Page 11 of Man Glitter
I didn’t wait for an answer. My hands got busy stuffing our food containers back in the bags and cleaning up our little picnic. Who would have thought the canine would be the most sensible one of the pack, breaking up what should never have happened?
“I’m sure everything’s fine. Probably just a truck passing by or a late delivery. I get a lot of those working out of my home.” Charlie came up behind me and took the bags out of my hands, leaving me nothing to do but clench my fists at my side and demand my body not reach out and touch him like I desperately wanted to.
He went down the stairs and gestured for me to go ahead of him. I did, and when he flicked the pergola lights back off, plunging us into the darkness, my heart plunged too.
What the hell was in that moonshine?
6
Charlie
Finnie didn’t even wait for me to wake up this morning, taking off to who knows where like a coward. I’d bet my entire workshop of expensive machinery I wasn’t the only one feeling the effects of the moonlight and a slow dance with a sexy partner last night. She’d been right there with me, and if Chester, the worst wing man ever, hadn’t dashed off, I would have kissed her. I would have tasted those lips to see if her grumpiness was a flavor or simply a habit.
“Chester!” I hollered as I walked to the workshop, my favorite coffee mug in hand.
At least she’d left me a pot of coffee before escaping my house to God knows where. Chester ran up from wherever he’d been playing and nuzzled my hand. I wasn’t too happy with him for last night’s disruption, but how could you stay mad at those brown eyes, floppy ears, and a mouth that looked like it was smiling all the time?
“Come on, boy. It’s time to get some work done while the Grumpster is away.” I had to put my coffee down on the step to fumble with the door lock. My thumb didn’t hurt anymore, but it was still mostly useless. Thankfully, this wasn’t my first rodeo, and I’d had to learn how to work while injured before. I had jobs that were due and I wasn’t about to be late simply because a dark-haired doctor moved in next door and disrupted everything.
I spent all day in the workshop, doing as much of the detail work on the pergola for the church as I could before stretching and moving on to my other project. I’d been working on a project for Finnie the night she’d butted in and I’d cut myself. If I continued with this pace, I could still get it done by next week when she moved back to her own place. She may not particularly care for me as a person just yet, but I liked her. Hopefully she’d accept my gift.
“The doctor has arrived to fix whatever you’ve messed up by working when you shouldn’t.”
Finnie’s grumpy voice broke me out of my trance. I got that way sometimes when it was just me and the wood. My brain went elsewhere, and hours could pass without me noticing. I put down the board I was working on and stood up straight to see her standing in the workshop doorway with her medical bag. She looked tired, but beautiful. Like a force of nature restrained into a professional package.
“Nice to see you too, Doc. Have a good day at work?” I’d kill her with kindness until she admitted she liked me.
She nodded and got to work laying out a pad of some sort on the worktable and spreading out her tools of torture. “Sure did. Got the lease signed on the new office space and met with a couple contractors about doing the remodel inside.”
I moved over to join her, sitting down on a stool and putting my injured hand on the pad like a good little patient. “I hope you met with Titus. He does amazing work and won’t rip you off.”
Finnie gently unwrapped my hand, the white bandage looking a little haggard after a full day of sawdust in the air. “I did meet with Titus as he’s the one who put in my new flooring next door before I moved in, as you probably know. And I also got a bid from some guy named Daire, who had his contractor come look at the space for me. The mayor recommended him and he bid fairly low.”
I frowned, alarm bells ringing. Always follow your gut. That’s what my dad had taught me and something I believed in one hundred percent. “I wouldn’t trust anything coming from the mayor and certainly not Daire. He’s been through this town recently and he’s not well liked. Titus, though? He comes from good people. Born and raised here in Auburn Hill. Everybody likes him and you don’t stay in business long in a small town if you’re screwing people over, even if his bids aren’t the lowest of the pack.”
Finnie nodded, pouring some crap on my hand and dabbing at the sutures. “I’ll take that under advisement.”
“See that you do.” My voice came out harsher than I wanted. I just didn’t want her to get mixed up with the wrong people.
Her head popped up, and she scanned my face before returning to cleaning my wound. “It’s healing up nice, Charlie.”
Hearing my name from her lips made me feel like I took a sip of moonshine. “Did you know tonight is a full moon?”
She snorted softly, swiping some ointment on my hand. “Nope, I surely didn’t.”
I nodded, excited about everything the full moon brought with it. “Yep, it’s a time for celebrating completed tasks and looking forward to new beginnings. So, we’re going to eat dinner, burn some sage, get some essential oils going, and then sit outside under the full moon.”
Finnie finished wrapping my hand with fresh white gauze and looked at me with her nose all wrinkled up. “Seriously?”
I winked. “Seriously. It’ll do you some good. Just wait and see.”
I hopped off the stool and helped her pack up her bag.
“I put a lasagna in the oven before I came out here so it should be done shortly,” Finnie said as I closed up the workshop for the day.
My stomach let out a rumble. “Good. I’m absolutely starving.”
“What did you eat today?” she asked, her cheeks pink.
