I roll my eyes at him, and Elias drops into the chair beside me, laughing.
The break room istiny. Literally a trailer on site where we’ve grabbed hot coffee, snacks, and fought over the five chairs over the last few months. We stagger our breaks so everyone has at least one chance to sit down, but even that’s not enough. This trailer is claustrophobic. The lack of space was the driving force behind the short walk to Nico’s to grab a proper coffee and slice of pie in a place where we could stick our arms out without worrying about hitting someone.
“Murph was asking about the company we’re setting up,” I tell Knox and Elias.
Elias’s gaze sharpens on Murph. “I thought you’d signed up for the Florida job.”
Most of the twenty guys have. I thought we were the only ones who’d turned it down.
Murph snorts. “I like sun as much as the next person, but Florida has a little too much of it for my liking.”
“Too much sun?” Knox says dryly. “Not a complaint I ever thought I’d hear you say.” He points his chin at Murph’s tanned arms.
“Sun is fine for hitting the beach or sitting out on the porch with a beer or two. But working in it fortwo years?” He shakes his head. “No, thanks. I figure maybe if I stick around, you might bring more subs like the one you were too greedy to share.”
He’d hungrily eyed my sandwich as he ate his peanut butter and jelly, and had asked if I wanted to share the six-inch sub with roast beef, horseradish mayo, and sweet red peppers. I told him to go to hell. Maisie made it for me. No way was I sharing a sandwich this good.
“Not gonna happen,” I say.
“You need to find a woman who loves you the way Maisie loves us,” Knox adds with a smug smile.
Maisie refused to let us leave without packing up something for our lunch, knowing we wouldn’t have a chance to get to the diner today. We told her she didn’t have to do it, but she was determined, so we all took our sandwiches, slices of homemade cherry pie, and ice-cold bottles of water with a grateful smile and a kiss.
Every day, we’re practically trampling over people to get home to Maisie. When the guys saw the sandwiches Maisie had made for us and salivated over her homemade pies, they’d have trampled over us to get to a woman like Maisie if they had one waiting for them at home.
She’s sent us to work with pies for the guys more than she ever needed to, and she’s won them over. She’s one of a kind. Sweet and kind and so generous, with the most intensely violent streak when she’s fighting off zombies on the couch in the evenings with Elias.
Leaning back in my chair, I rub the back of my neck, the usual place I’m most sunburned from working outside. Rios isn’t too hot. Texas was terrible. Florida would be even worse. I can’t help but think we dodged a bullet in turning down the Florida job.
“If you’re ever looking for workers, let me know when you get that company started,” Murph says.
I tilt my head. “You don’t have a job lined up?” He should. Murph’s one of the most experienced workers on site, hardworking, and Iknowhe’d have been one of the first guys management went looking to hire for more work.
He rakes a hand through his dark hair. “I’ve been on the road for a long time. Thought it might be nice to settle for a bit.”
“In Rios?” I ask, surprised. He hasn’t shown any sign that he wanted to stay.
He balls up his trash and tosses it, green eyes avoiding my gaze. “It’s as good as any place I’ve worked so far. I’m making a quick trip to see family and then heading back here.”
I share a curious glance with Knox, who shrugs.
In the distance, someone yells something I can’t make out, a bell rings, and we get back to our feet with tired sighs.
We have a couple more hours of work ahead of us, then all that’s left is for the management to do an inspection before we clock out. In a couple of days, if all is well, our bosses will host a party at a local bar. It’s not much. Just a couple of free drinks and pizzas. Once we’ve celebrated the completion of the condo, the rest of the guys will move on to their next job, and we’ll make a quick trip to Malibu and spend a few days sitting on the beach, sipping cocktails, and I can teach Maisie how to surf. Then we’ll come back to Rios and start looking for a permanent base for our new company.
I glance at the clock as we leave the trailer.
After work, we’ll swing over to the diner, check that Maisie is okay, and head home together for dinner, a movie, and maybe another long talk on the couch about our future.
“Maisie is missing,” are Elias’s words the second I step out of the condo.
One of the guys said Elias was looking for me but couldn’t find me. I was not expecting to walk into this news.
“What?” Frowning, I pull off my hard hat and set it down on a folding table, following him away from the condo entrance, where loud banging and drilling make it impossible to talk without needing to shout.
“Nico called,” Elias explains. “He said she offered to take the trash out to the dumpster when Winston was too busy to go, and she didn’t come back.”
I curse. “They said she wouldn’t go out.”
