Page 43 of Flippin' Cowboy
Winnie loved woodworking, and with Karla’s blessing, had volunteered to assist Jason in fitting all the trim to the inn’s parlor, sitting room, library, and dining room doorways. But now, she just wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible.
She finished the last cuts, unfastened her tool belt and slung it over her shoulder, then headed for the front door.
The entrance hall had been stripped of its nasty asbestos tile flooring. Beneath the asbestos, they had discovered the original Victorian encaustic tile floor laid in an intricate geometric pattern of interlocking diamonds, triangles, and squares. It had taken a lot of elbow grease to restore the tiles to their original beauty, but the end result was stunning.
She was halfway across it when she spotted Nick. She waved at him. “I’m heading out,” she called. “See you in the morning.”
Autumn heard and came rushing out from one of the back rooms. “Are you heading over to Summer and Brock’s place?” she asked.
Winnie’s expression must have answered for her, because Autumn immediately continued, “Of course not. Do you wantme to come over to your place? I’ll bring ice cream and whiskey for boozy milkshakes.”
“Thanks, but no thanks,” Winnie said, warmed by her sister’s offer. “The milkshakes are a great idea, but I just want to be alone tonight.”
Then, like a coward, Winnie fled to her pickup and tore out before anyone else could stop her.
She’d played nice over the past few weeks, forcing herself to do all the PR stuff Karla and Autumn wanted, including a half-day photo session with Nick for publicity stills, and a bunch of voice-overs for theRestoring Seattlefinale andReviving Snowberry Springsadvertising.
But now, she was done.
Winnie made a brief stop at the town’s single grocery store. She loaded up on junk food and ice cream.
Her phone chimed with half a dozen text messages, all from her parents and siblings, offering to ditch the viewing party and sit with her in support while watchingRestoring Seattle.
It shocked her when Nick texted her to ask if there was anything she needed tonight.
She refused all offers as gently as she could. The absolute last thing she wanted to do tonight was relive her heartbreak in HD, with a soundtrack of the stock piano musicRestoring Seattle’s sound engineer favored for emotional moments on the show.
Her plan for tonight was to catch up the current season ofThis Old Houseand get plastered on boozy milkshakes in blissful solitude.
To her dismay, someone pounded on her cottage door less than halfway through the first episode. She’d burrowed into a blanket nest on her sofa and was just getting comfy.
Winnie groaned. A half-empty chocolate-mint milkshake and a bowl of cheese puffs sat within easy reach on her coffee table, and her DVR showed at least seven more unwatchedThis Old Houseepisodes.
If she could only get some peace and quiet, she’d be set for the rest of the evening.
She tried to ignore the knocking, and concentrate on her show. “You guys need to replace all those cast iron pipes,” she told the television.
On cue, the show’s plumber, Richard, said, “Kevin, first thing, we’re gonna have to do is replace all those cast iron pipes.”
“Told you so!” Winnie crowed. “You guys should hire me!”
The pounding got louder. “Hey, Winnie!”
Oh, great, she thought.Of course it’s him!
“Go away, Nick!” she yelled. “If it isn’t burning or bleeding, I’ll deal with it in the morning!”
“Can I come in?” he asked.
“No,” she answered rudely. “What part of ‘I want to be alone tonight,’ did you not understand?”
Instead of leaving, he opened her front door.
Chapter 15: Like a Phoenix
Winnie cursed her failure to lock it, but this was Snowberry Springs.
No one ever locked their front doors here. It hadn’t taken long before she’d fallen right back into old habits.
