Last season, we successfullyNailed Itin the Big Apple with the renovation of Ollie’s Dining. It’s now time for us to visit the cozy, small town of Bluestone Lakes, where one home isn’t the only thing getting a fresh start.
Scottie Monroe is a DIY influencer and queen of color. Her first big project was fixing up her parents’ home while still living in it. Now, she’s taking on her most personal project yet: her late grandmother’s old house.
Tucker Daniels, local contractor and the man who knows his way around a power tool, is going to help make this happen.
Together they’ll tackle a house that’s seen better days. You’ll see laughter and a whole lot of drywall dust as they discover that love, just like any great renovation, takes vision, patience, and a little demolition.
So grab your hard hat and maybe a box of tissues, because this season we’re not just rebuilding this old, abandoned house—we’re building a dream home.
CHAPTER 7
IN THREE, TWO?—
Scottie
When I pull into the driveway, vans and cars line the road leading to the property. The film crew is busy setting up cameras and standing in small huddles, discussing whatever they need to.
My eyes scan the land, trying to take everything in. People are scattered everywhere. Cables run through the overgrown grass like veins through the heart of chaos. The land isn’t a quiet oasis anymore. It’s more like a living machine where every sound is competing for attention. The buzz of the generators, the radios crackling as people talk into them, and everyone moving with hurried purpose.
My nerves spike as I take it all in.
You’re in over your head, Scottie.
What the hell were you thinking, taking this project on for national TV?
I hate that my mom’s voice is in my head right now.
I’ve been in front of a camera before at my house for tutorials and livestreams, but this is so much different. This feels bigger. Louder.
“Scottie!” a voice cuts through the commotion. Andrea’smaking her way to where I’m rooted at the top of the gravel driveway with a clipboard tucked under her arm and a coffee in each hand. She looks composed, which must be a requirement in television because how can she be this calm in the chaos. “Ready for your close up?”
“Define ready?” I say, forcing a smile I hope looks steadier than it feels.
She giggles. “This is perfect. Stay just like that—charming and terrified. It looks great for the camera.”
She hands me one of the coffees in her hand and I take it despite having one with my muffin on my way over here. She adjusts the clipboard in her now free hand before guiding us toward the porch. I follow her, looking past her at the old house standing quiet and still, waiting for the first hammer to break the silence.
My next big project.
My everything or nothing moment.
“Okay,” Andrea says, flipping through papers on her clipboard, before she does a double take over my shoulder. “Oh, good. Tucker is here, too.”
I turn around to look over my shoulder and find him already staring at me. He’s leaning against the side of a work truck in worn boots, dark jeans, and a gray fitted T-shirt stretched across his broad shoulders. His tool belt sits low on his hips, and he looks exactly like you’d picture a small town contractor to look when showing up to work.
God, he looks good.
When I texted Andrea that we would go forward with the fake relationship subplot she had pitched, she was ecstatic. I still can’t stop overthinking what we’re doing here. Even though we agreed not to blur the lines, I’m terrified he’s going to try to cross all of them. The longer I stare at him, the more I have to remind myself that it’s just for the cameras. Nothing more.
He starts walking toward us like he owns the ground, and I instinctively grip my cup tighter. The world seems to slow downthe closer he gets, like the air thickens around us to mess with me. My stomach does a flip, and I hate that it does. I shouldn’t feelanythingwhen it comes to him. But every time he’s close, I have the unsettling thought that rebuilding this home might not be my biggest concern.
He stops in front of me and smiles. “Hi.”
“Hi,” I say back, my words softer than I intended them to be. Like he’s sucked all the air from my lungs just standing here.
“All right, lovebirds,” Andrea says in a playful tone and we both turn to face her. “For the intro episode, we’ll introduce both of you before filming a thorough walk through of the home. You can also give us a sense of what you see in each room as we go and give the viewers something to look forward to.”
Tucker shifts next to me, crossing his arms over his chest and listening to every word.
