I go back to the office and find it totally empty—which isn’t odd, considering everyone is either on a job or didn’t come in due to lack of work. I mean, it’s hard to plant flowers even when the weather is nice but knowing it could easily snow several times over the next two months.
I take my time writing up a full plan for the greenhouse and go wash the company truck, sort some tools out, and before Iknow it, Travis is walking back into the office, looking tired and dirty from whatever job he was on today. I have to say it’s easier to respect your bosses when they’re more than willing to go out and get their hands dirty.
“Big job?”
Travis nods, wiping his muddy boots on the rug by the door. “Tree removal with Oakley.”
I smile. “He does love to use the chainsaw.”
He laughs and shakes his head fondly. “He jumped at the chance.” Travis sits down at the table, yawning, and I take a seat across from him, greenhouse plan in hand. “Glad you’re alive.”
“Yeah,” I say with a smirk. “Turns out, Dakota isn’t a grumpy old man.” Just a grumpy young man. I wonder what his deal is.
Travis’s eyebrow shoots up. “Really?”
I nod. “He’s younger than me, if I had to guess.”
His brow furrows. “Hmm, what’s his deal?”
I shrug. “Don’t really know. He didn’t say, but he was adamant about no one else being there.”
“You sure you didn’t get serial-killer vibes?”
I shake my head and slide the proposed plan to him. “Nah, just doesn’t seem to trust people. But he did say he would help me frame it up, so I guess it’s doable.”
“Does he have experience?”
I shrug again. “No idea. But he can hold a pole.”
“That’s what he said!” Oakley bursts into the office like the Kool-Aid man, and Travis just sighs heavily.
“Here we go again.” I can’t hide my laugh because they’re fun. Travis just ignores his goofball husband and looks over the plan in front of him. “You sure about this?”
I nod. “Looks fun to me. Something to do.”
“All right. I’ll call him this evening to go over the budget. I’m tacking on an extra fee for requiring only one person for the job.”
“My husband is a badass,” Oakley says, stepping behind him and massaging his shoulders. Travis swats him away, but I see the amusement there.
I stand up and push the chair back under the table. “Sounds good. I plan to pour the foundation tomorrow. I’ll make sure it’s warm enough outside.”
Travis nods. “Sounds good. It’s supposed to be nice this week. I’ll make sure Oakley prepares the cement truck.”
“Hell yes!” Oakley says, pushing open the door to Travis’s and his office. “I’ll never turn down the chance to play with the big trucks.”
Travis laughs, gripping the bridge of his nose and looking at me. “See you tomorrow.”
“Thanks, boss,” I say, heading out of the office and to my own personal truck, just as Jackson pulls up with Luke in a work truck. I wonder what job they were on today and why he wasn’t paired with Asher like he normally is.
Maybe they got into it too much and Travis gave them a timeout.
“Hey! You weren’t murdered!” Jackson says with a big grin as he hops out of his truck.
“Nope,” I say with a chuckle.
Luke pats my back as he walks past me and goes into the shop, and I give him a nod in response. Jackson unloads his truck, and I walk over to help him. “So, how was it? Does he really expect you to build a greenhouse on your own?”
I think back to my brief interaction with Dakota and remember how stubborn he was and adamant that no one else was to come onto his property. “Yeah, he does. He said he’s going to help me set the frame up.”
