Page 37 of Call It Home

Hearing her genuine admiration, I felt a rush of pride. I had been pleased with the outcome, but I wasn’t sure what she’d think of it since I’d just done it without asking her opinion.

She bit her thumb while she looked around. “I think we should take the same tiles we used for the backsplash and run them up the wall, too. It keeps some texture throughout the area.”

“I’ll see if one of the guys can work that in,” I answered. “I’ve got to finish the dining room table.”

“Can I see it?”

“It’s not done,” I warned.

She followed me out to the driveway where saws and workhorses were set up. People darted here and there, stepping over cords and around pallets of materials. All of it would have to be cleaned up before the judging. Looking at it now, I wasn’t sure how it was going to get done.

“This is beautiful!”

She ran her hands over the tabletop I’d labored on all day yesterday. I’d embedded darker pieces of wood to make alternating chevrons on each end.

“Here’s how the table legs will look once I get them done.” I took two triangles and laid them point to point so that one flat end would support the table and the other would rest on the floor.

“Like the mountains,” she exclaimed.

“Yeah. It turned out pretty good, I think.”

“Not just pretty good. It’s perfect.” She blinked at me. “It’s a piece of art that is also functional. You’re incredible. I’d say you should do this as a side hustle, but I’m afraid your career would take off and we’d lose you at Sterling Construction.” She blinked up at me. “Not that I’d ever want to hold you back or anything. But seriously, Mac. You’re gifted.”

I looked around to make sure there weren’t any cameras to capture the blush I felt warm my cheeks. I’d never had anyone lavish such praise on anything I did. “Thanks.”

“Hey, Cam,” one of the crew members called. “You might want to come look at this.”

I followed Cameron to the garage, where two guys were opening boxes of a few items that had arrived early.

“What’s up, guys?”

They pulled back the box, exposing a broken framed mirror with hooks that was supposed to go on a wall close to the front door. The mirror that looked divided into smaller ones by a wood mullion was meant to reflect the beautiful view the new floor plan would reveal, as well as be functional.

“Oh, no,” Cam cried, kneeling to sort through the mess of glass and broken wood. “What am I going to do? There’s no time to order anything else.”

“Maybe you can go into town and find something different?” one of the guys, Ethan, suggested.

Cam shook her head. “That would cost a fortune.”

“Then maybe just not put something up? No one is going to know any different.”

“ButI’llknow. There’s a reason for everything I chose.”

“Cameron,youknow you wanted it there, but no one else is going to miss it,” I said, trying to calm her down. “What they will notice is if we don’t have a dining room table and the walls painted.”

“Maybe I could findsomething that would work in town.”

I shook my head.

“But—”

I took her by the shoulders and pushed her back to her paint. “Finish this, and then we’ll figure something outifwe have time.”

I was pretty sure her sigh might have echoed off the mountains. I couldn’t hold back my laugh. “Damn. When you get an idea, you get really stuck on it, don’t you?”

She pointed a finger at me. “Yep. That’s why you’re here, after all.”

My grin widened. “I knew you were stuck on me.”

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