Page 31 of Flippin' Cowboy
It was the first day of demo on the old inn, and Karla had handed Winnie the shooting schedule when she arrived.
The trailer door banged open, admitting a gust of cold air, and Nick barged in.
“Sorry I’m late.” Lines of fatigue marked his features, as if he’d spent a sleepless night, and his ever-present stubble looked shaggy rather than sexy this morning. “I brought a peace offering.”
He proffered a cardboard tray with disposable cups labeled “Jenna’s Java & Bakery” in one gloved hand. Winnie noticed a large paper bag tucked into the crook of his elbow.
“Cappuccino and a pastry, ladies?” he asked, taking his place in the makeup chair next to Winnie.
He set the tray down on the narrow shelf below the big lighted mirror and opened the bag. The mouthwatering scents of butter, vanilla, and freshly baked cinnamon rolls wafted to Winnie’s nose.
“Ooh, thank you, Mr. Evans,” Emily gushed, leaning over Winnie’s shoulder to grab a cup.
Winnie eyed his offerings suspiciously. “What’s the occasion?”
Nick cleared his throat. Winnie was willing to swear he actually looked embarrassed. “You, uh, gave me some good advice yesterday. Now that I’ve had a chance to sleep on it, I wanted to tell you I appreciate the heads-up. I’m, uh, going to try being a little more, um,personablefrom here on out.”
Winnie blinked at him. “You’re welcome?”
She hadn’t intended to make it sound like a question. Yesterday evening, he’d been so pissed that she’d gone to bed thinking it had been a mistake to tell him anything.
But here he was, not only thanking her, but apparently serious about taking a new tack with their interaction on the show.
He nodded.
“Look, I’ve been thinking about what I said, too,” she said. “Karla and I have been following your social media for years. We really respect the work you did on the Annandale House in Butteand the Broadwater Hotel over near Helena, especially sourcing the original bricks from that architectural salvage place.”
His expression softened. “Really?”
She nodded. “Really. Look, Nick, I know how passionate you are about historical preservation. I am, too. Instead of picking fights with me on set, why don’t we channel that energy into saving this gorgeous old building?”
Nick’s firm mouth stretched into a smile, and a dimple appeared under all that stubble coating his cheek. “And disappoint Karla?”
“She’ll live,” Winnie said, returning his smile. He was dangerously attractive when he decided to pull the stick out of his butt. “And with any luck, we’ll uncover something cool today during demo.” She handed him the sheaf of papers. “Speaking of which, here’s the shooting schedule for today.”
The trailer door banged open again. “Oh, good, you’re here,” Karla said to Nick.
“And he brought coffee and some of Jenna’s cinnamon rolls,” Winnie said.
On cue, Nick offered her the coffee tray and the bag.
“In that case, he’s forgiven for showing up late,” Karla said, reaching for a cinnamon roll. “Emily, can you get him ready to shoot in fifteen?”
∞∞∞
On this fresh note of cooperation, Winnie set about supervising the removal of all the 1960s elements from the ground floor,except for the entry hall floor tiles. She ordered the demolition crew not to touch them until the asbestos test results came back.
As she supervised the removal of the hideous, baby-poop brown fake wood paneling from the parlor walls and the nasty stained shag carpeting, she caught a glimpse of Nick filming in the sitting room on the other side of the entry hall. He’d grumbled a little about Karla’s request that he wear a hard hat shaped like a cowboy hat, but now his features looked animated as he pointed out the beautiful old plaster medallion revealed behind a layer of acoustic ceiling tile.
As her crew pulled up the first corner of the carpet, Winnie spotted the original hardwood flooring beneath. She ordered them to stop and signaled Karla.
All the workers on the show had standing orders to stop work as soon as anything interesting came to light, so that Karla could capture the discovery on camera.
Once Jake and Karla had set up the shot, Winnie bent to pull up the edge of the already-loosened carpet.
“Looks like original flooring underneath here,” she said excitedly. “If we’re lucky, this nasty old carpet protected the wood from damage over the past few decades.” She paused for dramatic effect. “And if we’renotlucky, then the previous owners installed this carpet to hide major damage. But we won’t know until we pull up the rest.” She looked past the camera. “Hey Nick, come take a look at this and tell me what you think.”
He joined her. “What a find!” he exclaimed. “Winnie, this is old growth Douglas fir. If we can save and restore this floor, it’ll add so much to the historic charm of this grand old house.”
