Page 40 of Wood You Knot

Nix

When I arrived on the jobsite Monday morning, Gus strolled up to my truck before I’d even had a chance to shut off the engine. He had a long list in hand and a wry grin on his face that instantly made me suspicious.

Kaleb and Gus had been my first official hires after I started the business fresh out of college, and now they helped me run things, wearing almost as many hats as I did. With Kaleb still off on his babymoon, Gus had taken on his role as site foreman, managing the subcontractors we dealt with.

“Everything okay?” I asked him after I’d rolled down the window.

“Yeah, boss man. Everything’s golden. But we are running low on a few supplies, and we’re extremely short on framing nails. I made a list of the other stuff we’re running low on,” he said, handing me the sheet. “Think you could make a trip to the hardware store?”

“Yeah, I can do that.” I tucked the list into my shirt pocket, trying not to let it show how excited I was to do this task—something I’d done a billion times before.

I’d never felt this much excitement over the prospect of seeing Ed. No, this was because I knew a certain green-eyed blonde would be there.

“And maybe stop for some coffees from Tout de Sweets while you’re at it. Apparently, our coffee maker took a shit.”

We had a few small appliances that we brought to jobsites, like a coffee maker and a microwave to heat up lunches. The coffee maker was old as hell, so I wasn’t surprised it finally kicked it.

“All right, fine. Text me your orders,” I said, and Gus nodded before heading back into the cottage we were working on.

On a whim, I decided to stop off at Tout de Sweets and pick up the coffees first, adding an extra one to my order for Sage. I’d been paying attention to how she took her coffee when she was at Tabitha and Parker’s, and she liked it sweet—two creams, three sugars. Easy enough to remember.

I would have grabbed one for Ed, too, but I knew he was off caffeine. A few years back, he’d had a heart attack, and Emelia had forced him to change up his entire diet—including cutting out caffeine—so I didn’t feel bad at all for walking in with just a coffee for Sage.

Not that Ed was even in the store. When I walked in, it was just Sage behind the counter, helping a customer and ringing up their order.

It was Dan Truman, another contractor in town. Technically, he was a competitor of mine. I couldn’t begrudge him, though. Dan was an awesome guy and a talented contractor whom I respected a lot. We’d even worked on a few bigger jobs together.

While she was preoccupied with ringing up Dan’s purchases, I took my time to glance around the hardware store. Alcott’s Hardware had been in Ed’s family for generations, the same way the lumberyard had been in mine.

Ed kept it looking the same as his father and grandfather before him, so when you stepped inside, it was like stepping backward in time.

Only, Ed made sure he stocked the best and latest tools. He had more than enough supplies to ensure he could meet the needs of the townspeople of Hartwood Creek without them having to go all the way to the big box hardware store in Springwood.

Dan grabbed his supplies, thanked Sage, and went to leave. He paused when he saw me. “Nix! How’s it going? Hope business is good.”

“Yeah, it’s decent. Hope things are good for you too. Keeping busy?” I asked.

“Sure am. Been at that new subdivision on the north end,” Dan replied.

“That’ll keep you busy for sure.” I chuckled. I didn’t mind new builds, but I tended to avoid the cookie-cutter subdivisions. I preferred to work on restoration projects.

“Yup. Well, hope to see you around—gotta get back to it,” he said before resuming his exit for the door.

When I looked back at Sage, she was watching me with suspicion. “What brings you in?”

“We need supplies, and I figured I’d bring you a coffee while I was at it,” I said, approaching the counter to put down the drink I’d grabbed for her. She eyed it with even more distrust than when she’d looked at me. “It’s just a regular coffee—two creams, three sugars. I watched Evelyn make it myself. No love latte. Not that I’d need that to get a girl to say yes to a date with me.”

Her gaze lifted from the coffee, landing on my face, a sweet smile tilting her lips. “You sure about that?”

I put my hand over my heart as if her words had wounded me. “Ouch, that hurt.”

“I’m sure you’ll get over it.” Her smile grew a little more. “What supplies did you need?”

I grabbed the piece of paper I’d tucked inside my shirt pocket and handed it to her. She read the list, somehow deciphering Gus’s scrawling handwriting. I could barely read it. She nodded to herself and walked around the counter to go about collecting the supplies.

I followed her, helping grab the items off the list. She passed me a new air hose before heading to the nail aisle.

“What do trees say when they are in a really good mood?” I asked her. She glanced over her shoulder and arched a brow at me, waiting for me to continue. “I feel tree-mendous!”

---