Page 38 of To Have and to Scold

“He really doesn’t have to go?”

Beck rolls his eyes. “I’m telling you, he just had a hankering for playing on the beach. He was trying to make us think he was going to have an accident.”

“What a drama queen.”

“Exactly,” Beck says, but his grin tells me he doesn’t mind too much.

Once we get Ace settled back in his crate after a pseudo-strict talking to by Beck to stop crying wolf, we’re ready to work.

“Want to paint?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “No, but something tells me you do, so let’s go for it.”

“I like that you’re beginning to catch my vision here, Beck. That’s very smart of you.”

“Both my dog and my co-worker are opinionated, huh?”

“Someone has to be.” I pat his shoulder and resist the urge to linger on his well-defined delts. “Let’s paint the bedrooms.”

He shoots out a quick breath. “But we need to paint this area first. No one’s going to see the bedrooms until later into the summer.”

“Beck. I’ll know the bedrooms aren’t done and it will bug me. Come on. We’ll crank out the bedrooms tonight and then paint the great room tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? What makes you think I’m available tomorrow?” He shakes his head as his eyes flick around the room. “And what makes you think we can paint multiple rooms in one night? Have you ever painted before?”

“Of course I’ve painted before.”This man.“And how can you not be available tomorrow? This has to get done.”

“We’re not worrying about the bedrooms right now, though.”

I grab the five-gallon bucket, and though it’s heavy, I’d rather die than let him see that I’m having a hard time carrying it. “We’re worrying about everything, Beck.”

Chapter Thirteen

Beck

The smell of paint fills my nose, which is probably a good change from smelling Dallas’s fruity scent.

It’s a nice reality check.

“I’m no professional,” Dallas says, stepping back. “But I think it looks pretty good.”

My gaze skates over the bedroom wall in front of me. I wanted to work on the great room, which is nice and open.

But Dallas insisted, which is going to mean we’re still behind on the great room, which is, by all accounts, far more of a priority than the bedrooms are at this point.

I was vetoed. So now we’re painting bedrooms. Small, intimate bedrooms.

“We’re going to have to do the second coat in the daytime light,” I say. “It’s hard to tell at night what we’re missing.”

“It’s a good off-white. Did you pick it?” she asks.

“Yes. I’ve seen my way around a lot of off-whites and creams in my day. This one’s my favorite,” I tell her.

“Tell me about the other projects you have going,” she says.

I put the roller back in the tray and brush my hair off my forehead. “We’ve got three new-build homes over on the west side of town. Seven home remodels in various stages. The remodel of Kingston’s Bakery on the boardwalk. We’re also in the beginning stages of a new strip mall on Main Street. And this remodel. Also, if things go well, the new teen wing of the YMCA.”

Not that we’ve won the bid yet. Leo and his friends and classmates need a space that’s open, clean, and inviting. I want to help the youth of Willow Cove have something that will help them be healthier and united as a group. A safe space. They deserve it, and I feel I have the vision to make it happen. Besides, how could I not give back? The YMCA was my second home when I was a kid.

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