“It does,” she agreed. “I’d been there five years, and I was damn good at my job. I saved them a ton of money over the years.”
“I hope their next financial analyst isn’t nearly as good,” I said, nudging my elbow against hers. “It would serve them right.”
She gave me one of those crooked smiles that always made me weak in the knees. “Anyway, I’m still paying for my condo in Boston, and my savings won’t last long, so I need a new job, the sooner the better.”
I looked down at my half-eaten slice of pizza. “I hope you find one, even better than the one you lost.”
“Thanks. Me too.”
“Is there anything you could do while you’re here?” I asked, shaking off my conflicted feelings about her leaving, because it wasn’t her fault she lived in Boston. “Some kind of consulting so you don’t burn through all your savings?”
“Hmm, I don’t know. I guess I could try, but I don’t know who would hire me. I don’t have any experience consulting.”
“There are a lot of people around here who knew and loved your grandma, though,” I said. “And we Vermonters love supporting our own, so if you put up a post on some of the local boards, maybe post a notice in V and V, offering accounting consults or whatever, you might find enough business to tide you over.”
“It’s definitely something to think about,” she said. “Thanks for the idea.”
“No problem. Ready to get started on the floors?” I asked.
“Sure. Where are Minnie and Blue tonight?”
“I dropped them off at home before I came over.”
“I miss seeing Minnie’s happy face,” Phoebe said as she polished off her cider and stood from the table. “Sometimes I don’t think Violet’s happy here.”
“Why not?”
One of Phoebe’s shoulders lifted. “She doesn’t get excited to see me like Minnie does, or you know how dogs seem to smile when their mouths are open and their tongues hang out? Violet doesn’t do that either. She just lies around and watches me all day.”
“Well, she’s still getting settled, and she’s probably anxious about giving birth, but she doesn’t seem unhappy to me. She looks relaxed, and that’s a pretty big deal for a dog in her situation.”
“I guess.” Phoebe didn’t look convinced.
“You’re going to have to show me what we’re doing here,” I said.
She pointed to the boxes of laminate flooring stacked against the wall. “I’ve already put down the under layer and installed the first row just to get the hang of it. They snap together like big puzzle pieces, so mostly it’s just a matter of laying them all down, although we do have to cut the end pieces to fit and stagger them so the pattern looks random, like real hardwood.”
“How do you cut them?” I asked.
“With my grandma’s circular saw,” Phoebe said with a grin. “I’ve got it set up in back, and while it’s slightly terrifying in action, I haven’t chopped off any fingers yet.”
“I wouldn’t have pegged you as a girl who knew how to use a saw, Phoebe Shaw.”
“There’s a first time for everything.”
“All the same, I can cut the rest, if you want,” I offered.
“You know how to use a saw?”
“Do I look like I know how to handle a saw?” I asked, because I’d always considered myself a hands-on kind of woman. I knew how to use most kinds of tools and was generally more comfortable working with my hands than with my mouth. My mouth sometimes had a tendency to get me in trouble.
Phoebe’s gaze dipped, traversing my plaid cotton top to my khaki shorts before lingering somewhere in the vicinity of my thighs. “I think you can handle a saw,” she mumbled, and her cheeks were a perfect match for one of the rosebushes out back.
“Good, because I can.” My heart was running a marathon in my chest, and I had no idea what we were even talking about anymore. I could keep myself in check. I’d lusted after Phoebe quietly for years before kissing her, but if she was feeling it too, we might be in trouble, because that was what got us in trouble last time.
Not tonight, though. We got to work, unboxing and laying each piece of laminate flooring. Phoebe let me handle the saw, although she took every opportunity to needle me about it. She’d chosen flooring that was a rich cherry color, and I had to admit, it made the room look a lot bigger and brighter. It would be so much easier to clean too.
Three hours later, it was dark outside, Violet was asleep in her whelping pen in the master bedroom, and I was sweaty and disheveled, but the flooring was finished. The laminate gleamed a bright coppery color beneath the overhead light.
