Page 5 of Begin Again

“Just like having you at home,” her father said.

“I’m not that far away,” she said. “I’m sure you’re thrilled to have the place to yourself again.”

“It’s lonely,” her father said. “And it was nice having someone cook for me.”

Liz grinned. They did have a routine. Her father would come in late after long days and since she was leaving for work at ten thirty, she’d had no problem making dinner later for them. Then she’d eat something lighter on her break at work.

“You can come to dinner anytime you want. I’ve still got to cook,” she said.

“You need your space too,” her father said. “I know it.”

Trevor Sherman had been the one raising his two daughters for most of her life. Her mother was not in the picture. Or only when she was healthy and stable. Which wasn’t often.

Her parents were divorced and Liz hadn’t talked to her mother in over ten years. It was just too hard when Lily Sherman didn’t want to take care of herself.

“It’s going to be interesting,” she said.

“I know you can’t do this kitchen on your own,” her father said. “Not even the bathrooms. So what are you going to do first?”

“The floors are in good shape. I think I just need to put a coat of paint in all the rooms down here and then my bedroom. That is all I’m tackling upstairs. There are too many rooms.”

“Your main bathroom isn’t too bad,” her father said.

“Thirty years or so, just like this kitchen,” she said. “It could be worse, but for now it’s usable. It’s so big, but the tile is dirty and dated. The tub too. No way I can do anything in there other than hire someone. I’ll paint it at least, but that is about it.”

“Things in life take time, as you know,” her father said.

“Yeah,” she said, diving into her dinner with more gusto than normal. She’d put about twenty pounds on in the past year and actually felt good about herself.

She’d never forget her father’s face when she’d come home and he cried at how thin she was. She supposed she never saw what everyone else did, but Tanner liked fashion-model-thin women and he made sure she knew that. Repeatedly.

Sickly thin was his idea. At twenty pounds heavier she was happy with some tiny curves and a whole heck of a lot of muscle.

She felt strong and that was more important to her than anything else.

She ate what she wanted and she worked out. She was taking a new stance in life and it was going to not just be healthy on the outside but on the inside too.

“If you want help painting, just let me know,” her father said. “I know you. You’ll start before the weekend.”

She laughed. “I’m going to pick up some paint after work tomorrow. Or on my way home from work. I’d just like my bedroom done. It’s too bright.”

The whole downstairs was dark colors that were going to take a lot of primer to cover up, but for some silly reason the primary suite was white. Like burn your retinas white.

For those who lived the life of a vampire, as her sister, Abby, often said about her, she needed her room dark. She’d take care of it tomorrow if she could.

“That will be the easiest room in the house to do,” her father said.

“Exactly,” she said. “But this weekend, you can help me paint if you want.”

Her father smiled at her. A true one and Liz knew she made the right decision by giving in and letting him help her just a little.

2

Hard To Forget

Christian pulled up in front of the Brewsters’ house that Butler Construction was going to be doing some work on soon. A rehab inside and he’d be walking through it with his brother Evan.

Evan was the one that managed the projects, walked through for jobs and bids, and Christian was the engineer that had to look for structural issues and draw up the plans.

---