Page 13 of You Can Leave Your Hard Hat On
“That man Griggs,” she said. “I saw him at the bar last night. Is he a friend of yours?”
“Yeah.”
She bit her lip. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you in front of him.”
“You didn’t.”
“I just need for this job to be done on time and on budget.”
“I said you didn’t embarrass me.” He glanced over at her as if he wished he hadn’t asked her to ride along. “You were going to talk to me about these super-duper retaining walls?”
A flush climbed her neck, but she gathered her thoughts and began to explain the construction and materials details and why the new design was perfect—and necessary—for the steep grade and soil type of the site. He asked a few questions, all of them on-point, and in the end she sat waiting with nervous apprehension andrealized with a start that she wanted him to understand, to see the potential in her design.
After a few moments of silence, he pursed his mouth and nodded. “Interesting. Have you tried it before?”
She swallowed. “No.”
“Well, for your sake, I hope it works.”
She averted her gaze—it wasn’t exactly the ringing endorsement she’d hoped for, but at least he seemed amenable to giving her idea a try…not that she’d given him a chance to refuse. Her cell phone rang and she removed it from her pocket.
“Hello?”
“Hi, sweetheart.”
She winced. “Hi…Dad.” She felt Teague’s gaze cut to her.
“I called you yesterday.”
How did he always manage to make her feel like a child again? “I’m sorry I didn’t call you back. I just returned from New York and had to get started on the Carlyle project.”
“I know. I’m coming to Dallas in a couple of weeks on business and I wanted to drop by to see how things are going.”
She choked out a little laugh. “That’s not necessary, Dad. But we can have dinner.”
“And not see the site where my little girl is building her first landmark?”
Sam squirmed. “I’ll call you later, Dad. I’m in the middle of something right now.”
“Okay, sweetheart. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Bye.” Sam disconnected the call, feeling the curious vibe that emanated from Teague.
“I’ll bet your old man is proud of you,” he said finally.
She busied herself putting away her phone. “So, I heard rain is in the forecast for the day after tomorrow. Do you think the footers will be dug for the retaining walls by then?”
He looked over at her, his expression unreadable. “We’ll try.”
She had the sinking feeling that he’d just offered her an olive branch by asking her about her father, but she didn’t want to discuss it. She looked out the window until the silence between them stretched taut. “How do you like Dallas?” she asked, to break the tension.
“Fine,” he said, noncommittally.
One step forward, two steps back. “Have you lived here for a while?”
“Yeah.”
So much for small talk. “Do you ever get back to Gypsum?”
