Page 69 of Between Never and Forever
“How’s the rebuild project?”
An hour inland, in the town where I grew up, an entire neighborhood was destroyed by the flooding. The houses in the River View neighborhood were mostly older, poorly structured single-wide prefabs, and not a single one was up to code for the floodplain. It was a local zoning oversight that resulted in dozens of people displaced after the hurricane, and several people injured or killed. When I took on the rebuild project, I was furious to see how irresponsibly the whole thing had been done. The families that lived there had no idea the danger they were in. It was just a matter of time before they lost everything.
“Moving right along nicely,” Sharon says. “Honestly, if we could have a private bank roll like that for all our projects, we’d never have any problems.”
I nod. She’s right. Most of the cost of the rebuild is covered by the emergency relief fund, but I’m refusing to cut corners, and it was a non-stop fight to get quality materials approved on their budget. Then, about eight months ago, the town was contacted by a private donor—the estate of some wealthy philanthropist—who offered to cover any additional costs of the rebuild. Since then, it’s been smooth sailing. I’m not making any money off the job, obviously, but my crew is paid, and those families will have safe, quality homes to move back into soon.
“You’re going to the studio today, then?”
Sharon scribbles something else on another sticky note, then glances up at me for confirmation. I nod. I’ve been spending most of my time at the rebuild, but now that we’ve got the studio job, I have to bounce between.
“Is Brynnlee staying with me today, or is she going with you?”
“I’m going with Dad!” Brynn chimes in from her place in front of the donut box.
She’s got chocolate icing on her face and a strawberry donut in her hand. The girl is going to be on one hell of a sugar rush.
“She wants to see the set before filming officially starts next week—”
“And you said you’d take me to the book shop!”
“AndI said I would take her to the book shop.”
Sharon smiles at Brynn, then looks to me and raises an eyebrow.
“Try to have some fun,” she drawls. “Maybe smile a little. I hear it releases dopamine, endorphins and serotonin, which can lower anxiety and increase happiness.”
Sharon sticks out her hand, and Brynn slaps it as she skips past the desk.
“A plus plus, Miss Sharon,” Brynn cheers, then grins up at me. “She’s a good student. You should be more like her.”
My lips twitch into a small smile, and I drop my hand to Brynn’s head and ruffle her hair. This kid is too damn smart.
“Go get in the truck, Einstein.”
“Bye, Miss Sharon! See you later!”
Sharon waits until the door closes behind Brynn before she lets the smile drop.
“Everyone is paid. Crew, contractors, all of it.” Her brow furrows. “Things are getting better, Levi. The first installment from the studio job brought the business almost entirely out of the red.”
I don’t miss that she said almost, and I don’t miss that she specified the business.
“Did you pay yourself?” I ask, and she waves me off.
“Enough.”
I sigh. I’m not going to argue with her again. She’s stubborn. It’s in her DNA.
I wait to see if she’ll ask me anything more about the studio, or the plans for the on-site filming that starts in a few weeks. She doesn’t, so I don’t bring it up, either. We’ll live in denial a little while longer.
“Alright, Sharon,” I say gruffly, opening the door and stepping outside. “I’m out. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”
I walk to the truck and climb into the front seat. Brynn is already buckled into her seat in the back. I turn around and reach into the back, tugging on her belt to make sure it’s secure. She rolls her eyes and sighs loudly, so I give her side a tickle before turning back around.
“Ready to roll, Boss?”
