He explained a few more county fees that, as her contractor, he would handle. Finally, they both stood and shook hands again. “It’s a pleasure doing business with you, Jewel. And a pleasure to see you again.” He held on to her hand just a few seconds longer than necessary.
“Thank you for all your help.” She extracted her hand from his with a nervous smile. “I can’t believe how smoothly this seems to be going.”
“I’m glad. But there’s always a hiccup or two along the way. Fortunately, we know how to work through them.” He walked her to the office entrance. “I have meetings all day tomorrow, so I can’t be out to your place until later. Probably closer to six.” His brows arched hopefully. “And I’ll be ravenous by then.”
She got the hint. “Well, I’m not sure what we’ll have for dinner tomorrow, but you’re welcome to join us. Although I’ll warn you, I’ve been doing the cooking and I’m no expert in the kitchen.”
“Thanks, but I thought I’d invite you to join me. There’s this new restaurant in town. I’ve been hoping to give it a go.”
Wanting to stay in his good graces and not sour the deal, she agreed. Reluctantly. But she questioned her decision while walking through the Hanford Homes parking lot. Had she led him on? Been disingenuous? Although Aaron Hanford was probably a nice guy, did she really want to get involved with him ... again? She remembered how little respect she’d had for him after they dated briefly in high school. At the end of the relationship, she’d actually accused him of being a full-blown narcissist. But that was ages ago. They’d both been young and immature.
And Aaron seemed quite amiable nowadays. Well-spoken and kind. She could tell he’d done and seen a lot since high school. Really, what was the harm of getting to know him better? Still, she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something about him made her uneasy. Was he just a bit too opportunistic? Or was it his salesmanship? Perhaps she was being overly judgmental. After all, he was really helping her out with this house. Why not give him a chance?
12
Honey
Jewel sauntered in through the front door with an expression that reminded Honey of the cat who’d swallowed the canary. “Hello there, people,” Jewel crooned at them.
Honey tossed back a casual greeting as she set CT’s lunch on the TV tray. She knew Jewel had gone to the county seat for something today, but something more was definitely going on here.
Cooper, who was watching an old western with CT to keep him from wandering around outside in the heat, didn’t even look up, but Honey’s curiosity was stirred.
“What’s up?” she quietly asked her daughter, nodding toward the kitchen before CT overheard anything and got interested in something he might not understand. “Want something cool to drink?”
“Yeah, I could use some iced tea,” Jewel said, following her.
Honey closed the kitchen door, then sat at the table. Already she felt winded from doing practically nothing. But maybe that’s what happened while recuperating from a head injury and high blood pressure. Dr. Gretchen had warned her not to overdo it at their appointment the other day.
“You look tired, Mom. What have you been up to?”
“Nothing much.”
“Looks like you fixed Dad lunch,” she said while she grabbedthe pitcher of tea from the fridge. “I thought you were going to let Coop do that.”
“Well, she was sitting with him. I really appreciate that. Let me get a few things done in peace.”
“Such as?” Jewel poured a glass of tea.
“Just a load of laundry and then a few things out in the garden.”
“And you cleaned the kitchen and made Dad lunch and—”
“I don’t need a lecture, Jewel.” Honey raised a hand to stop her. “I’m sitting now. Dr. Gretchen pretty much said the same thing. I just sort of forgot and got carried away.”
“Is Dad rubbing off on you?” Jewel teased, setting the tea in front of her.
“Funny.” Honey narrowed her eyes at her daughter. “It’s hard feeling better and wanting to get back to my routines.”
“Well, maybe your routines need to slow down.”
Honey just nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind if you tell me what you’re up to. I know you’ve got something up your sleeve.”
Jewel brought her own tea to the table and sat down, then immediately started pouring out an incredible story of purchasing a manufactured home.
“What?” Honey sputtered, nearly choking on her tea. “Are you kidding?”
“No, Mom. Wait till you see it.”
