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Uh oh, he
hadn’t even seen the library or the master bedroom yet. “That’s one
of the things I loved about the house.”

“I agree, it’s
great.” He sighed before running a hand over his hair. “But it’s in
really rough shape, Lauren. Some of it can be salvaged, you know,
repaired, stripped, and re-stained, but you’re gonna start from
scratch with a lot of these pieces. For that, you need a master
craftsman. Nobody on any of my crews can do this kind of work.”

“Oh.” She’d
hired Phil because he was one of the few men who could complete the
job to her satisfaction. Now what would she do?

“Show me the
rest of the house.”

She didn’t see
the point, if he didn’t feel confident his team could complete the
work, but since he’d taken time out of his busy schedule to come,
she felt obliged. “Sure, follow me.”

They walked
through the rest of the house in silence. He stopped to make notes,
take measurements, and inspect some things. She didn’t know why he
was going to all the trouble if he’d already decided the job was
outside of their realm of expertise. Unless he knew someone else
who might be able to help her and intended to pass on his findings.
She could only hope.

When they
returned to the kitchen, he pointed at the empty space where the
overhead cabinets would be. “What did you have in mind for
these?”

“Dark wood, in
keeping with the wood in the rest of the house. Ornate trim, fancy
embellishments on the door and drawer fronts.” She knew it was a
tall order, but when she’d described her vision to the buyers,
they’d loved the idea, so she couldn’t back out.

“Man.” Tucker
set his tablet and measuring tape on the island and rubbed his
hands over his face. “I don’t know what to tell you. Like I said,
my guys can’t do this kind of work.”

She tried to
keep the panic out of her voice when she asked, “And you don’t know
anyone who can?”

“Yeah, I know
one person. Me.”

She held her
breath as she waited for him to continue.

“But I don’t
have the time to do hands-on work anymore. I’m busy managing half a
dozen projects. I usually work from seven until five or six, and I
spend every weekend with my kids. That doesn’t allow a lot of time
for…” He sliced his hand through the air. “This kind of job.”

“I understand,”
she said quietly. His company clearly had more work than it could
handle. There was no reason for him to take on her job and add to
the burden, especially if he would have to do so much of the work
himself.

“I know you’re
in a bind, and I’d really like to help you out, but…”

“It’s okay.”
She faked a smile. “You don’t owe me an explanation. I’ll figure
something out.” She offered her hand, hoping he wouldn’t notice the
tremor. “Thank you for your time, Tucker.” There was no room for
tears in their business. She had to put on a brave face if she
wanted the men she worked with to take her seriously. Everyone knew
everyone else in their business, and if she earned the respect of
one contractor, it paved the way on future jobs.

He shook her
hand. “I’ll make some calls when I get back to the office, see if a
buddy with another company might be able to help you out.”

“Oh, you don’t
have to do that,” she said quickly. She didn’t want him to feel
guilty. The house was her problem, not his. “I’ll work it out on my
own.”

“A lot of guys
in this business owe me. I don’t mind calling in some favors to
help you out on this one.”

She was touched
by his kindness, but she didn’t want anyone to bail her out.
“Thanks, but I’d rather handle this on my own.”

“If you say
so.” He sighed. “Good luck, Lauren.”

***

Tucker had a
hundred things to do, but he couldn’t concentrate on anything.
Lauren kept creeping into his thoughts. That look of disappointment
when he told her he couldn’t help her nearly gutted him. He felt
the same way when he had to tell his daughter she was too young to
go to sleep-away camp, and she’d cried and sulked the entire
weekend.

“Hey, boss
man.” His long-time friend and foreman, Will, sauntered into
Tucker’s office and folded his big frame into the guest chair. “I
wanted to talk to you about the Dunham job. We’ve got
problems.”

Tucker scowled.
“I’ve got my own problems. Can’t this wait?”

Will chuckled.
“What’s wrong? Is the ex-wife giving you grief again?”

Tucker and Will
had been friends since high school. Will knew better than anyone
how often Amanda pushed his buttons. “No, it’s not her this
time.”

