Dylan's Redemption (12 page)

That, or I’ll be dead
.

Brian eyed Bucky and wondered if they assigned him to break in the new guys. In past years, he’d have had no problem keeping up, or being better than the likes of Bucky. Drinking had sucked the life out of him. Out of shape, he hadn’t been eating properly, and his hands trembled after sobering up over the last two days. Whatever alcohol lingered in his system, he’d sweat out over the next seven hours.

The two guys hefted the wall frame into place, and he screwed it to the floor.

“J.T.’s on the way over.” Bucky let go of the new wall and headed over to start framing in another section.

“Is J.T. the boss?” Brian asked and drilled the last screw into the frame without taking the time to look up and see who Bucky was talking about.

“Owner and boss,” Bucky said in answer and went back to doing his work. Brian waited for the piece Andrew cut to fit.

Jessie spotted Brian helping to put up a wall in one of the thirty-eight track homes. In the beginning stages, they still had to pour foundations for the twelve custom homes that would line the back of the park yet to be started.

She loved the noise on a construction site. Definite sounds of progress. Hammers, saws, drills, air compressors, engines, and men. A cacophony of sounds, all of which contributed to the building of family homes.

She made her way to talk to her brother. Several of the men stopped her to ask questions and update her on the progress of one project or another. She had good people working for her, and for the most part, she could let them do what they did best. Build.

“Hey, Bucky, Andrew. You guys breaking in the new guy?” She gave them both a smile and stepped up onto the newly built floor that now supported two new walls her brother helped put up.

“Yeah, boss,” they said in unison and got back to work, knowing if she wanted to talk, or give them something to do, she’d get on with it. They weren’t required to stand around and jabber with her.

“Jessie? You’re the boss?” Amazed, Brian stared at her. “I knew you were successful, since you drove that Porsche, but I never expected to find you in charge of a construction site.”

Either he’d been too drunk when she’d told him about his job, or he hadn’t figured on her being the one to give it to him.

“Brian, you did realize when I offered you the job you’d work for me.”

“I didn’t realize you still worked construction. I thought you’d get as far away from a construction site as you could.”

“Yeah, well, when you’re fifteen and the only skill you have is construction, you use it. The only thing Dad ever did for me turned out to be a blessing. I got a job right away, and while I went to school, I could work from sunup to the middle of the afternoon and attend classes into the evening. Once I had my degree, I borrowed some money from the man who’d given me a job and started my own company. He gave me a chance to prove myself. Pop believed in me. From that belief came Hope Construction.”

“Are you saying you own this construction company? This project is yours?”

She smiled because Brian’s fog had finally lifted. Judging by the look on his face, her accomplishments impressed him.

“Yes, Brian.” She spread her arms to encompass the entire construction site of dirt and foundations and trucks and organized chaos. The site wasn’t much to look at right now, but in a few weeks they’d complete several homes and have others well underway. Several of the custom home projects were her designs.

“All of this belongs to me. I have really great people working for me. I work closely with a development group. They find the land and do the work to get the building permits and zoning, and then I build. This is the largest project my company has taken on alone. Pop and I have worked on several projects together. He’s been instrumental in helping me get started and build my company’s reputation.”

“Who’s this ‘Pop’?”

“Ever heard of John Langley?”

“Are you telling me you’re backed by Langley Construction? They’re the largest construction firm in the state.”

“They did back me, but I paid off my last loan to Pop about a year ago. Since then, I’ve been running in the black.”

“Is that who met you at the funeral? Those two men you visited with yesterday.”

“Yes, John and his son, Greg. I went to work for Pop when I left Fallbrook. Pop helped me get a small studio apartment and made sure I got my GED. Then he helped me get into college. All the while, I worked in the office with him planning and organizing construction projects, and more often than not working a construction site. Pop taught me everything I needed to know about owning a construction company and what it takes to plan a job and see it through. I learned when to buy equipment and when to rent or borrow. He made sure I knew when to take on a portion of the job myself and when to subcontract it out. I’ve done pretty well over the last couple of years. When I need help or advice, Pop and Greg are there to lend a hand.”

