Page 90 of Renewal After Dark

Duke Sullivan.

She smiled so big, it was a wonder her face didn’t break.

The thing with him wasn’t without risks, especially after the ordeal Eric had put her through. But she wasn’t thinking of him or his lies as she lay in bed for a few more minutes before beginning another day. No, she was thinking of Duke and how cute he’d been coming to her door last night to apologize for being weird.

Of all things, he’d been jealous of the way the guys from the fire department and Coast Guard had looked at her.

How silly and sweet.

She hadn’t noticed a single one of them. Why would she bother with them when she had the full attention of a man like Duke, who knew how to treat a woman with respect and kindness?

A loud crash followed by beeping outside had her getting up to see what it was. Nothing was happening out front, so she went into the kitchen to look out the other side. Through the trees, she could see equipment and men working on the cabin.

Filled with excitement, she went to get Jax from his crib, then got him changed and fed so they could walk next door to check out what was going on.

Mac was standing in the yard with another man, who looked like a younger version of him. “Oh, hey, McKenzie, this is my cousin Riley. He’ll be supervising things here.”

McKenzie adjusted Jax on her hip so she could shake hands with Riley. “Nice to meet you.”

“You, too.”

“This is Jax.”

“Hey, Jax. Nice to meet you, too.”

Jax was dazzled by the orange machine that was pulling pieces of busted wood and other materials off the pile that had once been the cottage.

“Hope we didn’t wake you,” Mac said.

“No worries. We’re thrilled to get started on the repairs.”

“I received your questionnaire, and I’d like to meet with you in the next few days to go over some basic plans to make sure we’re on the same page.”

“Sure, I’m around whenever you have time. I’m going to be working with Tiffany at her store, but she’s closed this week.”

“Yeah, I heard that.”

“Have you heard how they’re doing today?”

“My wife, Maddie, talked to her this morning. She said they managed to get some sleep, but Ashleigh has a lot of questions for which there’re no easy answers.”

“I don’t envy her that.”

“None of us do, but Ash will be very well loved through it. I’m leaving you in Riley’s capable hands. If you need me for anything, you’ve got my number.”

“Thank you again for jumping on this so soon.”

“Glad to help.”

After Mac left, Riley asked for her phone number and punched it into his phone. “Where are you staying while the house is being rebuilt?”

“Next door at Duke’s. He was nice enough to loan me his garage apartment.”

“Oh great. I’ll keep you posted on things here, or pop over here any time to check in. Mac said you’ll be meeting with him to go over the floor plan and other details?”

“Yes, in the next day or two.”

“Excellent.”

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