Chapter 2
The Work Never Ends
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Vivian bent over to pick up the tools some careless worker had left lying around. Most were more careful than this. It must be one of the newer ones. Since it was about to rain, she had the crew kicked in high gear. If enough got done, they would get their full day’s pay. She had promised Channing she would go with him to look at the houses and a spot for a subdivision, but he would have to wait until they got to a certain point.
She had to admit he was waiting patiently. That was not something she expected of him. Her crew was nearly to their quitting point when a few drops fell. They sped up even though she’d thought it impossible for them to move faster. There, they were done and everyone ran for a vehicle as the sky opened and water poured down. Channing motioned her to his SUV as she tossed keys to the crew truck to her second on this crew.
He didn’t say a thing as she got in and water rolled off her. Her boots were muddy and she had dust, now mud spread all over her. Sometimes being dirty was the cost of hard work. “Did you get what you wanted to done?” He asked.
Viv grinned at him. “Barely, but we did. I’m not sure if we’ll be working tomorrow, not here anyway. If it rains or if it’s still wet, we’re out of luck. Ariel will pull them off this and put them elsewhere.”
“It’s busy around here.” He commented. The water was coming down fast as he drove for downtown Blue Eye. How had he found a place there?
He turned toward the school. “Don’t tell me you bought the rundown farm house.”
“I won’t tell you.” He agreed as he pulled in.
They got out and ran inside. “Most of us turned this one down. First we’ll have a crew that comes in and cleans up. This place is full of junk. The lady was a hoarder and had no close family. All this stuff will have to go. Because she was poor, no maintenance was done on the house in the last fifty years or so. Once it’s cleaned up, I’ll come in and mark the walls and things that have to be torn down. My cousin Earl does that. He’ll take care of whatever goes too and clean up after himself. At that point, you’ll need a roof put on and I’m going to guess the old one will have to go first. The roof crew from Branson is backed up for weeks. You’ll have to go outside the area.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“Some of these walls need to go. Some are exterior and they can’t all go at the same time or the house will fall. Before the roof goes on, we need jacks and other equipment in place to hold it up. The foundation needs more support and for that, you need Mairi. She’s good but she don’t like it.”
“Can’t you convince her?”
She broke out in a laugh. “No. I’d owe her and she collects a heavy favor. Only Ariel or Ciaro can do that. She can do that before or after the roof. Once those other things are done, then I need some workers. Preferably experienced. Got any?”
“I don’t know. My secretary is working on that.”
“The pretty girl that lives with you?” She raised her eyebrow.
“If I want a secretary, I have to put her somewhere. I hope I’ll be moving soon.”
She shrugged. “No matter to me.” But she did hate it. Even though she knew he wasn’t for her. “If you want to start on it, I’ll get the cleanup crew here tomorrow or the next day. Where does the bill go?”
“To my secretary.”
“Fine. Let’s go to the next place.”
Thankfully this one wasn’t as bad. Not that it was good either. She went through it all and they moved on.
“This is a hundred acres. The place is flat and should be easy to build on.”
“You need permits.”
“Doesn’t the construction boss do that?”
“The contractor usually does. In this case, that would be you.”
“Could you do it for me, please?” He asked nicely.
“You’ll owe me.”
“Fine.”
She didn’t think he understood what that might mean. That was alright. Collecting favors was a hobby and collecting on them a talent. He would learn if he was around the clan much. Giggling, she looked up and he was watching her with concern. Yeah, he should be concerned.
“I guess we should go now. You can drop me at Ariel’s.” Now he looked disappointed. “You should come in and meet her. She’s been looking out for you.”
“I wonder why?”
“She’s nice like that. Ariel helps people, even ones she doesn’t know.” Viv said.
“I’d heard something like that. She certainly helped me and Roger out getting us together. It’s a shame I couldn’t get that farm by those apartments.”
“Oh really?” She acted disinterested. “Why not.”
“Roger assured me it would be a price war and I’d probably lose. The buyer wanted it too much.” He admitted.
