Page 121 of He's the One

When they were both back on the other side of the wall, Col brushed Theo down. “You look like you’ve been crawling through a jungle.”

“How come I’m dirtier than you?”

“Natural talent. Do you want me to block up the entrance?”

“No, but you better tape off the folly for the time being.”

Col nodded. “I have a surprise for you.”

Theo’s gaze dropped below Col’s waist. “Again?”

Col smiled. “I mentioned to James I could renovate your place and he’s having materials delivered.”

Theo gaped at him. “Really? Who’s paying for it?”

“I assume it’s your father.”

“Oh.”

“I need to finish up here for the day, then we can see what needs doing first.”

“Okay. See you later then.”

Col glanced around, then kissed him.

Theo went back to the house with a bounce in his step.

When he saw building supplies had already been delivered, a lump formed in his throat. Col was making everything better.

Chapter Nineteen

When he’d done for the day, Col drove his car up to the stable block and carried the stone rabbit around to the front entrance to the hall. The door was open, so he slipped inside and put the rabbit at the foot of the stairs before heading back. He called Theo to tell him he was outside, then grabbed his bag of tools from the boot. Theo appeared, looking messier than he had earlier, with smudges of dirt on his face and clothes.

“What have you been up to?” Col asked.

“I’ve carried stuff upstairs and stored it in one of the rooms I don’t use. I need to lie down now. Good timing you getting here just as I’d finished.”

Col grinned. “Let’s have a look at what James ordered.”

He followed Theo up. When he saw how much material Theo had shifted, he was amazed.

“Wow. You’ve worked hard.”

“I even dragged the furniture into a room I don’t use.” Theo flung open another door. “Ta da!”

“You’re going to live in here? There’s not much room.”

“I can roll from the bed to the sofa. Perfect. I figured I could move back into the hall if I needed to. There’s paint as well. James thought of everything. Ladder, nails, sandpaper, brushes. He said my father gave the go ahead, which is a bit worrying because my mother threw a hissy fit when I asked about renovations not that long ago.”

“I can get some plasterboard up tonight before I go home. This foil-backed stuff should keep the room warmer.”

“Can I help?” Theo asked.

“Yes. We need to make battens to put on the wall, then attach the plasterboard to those. I’ll cut holes for the sockets but all the electrical wiring that’s currently exposed will be covered. The room will look much tidier. We’ll leave the wall with the window as it is. The exposed stone looks great. I can tidy it up a bit, but if we plastered over it, we’d not be complying with the listed building status.”

“Okay. That sounds good.”

“What about opening up the ceiling? Having the beams on display?”

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