The Difference a Day Makes (Perfect, Indiana: Book Two) (17 page)

Just then a breeze kicked up, bringing with it the distinctive stench of the hog farms to the west. “Yep. You just might be more messed up than I am, Noah.”

Ryan’s sketches lay open on the table. Ted, Paige, and Noah bent their heads over them. Ryan’s heart jumped into his throat, and he had to run his palms over his jeans a couple of times to hide the telltale moisture. “What do you think?”

“They’re great.” Ted turned the page back to the first sketches. “Which of these do you plan to start with?”

Surprise sent a shock wave through him. “You like them?”

“Of course I do.” Ted’s scowl said,
I don’t need to like you to like your work
. “We need to build our product line. I’ve never disagreed with that. My concern is manpower, materials, and costs.”

Ryan glanced at Paige. She looked ready to burst. “What are you thinking, Paige?”

“Your timing is perfect, and these designs are amazing.” She practically buzzed with excitement. “I went to the craft fair in New Harmony yesterday and gathered a bunch of information from a number of artists. I think L&L is on the verge of something really great with this new product line. Now might be the time to expand your retail venue as well. Start with the showroom right here in Perfect.”

She looked at each of them in turn, her expression so animated and lit up Ryan wanted to leap over the table and taste that buzz with a kiss.

“Offer home decor along with your furniture, like Crate & Barrel or Pottery Barn. Bring your customers to you. Make this site their destination. Advertise and market your products as all
American made.” She flipped Ryan’s sketchbook to the dining room table with the starburst in the center. “In fact, brand this new line Americana, or something similar. Then, once you’ve built some capital here, open your second retail site in Evansville, and—”

“All great ideas, but who is going to do all of that?” Ted cut in. “Ryan? We all know he’s chock full of charisma.” He shook his head. “There are only three of us.” He glanced at Paige, his mouth a straight line. “You’re leaving.”

Paige deflated like a bicycle tire, and Ryan’s jaw clenched. He’d promised her he’d make more of an effort to get along with the kid, and he would. Even if keeping his mouth shut right now gave him an ulcer.

“What’s eating you, Ted?” Noah asked in his even-toned commander voice.

“Nothing’s
eating
me.” Ted pushed back his chair and stood up. “We have orders we need to crate up by this afternoon. Let’s get to work.”

“He’s upset because—”

“Paige!” Ted’s brow rose.

She kept her gaze on Noah. “When Ryan came on board, you didn’t involve Ted in the hiring process, even though he’s the business end of your partnership. There are some hard feelings being misdirected Ryan’s way for something he had no control over.”

“Is that true?” Noah shot Ted a look of surprise.

“Partially.” Ted’s expression filled with bitterness.

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“When? By the time I heard about it, he’d already signed on the dotted line and moved into the carriage house.”

“That’s not all,” Paige added.

Ted’s face turned red. “Later. I’m going to get to work.”

“Not now,” Noah said. “Come back and sit down.”

Instead of sitting, Ted leaned against the wall and crossed his arms in front of him.

“Ryan is under a lot of stress as it is.” Paige never took her eyes from Noah. “Ted’s animosity toward him makes everything ten times worse. Ryan reacts the only way he can by baiting and pushing Ted’s buttons.”

Ryan’s mouth quirked up. He should have been pissed. But he wasn’t. None of this was her business, but she had his back, and that stirred something inside him that hadn’t been stirred for a long time. “I thought your degree was in business. Shoot. I should cancel my appointment at the VA center and hire you to be my shrink.”

She rewarded his comment with one of her specialty
You’re an idiot
expressions, and he fought the urge to laugh. Lord, she did things to him, made him feel things, like
…happiness?

“Would you mind giving us some privacy, Paige?” Noah closed the sketchbook, his mouth forming a straight line. “I think the three of us have a few things to work out.”

“Good idea.” She rose. “I need to go check my e-mail anyway.”

Ryan wanted to go with her. She needed to know he thought her ideas for L&L were spot-on. Maybe he’d suggest she stay and be the one to bring those ideas to fruition. The sound of Noah clearing his throat brought him back to the present.

“Sit down, kid.” Ryan gestured to a chair. “For the sake of getting along, I’m willing to play by a few rules if you are.”

The kid pushed off the wall and stiff-legged himself back to the table, his expression closed.

“I apologize for making you feel that you weren’t a part of the decision-making process,” Noah began. “We talked about
hiring more help, and you agreed to it. I didn’t realize…I’ve never owned a business before. How the hell would I know how these things are done?”

“You could’ve asked.” Ted still leaned away from the table with his arms crossed in front of him. “We should’ve placed an ad, taken applications, gone through them, and decided together who to interview and hire.”

Noah grunted. “In the future, I’ll try to go along with that process, but you know how I feel about hiring veterans. There are going to be times when—”

“So we put something in the ad stating veterans preferred. I’m fine with that. I just don’t want to be…” Ted averted his gaze, and his jaw muscle twitched.

“The token business partner?” Ryan raised an eyebrow. “I get that. Noah told me L&L was all your idea, and I respect that.”

“Exactly.” Ted shot a skeptical look his way before turning to Noah. “I didn’t get involved only to be a silent partner who keeps the books and signs the checks. I have ideas, and I’m busting my ass to get my business degree. The least you could do is involve me in the decision-making process.”

“Done,” Noah said. “What are we going to do about the tension between the two of you?”

Time to man up
. “If you agree to rein in your hostility, I’ll agree to stop pushing your buttons.”

“Right,” Ted huffed. “We can give
that
a try.”