“Is Greg your boyfriend?”

“He’s my friend. He was there for me when I needed him. Pop is the father I wished I had. You’ll like them. They’re good people.”

She didn’t mean to hurt his feelings with the truth that strangers had been there for her when he wasn’t, but you couldn’t dispute the facts.

“Take a look at the changes I want to make to your house. Let me know if you like them, or if there’s something you want to change.” She laid the blueprints out on the subfloor and waited while Brian scanned them. She’d spent most of yesterday afternoon going through the old house and updating the blueprints.

“You want to extend the house on both sides?”

“Yes, it’ll make the bedrooms in back bigger. On the other side, you’ll have a larger family room. You’re going to need it with the baby coming. If I take out this wall, here, the kitchen will open into the family room and it’ll be like a great room. Marilee can cook dinner and still keep an eye on the baby while he plays. We’ll add an island with a breakfast bar. The larger kitchen will accommodate some updated cabinets and appliances. No need for plumbing, so it should be an easy renovation.” She looked at the blueprints and bit her lower lip as she studied the changes, pleased at how well they’d turned out. “I think it will work. The house will have a more open feel and it’ll be big enough for your growing family. The additions will add another thousand square feet.”

“I can’t let you do this.”

“Which part don’t you like? I can change the dimensions on the expansion if you want it larger, but it will cut into the yard even more and building codes require at least twelve feet between the building and the property line. I thought we’d put up a fence, so the baby is corralled in the yard.”

“I appreciate you’re getting the house cleaned up and making the repairs that
need
to be done, but this is too much.”

Stubborn. Brian didn’t want her to make the changes. Too bad. She wanted to make the house a real home for him and Marilee. She didn’t want him going back to the same house they’d grown up in. She didn’t want the past to infect his future.

Let him think she’d only make the repairs. If a wall fell down and she had to fix it, so be it.

“If that’s what you want.” Relieved she agreed, or so he thought, he relaxed his shoulders and stance. “I’m heading over to the house to start the cleanup. I want to pack a few things from my room. I’ll donate the usable furniture to charity.

“Go to the office at lunch and sign your paperwork with my assistant, Paula. She’ll get your medical coverage set up and get your cards, so Marilee can see the doctor. I’ll catch you later.”

She gathered her papers and the blueprints and headed for her truck where two other trucks waited with the guys assigned to help her at the house.

“Jessie!”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks, sis.” Brian picked up his tools and went to help Bucky and Andrew with the next wall.

Jessie smiled. He’d be okay. He just needed time to adjust to his new life. She would make sure he put his old life behind him, starting with the house.

Chapter Thirteen

J
ESSIE ROLLED HER
shoulders and rubbed at the back of her neck. After a week of running nonstop, she needed a break and some sleep to recharge her tapped-out energy. Between keeping things moving at the housing development and working on Brian’s house until well after sundown, she’d barely eaten or slept in days.

Down to her last nerve, Jessie worked her way through the round of questions with her foremen, all three of them, and beelined it to her office to hide out. The phone never stopped ringing, and her assistant tried to put out one fire or another with suppliers and subcontractors.

Jessie worked through her paperwork, entering figures into her computer spreadsheets. She needed to check the progress of one of the custom homes the crew started two days ago.

She glanced out the small trailer window just as Sheriff McBride pulled up in his squad car. He got out, scanned the construction area, and headed for her door.

Great, just what she needed.

Not a word from him in four days. Why did he come today? She’d told him to leave it alone. Should have figured he wouldn’t let the past lie. She wished he’d chosen a more private place to speak and braced herself to see him again. God, he looked good.

She decided to head him off at the pass the moment he stepped through her door. “Afternoon, Sheriff. What brings you to my neck of the woods?”

“Man, this place is amazing, Jess. You’ve done well.”

“Thanks.”

