Liam was busy giving directions to his crew. The concrete truck had arrived, and he was preparing his men to smooth out the new foundation.
“Liam,” I called. “Dooley’s got some concerns.”
Before Liam Tully became Sadie’s boyfriend, he was the most eligible bachelor in all of Peachwood. With his blond hair and surfer good looks, Liam was definitely a looker, and his easygoing personality only added to his charm.
But I swear as soon as I said Dooley’s name, Liam just about rolled his eyes into the back of his head. But instead of appearing frustrated, he came over and shook Dooley’s hand.
“You got some concerns? Hit me with ’em.”
“Seems like those poles inside aren’t gonna be strong enough to support all this new work you’re doing,” Dooley said gruffly.
Liam nodded, appearing to be considering Dooley’s point, when in reality I swear we had gone over this with Dooley about a thousand times. I shot Liam a glance that conveyed how sorry I was to stick him with Dooley, and Liam gave me a slight nod and smile.
“We’re gonna reinforce the poles and beams,” Liam explained. He patted Dooley on the back and pulled him towards the barn. “You ever seen a foundation get poured?”
Dooley scratched his bald head. “Why, I don’t believe that I have.”
Liam pointed to the truck. “Come on and I’ll show you how it gets done. You’re gonna love this.”
I sighed and silently thanked the Lord that Liam was working with us. By the time Liam walked Dooley over to the truck, he looked at ease, the tension line in his shoulders having vanished.
Happy that we’d put Dooley’s fears to rest, at least for today, I headed on back down to Sadie. I grabbed my coffee cup from the truck bed and lifted it as if in toast.
“To Liam, for taking one for the team.”
Sadie stared at her phone. She didn’t react as if she’d heard me.
“Sadie? Earth to Sadie! Everything okay?”
Her gaze snapped to mine. “Yes. Why wouldn’t it be?” she said tensely.
I shrugged. “I don’t know; you’re the one who looks deep in thought. You sure you’re good?
Her gaze cut back to her phone. She stared at it another moment, flashing the case in my direction. Our phone cases were custom-made, a gift from Sadie to both of us when we first started our company. They each hadMagical Renovationsprinted on them with a peach blossom below the words. That’s our logo, one that I designed.
She slipped the phone into her pocket and closed her eyes. “Yes, everything’s fine. Just some stuff with my mom.”
I quirked a brow. “Your mom? You never talk to her.”
Sadie shivered and, for a second, looked vulnerable. “She’s been calling lately. Wants to make up for stuff that happened a long time ago.”
I hiked a shoulder to my ear. “Maybe you should talk to her.”
She shook out her ponytail. “You haven’t lived in town long enough to know what happened.”
I bristled at the comment. No, I hadn’t grown up in Peachwood like everybody else who lived here, but Sadie and I had been friends for years. I trusted her and thought she trusted me.
“I’m not trying to pry,” I said, “but if she’s offering an olive branch, maybe you should take it.”
She shook her head fiercely. “Just forget it, Clem. Forget it.” She glanced at her watch. “I’ve gotta go. I’ve got an appointment with some bathroom tiles.”
I curled up the blueprints and handed them to her. “Let me come. After that we can head over to the antique store for furniture.”
Sadie stumbled over her words. “Oh, sorry, but I’ve got, um, it’s a new tile guy. He’s really weird. Only likes to talk to one person at a time.”
Okay, I was gonna try hard not to have my feelings hurt by that. True, Sadie and I worked independently and then came together near the end to shimmy up any design ideas, but her not wanting me to come along to meet a new contact was weird. It wasn’t like her.
As Sadie slipped into her Camry and headed off, I couldn’t shake the feeling that my best friend was lying to me. But why? What did Sadie have to hide?