God! Roger had really helped her. She’d bought the farm because she wanted her own place. Caro wanted to stay at her mom’s place, but with so many people looking for a place to live that wouldn’t work out. It wasn’t like anything would happen soon. She had the place to fix first. Then they would have to move out.
While Roger was great at real estate, that farmhouse had more stability than he’d thought. Once her offer was in, it had gone through right away. The cleanup crew was out there right now working on it.
“Where are you going?” She asked.
“I just wanted to go by that farm and see if anything was happening.” Channing admitted. “They aren’t wasting anytime.” He drove by slowly looking at the house where all the cleaners had their cars parked. “Where does Ariel live?”
Viv put in the address and he drove her there. New people were always surprised by the dirt road and the cattle guard. When he saw the parking lot, he looked around and caught site of the log cabin.
“Looks a bit like the house I’m trying to buy.” He admitted.
“Where is that at?”
“On the lake.”
“The King’s River Arm?”
“Yeah. You know the house?”
“I do. It’s a beauty.” She was stunned he could afford a million dollar house.
He was getting out so she hurried to do the same. They were greeted at the door. The young girl sniffed. “He a cat?”
“Yes.”
“We’re getting a lot of them lately.” The girl turned and led the way to Ariel who sat alone at the kitchen.
“Finally. How were the houses?” Ariel asked.
“In need of a lot of work. This is Channing. Channing this is Ariel.” Viv said. She elbowed him. Most shifters were stunned when they met Ariel.
“Pleased to meet you.” He said.
“You two get some food and a drink and come back so we can talk.”
That’s exactly what they did and she helped him find everything necessary. Lucky for them they had made it just before the supper crowd. They sat with Ariel putting their piled high plates down and their drinks next to them.
“What are your plans?” Ariel asked looking at Channing.
“Plans?” He asked stupidly.
“Your buildings. I know you talked Viv into helping, but it’s still hard for the outsourced work.”
“You’re right. I was hoping you’d have some suggestions.”
“I do. You have a friend in Missouri who puts in windows and doors. Give him a call and mention the building boom down here. His company travels in this part of the country. You will have to find them a place to stay though.”
“How did you...”
“Know? It’s what I do.” Ariel grinned.
“Any help for the roofing?”
“Sorry. I don’t know many people outside the area.”
“What about the Branson crew?”
“He is a member of my pack. They are two months behind.”
“My secretaries are trying to get people with construction experience down here. That’s all I can do.” He admitted. “When the boom crashes, I’m not sure what they’ll do.”
“Once it slows, those that just do it for the money will bail and find something they like. What’s left will be enough for those career workers.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“She usually is.” Viv finally spoke. Her plate was nearly empty and his was still full.
Finishing her food, she got up and grabbed some dessert. “Where is that at?” He asked.
“You want me to get it for you?”
“Yes, please. I love cheesecake, any kind.”
She got up and filled a plate for him. “It’s on the other side of the bar if you want more or come back some time.”
“This is almost like a restaurant.”
“Yes, it’s for guests, pack members, and employees.” Ariel explained. “I’ll leave you two to eat. See you tomorrow Viv.”
“Bye. Ariel.”
“Will you need me to take you home?” He asked.
“No, I’m taking the crew truck.” Now she was eating her dessert slowly. For some reason she didn’t want to leave here before he did. Maybe it was the bond she’d recognized when she had met him? It might just be that leaving him here on his own where he knew few people seemed rude.
He was eating fast and his plate was empty in no time. Channing was on his dessert now and she was done and sipping her coffee. It was a good time for her to make an escape. “I’m going now.” She observed.
“I’ll go with you.” He agreed as he finished the last slice of cheesecake. They put up their dishes and she grabbed Ariel’s cup. Now they were done and ready to go.
“Hey Viv!” A wolf she barely knew called out.
“Hey. What’s up?”
“Wasn’t sure if you knew Greg, that pack alpha was coming here to see you.”
