But he noticed her. How could he not? And he later learned she noticed him also.
The memories sent a wave of heat through him. Bad idea to let his mind go there again. He just had to do this one last thing for Viola—and really for Shelby—and then he could put Grandville and its judgmental people in his rearview mirror.
She’d no doubt have those papers for him to sign this morning. Even though the plan had been his idea, he had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, signing over the store was the right thing to do. On the other hand, he was severing the only connection, however tenuous, he had with her. He had two weeks to make things right with her though. At least there was that.
But in order to fulfill his end of the bargain, he needed to check in with his boss back home.
At a stop sign he placed the call, connecting through Apple CarPlay. Gavin picked it up after three rings. “Robinson Construction.”
“Hey, Gavin, it’s Gray.”
“Hey, buddy. How’s everything going?”
“Pretty good. How’s the Franke project?”
“The roof shingles came in yesterday. I’m glad you called them. I think the order would’ve slipped through the cracks, and the Frankes aren’t the easiest of customers.”
Understatement. The husband was complicated and the wife was indecisive—the pairing made for a very difficult project. But they were nearly done. “Good, good. How’s Eric doing?” Gray had recently hiredand trained a new project manager as the job had become too much for one person. The company had grown by leaps and bounds the past few years.
“He’s doing great. He’s out checking the Harding job right now. They love him.”
“Good to hear.” Gray paused long enough to formulate his thoughts. “Listen, you know how you were recently urging me to use some of my acquired PTO?”
Gavin chuckled. “Let me guess. You wanna catch up with your family and friends.”
Gray hadn’t exactly opened up to his employer about his family’s reputation in his hometown. “Something like that. Can you spare me?”
“I can hardly say no, the way you’ve poured your heart and soul into this company over the past few years. It’s been a tremendous load off my plate. My wife and kids are thankful to have me home for supper most nights.”
Gray had been working dawn to dusk since he’d gotten the job. What else did he have to do? “I love my job and I hate taking time off. But I’ve got some loose ends here I need to take care of. I’m happy to check in—do some scheduling, run interference as needed. I can even manage the bookkeeping from afar.”
“I might take you up on that. I’m sure Eric can handle the construction end though, and I can pick up some slack. How long you thinking?”
“A couple weeks?”
“Sure, buddy. We owe you a lot more than that. And the bookkeeping can probably wait till you’re back.”
Relief swamped Gray. “I really appreciate it. I didn’t expect to extend my stay, but something’s come up. Don’t hesitate to call if you need anything. I’ll stay in contact with Eric and step in wherever I’m needed.”
“I’m sure we can hold it together till you get back. We still have plenty of mild weather before winter sets in.”
“Thanks for being so understanding.”
“Just don’t go moving back home. I’ve grown attached to weekends off.”
Thinking of his family’s reputation in this town, Gray smirked. “Not likely, my friend.”
Chapter 6
Shelby spotted Logan Shackleford (biographies and memoirs) at a table for two. A smile spread across his face as he caught sight of her. His short light brown hair was carefully combed, and his businesslike glasses perched on his nose, framing his hazel eyes. His crisp white shirt was fitted to his lean torso, and a maroon tie, fashioned in a Windsor knot, finished the look.
Logan was a loan officer at HomeTrust Bank, which meant that, except for Saturdays, their work schedules were almost identical. Meeting at Becca’s Bakery before work on Mondays and Fridays had become a regular thing since they’d begun dating five months ago.
Her chocolate croissant and steaming cup of coffee waited at the table from which he rose and offered her a brief hug. “How are you doing?”
“As well as can be expected, I guess. Thank you for the croissant and coffee,” she added as they took their seats.
They’d spoken on the phone only briefly since the funeral. Shelby felt guilty that she hadn’t accepted his many offers of company, but she hadn’t had the emotional bandwidth to deal with one more thing.
