Chapter 6

Cal’s pulse rippled through his body while Lisa gave him her number. He added it to his phone and then sent her a text. His daughter had taught him the finer ways of emojis, and since he was sitting right in front of the woman he was texting, he sent her a simple thumbs up.

She grinned at her phone and turned it over, bringing her attention back to him. His whole body felt heated, and he had no idea what to say. Many years had passed since he’d had to worry about flirting, talking to a woman, or making sure he was what she might want.

He speared another piece of mango and put it in his mouth, and Lisa asked, “When did you start your construction firm?”

“Oh, let’s see,” Cal said, trying to get his brain to work through the hormones. He had no idea someone his age could even feel this way, because he hadn’t even thought about dating since Jo’s death. “Maybe a year or two after Jo and I got married? We hadn’t had Sierra yet, so fifteen years ago.” With every word he said, he settled a little bit more.

“Wow,” she said, taking another bite of her sandwich. “You like it?”

“Love it,” he said. “I always knew I’d have a job with my hands. My dad was a boat maker. Well, he still is, when he can drag himself out to the shop.” Cal chuckled. “He’d rather go fishing these days, than build the boat to do it.”

“I’ll bet,” Lisa said. “I’m tired of dragging myself to work too.” Something sharp entered her eyes, and she stilled, her fork in mid-air. “I mean…”

“It’s okay to not like your job,” he said.

“I like my job,” she said with a sigh.

“Doesn’t sound like it,” he said gently, watching her. She was so beautiful—and so different from Jo, from her hair color to her perky personality.

“I do,” she said. “We’ve just had a lot of changes at Your Tidal Forever, and I’m still adjusting.”

Cal nodded and finished his lunch. “All right, Miss Lisa. We’ve got a ton more to do today to get your house ready to be put back together again. You ready?”

She stuffed the last bite of her sandwich in her mouth and nodded. He helped her clean up the dishes, and then they got back to work. He couldn’t help looking at her every few minutes. No matter what he asked her to do, she did it, and he admired that.

They chatted about their families and pets, and she said, “Next time you come, you’ll have to bring Luna. Suzy would love a new dog pal.”

“I haven’t been letting her out,” Cal said. “I don’t want her to step on something around the island.”

“Smart,” Lisa said. “But my house will be put back together soon enough, and then you can bring her.”

Cal thought of his German shepherd-golden retriever mix, and yes, Luna would love to romp around with the little French bulldog Lisa owned. He hadn’t seen Suzy get off the couch once while he’d been working, and Luna liked a nap on the sofa as much as the next dog.

“All right,” he said, straightening to stretch his back. A groan came out of his mouth before he could silence it, and instant humiliation moved through him. He sounded like his seventy-four-year-old father, with aching bones.

“You okay?” Lisa asked, standing too and arching her own back. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck.” She moved into the kitchen and pulled down a bottle of pills. “You want some?”

“Yes,” he said, joining her in the kitchen. He took the medicine she gave him and waited for her to fill a glass with water, which she handed to him. Her blue eyes burned into him as he swallowed the pills, and the moment between them felt like someone had enveloped them in a magnetic field.

“Lisa?” he asked, his voice so low it wouldn’t have been heard outside of the bubble of electricity pulsing around the two of them. “Would you go to dinner with me?”

A smile burst across her face, enhancing her beauty. “Why do you think I gave you my number?” She giggled and stepped into his arms.

Cal had no idea how to hold a woman anymore, but he managed to embrace her. Drawing in a deep, deep breath, he realized how wonderful this human connection felt.

“I’d love to go to dinner with you,” Lisa whispered.

“Great,” Cal said, his voice hardly his own. “I’ll see what’s open and operating and let you know.”

She stepped back, and Cal waited for the awkwardness to descend on them. But it didn’t. She turned back to the sink and started loading the dishwasher with their lunch dishes, and Cal turned to survey the house.

“I’ll check the moisture levels again,” he said. “And get the fans set up. And you’ll be good for a few days.”

“And then?” she asked.

