Page 45 of Begin Again

“The problem with estate sales is if one wants more than the other, it could be held up,” he cautioned.

“I know,” Tate said. “Which is why I’ve got you.”

“Set up a time if you want, after hours. I’ll walk through and check it out, but no guarantees.”

“That’s all I ask,” Tate said. “No pressure.”

“None felt,” he said. He knew Tate wouldn’t be offended if he didn’t want to do it. He just had to decide if he was willing to commit to something when he was having too much fun working on Liz’s house.

14

Gave Just Enough

“The last swipe,” Liz said ten days later. “I want the honor. It’s my kitchen.”

She was all but jumping around in place in her finished kitchen.

The appliances came last week. The countertops were yesterday.

She didn’t get much sleep as she had to be up when they came, but the minute they left she’d gone back to bed after she’d run her hand over the cream granite with swirls of brown in it that matched the color of the cabinets. It was different shades of brown. Something called Colonial Cream. She found it funny since her house was a Tudor yet no one got the joke but her.

“Go on,” Christian said. “It’s all yours.”

She took the blade and smeared the last of the brown grout over the long white subway tiles.

“I can’t believe it’s done!”

“It’s pretty awesome,” he said.

She was looking around the kitchen and big island. This was like a dream to her and to know that it only cost half of what it should have was totally worth the six weeks it took from start to finish.

“I’m going to make you a big dinner in here tonight,” she said.

“You did that last night,” he said.

He’d said he’d had to come see the countertops and while he was here, he decided to start her backsplash. She wanted to tell him no, that he didn’t need to.

She learned it fell on deaf ears.

Her father didn’t listen either and she was tired of listening to herself talk.

She’d told her father to cut it out. That he was working too hard and he’d told her what Abby had said weeks prior.

That he had so much to thank her for for helping raise her little sister.

She didn’t want the thanks. She was lucky they both turned out as well as they had and thanked her father for that.

“But it wasn’t finished last night,” she said. “Now it is. What do you want to eat?”

“You’ve got to go to work,” he argued. “No reason for you to do anything.”

“I need to eat,” she said. “Just like I had to eat last night too.”

“If you insist,” he said. “But whatever you want to make I’ll have. I’m not fussy.”

“I like that you aren’t,” she said.

She opened the fridge and pulled out pork chops. They were already stuffed and she was going to make them last night but decided on burgers instead. These with rice would go down well.

---