“I didn’t. Thank you for sharing.” She smiled, but it was forced. They continued to the parking lot.
Channing grabbed her hand bringing her to a stop. “Who is this Greg?”
“He’s an acquaintance.” She said.
“The same one that abducted you, your mom, and your daughter?”
“Maybe.” She pulled loose. “I need to get home. It’s a busy schedule I keep.”
“I bet.” He mumbled but she caught it.
Hurrying, she got in the crew truck and took off. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to be following her. She relaxed on the steering wheel once she was parked in her driveway. Heaven help her. She felt caught between Greg who wanted to mate her by any means necessary and Channing who might be her fated one but only wanted her to stay single while he played around.
Sometimes life was funny. She noticed Caro and the guys were all here so she went on in. The four guys were coming along good and were working hard. They behaved themselves and did as they were told. Maybe her mom had seen something in them no one else had.
As she entered they were all in the house eating pizza and watching a movie. Some of Caro’s female friends were there too. That was alright as long as they cleaned up after themselves. “Hey Caro?”
“Yeah Mom?”
“I have two houses for you to clean. I hope you can get to them soon.”
“We just finished your last one. Where are they?”
“You know old lady Muller’s house?”
Caro wrinkled her nose. “Yes.”
“That’s the first one. We have to try to get it before it falls apart.”
“Why’d you buy that old thing?”
“I didn’t, Channing did and Ariel asked all of us to help him.”
“Okay. We’ll start in the morning if you have a construction dumpster?”
“I texted cousin Candi and she said it would go out first thing in the morning. Put all the metal beside it. You know how she likes getting a bonus.”
“What about the other one?”
“It’s just outside of town.” She grabbed a pad off the counter and wrote down the address. “There you go. It’ll be an easier job.”
“I guess the big bad jobs pay the best. Bill Channing direct?”
“No, his secretary.” She informed.
“The one living with him?” Everyone knew.
“Yeah, that one.”
“If he’s living with her, why does everyone think you’re his?” Caro asked.
“Honestly, I’m not sure if they’re right but he says he needed a secretary and there was no place for her to live. He’s about to move and leave her behind.”
“Why do you know so much about what’s going on in his personal life?”
“He mentioned it. Now go back to your friends and have fun.” Heaven save her from teenage kids.
Now she made it to her room which was her mother’s before. She still wasn’t used to being there and not seeing her mom in it. Closing the door, she stripped out of her dirty clothes dropping them in a basket. After a shower and drying off, she put on a T-shirt and sweat pants.
Because of the rain she was home a little earlier than usual. With no days off in the foreseeable future, she had to do some house work. She got the laundry loaded and went to the kitchen while it washed to load up some crockpots with stew and other stuff. Looking in her now nearly empty fridge, she would have to find some time to get groceries or have them delivered like her mom did.
The wash was done and she tossed it in the dryer. Now she was dead tired and needed to go to sleep. While she knew she looked good for her age, she didn’t have the energy she needed. A few days back, she’d discussed changing with Ariel.
Ariel got a far off look. “Not a good idea, not yet anyway. Just wait a bit and things will be settled and you may be glad you waited.”
“Why can’t you ever tell me anything?” She complained.
“There are rules, Sweetie. I have to follow them but trust I’m looking out for you.”
Now she was going crazy trying to figure out what Ariel meant. For now she would just forget it and get some sleep. That was what she needed more than anything. Sleep found her right away, but so did hot bothersome dreams. She knew Channing wasn’t for her, but somehow he slipped into her dreams. When she woke, she was sweaty and achy all over as if she’d had sex.
Getting up, she drove the crew truck to Ariel’s. Everything had dried off overnight and they were ready to get to work. Breakfast was busy with most of the crews there at the same time. She saw some of the people from Sebastian’s crew there too.
“Hello, Steve.”
“Good morning. Ariel is a great boss, isn’t she?”
“Yes, the best.” She replied. “Do you work for her now?” She joked.