“Listen, Ted. You have no idea what it means to me to be here.” Ryan’s jaw tightened. “I have a lot of respect for you.”

“Sure you do.”

“You do great work. I don’t know how you manage school while putting in as many hours here as you do. I mean it when I say you have my respect.” Ryan fixed him with a hard look. “You
gotta admit, though, you haven’t exactly been all warm and welcoming. I had nothing to do with Noah’s oversight, but you’ve been taking it out on me all the same. I’m just the hired hand. It’s easier to blame me than to take it up with Noah. Isn’t that so?”

The kid’s face turned red again, and his mouth turned down. Silence filled the office for several tense seconds until he spit out a response. “It is.”

“We don’t have to like each other to work well together,” Ryan said. “I’ll treat you with respect if you agree to do the same.”

“Agreed,” Ted gave him a curt nod.

“Someday maybe we’ll get to the liking part.” Ryan shrugged. “You never know. For now, I’m good.”

“Great. I’m glad that’s settled.” Noah stood up. “Are we in agreement on expanding our product line?”

Ryan held his breath.

“I think it’s about time.” Ted pushed back his chair. “Go for it, Ryan.”

Ryan’s breath came out on a wave of relief, followed by excitement. “I’m going to need help with the prototypes. My woodworking skills aren’t on par with yours and Noah’s.”

“I’ll help. So will Noah.” Ted started for the door. “Right now, we have to focus on getting our finished pieces ready to go. The trucking company is going to be here at three this afternoon.”

“Ted, before we leave, do you want to talk about Paige?”

Ted glared at him. “I thought you said you weren’t going to push my buttons.”

“I’m not trying to push any buttons.” Ryan picked up his sketchbook and started to follow. “I’m trying to clear the air. The truth is, we’re both in for the same thin edge of the wedge here. She’s—”

“Hell no. I’m not going to talk to you about Paige.”

Ted stomped off, leaving Ryan with the full weight of Noah’s scrutiny. “Oh, what? Like you didn’t know?”

“Explain.” Noah handed him the C-stare with a side of scowl.

“I hate when you do that, bro.”

“Do what?”

“The commander stare.” Ryan lifted an eyebrow. “Are you telling me you didn’t know Ted has a thing for your sister?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Well, he does, and it chafes his chaps that she and I have been spending time together after she turned him down.”

“I see. Ryan—”

“Let’s get to work, Boss.” He headed toward the elevator, eager to end the conversation before Noah started in on him about why he shouldn’t be spending time with his sister. “The morning is wasting away.”

Noah grunted again, but at least he let the subject drop.

The minute the door of the lift opened, Ryan’s gaze went straight for Paige, and his feet followed. “You OK, darlin’?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” She kept her attention on her laptop.

“I think your idea about building the retail venue is exactly right.”

She straightened and turned to him. “Of course it’s exactly right, but Ted brought up a good point. It would take manpower Langford & Lovejoy doesn’t have.”

“What if you stayed?” He kept his voice low. “I’m sure Noah and Ted would hire you in a tail wag.”

She snorted a laugh. “In a tail wag?”

He nodded. At least she hadn’t said absolutely not, and he wasn’t going to give her the opportunity. He’d planted the idea, and unless he’d completely misread how excited she’d
gotten when she’d shared her ideas, the notion would germinate. “Thanks, by the way.”

“You’re welcome.” Confusion clouded her features. “What are you thanking me for?”

“For having my back in that meeting upstairs.”

Shy, sweet Paige made an appearance, and a small smile lit her face. Ryan’s breath hitched in his throat.

“You’re welcome. Maybe someday you can return the favor.”

“Absolutely.”

Paige couldn’t believe it was Wednesday already. Two more days until her rodeo date with Ryan. Four days until she headed back to Pennsylvania and the hard reality of her situation. She had to talk to Ted and Noah about the glassblower before she left. If they didn’t go for the idea of carrying some of his pieces, she needed to call the artist and relay the message before he showed up with his portfolio.

Glancing around the workspace, she soaked up the sight of the three men working in harmony. Ted was applying another coat of acrylic to a changing table. Noah was at the jigsaw, and Ryan worked on the sign that would soon be hanging above their storefront. The place hummed with productivity. She loved being in the midst of the men while they worked with their hands, loved the down-to-basics craftsmanship of their enterprise.

Her eyes settled on Ryan. He must’ve felt it, because he lifted his head and winked at her. She couldn’t suppress the answering smile that broke free. “Hey, I got confirmation from the Evansville magazines. Your ad will be in the September issue of both.”

“Great.” Ted nodded.

She slid off her stool and walked closer. “I know you don’t want to expand your retail venue, but I talked with a glassblower at the fair in New Harmony. Would you be interested in looking at his portfolio?” She shrugged. “I got excited about his stuff and kind of suggested it’d be a nice addition to your storefront.” All three men stopped what they were doing and stared at her. Heat rose to her cheeks. “I know. I overstepped.”

“It’s all right. We’ll take a look.” Ted turned back to his task. “We don’t get a lot of traffic here, though.”

“You might get more once the ads come out. I put a few lines in about the discount on samples.”

Noah peered at her through his safety goggles. “If it’s a steady enough increase, we’ll think about hiring a clerk part-time.”

Her heart turned over. Someone else would take over her…
No, not mine.
She had a goal. Of course, it would help if she’d heard from at least one of the places she’d applied to for a job. Paige shook it off. It hadn’t even been two weeks yet, and the application deadlines hadn’t closed. “Sounds good. I’ll call that glassblower and set up an appointment.”