5 Days to Trial
Kole was overagain, using his day off to help Dylan renovate the gazebo on his property’s point. This time he had come without Boone. Their somber friend had been picking up some shifts part-time, working as security for the large outdoor concert venue in Virginia Beach. He told them there was some big country music artist performing there that night that he was pulled to work for, so he begged off the manual labor.
Dylan and Kole worked on securing the frame to the base of the gazebo as well as rebuilding the stairs. The wood from the original structure had all been dry-rotted, and Dylan’s leg had almost gone through a step when he gingerly climbed a few to test them. As if he needed another leg injury.
Earlier in the year he had mapped the schematics of the gazebo, measuring the space between the columns and the height of the roof. He’d torn it all down, ripped out board after board until all that remained was an empty spot on the ground. It was a blank canvas for him to use.
Now he was rebuilding, plank by plank, until it would match the old one perfectly. To him, this was the most important part of the restoration. When their moms became single moms, theowner, Mr. Walters, had stepped up and watched them so their moms could go to work or have some time to themselves. The gazebo had been Kelsi’s favorite spot. He remembered them sitting under here, side by side, passing Capri-Suns back and forth on hot summer days as children. She’d said every time that it was very nearly the most romantic place in the entire county, and all it was missing was a string of fairy lights.
He smiled fondly at the memory, looking at the framed structure in front of him and imagining how it would look completed, freshly painted and lit by small bulbs.What would Kelsi think if she saw it? If she knew that he had bought this house, where they’d spent so much time together as children? His smile faltered. Would she like it? Hate it? Think he was a crazy-obsessed stalker?
Kole’s voice broke through Dylan’s reverie as he paused his hammering and called over, “So, what’s the update on your progress with Kelsi?”
Dylan focused on the board he was currently hammering, sparing Kole a brief glance before responding, “We’re friends again, I think.” He shrugged, setting the hammer aside for now. “She’s hard to get a read on. Every time I think we take a few steps forward, it feels like she throws a wall back up between us.” He looked out over the creek, the water sparkling in the summer sun. “I don’t know what I’m doing, man. I thought this whole time that she broke my heart for no reason, but the way she acts around me, it’s like she doesn’t fully trust me. I don’t know what happened to get us to this point.”
He looked at Kole again to find his friend watching him seriously for once.
“I think that if you two are going to make any progress here and move past the baggage you both so clearly carry, you have toactually talk to each other. Get everything out in the open until you both have the full picture.”
Dylan blinked, shocked at the sound advice his playboy friend passed on. “That sounds great in theory, but whenever I try to talk to her about anything serious beyond the case, she clams up. She’s only given me a few details here and there about her ex.” The reminder that she had an ex-fiancé had Dylan putting a little too much behind the swing of the hammer, sending a couple splinters up around the head of the nail.
Kole snorted at him, back to his typical demeanor. “Dude, do you need some pointers? My offer to come up with a game plan for you still stands.”
Dylan threw a damp rag at him that he’d been using to mop up his sweat all day. Kole only caught it and used it to swipe at the sweat on his bare chest before tossing it aside.
“I don’t think the man who can’t stay with a girl for more than one night is the person I want to take relationship advice from.” Dylan picked up his hammer and moved to the next plank, hammering the nails to fix the board to the support beam below.
“That is by choice, man, not lack of game. I don’t have what it takes to be in a committed relationship. Plus, it wouldn’t be fair to the ladies to deprive them of all this.” He gestured up and down his body. “But keep in mind, I could be an invaluable asset to you. I have a unique understanding of the female mind.”
“Kole,” Dylan spoke in a dry tone. “No, man. I promise you if I’m desperate, I’ll send out a bat signal, okay?”
Kole narrowed his eyes and pointed his hammer at him. “I will hold you to that.”
“I’d be disappointed if you didn’t,” Dylan replied, serious about it in a way that surprised him. But, really, if it meant he’d have his Red back, he’d do just about anything. Kole’s advice may be a last resort, but he’d take it if he needed to. He looked around him, imagining the space when finished and Kelsi’s expression seeing it for the first time. He allowed himself a small smile and indulged in the fantasy before he went back to work.
CHAPTER 28
Dylan
4 Days to Trial
The following afternoon,Dylan was finishing placing the tiles to form the backsplash above the kitchen counter and stovetop. He had the white tiles laid in a herringbone pattern, whose angles took him longer to figure out than he cared to admit, when he heard a knock at the door.
Kole had left a couple hours earlier, needing to head back in time for his shift that night, so Dylan had been left alone.
Grabbing the rag resting on top of the counter, he wiped the grout off his hands the best he could, although it still caked his fingers. Walking to the door, he kept trying to scrub the quickly drying flakes off, but his hands felt crusty and stiff no matter how hard he rubbed. Without checking the peephole first, he swung the door open.
On his porch, looking casually gorgeous in jean cutoff shorts and a strappy pink tank top, was Kelsi. She blinked at him owlishly. “Dylan?”
“Yes?” he responded, leaning against the open door frame and smirking at her, trying to hide his panic. He hadn’t expected her to see the house, not yet.
“Sorry, your mom told me I could find you here. I ...” Kelsi’s voice trailed off as she looked around at the fresh coat of paint on the door and shutters. She took in the new wraparound porch that he had added to the front, and finally her gaze snagged on the fresh landscaping he’d done the day before, the hydrangeas in full bloom in front of the porch. Kelsi turned her curious and confused glance back to him, her green eyes shimmering in the morning sun. “Are you renovating this place for Mr. Walters?”
He watched her eyes as he answered, “I am renovating this house, Red, but not for Mr. Walters.” He stepped back into the house and gestured her forward. “Now come in, before you let the cold air out and the bugs in.”
She followed slowly, stepping past the threshold and into the foyer. She spun on the spot, silently absorbing all the changes and updates he’d made. He’d kept the character of the home, not wanting to change its beautiful, hand-carved crown molding. But he’d given everything a fresh coat of paint and replaced the floors, which had been old and too worn in places from years of foot traffic, with a new, sturdy flooring that was scratch- and water-resistant. Dylan figured he was saving money by planning ahead for children and dogs to be traipsing around the home.
He tried to see everything through her eyes. There were still touch-ups he needed to make, but he was proud of the progress he’d made so far. There wasn’t much in the way of furniture at the moment, as he was waiting to get the painting and floors done before purchasing and moving anything heavy in, so it looked rather empty. Still, he thought the house was coming together decently.
