Page 25 of Inherited Light
“Can you put together an estimate for how much it will cost? I probably have enough saved, but I don’t have any idea what something would cost with, what did you say, pressure treated wood?”
I nodded. “It’s a type of wood made to withstand the elements. For a few more dollars, we could use the new poly decking. It would last for thirty years.”
“Poly decking? What’s that?” she asked, confused.
“It’s basically plastic made to resemble wood. If I build the ramp out of it, the material will never warp or splinter, no matter how much sun it gets. It’s what I would suggest you do, but feel free to get a couple estimates, so you know I’m on the up and up.”
She shoved me in the shoulder kiddingly. “I think I can trust you, Ren. I would love to see a rendering of the whole ramp, but I’m a very visual person, as I’m sure you know. It would help me decide what kind of material I want to use.”
Her lips were plump and I wanted to kiss them again. The way her tongue darted out to wet them left me wanting to taste her. The feeling almost overwhelmed me and I realized part of what I was feeling emanated from her. She wanted me as badly as I wanted her, yet her want was tempered by something other than good intentions. There was a layer of self-loathing she had allowed to settle over the top of her sexual needs.
I cleared my throat. “I’ll draw one up on my design software and print it out. The program will automatically tell me the cost of the project once I pick the type of material I want, so I’ll do one with pressure treated wood and one with poly decking.”
She nodded, chewing on her lip. “Thanks, Ren. I appreciate it more than you know. There isn’t anything quite as helpless a feeling as wondering if you’re going to get stuck in or out of your house. If I had known how bad it was, I would have fixed the ramp before I did the bathroom.”
I leaned forward and rested my chin on my fist. “It’s hard to say, Cat. I’m sure you needed the bathroom to be accessible since you use it every day. I would have chosen the bathroom to fix, too. You did the right thing.”
She wiped her hand across her brow and sighed. “I’m relieved then, but it doesn’t change the fact I need to do something with this property.” A frown appeared on her face as she gazed around the yard. “Maybe I should sell it and rent one of the new handicapped accessible apartments.”
“The only thing you need to do to this property is stay right where you are. We can fix the few little things outside for basically nothing expense wise.”
“Except when you count in labor,” she pointed out and I shrugged.
“You just have to know the right people,” I said. “Besides, you have a beautiful spot here. You’re just outside the city, but have access to both towns easily. The inside is already set up for what you need and you love this house, I can tell.”
She nodded, her gaze traveling over the ramp. “It’s all that’s left of my family, other than me, anyway.”
I angled toward her. “You have no family left?”
She shrugged. “I’m sure there are some cousins or such in Mexico, but I wouldn’t even know how to find them. I’m young, but my parents were old when they had me. My dad died five years ago of diabetes and my mom died of breast cancer two years ago, right before my aunt died of COPD. I guess we don’t have hardy genes.”
I frowned. “I guess not. It must be intense to be your age and have no one.”
“Thanks for rubbing it in,” she said, half in jest.
I stood and picked up her hand, kneeling in front of her, and laying her hand on my shoulder.
“What are you doing?” she asked laughing, and I held up my finger, clearing my throat.
“I, Lorenzo Dalton, bestow upon Catalina Chávez, the seal of the Dalton family. The seal is proof of familyhood and all rights to the Dalton family love and support is hereby granted.”
She threw her head back and laughed before slipping her other hand around my neck and hugging me, her chin on my shoulder. “You’re really something, Ren.”
I rubbed her back a few times before I let her go. “We’re a close family and I don’t like the idea of someone not having family. Even on days like today, when I’m upset with Cinn, I still love her to pieces.”
She took hold of my hand and rubbed her thumb over the top of it. “I think you should probably take off and go make it right with her.”
I nodded and sighed. “I know I should, but I don’t know how. What I said was true, but at the same time, I pushed a button I shouldn’t have.”
She cupped my face with her hand. “Hey, we all make mistakes.”
I scrunched my lips up to the side. “So you think I made a mistake by saying something about Josh to Cinn.”
Her brows teased her hairline. I couldn’t help but smile at how adorable she was. I wanted to kiss her until she couldn’t breathe and begged me to take her to bed, but we weren’t there yet, no matter how much I wished we were.
“In this situation, I wouldn’t have said it in those words. But I don’t know the history, so I can’t make any judgements,” she finally responded and I felt my shoulders deflate.
I ran my hand through my hair and shook my head a little. “I said something because she doesn’t realize how much it’s affecting Foster, and how rude it is to continue to compare him to someone who never cared about her in the first place. Foster has proven himself to be madly in love with her. It’s a self-destructive behavior and someone needed to call her on it.”
