Page 30 of A Breeze Over Rosewood Beach
Hazel’s voice, sounding exuberant and energetic, was coming from the guest bathroom, which opened out onto the upstairs hallway.
He stepped up to the doorway, and saw Hazel crouched down on the bathroom floor with a cluster of metal pipe sections lying at her feet.
“I’m putting in the new sink!” she said proudly, gesturing to the beautiful porcelain sink that was resting in the corner of the room. It had a charming floral pattern which fit perfectly with Hazel’s cottage theme for their home’s décor. “It arrived earlier today, and I got so excited about putting it in that I didn’t want to wait another minute to install it. I just need to finish with this plumbing here, and then I’m going to put the sink itself in.”
Jacob smiled at her warmly. “Yeah?”
“Mm-hm.” Hazel grunted a little as she wiggled a wrench back and forth, trying to tighten one of the pieces of pipe that she’d already installed. “I watched a couple of YouTube videos and they explained everything really well.”
“They did, huh?” Jacob crossed his arms and grinned at her.
She turned to him, making a face. “What does that mean?”
“It means your audacity is adorable.”
“Oh, come on, it’s just putting in some pipes. It’s not that hard. And like I said, I watched the videos. I know what I’m doing.” She flashed a grin at him.
He shook his head, chuckling. “I’m glad you feel like it’s not that hard. Maybe you’re right. I know you’re really smart, Hazel, but I don’t think even a really good YouTube video is going to show you everything you need to know about how to install a sink.”
“But I know what to do,” she insisted, sounding proud of herself. “I know what all the steps are and how to do them. What could possibly go wrong?”
“All of the million and one things that can go wrong with plumbing.” Jacob laughed as Hazel wrinkled her nose and turned back to her work. “You have your fun, sweetheart,” he told her. “Whatever happens, I’m proud of you for giving it a shot all on your own like this.”
“You don’t trust me.” Hazel shook her head, still grinning triumphantly. “Just wait. I have a few more parts to put in, and then I’m going to turn the water back on.”
Jacob shrugged. “Sounds good to me. If you want help, let me know, otherwise I’ll just wait here on standby.”
“I won’t need your help, but thank you for offering your assistance,” Hazel said primly, and then grunted loudly as she gave the wrench another yank.
Jacob watched as Hazel finished up connecting the pipes that led to the faucet. As far as he could tell, her work was sound, but he still felt a little doubtful that she was ready to be a plumber after one afternoon of watching some YouTube videos.
“Okay,” she said finally, standing up with a sigh of satisfaction. “I’m ready. I’m going to turn the water back on.”
She twisted the valve that turned on the cold water with an expectant smile on her face. A moment later, she squealed in alarm as water began to spray from the pipe joints.
“Oh no!” she wailed, trying to shut the water off but unable to find the valve because water was spraying in her face.
Jacob burst out laughing. He couldn’t help it. He knelt down next to her and shut off the valve, and by the time the water stopped spraying, they were both laughing. Hazel leaned her head against Jacob’s chest, shaking with giggles, and Jacob patted her back as he shook with amusement.
“Oh, that’s frustrating!” Hazel said, wiping tears of mirth off her face. She sighed. “I really thought I was going to get this finished tonight. I don’t think I have the juice left in me to fiddle with this anymore now. I feel too irritated that it didn’t work.”
“You know,” Jacob said slyly, wrapping an arm around her. “I have an idea for a project that will help get your mind off this setback. And I think it’ll help you release some of that frustration too.”
“Yeah?” Hazel asked curiously, lifting her eyebrows. “What is it?”
“Come on.” He stood up and helped her to her feet. “Follow me.”
Feeling impish, Jacob led them into Samantha’s room, where they had been planning on knocking out one of the walls so that the large closet in the room could become the perfect reading nook.
“I think it’s time to get out the sledgehammers, don’t you?” Jacob said, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
“Yes!” Hazel hugged him sideways. “I would absolutely love to knock down a wall with you tonight.”
Jacob grinned. “It’ll be hard work. Are you sure you’re not too tired?”
She shook her head. “My brain is tired. I can handle some more womanly labor.”
“Womanly, huh?”
