Page 27 of When in December

At least that was one thing going my way.

“I’m afraid though, with this and the living room bookcases and detailing …” he drifted off, but I knew what he was talking about.

My built-ins, which were supposed to have already been built in, were no longer part of the deal.

Deep breath.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about it,” I reassured him.

He shouldn’t be looking at me that way with such concern.

There was nothing to be concerned about.

“I can spare another day starting next week and send my guys to the next project we have,” offered Frank.

I shook my head. “No. I’ll work it out. You’re already doing so much more than I could’ve ever expected on a time crunch. Let me—I’m sorry. I just answered the door and need to go back to make sure that the lights people outside know the plan.”

Frank nodded his head in agreement. “You know where to find me.”

Inthe bathroom from hell, as it had been dubbed.

For the past week, the rest of the house had been full of noise. Unfortunately, it wasn’t only coming from the power tools and construction crew that had managed not to throw any more snide comments my way.

Aaron Hayes, however?

If I’d thought that I could make it through this project without having to see him more than necessary, I could consider myself vastly disappointed.

I tried to ignore his constant comments from when I showed up at the house to work to the moment before I left. It was a constant feeling of being torn back, only to have to build myself all the way back up again by the end of the day. And then …

The backlash was never-ending.

The workers are too loud. The reno is taking too long. Why are you still here?

When are you going to be done?

December? When in December?

Whenever I’m finished and this place looks nothing like the run-down shack it once did. That’s when,I wanted to snap.

But I didn’t.

I gave him the tentative date instead of saying what I wanted to, along with a very nice and detailed list of when he could expect people coming in and out for deliveries. I was hoping it would put his mind at ease—not that he appreciated the heads-up and extra work I had to do to make sure that he was comfortable while sleeping in the middle of what had turned back into a renovation site no better than the house had been a few weeks ago.

So far today at least, it seemed I’d gotten through half the day without a battle.

I paused once I got to the living room hall leading to where I’d left the outdoor light workers.

They weren’t there.

Did they already head back outside and start?

Leaning out the front door, I looked around the front yard. A gust of air hit me in the face. I crossed my arms. Most of the snow had melted over the past few days, aside from the big clumps that had formed into ice, glittering under the sun.

There was no one there.

Absolutely no one.

That couldn’t be. The Christmas light people had been right here. Just a second ago. I didn’t imagine them. Now, nothing. Not even the van of the few people, who, moments ago, were standing on the crinkling renovation paper in the entryway, remained outside. It was as if they’d disappeared.

---