I've Got Summer

E L E V E N

C H R I S

A few days later, all the walls were stripped and the new beams stood proudly under the rotten roof. I still didn't know quite how I'd replace that, but taking it one step at a time seemed smarter than diving into a new problem before this one was gone.

"You know, you could be a bit less grumpy—ouch!" Dave jumped back from the wall, putting his finger into his mouth with a frown. I raised a brow, trying to hide my amusement as he murmured, "Just checking that your power is working."

"And?" It was a dickhead question, but I didn't care.

"It works!" Dave shot me a glare, but it was quickly replaced with a grin. "So now I can turn it off before I fry myself and your new house."

He turned towards the brand new fuse box and flicked off the power for the whole house, before walking back to what he was doing. It was only a matter of time before he had all the wires connected and placed, and we could start dressing the bare skeleton we'd replaced.

We. Huh.

I turned around and looked at the pile of timber I'd cut to the right length, and all the debris in the container I'd rented. I'd need a whole new one for the roof, and if that wasn't enough, I'd probably need one more for all the packaging and trash when all the things I'd ordered from Bailey's came in.

Would they be able to help me with regular furniture, too?

I had no idea, but I knew what I hoped.

"Hey, lover boy," Dave called, making me turn back towards him with a pointed stare. He only grinned back. "When d'you say you ordered the doors?"

"Tuesday," I replied, crossing my arms. "Lover boy?"

"Definitely." He grinned again, letting his smile sink into the wires he was fidgeting with. He was probably doing more than fidgeting, but it looked that way to me. "You and Summer are the talk of the town, lately. Alberta, a very nice older woman, told me the other day that you were going to propose."

"What?"

"That's what I said! And then she said she loved that the two of you had been together for so long, but it was time to tie the knot." He chuckled as he wrapped the wires in a zip tie, tightening it up and cutting off the edge. "I think she's got dementia, and was thinking of someone else."

I arched a brow again as he laid the wires around a doorframe and zip tied them together to keep their place there too.

Wanting to change the subject, I said, "I'm gonna have to tackle the roof soon."

"Yeah, I had an idea for that, if you don't mind," he told me, looking at me with bright eyes that signaled his passion. I nodded for him to go ahead, and he looked up. "I was thinking we take this off, build a frame for a new one, and build the walls inside taller, so that the roof will become like a stylish ceiling as well."

I tried to picture it, and I didn't hate the idea. It would save a lot of work to scrap my idea of an attic, and I didn't really need that much more space. If I needed it down the line, I could easily build a shed or something.

So I nodded again. "I like it."

"Maybe put in some bigger windows at the back, so you can get the forest view right into your living room." Dave sent me a thumbs up and continued organizing the cables.

That idea I liked even more. Part of the reason I bought this place unseen was that it was so close to the forest, and I could truly be alone and in tune with nature. A sudden need I got after returning from war. Which was also why I wasn't stressing my ass off to move out of my tent and into the house.