“Hi, I’m looking for a quote. I have a small one-bedroom apartment. A bed, a couch, a television, two bookshelves, and some boxes. Moving from Walkerton to Pine Harbour at the start of next month.”
“Sure thing, let me just grab our rate card. You can see this on our website, too.” He kept talking in her ear, and she pulled that page up on her computer. When he gave her the quote, it was exactly what she saw, and probably more than competitive against the other services she’d called.
Plus there was something about his voice that she liked. “Sounds good. Can I book that now?”
Chapter Four
By the timeAdam from Warriors Moving showed up at Kerry’s apartment on the last Saturday in January, she felt like she knew him. He’d called once to go over the details, then again to let her know who her movers were and what time exactly they’d be arriving. On that second call, he asked if she’d prefer to receive text message updates, which she agreed to, and on the day of the move, he texted to say there had been a last-minute change and he’d be on the crew himself.
When he knocked on the door, he cheerfully introduced himself, and then pointed to his friend. “And this is Stevie. He’s the strong, silent type. Are you ready for us?”
Behind him was another man, maybe around the same age. Younger than her, in their twenties. She thought back to their flyer. Veterans shouldn’t be that young was her first instinct and then foolishness quickly followed, because of course vets were young. Most people didn’t stay in the military that long. She knew that from her work with young parents around the nearby training base—half of them were looking at getting out soon.
“Come on in. I’ll get out of your way,” she said, scooting to the side.
Adam winked at her. “You’re not in anyone’s way.”
She headed out onto the landing anyway to check her messages. Theare you ready for usdouble entendre had been easy enough to read straight, but the wink confirmed that Adam was flirty. She both liked it and it made her feel the full weight of her thirty-three years, and that tug inside that told her flirting with guys in their twenties didn’t lead to babies.
Meddlesome ovaries, trying to restrict her dating life to suitable candidates only. She wouldn’t fall for that.
Her couch came out first, with a lot of grunts from Stevie and cheerful warnings from Adam as they made their way down the stairs. Then her boxes paraded past, one by one. The last thing to be loaded into her truck was her bed, in pieces.
Which meant that when they got to Pine Harbour, her bed was the first thing to be assembled in her new apartment.
“Clever,” she said as Adam and Stevie set the mattress down on the bed frame.
“Last thing in, first thing out.” Adam tapped his head. “Not just a hat rack.”
She laughed.
When they brought in the bedroom boxes, she dug through them and found her sheets, pillows, duvet and quilt. Even if the rest of the apartment was a disaster of cardboard and disorder for the next few days, she’d be able to sleep in comfort.
But by the time she made it into the living room, the thought of doing any more work or going grocery shopping was not at all appealing. So when the guys were done, she followed them downstairs. “Are you local?”
Adam nodded. “Born and bred.”
“Can you recommend a place around here to get dinner?”
“Mac’s Diner on the edge of town is where everyone goes. Or you can head to the Green Hedgehog in Lion’s Head if you want more of a pub. That’s the best place in the middle of the peninsula to grab a beer and make friends.”
Kerry was quite sure Adam Kincaid had zero problems making friends. “Good to know. I’ll start with the diner.”
That got her another wink. “We’re heading there, too.”
She would make sure to buy their dinner before she left with her takeout. “Great. See you there, then? I’m just going to lock up and take a minute to myself.”
“Sure thing.” He grabbed the clipboard his silent buddy had gone to the truck to grab. “Can I get a signature for our boss?”
* * *
Owen spentthe day at a leadership conference for his army reserve unit. All he had wanted all day was a hamburger. A big, thick homemade patty topped with mushrooms and Swiss cheese, on a definitely-bad-for-him Brioche bun.
He hadn’t anticipated Becca bursting into tears as soon as he pulled the ground beef out of the fridge.
“What?”
“Are you going tocookthat?”
