The next morning, I'm up before dawn to go out and get my supplies. On the way back, I stop and get Callie breakfast because I know my truck's going to wake her up again.
"Callie." I knock on her door but she doesn't answer. I knock again and she still doesn't answer. Maybe she didn't hear the truck this time. I leave the coffee and the biscuit sandwich I bought her on her front porch steps, then go to inspect the cracked concrete walkway that leads to her house.
I call Jake and hear him groan when he answers. "Why do you always call so damn early?"
"You work in construction. Your ass should be out of bed by now."
"I don't have to be at the site until eight-thirty. Hey, did you hear about the Victorian?"
"Yeah, Dad called and told me."
"I'm getting freaking nervous. I've never been in charge before."
"You can do it. Just take charge from day one. Let 'em know who's boss and don't let the subs intimidate you. You start on Monday, right?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Think you could come down here this weekend? I could use your help on a project and I need you to bring down some equipment."
"Sure. What's the project?"
"My neighbor's sidewalk. The concrete's cracked and the ground's pushing through, making it dangerous to walk on."
"Is this neighbor the hot girl who lives next door?"
"I never said she was hot."
"I could tell by the way you talked about her. She's hot."
"Fine. Whatever. Can you help me or not?"
"Why are you doing this for her? Are you two dating?"
"I'm doing it because it's dangerous and I don't want her to fall. She already tripped and fell the other day when she was walking to her house and heard my truck backfire."
He laughs. "Did she think you were shooting at her?"
"Yeah. I gotta get that thing fixed. Anyway, I was hoping to repair her sidewalk this weekend but I need the equipment."
"Yeah, I'll bring it down. I'll bring Bryce and Austin too. We'll get done faster with the four of us working. You got a place for us to crash?"
"One of you can take the master bedroom. Other than that, I've got the couch and the floor."
"The youngest always gets the floor. I'll tell Austin to bring a sleeping bag."
"Sounds good. Thanks for doing this."
"No problem. We'll see you Saturday."
We hang up and I get to work tearing apart more of the kitchen. A little before ten, I go next door to see if Callie needs help with the garage but she's already left for work. I'm tempted to go have lunch with her later but I have too much to do. I'm starting to think this is going to take six months instead of three. Just going through all the clutter and sorting it out is going to take weeks. I'm thinking I should hire someone to help me out. Someone who could work a few hours a week. Someone who's close by. Someone I don't mind being around. I slowly smile. I know just who to ask.
A little after four, I walk over to her house and knock on the door. It's really hot out today so I'm shirtless, but it's not like she hasn't seen me like this before. And if she works for me, she'll be seeing me like this all the time so she'll have to get used to it.
"Callie, it's Nash." I ring the doorbell. When she doesn't answer, I go around to the window and see her duck down behind the couch. What the hell? Is she hiding from me?
I knock on the window and raise my voice so she'll hear me. "Callie. I know you're in there. I saw you hide behind the couch. I just need to ask you a question."
She slowly rises up from the floor, mumbling to herself as she walks to the door.
"What do you need?" she asks, opening the door just a crack.
"Well, for one, I wanted to let you know that dinner will be at six. I've got the T-bones in the cooler. I also bought some coleslaw and these pre-cooked, seasoned potatoes you just heat on the grill. I found them in the deli."
"I'm not having dinner with you." She gazes down at the ground.
"Why not?"
"I'm busy."
"Busy doing what?"
She sighs and her eyes move up to my face. "No questions, remember?"
"You said that only applied to personal questions."
"Asking what I'm doing is a personal question."
"Not really." I lean against the door frame. "You have a bad day at work?"
"That's another personal question." She glances to the side. "I'm not having dinner with you so you should probably go."
"What if it's a business dinner?"
Her gaze shifts back to me. "What do you mean?"
"The other reason I came over here is to ask if you'd be willing to work for me a few hours a week."
"I can't do construction. I've never even pounded a nail in the wall."
I smile. "Then that's something I'll need to teach you. Everyone should know how to use a hammer and nail. But that's not what I need you to do. My grandfather was a hoarder and I don't have time to go through all his stuff. I need you to go through it and sort out what to keep and what to toss."
"I can't decide that. It's your stuff. You need to decide."
"I don't have time. I trust you to figure out what's worth keeping, and if you're not sure, just ask me. You'd be working in the living room and I'll be right there in the kitchen."