Rob dropped Maggie off at the hotel so she could get her car, and then he ran home and changed. He was going to help Danny with the concrete for Jimmy’s flower beds, and he couldn’t do that in khakis. He pulled on some work clothes, grabbed his boots, and was out the door again within minutes, not wanting to keep Danny waiting. The edges for the first two beds were done, but they had quite a way to go before nightfall, and everything needed time to cure before the flowers arrived.
Griffin was waiting for him when he pulled up in his truck. “Hey,” he said as Rob climbed out. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“I’m sorry. I took a break for lunch. What’s up?”
“Yeah, I heard something about lunch—and the new head housekeeper.”
Rob grinned. “Her name is Maggie, and she’s . . . well, I’m not sure what she is, but I like it.”
“Glad to hear it. About time you settled down.”
Rob held up both hands. “What’s this? You and Tabs have been dating for what—fifteen minutes—and you’re lecturing me about domestic felicity?”
“Yes. I know everything now, and I know that it’s time you settled down. Now, is Maggie the one? No idea. Haven’t met her. But you, young man—you are ready.”
“Yes, oh wise one. Now, why were you looking for me?”
Griffin pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. “I got an email this morning and printed it off to make sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me. Does this say what I think it says?”
Rob took the paper and read it. Then he blinked and read it again. “It looks like this man wants to hire us to build a high-end hotel in Vegas for him once we’re done with the Brody.”
“Yeah, that’s what I saw too.” Griffin reached out and slugged Rob’s shoulder. “Can you believe it? We’re actually going to make a go of this, buddy.”
“How did this . . .” Rob scanned the email again. “This Mr. Collins even hear about us? We haven’t advertised yet—we don’t have a website or anything.”
“He’s a friend of Andrew’s. They got to talking about something last week, Andrew mentioned us, and he asked Andrew to send over some pictures of what we’re doing. Do you see the dollar signs on this job?” Griffin jabbed the paper with his finger. “This is going to set us up for a long time. We’re going to be on the map.”
Rob nodded, not quite believing it. “I’d like to talk to Andrew first,” he said at length. “Just to make sure this guy’s on the up and up.”
“I talked to him just now, but yeah, anything you want to ask, go for it,” Griffin replied. “I’m also going to check him out online and see if I can find out anything that way.”
“Good idea.” Rob handed the paper back to Griffin, deciding to try not to think about it until he was done helping with the concrete. There were only so many things he could hold in his brain at any given time before something started to break down, and each thing deserved his best effort. “So, hey. I’ve been meaning to ask if the genealogist has found out anything about your parents.”
Griffin fell into step beside Rob as they crossed the lawn to the flower bed where Danny was working. “Not yet. He says he’s been in touch with the police, and they’re digging out whatever old records they’re allowed to give him. He’s trying to find the sergeant who took care of me that first day when I was abandoned at the police station, and he’s even been talking about making a trip down to Texas to talk to some people in person.”
“Wow. That’s some serious research.”
“He says he loves doing it.” Griffin came to a stop and checked out Danny’s work. “These are going to look great. Has Jimmy seen them?”
Danny nodded. “He stopped by and checked them out—seemed pretty pleased. I’ve never seen anyone take landscaping so seriously before.”
“He told me that he wants to earn the trust Andrew’s put in him,” Rob replied. “I think he’s already done that a few dozen times over.”
Danny finished smoothing out the wet concrete with his trowel and came to his feet. “I’ve got a few more sections poured over here,” he said, and the three men walked to that part of the lawn together.
“So, you’ll talk to Andrew and then get back to me?” Griffin asked, harking back to the first part of their conversation, and Rob nodded.
“I’ll do that today before I head home.”
“Great. I’m heading out—catch you both later.” Griffin waved over his shoulder as he walked away.
“What’s up with all that?” Danny asked.
Rob was tempted to tell him—Danny would definitely be excited—but until a few more things were settled, he thought it would be best to keep a lid on it. “A business possibility. I’ll tell you when I know more.” He hoped his voice sounded casual enough. He didn’t want any of them—least of all himself—to get too excited when this might not even pan out.
“Can’t tell me yet. Got it.” Danny knelt down and applied his trowel to this section of wet concrete, flinging away the extra moisture that had risen to the top. “Do you want to start building the forms for the next section?”
“Sure.” Rob didn’t mind taking direction from his guys when they were ahead on the project and knew better than he did what needed to be done.
