Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 318(@250wpm)___ 265(@300wpm)
At the back of the house, Maxx and Stefano were pouring the footings for the new deck. The building permit I had obtained hung at the door in case I was questioned. Since we were adding to the deck, it was required. It went through fast since I knew the woman at city hall and she was a good customer, and the deck was simple and the plans accurate. I was still waiting for some of the supplies, but getting the footings done today and maybe some of the framing would make the rest of the job easier.
I glanced down at the backyard. Hannah and the other women had been working on the gardens, planting some new crops and filling the raised beds I had made with flowers. The barbecue was lit, and I knew lunch would be made shortly. We had burgers and sausage to grill. Potato salad and coleslaw. A huge pizza Rosa had sent over with Charly when she’d dropped off the kids with the older folks to care for while we worked. Cherry had brought a cake. Hannah had made cookies and muffins. Gabby brought a pasta salad.
No one would go hungry.
I watched Hannah bend to plant a colorful pot of flowers. Her ass looked particularly curvy in the shorts she was wearing today. I wanted to be as close to her as I could be every moment, and the yard separating us felt like miles not feet. She straightened, brushed off her hand and turned, catching me looking in her direction. She shielded her eyes. “Get to work, Donner. Enough ogling,” she called, teasing.
I laughed. “Making sure you’re doing it right, Cinnamon.”
“Whatever, sweetheart,” she replied.
My heart swelled. I loved it when she called me that. It was still so new. This feeling inside me was still so new. She loved me. Me. Chase Donner. And I loved her. Everything about her. All the wonderful things I knew to be Hannah Gallagher enchanted me. I looked forward to all the things I had yet to discover.
I bent, shifting another shingle into place. I looked to my right, catching Dom staring down, and I followed his gaze. Cherry was at the barbecue, cooking. Her hair was bright in the sunlight, a different red from Charly’s or Hannah’s. More rust. She was dressed in shorts and a T-shirt like Hannah, and I had the feeling Dom approved of her attire.
He was staring at her with intense focus on his face. She looked up toward the roof, freezing when she saw him. He laughed quietly when she turned her head, lowering her eyes.
“Stubborn woman,” he murmured. “Keep it up.” He looked at me, winking as he stepped closer. “Makes victory all that much sweeter.”
I shook my head. “Maybe she doesn’t want to be your victory.”
“Not what her mouth was saying this morning. Or last week when I took her out to dinner.”
“You took her out to dinner?”
He nodded. “I couldn’t wait a week to see her. I went into Toronto, and we had dinner. I came back the next morning.” He winked. “I left her satisfied.”
“TMI, Dom. TMI.”
He chuckled. “She’s still fighting it, though. Lots of BS about long-distance relationships and our age, blah, blah, blah. We’ll figure it out. We’re too compatible not to.”
“You serious about her?”
“Totally.”
“Huh. Must be the Gallagher effect.”
He clapped me on the shoulder. “Yep. We’ve been Gallagher-ized.”
I laughed. “I told Hannah her mom had been ‘Dom-inated.’”
He burst out laughing, the sound loud and carefree. Hannah and her mom glanced our way, and Cherry said something to Hannah, tossing her hair the way she did when annoyed. I noticed she tossed her hair a lot around Dom.
“What are you two planning?” Hannah called out.
“Wondering when lunch is gonna be,” I called back. “I’m starving, Cinnamon.”
“Keep your shirt on, Donner,” she replied. “It’s coming.”
I chuckled and set another shingle into place. I wiped my hand across my forehead. It was hot, sweaty work. Dom and I labored for a bit, smelling the aroma of meat grilling, both of us thrilled when lunch was announced. We got cleaned up and gathered around the tables the women had set up. Maxx had brought extra chairs, and the large tree provided a decent amount of shade for everyone to sit under and enjoy their food.
The only sound for a while was the music playing on the speaker, the rough perfection of Creedence Clearwater Revival drifting through the air, and the muffled sounds of people eating. Chewing and swallowing. Muttered compliments, muted groans of appreciation. Sighs of satisfaction when plates were empty and stomachs full.
I surveyed what had been accomplished. The small group gathered to help. I felt the appreciation well inside me for their help. Intense pride filled me at the thought of improving my own place. Making the house better for me and Hannah. Happiness that I had the chance to experience all this camaraderie.