Beau snorted. “I dated a girl whose HOA measured how long her neighbor’s grass was. I’d never been more thankful for my little five acres outside of town.”
I shuddered at the thought.
“That was one of the requirements for my realtor. No HOA.”
She shrugged. “Mine’s not bad, and I like knowing that my neighbors can’t paint their house purple.”
“But you probably can’t build a treehouse for Jake in your backyard either.”
Her smile was sad when she replied, “Even if it were allowed, I don’t see that happening. That’s not exactly my skillset.”
Maybe Jake’s dad would build one at his house. I hoped so. Or maybe her new husband would be handy.
I didn’t like the idea of that one bit and decided I was glad her HOA probably didn’t allow treehouses.
Chapter Forty-Four
Gabe
We got a quarter of the cabinets removed by the time eight forty-five rolled around.
“Let’s call it a night,” I suggested.
“Good idea,” my brother grinned. “That leaves me just enough time to go home and shower before things pick up at Flannigan’s.”
Gretchen was busy sweeping up drywall dust from the floor. I didn’t have the heart to tell her she was wasting her time. There’d be another mess in the morning when I came back.
“Thank you for your help, Beau,” she said with her sweet smile before bending over to sweep the pile into a dustpan. And yeah, my gaze lingered on her ass as she did.
“Happy to help.” My brother looked at me and motioned toward the door with his chin. “Walk me out?”
Oh shit.
I wondered what I’d done that he wanted to talk to me alone.
As we walked along Gretchen’s sidewalk toward his car parked behind my truck, I remarked, “Sheila sure is pretty.”
Sheila being his red 1970 Chevy Chevelle SS that seemed to shimmer under the street lights.
“She should be with the amount of time and money I’ve put into her.”
“Spend your money now, little brother, ’cuz once you get married and have kids those dayswill be over.”
“Yeah, we’ll see. Although I don’t think I’ll mind spending my money on a wife and kids.”
“You won’t.” I paused, then continued. “Hey, you think you can swing by here tomorrow and give me a ride to Brayden’s game?”
“You don’t want my help tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I’d love the help, but are you sure you don’t mind? It’s a lot harder work when you’re hung over.”
“I don’t mind. And I’m only planning on having a few beers. Hopefully, that’s all the time it will take to meet someone.”
Ah, to be young and single again.
“Wrap your shit up tight, dude.”
Beau gave me a grin. “Always do,” then he unlocked his car but didn’t move to open the door. “Derrick’s right, you know. Gretchen’s your soulmate.”