“I do. Seb decided we needed to learn more about construction before we tried it on our own. I’ve bossed a crew, but I’ve never been the contractor. Ariel agreed to take us on.” Steve explained.
“You’ll learn a lot.”
Steve sat down and she went to fill her plate. This would be interesting. Seb had seen he needed to learn more and she respected him for that. He’d tried to take on too much at once. Now she sat down with a large plate full and began to eat. It looked like they would be on their main project. Now the floor would go down and the house would start to go up.
Everyone was done eating and ready to go. Steve was leaving the house too. “Where is Ariel working you at today?”
“You got lucky. Me and my crew will be with you.”
“Channing will be happy to get done quicker. See you there.”
She hopped into the crew truck which filled up. They drove to the coalition house where others of both crews were waiting. Grabbing her clipboard, she divided the crews so they were working in pairs, one from each crew.
“Come on.” She told Steve and they went to check out the lumber and other supplies. A quick check found a couple twisted boards that she threw to the side. “At the end of the day, we’ll take a picture of any messed up boards and send it to our supplier. They’ll add extra with the next order.”
“That’s easy.”
“It comes with doing business with the same people for years. Ariel has it all worked out. She’s been in this business for forty years or more.”
“I do forget. She looks younger than me.”
“The change makes a difference.”
Now she and Steve jumped in working together with two other workers. Once the floor was down, everyone got on the walls. The rafters sat nearby ready to go up once the walls were in place.
“We’re doing the roof too?” Steve asked.
“We sure are. All the roofing companies are way behind. It won’t be too bad. You not like heights?”
“Not even a little bit.”
“That’s okay. You can stay on the ground and supervise the work there. The crane will lift the rafters into place and we’ll attach them. That won’t be until the third level walls are in place. I’m guessing in two days.”
“If you can do roofs, why don’t you?” Steve asked.
“We don’t get them done as fast as the people that only do them. They are easy to outsource. Except now when all the roofers are backed up.”
“Maybe Julio will help on the roof? I need someone to get experience there.” Steve said.
“Julio has experience there. He just can’t put a roof up on his own.”
“I didn’t know.”
“He’s been trained in everything, but no one is good in all of it. I’ve been trained in pouring foundations, but Mairi is so much better. I’m good at roofing, I don’t mind electrical, plumbing, and carpentry are fine. Julio worked for Ariel but he wanted to be a boss so he went to you. I bet he would have gotten it eventually. He’s a solid worker. You made a good choice.”
“Thanks. I feel better about it now. I’ll tell him he gets to help you on the roof.” Steve said with a laugh.
“That’ll work.”
Now the day was over and they were well into the second level on the framing. Everyone loaded up and left running by Ariel’s to get supper. The place was packed and she sat in the kitchen eating fast. The food she’d made at home would be eaten between lunch and supper by those at her house. She would go by the house in town Caro was cleaning and see how it went.
When she arrived, many were still there working. The place was loaded with stuff to start with so Caro must be trying to get it done today. Was that even possible? As she walked in she saw it was. Most of the house was empty and the construction dumpster was nearly full.
Caro approached her. “This is one tough job.”
“Did you call in to have the dumpster emptied for Earl?”
“I sent a text. Some of my people had to go, but we’re finishing up. We may take tomorrow off and start the other house the next day.” Caro advised.
“That’s alright. These are all hard jobs lately. I figured we’d get down to this place eventually, just not yet.”
Caro giggled. “If you’d waited, it wouldn’t have been fixable.”
“You’re right and Channing is going crazy trying to get places for his people to live.”
“You advised him to buy it?”
“Aw, no. He did that all on his own.”
“We’ll be finished in an hour and I’ll see you at home.”
“Be careful. This place is flimsy.”
“We’re all about careful.” Caro promised.
She headed home and saw half the food was eaten. Emptying out the crockpots she put them in the sink to soak and put the storage containers up. Since Caro wasn’t home yet, she waited before going to bed. Caro was there shortly after. Now she turned in to go to bed.