“Must have been a lot of hard work to build your company this big in such a short time.”

“I had help.”

“Yeah, and you’re just that good. And smart.”

She didn’t know what to do with such compliments. She received them so rarely, so she ignored them. “Um, is there something you wanted?”

The smoldering look in his eyes as his gaze swept from her head down to her breasts and back told her he wanted her.

He cleared his throat. “I, uh, came to speak with you about one of the guys on your crew.”

Surprised, she leaned back in her seat and asked, “Who?”

“Jay Bradley.”

“What’d he do?”

“He got in a fight at McBride’s last night and broke up the place. Brody doesn’t want to press charges, but he wants reimbursement for the damages.”

“Brody? Your cousin? He’s back in town?”

“Yeah. He and Rain bought the bar last year.”

She’d wondered if Dylan owned the local hangout. He certainly had the money to buy anything he wanted. She’d met his cousins, Brody and Owen, a couple of times back in the day. She had a vague memory of Rain playing softball in high school. Dylan’s life seemed so foreign to her now when once she’d known everything about him. Questions about his family, his life filled her mind, but she didn’t ask a single one of them. She had no right. He left her behind. He’d do it again if she told him the truth about all he’d lost. Better to keep things like this, all business. Nothing personal.

She sighed and scrubbed both hands over her face and focused on the problem at hand. For the better part of two months Jay caused nothing but problems. Small things really, but they added up to cutting corners and laziness. She had yet to put her foot down and show him the line never to cross. Today she’d make him understand what it meant to work for Jessie Thompson.

She picked up one of the hand radios from the table behind her. “James, bring Jay Bradley to the office, ASAP.”

“It’ll be a minute. He’s in the middle of something.”

“Put someone else on it and get in here. The sheriff is here.”

“On our way, boss.”

She set the radio back in its charger, sucked in a deep breath, and tried to ignore the ringing phone. Doing the same with Dylan was a whole other impossible feat.

The office door banged open and she expected James and Jay to walk in. Instead, Greg beamed a smile at her from the doorway. She caught Dylan’s scowl out of the corner of her eye.

“Hey, beautiful. Got time to have lunch with me?” Greg asked, his eyes on Dylan, not her.

“No. I’m dealing with the sheriff here and an unruly employee, who thinks he can bust up the local bar among other unseemly acts.”

“What else did he do?” Dylan asked.

“He thinks he can hit on his boss, slack off, and otherwise undermine my authority. It ends today.”

“Are you putting him on your special work detail?” Greg winked at her.

“That’s right. He’ll either become a loyal employee, or he’ll be dead by the end of the day.” She gave Dylan a very insincere smile. “I mean that figuratively of course, Sheriff.”

Dylan smiled and shook his head. “Not a mean bone in your body.” He gave her another appreciative sweep of his gaze over her. The heat washed through her and made her yearn for things she had no right wanting. Not after what happened.

“So, you two talked. You told him—”

“No.” She shut Greg up before he said too much.

“He knows,” Dylan accused, glaring at Greg because he knew the big secret, but she had yet to spill her guts to him.

“Yes. Now isn’t the time or place to get into this.”

“J.T., you need to tell him,” Greg coaxed.

“
I’ll
take you to lunch.” Dylan gave Greg a smug look.

James and Jay walked into her office, interrupting the tense situation. Jay glanced at the sheriff and immediately tried to defend himself.

“I swear J.T., that guy started the fight. I was having a beer after work, minding my own business.”

She surveyed all the men standing in front of her desk. Dylan stood with authority. His dark hair brushed the back of his collar. His stormy gray eyes watched Jay with a predatory stare, making sure he didn’t do anything stupid.

Greg, dressed casually in a pair of slacks and a dress shirt opened at the collar, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, stood there enjoying the whole scene. As her best friend, Greg would like nothing better than to make Dylan pay for what he’d done.

James stood back, leaning against the wall, waiting for her to tell him what she wanted him to do with Jay after this meeting.

“James, did Jay arrive on time this morning?”