Page 16 of Beauty and the Bayou

“Five and a half.”

He gave her a slightly amused look.“A half?”

She shrugged.“I’ve done some research.I know the best woods to use for boat docks, I know that the closest place to rent a backhoe is Newton, Iownan electric sawandsafety goggles.But never having used that saw probably only gets me a half.”

His eyebrows were nearly to his hairline.“You’re going to rent a backhoe and then do what with it?”

They were just going to move past the never-used-a-saw-thing then.Okay by her.Juliet shrugged.“Dig stuff up.Move debris.Move dirt around.I haven’t gotten into the details of that.”

“I can drive the backhoe,” Leo piped up.

“No.”Sawyer shook his head.“Nobody’s driving any backhoes.I’llhandle any heavy machinery that’s needed.”

Juliet fought a smile.Looked like his siblingsdidknow him.If they wanted him distracted, all she had to do was throw around terms like “backhoe.”Imagine if she’d just had one delivered like she’d considered.

“I’ve driven a backhoe before,” Leo told him.

“You have a bus to drive,” Sawyer said.“Isn’t that enough?”

Leo shrugged.“I mean, you can’t dig shit up with a bus.”

Juliet grinned.It was obvious these people loved teasing, and teasing Sawyer seemed like fun.“What about pile drivers?”she asked.“I know that we’ll need those.”

Sawyer groaned.“Definitely not.Good lord, if you can’t even take a video of the underside of the dock without almost breaking your neck, I can’t let you near heavy equipment.”He pointed a finger at her nose.“Don’t look anything else up about large pieces of construction equipment.I don’t want to hear about dump trucks or anything from you.”

That was fine with her.She had no desire to drive a back hoe or a dump truck.She nodded.“I’ll do whatever you tell me to do.”

“I like the sound of that.”

For some reason, a wave of heat rolled over her at that.Why did the things Sawyer Landry said sometimes sound dirty?

“You’re really going to help with it?”Kennedy asked.

“With the big stuff,” Sawyer said with a shrug.

“You’re really going to take a couple weeks off to hang out and…nail stuff?”Kennedy pressed.

Juliet gave the other woman a quick glance.She hadn’t meant that the way it sounded, surely.Juliet looked up at Sawyer.

He had simply lifted one brow at his sister.“Seems likely at some point.”

That definitely sounded dirty and Juliet shook her head.What was wrong with her?

“Really?”Kennedy’s expression shifted from sly to surprised.

“Watch this,” he said.He looked down at Juliet.“I guess Icouldlet you drive the backhoe.That could be something that might come in handy sometime.”

Juliet didnotwant to drive a backhoe.Her usual lack of coordination already had her nervous about things like power tools and sharp edges, honestly.A piece of heavy machinery that was often used to knock stuff down?That wasnota good idea.

“Yeah, but what if I end up taking out one of the other docks and then we have to rebuild two?”

Sawyer gave her a satisfied grin.“Exactly.”He looked at Kennedy.“I think it’s going to be okay.”

Ah, they’d just played the Yeah, But game.Juliet felt like she’d just passed some quirky test.

Kennedy looked downright stunned now, but she nodded slowly.“That’s…great.”

“Okay, time for a partners’ meeting,” Sawyer said, looking toward the back table where Owen and Josh Landry were sitting with a couple of other guys.

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