Page 37 of Daddy, Sir

After the death of her husband, Ben, Jolene had some rage to get out of her system. The trucker was lucky she hadn’t castrated him with her pruning shears. She smiled inwardly, wondering if the man following her would be the one to bust her out of her shell.

Save a horse. Ride a silver fox.

“Right?” Sadie got to her feet and adjusted the straps on her knee pads. “How are the other bathrooms?”

“The south side is fine, and the Horsemen have the two at the end mostly ready for guests. I think Jolene is using one of them, so she doesn’t have to drive back and forth every day.” Jasmine grimaced, then pointed toward the next suite. “We need to do the bathroom floors in the next two rooms on the north, but this was the worst one.”

“Great, thanks.” Sadie side-eyed the stubbed-off water lines. “When we finish the floors, I’ll double check the rest of the suites for water leaks. I don’t want to be back here tearing shit up after the place is reopened.”

“Sounds good.” Jasmine picked up her level. “Do you mind if I get started with the tile in the south suites? I can get at least one done before we leave for the day.”

She considered the idea for a moment, then shook her head. “Get Lourdes to help you install new GFI outlets in all the bathrooms. She wanted some electrical experience. Teach her how to map them for the breakers and check the wiring for the new exhaust fans. They’ll be delivered tomorrow, and I?—”

A metallic ring that sounded a great deal like a spoon banging against a pot echoed through the corridor, followed by Jake shouting, “Soup’s on, ladies. Your choice of roast beef sandwiches, or hickory-smoked tofu wraps with homemade whole-grain mustard, arugula, and tomatoes.”

“Christ, the food porn is strong with that one.” Jasmine lifted a hand to her brow and feigned a swoon. “I swear, that man is gonna turn me straight if he keeps cooking like that.”

“What?” Knowing Jasmine was teasing, she laughed at the ridiculous idea. Jake’s food sounded amazing, but it couldn’t change a person’s sexual orientation. “My sandwiches aren’t good enough anymore?”

“Let’s see…” Jasmine smirked and tapped her chin. “Turkey on white with yellow mustard and weirdly rubbery American cheese, or roast beef. Decisions, decisions.”

“Brat.”

Her gaze softening, she squeezed Sadie’s shoulder. “You don’t have to do that anymore, you know. We can pack our own lunches now, but those sandwiches were manna from heaven back in the day.”

“Oh, please.” Sadie’s cheeks heated and she scowled. “You make me sound like I’m the patron saint of homeless women.”

She didn’t think feeding her crew lunch made her some absurd angel of mercy or whatever. It was simple economics. People with full bellies worked and learned more efficiently. Their increased productivity more than covered the grocery bill.

So what if she started using turkey instead of ham when she figured out a few of her ladies were Muslim? Egg salad for her vegetarian employees wasn’t any great challenge either. Maybe she’d ask Jake for ideas if she hired a vegan. Those tofu wraps sounded good.

“Nah.” After collecting her level, Jasmine smirked. “Not like anyone would mistake you for a saint, Mama Bear.”

Rolling her eyes, she waved her hands to shoo Jasmine away. “Get out of here, you.”

Laughing, Jasmine skipped out of reach. “I’ll save you a seat.”

Chapter Six

Daniel

Knowing Sadie was safely inside the motel, he shoved his crowbar between two boards and yanked, then quickly got out of the way as the last two walls of the ancient shed tumbled down. A fresh burst of ammonia wafted from the fallen structure, making him grimace.

He didn’t know if the odor was from animals, or from the meth. Either way, it was enough to make him gag and wish for a respirator. The surgical mask wasn’t cutting it, but demolishing the dilapidated structure was surprisingly satisfying.

Laughing softly, he shook his head and started tossing the debris into a construction dumpster. Tearing down a drug lab was arguably more hazardous than shoveling a pile of shit into a trash bag. He’d bet good money Sadie wouldn’t bat an eye at the work. Hell, for all he knew, she’d done it before.

Best of all, the physical activity helped him organize his thoughts and plan what he wanted to say to her.

After sweeping the ground with a magnet for loose nails, he wiped his forehead with a rag and crossed the property tothe rear service entrance near the Horsemen’s apartment where he’d be sleeping for the next few days.

God, he couldn’t wait until his house was done. He was tired of couch-surfing, and it didn’t sit right to take advantage of his friends, even if he was helping them out. He grabbed a quick shower and changed, hoping Jake would have something for supper.

Lost in thought, he made his way to the diner and nearly slammed into Sadie, making her drop the bottle of water she was carrying.

“Sorry.” He picked up the bottle and held it for her. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“What are you doing here?” Giving him a distrustful glare, she snatched the water and took a step back. “Come to chase me off another job?”

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