Page 9 of One Touch

I sighed and looked out the living room window to see Tootie fussing with her beloved chickens. “The house is too big, really, but she’ll never leave. I think it was built around the early nineteen hundreds, maybe? She and my father grew up here, and she moved back when Dad got sick. It’s got a lot of Sullivan memories tucked into its walls. The bathrooms are a disaster, and nothing has been updated since the eighties. I can handle things like paint and taking down that hideous swan wallpaper in the hallway.”

Beckett stepped toward me, and I instinctively mirrored a step backward. “I’m hired to do a job, and I’ll do it. Just stay out of my way.”

Declan always claimed his brother was an insufferable asshole.Guess he wasn’t wrong about that.

“Correct. You were hired, which means you work forme, Miller.”

Something sparked in his eyes when I pointed my pink-manicured finger in his direction. I was bone-tired of being the accommodating, sweet-natured Katie who let a smooth talker like his brother trample all over me. If Declan wasn’t around to feel my fury, then his surly pain-in-the-ass arrogant older brother would be a perfect substitute.

“You’re paying the bills, then?” He raised one dark eyebrow, unafraid and unwilling to back down.

“My family will take care of it ... assuming you don’t jack up the prices just to take advantage.”

Beckett rolled his eyes and crossed his ridiculously muscled arms. I knew his friendship with Duke would mean we’d get a fair price on his work, but it was an easy shot, and I was just petty enough to take it.

“When can I expect your crew to show up?”

Beckett considered. “I’ll have a cleanup crew ready in the morning to start hauling out any trash and furniture. We’ll start with the living room. Then it’ll be a few days before the demo starts. I need a little time to, you know, get the proper permits and all.”

I ignored his petty little dig. His stupid handsome face was distracting, and I had to remind myself that despite the fact he was doing us all ahugefavor by taking on the job, he was still the same jerk who’d ignored my attempts to be friendly every Miller family holiday.

“Is that all?” he asked.

“Just try not to be late again tomorrow.”

The smirk melted from his face when I dropped the towel and strode past him, not caring in the least that my see-through T-shirt was putting my breasts on full display.

* * *

Beckett Miller was not latethe next morning when he pounded on the front door at 5:00 a.m. sharp.

I rolled out of bed, rubbed furiously at the dried drool at the corner of my mouth, and tried to pat down my tangle of hair. I listened at the top of the staircase as Tootie answered the door. While I couldn’t make out their words, the deep rumble of Beckett’s voice was unmistakable. Within moments, the door closed, and the house was quiet again, except for the soft hum of Tootie’s singing.

I carefully padded down the stairs, looking for any signs of Beckett.

“Morning, dear,” Tootie singsonged as she swirled a spoon in her freshly brewed coffee.

I sighed in relief at finding us alone.

“Morning.” I walked straight for the coffee maker and poured myself a large cup and doctored it with lots of cream and sugar.

“You just missed Beckett. He and his crew will be back around seven to haul out junk and get to work.” I didn’t miss the wistfulness in her voice.

I put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close. “None of it’s junk.”

Tootie laughed. “Oh, I’m sure enough of it is.”

“We won’t get rid of anything you don’t want to, and I’ll make sure everything is perfect. I promise.”

Tootie rested her head on my shoulder. Deep, warm affection ran through me. After my mom died, Tootie had stepped in. She and my dad were close, and when he couldn’t quite navigate the waters of raising four kids by himself, she’d filled in the gaps.

When Dad got sick and his memories started to falter, she became our only parent figure, and she did what she could to save us all from ourselves. Somehow we’d all scattered to the wind despite her efforts. Duke buried himself in responsibility, Wyatt grabbed onto a successful football career, and, when he was finally of age, Lee signed up for the Army.

I had been stupid enough to believe a boy when he’d said he had my best interests at heart.

“Should we stay with Wyatt and Penny at Highfield House while Beckett and his men work? This is shaping up to be a bigger project than I expected.”

I scrunched up my nose. “No way. This isourhome. A little dust and noise should be fine. They can work around us.” Plus, being close would allow me to make sure Beckett didn’t screw anything up.

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