Hearts Ablaze (Courageous Hearts Series Book 2), стр. 4
“My vote’s yes,” Garrett said from across the kitchen, lowering the cereal into the hands of my child monster. “Convince Ethan, then plan on coming to our family cookout this weekend. Everyone misses you.”
“I can do that,” I told him. I knew of the annual Jones family cookout, and if it meant getting a contract with the company, I’d happily go. Ethan sighed and scowled at his brother’s indifference. I opened my satchel and pulled out a dozen separate folders, all demonstrating proof of my good work and the value increases on all the homes I had renovated. As I went through each of my projects, Ethan leaned closer to me and the files. I knew his intrigue was growing with each example of meticulous work.
I gave him a budget of each of my projects, and he stopped me. “We have a slimmer budget for each of my rentals,” he said. “And it looks like you’re used to higher budgets.”
I nodded in agreement. “But I’m flexible. I’m used to higher budget projects, but I can make your places a dream with whatever you give me.”
Ethan examined the folders again, breaking down each of the budgets. While he examined my past work, I watched him. His dark brown eyes scanned the pages while his forearms flexed with each flipped page. I found myself pausing on his fingers—the long, calloused and capable fingers that could excel in any task assigned. I bit my lip and exhaled.
Ethan and I lost a friendship because of the tension between us—because I left the possibility of us behind. I needed to control myself, especially now that I had experienced my one love of a lifetime.
“I need proof that you can do it before I give you an entire contract,” he admitted. “If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t have even set up this meeting.”
“Let me do your house on a budget,” I proposed. “I can prove my efficiency on a budget, and if you like it, hire me.” The idea was out of my mouth before I could think to say anything else. It was an idea in the back of my mind from the moment I saw the house, but I didn’t plan on voicing it.
He looked between me and my folders for a moment before nodding. “Let me draw you up a budget, and we can get to work.”
I knew exactly what I stood to gain with the deal. I couldn’t decide how I felt now that I was working in close contact with Ethan Jones again—the man who almost kept me from leaving our small-town years ago with promises of a life together.
Chapter Three
I realized that the family cookout was a bad idea halfway through the week when I couldn’t get it out of my head. Derrick kept asking when he’d see Garrett again, and I kept wondering about Ethan. What had he been doing with his life since I left for New York? Why did his energy feel so different? Was it the fire that changed him, or was it time?
I had split away from Ethan and his entire family when I left, and I hadn’t rekindled a relationship with any of them, so as I pulled into the crowded field of the senior Jones’s home. I hesitated as I sat in my car. The opportunity that I was working for was career-making in a town as small as Brunswick, Georgia. Until me, interior designers weren’t even thought of, so publicizing my business in one of the biggest summer barbecues was a wise career move. Publicizing myself through the rental properties and apartment complex was equally as wise.
So why was I hesitating?
I turned in my seat and smiled at my little dark-skinned boy. His dark curls were tame compared to usual. “Ready to go?” I asked.
He nodded excitedly and clutched his toy car to his chest as I pulled myself from the car and sat a homemade cheese dip atop my roof. I began unfastening straps. He sat the toy on the seat of the car as I lifted him and stood him on the gravel. “Can I bring my truck?” he asked, reaching for the toy he had just placed on the seat.
I blocked his path. “You don’t want another kid to take it, do you?” I asked.
“No. It’s mine,” he said, confused at the insinuation that someone else may claim it.
I lifted him into my arms and gave his cheek a little peck before closing the door to the car and locking it. I grabbed my dip and made my way into the back yard where I knew the cookout was in full swing. Country music, laughter, and conversations met my ears far before I reached the party itself. All of the Jones family came from across the country for this cookout each year, and I was shocked at how many more people there were than a few years ago. There had to have been over a hundred people scattered through the large yard. Some sat and tanned by the pond while some stood under a series of canopies in the shade.
Half a dozen kids were running around near the pond. The oldest looked no older than six or seven, so when Derrick began wiggling in my arms, I released him to go play. A figure approached me quickly from the side, so I whipped my head up and immediately smiled.
“It has been so long since you’ve stopped by, Miss. Elena,” Ethan’s mom, Pam, chastised. She stood taller than me. Her age was clear in the