Will tipped his
battered baseball cap back and smiled. “What is it then? That
little…” He snapped his fingers. “What the hell’s her name
again?”

“Tonya.” Tucker
didn’t even want to think about her on top of everything else. His
head might explode. “Nah, I cut her loose last night, but that’s
not what this is about.” He released a gusty sigh, tipped his head
back, and covered his face with his hands. “There’s this job…”

“Which
one?”

“I got called
on to quote it yesterday. It’s a century home remodel, so lots of
woodworking.”

“What’s the
problem?”

“She’s only got
five weeks to complete the project, and someone needs to build out
the kitchen and tackle three major built-ins.”

Will crossed
his steel-toed boot over his knee. “Why the tight timeline?”

“She’s an
investor. The house has already been sold, and there’s a penalty if
she’s late.”

“Sounds like
she’s got a problem. How’d she end up in this mess?”

“Phil West was
handling the project, but he broke his arm and had to bail. Did you
hear anything about that?”

“No.” Will
popped a stick of gum in his mouth before offering one to
Tucker.

Phil wasn’t the
brightest guy Tucker had ever met, but he was a master craftsman.
Tucker had to admire that. “Well, that puts him out of commission
for a long while. It sounds like the rest of his crew started
looking for work elsewhere until he’s back at it.” That’s the way
it was in the construction business. Guys were only loyal as long
as you signed their pay checks.

“So, that
leaves his clients out in cold, huh?”

The only client
Tucker cared about was Lauren. “Yeah. I could pull a guy off each
of my crews to help her out, but I don’t know how the hell I’m
gonna clone myself.”

“Why would you
want to?” Will shrugged. “We’ve got more work than we can handle
right now. Hell, we’re already booked into next year.”

Thanks to some
of Tucker’s spec houses getting favorable attention from local
realtors, he was in high demand. Construction was all about word of
mouth, and as long as the word on the street was good, his company
was in the enviable position of having to turn down new
projects.

“I know, but…”
How could Tucker explain he wouldn’t be able to sleep if he left
Lauren high and dry, knowing how important the project was to
her?

“But what?”
Will pointed at him. “There’s something you’re not telling me. I
want to hear it. Now.”

“This girl
is…”

“Hot?”

Tucker couldn’t
help but smile. Leave it to his friend to cut to the chase. “Yeah,
but that’s not all. I like her. I’d like to help her out if we
could.”

“Yeah, but can
we? I guess that’s the question, right?”

Tucker mentally
ran through his schedule for the tenth time. He couldn’t sacrifice
site visits or the time he spent with architects or engineers. His
paperwork had to get done… The only time he could work on her house
was after hours. He’d have a few hours a day, at best. And it would
mean working like a dog for the next five weeks. Was he really
willing to do that just to make Lauren happy?

Yes, he
was.

“Okay, get out
of here,” Tucker said. “I’m gonna call her.”

“You’re really
gonna take this job with everything else we’ve got going on?” Will
asked, fisting his hands and cracking his knuckles. “Man, that’s
just stupid.”

“Nobody asked
for your opinion. Get out.”

Will sighed as
he got to his feet. “Fine, but I hope she’s worth all the
trouble.”

Just seeing the
smile on her face when Tucker said yes would be worth it.

Her phone rang
a few times before she picked up, sounding frazzled. “Hello.”

“Lauren, it’s
Tucker. Can you stop by my office? I’d like to talk to you.” No way
was he going to miss out on the chance to see her face when he
delivered the good news.

“Um sure,
what’s up?”

“I’ll tell you
when you get here.”

“Okay, I’ll see
you soon.”

A middle-aged woman
scowled at her computer screen as Lauren walked into Tucker’s
office. She barely looked up when she heard the door. “Can I help
you?”

“I’m here to
see Tucker.”

She shifted her
eyes without taking her attention off the screen. “Is he expecting
you?”

“Yes,
ma’am.”

“Fine.” She
waved her hand in the air. “Go on in.”

