Page 32 of From Grumpy to Forever
For a moment, his expression softened, just a little, and I thought he might say something. But then he gave a curt nod and kept walking, leaving me standing there watching after him long after he disappeared.
No. This was not exactly how I’d imagined my wedding night would go.
Chapter Sixteen
Reid
Work on the inn was going faster than I’d expected. Almost too fast when you considered that Avery still hadn’t finalized the ownership paperwork.
It wasn’t her fault, and I know it was weighing on her, but according to William Evans, these things took time and we had only been married a week. Apparently, that wasn’t enough time to process everything.
Avery wasn’t saying much about it, but I knew it was worrying her that the paperwork hadn’t been completed yet. Not only was the inn not officially hers yet, but that meant that the trust fund that had been created for the project also had not been released yet.
Still, it had only been a week.
A week.
Avery had been my wife for a full week.
Time flies when…well, you’re working.
That’s pretty much all we’d been doing. Worked on the inn almost all day, every day with very few breaks. That’s probably why we were making such quick progress on things.
Maybe I should slow things down?
After all, the sooner I finished work, the sooner I wouldn’t have a reason to hang out with Avery all day, every day, and there was no point denying how much I was enjoying that particular perk of the job.
Sure, she was a city girl—that much was true.
But it bothered me less and less. Every morning, as I worked out the cricks and aches in my back from sleeping on that insufferable air mattress, I looked forward to seeing her bright smile in the kitchen when she handed me a cup of coffee.
Together, we’d sit on the porch steps—the swing still out of commission—and discuss the projects for the day.
We’d break again for lunch and then dinner. And the whole time we worked, we talked. I was used to working in silence, but Avery had a way of easily drawing the conversation out of me. Over painting, sanding, and the hum of the air compressor, we were learning about each other. And the more I learned about Avery, the more I liked.
The little routine we’d established was…nice.
But the best part was in the evenings when we sat on the steps, watching the sunset behind the mountains. I looked forward to those quiet moments the most.
But today, I had something almost as exciting to take care of.
Avery might still be waiting for her paperwork to go through, but mine had. The workshop was officially mine. Well, as long as I kept making payments, it was mine.
But for all intents and purposes, I finally had my own shop where I could build the high-end, custom furniture I’d always wanted to create.
I backed up the truck and trailer, packed with some of the tools I’d loaded up earlier that afternoon with Ethan’s help. My brother was as eager to get my stuff out of his shed as I was to get out of there and more than willing to help me pack up before I drove off.
My new shop space was at least five times bigger than the little shed, with giant double doors that I flung open. I stood with my hands on my hips and took it all in with a grin on my face.
“Damn, brother. Did your new wife put that smile on your face, or are you really just that happy to have a workshop of your own?”
I spun to see my oldest brother. Not even Brody’s sarcasm could dull this moment. “A little bit of both,” I said truthfully. “Thanks for coming to help. This is definitely a two-man job, and Ethan was excited to spread out into the shed.”
Brody took a look at the trailer and the heavy equipment. “Looks to me like more than two men wouldn’t have been a total waste. Let’s get to work.”
* * *
We worked for the next hour and by the time we had everything moved in, we were both exhausted. I handed Brody a beer from the cooler I’d packed.
