it’s charity.”
“I never thought of that.”
“He’s got a lot of pride.”
Cain snorted a laugh. “No kidding. But we made headway working together.” He grinned at her. “I think he likes me.”
Liz rolled her eyes. “He admires you.”
“So I’ll use that. I’ll tell him he’s getting a chance to work with the big dog. Learn the secrets of my success.”
She laughed and an odd warmth enveloped her. Talking with him now was like talking with Ellie. Casual. Easy. Maybe they really had become friends?
“Hey, you never know. It might work.”
She grimaced. “I’m sure it will work.” She finished the walk to her car. She didn’t mind being friends with him, but she also didn’t want to risk the feeling going any further.
As she opened the door, Cain called after her, “So, are you going to help me?”
That was the rub. If she agreed to work with him, they really would become friends. And she’d probably have plenty of time not only to tell him her secret, but also to help him adjust to it. On the flip side, if things didn’t go well, she’d have plenty of time to see him angry, to watch him mourn, if he didn’t handle the news well.
“I’m going to think about it.”
Liz slid into her car and drove away. Cain opened his truck door. He’d expected her to be happier that he wanted to work on more houses. But he supposed in a way he understood why she wasn’t. The very reason he wanted her to work with him—to be together, to spend time together so they could get to know each other and see if they shouldn’t start over again—might be the reason she didn’t want to work with him. Their marriage had been an abysmal failure. She didn’t want to be reminded and she didn’t want to go back.
If he was considering “fixing” their marriage, he’d be as negative as she was. But he didn’t want to fix their marriage. He wanted them to start over again.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t entirely sure how.
Tuesday, Cain spoke with Ayleen and got approval to hire Billy. Actually, he got gushing glowing praise on the job he had done and his generosity in taking Billy under his wing. Then he got the address of the next house he was to repair and the suggestion that he might want to start that Saturday.
So he drove to Amanda’s and offered Billy a job, which Billy happily accepted, especially after Cain mentioned his salary.
High on the success of the first part of his plan, Cain called Liz the minute he returned to his house.
She answered on the first ring. “Happy Maids.”
“You really should have a personal cell phone.”
“Can’t afford it. What do you want, Cain?”
“Is that any way to talk to the man who’s offering you a ride to our job site on Saturday? I’m already stopping for Billy—one more will fit into the truck.”
“You got Billy to take a job?”
“I made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.”
“That’s great! Amanda will be so thrilled.”
“I’m glad to be able to do it.” He paused. “So what do you say? Want a ride?”
“I haven’t even agreed to work with you yet.”
He could have threatened her with calling Ayleen and forced her hand. He could have said, “Please,” and maybe melted her the way she could melt him. Instead he said nothing, letting the decision be her own, following his own directive that this relationship would be totally different. Fresh. New.
“Okay. But I’ll meet you there.” Her answer was cool, businesslike, but he didn’t care. They’d had a crappy marriage. He’d hurt her. But more than that, he’d pulled her away from her dreams. He had to accept that she’d be wary of him. Then he had to prove to her she had no reason to be. They were starting over.
Peggy Morris had chosen not to be home when Cain and company did the work on her house. Liz had said she would get the keys and be there when Cain and Billy arrived. As Cain opened the back door into the kitchen, she turned from the sink. When she saw the picnic basket Billy carried, she grinned.
“Your mom’s a saint.”
Billy frowned. “Why?”
“For making lunch.”
“I made that,” Cain said. “Well, actually, I had Ava call a deli and place an order. I’ve got sandwiches, soda, bottled water, dessert…The cheesecake you like.”
She groaned. “Oh, Cain! I can’t have cheesecake! I’ll be big as a house.”
He laughed. She might have groaned about the cheesecake, but she accepted that he’d brought lunch. It was a good start. “You’ve lost weight since we were married.”
Billy glanced from Cain to Liz. “You two were married?”
Cain said, “Yes.”
Liz said, “A long time ago.”
Billy shook his head. “You don’t look like married people to me.”
Liz walked over and put her hand on Billy’s forearm. “Your parents’ situation wasn’t normal, Billy.”
“Yeah, but even my friends’ parents argue all the time. You two get along.” He looked from Cain to Liz again. “So why’d you get divorced?”
“Long story,” Liz said.
“I was too busy,” Cain countered.
Before Billy could say anything more about them, Liz turned him in the direction of the door again. “You don’t need to know about this. It’s ancient history, and we do need to get started on what we came here to do.” She pointed at the door. “I’m guessing Cain’s got about ten cans of paint in his truck. Let’s go get them.”
The three of them made a good team. Liz jumped into the truck bed and handed paint gallons, brushes, trays and other equipment to Cain and Billy who carted everything into the garage.
When the supplies were on the garage floor, Cain took charge again. “We’re starting at this house because essentially everything is in good repair. When Ayleen brought me over this week to check things out, I noticed a few of the walls and ceilings need to be mended and there’s also some work in the bathroom.” He pointed at a new shower head and some unidentifiable plumbing equipment in another package. “I’ll do all that. You guys can paint. I thought we’d start upstairs and work our way downstairs.”
Liz said, “Okay.”
Billy said, “I already know how to paint. I want to help with the repair work.”
“The thing about