“Thank you.”
Lauren took a deep breath before tapping on the door. When Tucker
left the house that morning, she’d had no reason to believe she’d
see him again. Though she would never admit it, that thought had
left her feeling strangely dejected.

“Come in.”

She stood in
the doorway, and he treated her to the same reception his assistant
had given her. “Um, if you’re busy, I can come back.”

Tucker looked
up from his computer, a smile splitting his handsome face. “Hey!
No, come on in, Lauren. It’s good to see you. Close the door, have
a seat.”

He appeared to
have straightened up his office since she visited yesterday. “I
know you’re busy,” she said, sitting on the edge of the guest seat
across from him. She didn’t want to take up any more of his time.
“Why did you want to see me?”

“I was thinking
about your little problem,” he said, resting his elbows on the arms
of his chair as he clasped his hands.

Little
problem?
It may seem that way to him, but to her, it was a
catastrophe. She’d spent all morning on the phone with every
contractor in the city. Their excuses ran the gamut. They were too
busy. Her timeline was unreasonable. They didn’t have anyone who
could do the kind of woodworking she needed. She would have to
double her proposed budget. Bottom line, she was desperate and
running out of time.

She held her
breath as she waited for him to continue. Perhaps he’d called in a
favor and found someone to help her. In spite of her protests, she
would have to put her pride aside and gratefully accept any
solution he proposed. Calling her buyers to postpone the move-in
was not an option. They were a young family moving across the
country because of a promotion. They’d already sold their home and
didn’t know anyone in the area, which was why they had been so firm
about the closing date when they signed the contract. They wanted
their daughters to start school as soon as they arrived.

“I could
probably pull a guy off of each of my other projects. That would
give you a full crew, which would be more than enough manpower to
finish the job.”

Lauren heaved a
sigh of relief. She was tempted to throw her arms around him as an
expression of her gratitude, but she restrained herself… barely.
“Thank you so much.” She smiled, nearly giddy with relief.

“That still
leaves the problem of the kitchen and built-ins. That’s going to
take a skilled craftsman or carpenter.”

“Have you found
someone?”

“I called damn
near everyone I know who does that kind of work, and they’re all
tied up on other jobs.”

“Oh.” She
started wringing her hands. “So, what do you suggest?”

He sighed
heavily. “It seems the only option is for me to do the work.”

“What? Is that
even possible? I thought you said-”

He held his
hand up. “I’ve managed to work out my schedule. It won’t be easy,
but if I come in here a little earlier and take work home, I should
be able to swing a few hours at your place every night. I have a
full workshop in this building, so I can get started on the kitchen
cabinets here when I have a break.”

Lauren knew he
was going above and beyond to help her, but she couldn’t figure out
why. “Why are you doing this?”

He smiled.
“Let’s just say I’ve had friends help me out of a tight spot a time
or two. I’m just paying it forward.”

He clearly had
a successful business, so he wasn’t doing it because he needed the
work. Was he trying to impress her? Was he hoping a personal
relationship may evolve from their physical attraction if they
spent more time together?

Her father’s
words echoed in her ears, drowned out only by Amanda’s horror
stories. He may seem like a decent guy, but if that was the case,
he wouldn’t have done hard time in prison. No, she had to be
careful not to let her guard down. He may be handsome and charming,
but by all accounts, he was a dangerous man.

“I really
appreciate that, but I just want to clear the air about something
before we move forward.”

“Sure.” He
clasped his hands on his desk and leaned forward. “What is it?”

“I’m not
interested in anything more than a professional relationship with
you.” God, she hoped that didn’t sound as egotistical as she feared
it did. Tucker had never said he wanted to date her. She was just
assuming he was attracted to her.

He dropped his
head to hide his grin, but the amusement in his dark eyes when he
looked up told her she had sounded as conceited as she
suspected.

“I’m sorry.”
She pressed a hand to her flaming cheek. If she could, she would
leave the room and hope he forgot the meeting ever happened. “I
didn’t mean that the way it sounded.”

“I admire your
honesty,” he said, his lips still twitching. “But I didn’t offer to
take this job because I was hoping to get you into bed.”