back up.”

“Sure,” he said.

He’d see how long she lasted before she tired out.

She picked a paver up and handed it over, then before he was done placing it, she had another in her hand.

“I’m surprising you, aren’t I?”

“Seems to be the day for it for both of us,” he said.

“A pleasant one now. Unlike Philip ringing the bell. And you asked what I saw in him? I guess I’m not sure. He approached me first.”

“I could see that,” he said.

They had a nice rhythm going. “It took some work on his end for me to go on the first date.”

“Do you normally take a lot of work?” he asked. Not his type at all!

“No,” she said. “But he was a little prettier than I’m used to.”

He snorted and almost dropped the stone. “I wasn’t close enough to see, but if you mean in a soft way, that makes sense.”

“Lots of ways,” she said. “I’m normally drawn to men that are a little rough around the edges. That don’t iron their shirts just right and make sure a pocket square matches their tie. That don’t have a shoe collection more extensive than mine.”

He was smirking when he reached for the next stone. “Then how did you end up on a date with him?”

She shrugged when she went to pick up another stone. “Thought I’d give it a try. I didn’t want to be judgmental and all.”

“By the sounds of your little exchange maybe you should have stuck with what you are used to.”

“Tell me about it,” she said drily. “We had more in common than I thought. He liked pretty things. Didn’t care for my job all that much or that I could change a tire and he couldn’t. Fix a leak or even stack firewood. He grew up with Daddy paying for all of that to be done.”

“Ahh,” he said. “So the money drew you in?”

“No,” she said firmly. “That was the big turnoff, but it was his family’s money, not his. His father has a big law firm in New Haven. He wasn’t smart enough to pass the bar even though he has a law degree. I’m positive his father paid someone to make sure he passed and graduated with it.”

“It’s a little hard to pay someone for that degree. Or maybe not,” he said. “But you still have to pass the bar.”

“You do and he couldn’t. He’d taken it several times and since he had a minor in accounting, he dealt with that end of the firm. Though if you asked him where he works, based on how he looks, he just says Taylor Law Firm. He likes people to assume he’s a lawyer.”

Shit, he knew the firm. Big hitters and were known for being ambulance chasers.

Not his thing and no one he’d ever dealt with or would.

“By your tone, I’d say you don’t think much of his parents.”

“Not really,” she said. “His mother was nice enough but a little overbearing. I think she babied Philip. His father liked me and all. Liked the way I looked on the outside.”

“But not what you did. What is that?” he asked.

Sounded like dicks to him but not his problem.

“Now I’m the Plant Manager at Blossoms. I’ve been here for about three months. I couldn’t stay in New Haven any longer. Too many people knew me and who I was engaged to. I just needed a fresh start. Before that, I was a supervisor at a recycling plant. I’ve got a degree in manufacturing. I’m a hands-on gal. I like to know how things work and if I can take them apart I do.”

Not at all what he would have guessed she did.

“Good for you,” he said. “I think all women—and men—should be able to figure things out like that. Though it’s easier for people to throw money at someone to do it for them.”

Something he’d been doing for a few years and hated himself for it. It was more about time than anything else.

Used to be he liked to do something himself too. Then life got in the way.

It was nice to be back to his roots. Even if the body aches told him sitting at a desk wasn’t that bad either.

“Philip was used to throwing his parents’ money around. Not me. I never had enough of it to do that and what I’ve got I earn myself. It’s better that way.”

“It is,” he said. Since he had to work hard to get where he was, he agreed.

“So you do landscaping?” she asked. Her eyes were on the truck in the driveway.

“I am right now,” he said, grinning.

Not really a lie. No reason to say anything else.

They worked for another hour just chatting back and forth about the area.

“I’m going to get a drink,” she said. “Do you want some water?”

“Sure,” he said. She’d been working steadily. He hadn’t expected it. He thought for sure she’d call it quits after ten minutes. Nope, she had a bit of sweat going but showed no signs of slowing down.

He felt a little bad about that, but she could stop at any point. He wasn’t holding her to this.

When she came back out with two bottles of water, she asked, “Are you going to replace this all the way around the house? I see the same stones up front as what you are removing here.”

“That is the plan, but probably not today,” he said. “Maybe tomorrow if the weather is nice. I’ve got a few other things to do.”

Like work for his other job that he had to deal with.

“I’ll be around tomorrow too if you need help.”

She was smiling at him after she’d taken a sip of her water. He took the top off of his and did the same, looked her up and down, then figured what the hell? “I’ll let you know.”