Holding on to the end of the heavy tarp opposite Delonte Johnson, Thad helped him crab walk the load of plaster to the Dumpster that had been delivered earlier today. He’d figured they would need at least two loads hauled away during the course of the demo, but based on the rot they were finding as they sledgehammered the walls, he wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t fill it up twice that many times.
“Didn’t take long to reach the halfway point of this Dumpster,” Delonte commented.
“It means we got some good work done today,” Thad said. And that the inspector had missed a shit load of issues during his tour of the house. The structure was solid, but they had encountered several snags that could endanger their plans for opening by Veterans Day. Thad wasn’t willing to call this place a money pit yet, but it was getting close.
“You and Micah didn’t come to play around,” Thad continued. “I appreciate the hard work.”
Delonte and Micah’s approach to demo had been the unexpected highlight of his day. The two young soldiers requiredvery little direction, and because they had been doing this kind of work longer than both Von and Thad, they’d offered advice that had saved them time and materials.
“Von mentioned you’ve been cutting hair on the side,” Thad said. “That true?”
“Nah, I’ve been doing construction work on the side,” Delonte said. “I’ve got a hundred apprenticeship hours to go before I can take the state licensing exam to be a barber. And you better believe The PX will be the first place I put in an application.”
“You’ll have a job waiting for you,” Thad said. He gestured toward the house. “Tell Micah that the two of you can head home. Von and I can handle the rest for the night.”
“You sure?” Delonte asked.
Thad nodded.
“At least let me help with the tarp.”
“I’ve got this,” Thad said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
As he watched the kid jog toward the house, Thad couldn’t help thinking about how that could have been him if he’d decided to leave the Army after putting in his four years. Yet, the more he thought about it, the more he realized thatwouldn’thave been him, because he would not have had the option of going back to school to learn a trade. It was either the Army or joining his grandfather’s dry cleaning business.
Nothing illustrated just how much he’d hated the thought of becoming part of the Sutherland Dry Cleaning empire more than the fact that, when given the choice, he went with the option that could get him taken out by enemy fire. Thad had loved his grandfather more than just about any human being on the planet, and appreciated all he’d sacrificed, but he’d known the dry cleaning biz wasn’t for him from the firstSaturday he’d spent behind the counter his junior year of high school.
Thankfully, Gramps had been more than okay with his career choice. Thad could still remember the pride on his grandfather’s face when he told him that he wanted to join the Army.
Thad had just finished folding up the tarp when Ashanti’s SUV pulled up in front of the house. He tucked the heavy plastic under his arm and braced himself for the impact of seeing her.
Denying that she affected him was pointless. Was it inconvenient? Fuck yes! But that’s where things stood. No use pretending her face didn’t pop up in his head a hundred times a day.
The worst game ever was the one he now played religiously, where he debated if things would be different between them if he’d never driven past this house. He’d earned the first mark against him by being a brash, ornery asshole the first time he’d met her, but Thad had gotten a sense that they were moving past that the day of the dog pageant. Buying this house had put the proverbial nail in the coffin of anything possibly happening between them.
Even so, she’d started to soften toward him over the past week, enough for him to believe that they could at least be friends. Maybe they could partner together for some type of function for military kids, like Grams had suggested.
The problem was he didn’t want to be just a friend to her.
Thad frowned as he watched her through the driver’s side window. She gripped the steering wheel tightly with both hands. It looked as though she was having an animated conversation, most likely with herself.
He usually found quirky shit like that to be annoying as hell. Why was it so fucking attractive on her?
She had been vague on the phone, only sharing that she needed to speak to him as soon as possible and that it would be better if she did so in person. He’d immediately checked in with his grandmother. Even though he was listed as her emergency contact, he wouldn’t have put it past her to reach out to her dog sitter before she called him. She and Ashanti shared a closer relationship than he first assumed.
But all was well with Grams. Well, other than the fact that she chewed him out for not bringing Puddin’ to see her on Sunday, and demanded he bring him tomorrow.
Ashanti finally got out of her SUV and, just as he had anticipated, Thad’s pulse started hammering on his carotid like Phil Collins pounding out the “In the Air Tonight” drum solo. But, as she approached, he noticed her smile was more apprehensive than friendly. It put him on edge.
“Hi,” she said.
“Evening,” Thad said. He tilted his head to the side. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I just—” She looked past him, and her smile grew a bit warmer.
Thad looked over his shoulder to see Von sidling up the stone walkway. He shot him a menacing look, which his business partner promptly ignored.
“Well, hey there, friend,” Von greeted.