As he hammered the forms into place, using stakes to add stability along the edges of the beds, his mind drifted back to Maggie. He’d told himself he’d only think about one thing at a time, but she just had a way of sneaking to the front of the line. He’d already guessed that she’d had a troubled past—her eyes looked both wise and vulnerable—but her dad being a drug dealer hadn’t crossed his mind. And she had only hinted about her mom, but said it wasn’t pretty. Whatever had happened, she’d certainly taken it and used it to become a better person, and he had to admire her for that.
He also had to admire the smooth skin on her arms. And the arch of her eyebrows. And the way she tilted her head just slightly to the left when she laughed. He had no idea why he’d noticed these random little details about her, but he had, and he couldn’t stop thinking about them. He hardly knew this girl—she’d wandered into his life literally one day ago—and she was already more important to him than he’d hoped she would be.
He wasn’t doing the whole rebound girlfriend thing, was he? Yes, he’d been pretty glum when Dinah left, but he’d already realized that his feelings for her weren’t as strong as they should have been, and his depression was more from the lack of companionship than from the lack of love. He wasn’t rebounding because he’d dealt with his emotions a long time ago. So, what was this? Infatuation? Curiosity?
He hammered in the last stake and then pulled out his tape measure to be sure that he’d set everything up correctly. Danny had already dug out the edge and pounded it down, making his job a lot easier, and now all that remained was pouring the concrete. He stood up, looked around for the wheelbarrow, and trundled it over to where he was working.
As he shoveled the thick, heavy mixture into the forms, he wondered what Maggie was doing at that moment. Probably something completely odious, like choosing out shirts. He cringed. He’d rather be strung by his toenails over a pit of crocodiles than choose out shirts. On the other hand, shopping with Maggie might be kind of fun. He imagined that doing almost anything with Maggie would be fun, up to and including buying socks.
He shook his head and focused on his task. It wouldn’t do him any good to think about Maggie right now. Later, after the work was done, he’d try to figure out what was happening. For just right then, he had a promise to keep to Jimmy.
***
The apartment building where Andrew had sent Maggie wasn’t ritzy, but it was very nice, and when Maggie walked into the lobby, she was impressed by how clean everything was. She found the manager’s office on the main floor and told him who she was, and he brightened immediately.
“Yes, Mr. Brody said you’d be coming by. I have a nice apartment on the third floor that just came vacant the other day. Let me show you.”
The elevator lurched just a little when it started to climb, and the manager offered an apologetic smile. “I’ve had a call in to the mechanic for a week,” he said. “We’ll get that fixed as soon as we can. In the meantime, if it scares you, we do have a staircase.”
Climbing three flights of stairs scared Maggie more than a lurching elevator—exercise wasn’t really her thing—but she smiled and thanked him.
The apartment itself was like a little slice of heaven. She hadn’t expected it to be furnished and had actually been wondering what to do about a bed and whatnot, but when the door opened, she saw a full set of furniture, from sofas in the living room to a table in the kitchenette. Everything was done in classic white and gray, with hardwood floors and contemporary art on the walls. “It’s beautiful,” she said, looking around with wide eyes. She probably looked ridiculous gawking like that, so she tried to pull it together as she turned back to the manager. “This is so nice.”
“Mr. Brody has taken care of the deposit and the first month’s rent. He told me he’d work that into your salary,” the man said, holding up a hand when she started to object. “If there’s something you should know about Mr. Brody, it’s that he wants his employees to be treated fairly.”
“But he just met me,” Maggie protested. “How does he know he can trust me?”
The man looked at her curiously. “Can he?”
“Well, yes.”
“Then that must be how he knows.” He pulled a sheet of paper from a drawer in the kitchen. “Here’s our rental agreement. I’ve written in the concessions Mr. Brody asked for.”
She glanced over the terms. The rent was higher than she was used to paying, but then again, she’d be making more than she was used to making. She signed before she let herself think about it too much. Sometimes the right thing to do was just leaping in and having faith that it would all work out in the end.
“Very good. When will you be moving in?”
“As soon as possible. Right now, if I can,” Maggie replied.
“Perfect. When will your truck be here?”
“My truck? Oh, you mean my moving truck? I just have a couple of suitcases.”
If the man was surprised, he didn’t show it. “Let me help you carry those up, then.”
Five minutes later, both bags were sitting on the bedroom floor, and Maggie was alone in her apartment. Her apartment—the first place she’d ever lived on her own. She reached for her phone, ready to call Zoe and tell her the good news just as she had over and over again since they were teenagers, but Zoe was in jail, and Maggie couldn’t call her. The reality of Zoe’s situation—and her own—settled over her, and she sank onto the bed. Would this experience help Zoe realize the dangerous path she was on? Maggie had no idea. All she knew was that she was being given a second chance, and she was going to jump in and do it right. She was ready to see what the other side of life had to offer her.