“And then I’ll come back with my crew and rebuild any studs that need replacing. We’ll put up new drywall and texture it. We’ll fix any soft wood in the flooring and put down new stuff.” He toed the subfloor where they stood. “I don’t think your floor is going to need much. Do you want the same thing you had?”

“Sure,” she said. “Do I order that, or will you?”

“We’ll do it all, through your HOA,” he said with a smile. “I better get things finished here and check in with my guys.” He looked at her, the connection between them strong when their eyes met. “It was good to see you, Lisa.”

She tucked a loose wisp of hair and ducked her head. “Good to see you, too, Cal.”

He finished at her house quickly and met up with Adam, Cody, Dave, and Marcos to find out how things had gone in the other houses. Because they’d done considerably less flirting with the homeowners assigned to them, his crew had managed to get the six houses on their list demo-ed and drying.

“So far, so good,” Cal said, looking around at his employees. Friends. “We’ll meet here tomorrow and do the same thing again.”

“Are we matching paint?” Adam asked.

“I need to talk to Hailey,” Cal said. “My homeowner asked about flooring.”

“Also a concern,” Cody confirmed. “We should get things ordered if we want to get this community done on time.”

“I’ll stop by the office now,” Cal said, though his feet hurt and his stomach grumbled for food. He hadn’t eaten the lunch he’d brought, and Sierra would hopefully have dinner ready when he got home.

The crew broke up, and Cal lifted his phone to his ear to call his daughter. “Hey, nugget,” he said. “Dinner?”

“I just put a half a chicken in the pressure cooker,” she said. “And I’m making pasta right now.”

Relief filled Cal. And love. “Thank you, bug. I have to stop by the HOA office before I’m headed home, but I should be there soon.”

“All right,” Sierra said, and Cal heard himself in his daughter’s voice.

He met with Hailey, and they made a plan for supplies. She’d be emailing all the residents to let them know they had one paint choice provided through the HOA, or they could provide their own, and Cal’s crew would paint the repaired part of the walls. The HOA would be providing two types of flooring—carpet or a hard laminate. Again, residents could provide their own flooring and his crew would get it installed.

“I need to know soon,” he said. “By Monday. Then I can put in the orders and have the supplies when we’re ready for them.”

“I’ll tell them to fill out the survey by then,” she said, and Cal nodded.

“Thanks.” He rose and went out to his truck, wishing everyone he worked with was as professional. The specs he got from Your Tidal Forever were always exact, and he did enjoy working with them.

His other long-term contact was with the Getaway Bay Theater Company, and their stage pieces were a bit more fluid. And dealing with blueprints and plans through a contractor seemed to change on a daily basis. New home construction was one of Cal’s least favorite contracts with his company, but they paid well.

He just didn’t like the fact that his beloved Getaway Bay was getting bigger, as he much preferred trees for neighbors.

He sighed as he pulled into his driveway, which was lined with trees on one side, separating him and Sierra from the neighbors. Jolene had loved that part of the house, because she’d been a shy, private person. A self-proclaimed hermit.

Cal smiled thinking about his late wife. “I met someone new, Jo,” he said. “And I know it took three years, but I did it.”

His wife had been sick for twenty-five months before she’d passed away. She’d planned her own funeral and said all of her good-byes to the people she loved. They’d all been there, surrounding her bed, when she’d died.

Cal still slept in that bed, still raised their daughter in the house they’d bought and fixed up together, still loved his wife deeply.

But she’d wanted him to move on after she died. She’d made him promise to get out there and “meet someone new, Cal. Mingle.”

Mingle.

As if Cal knew how to do that.

A smile touched his mouth, and he got out of the truck. Inside the house, the scent of Alfredo sauce almost covered the smell of fresh paint, and his stomach reminded him of how hungry it was.

In the kitchen, Sierra had her music playing through the speaker on top of the fridge. He reached up to turn the volume down and said, “Hey. How did things go at the school?”

“Good,” she said. “We’re starting again on Monday.” She flashed him a smile that seemed a little strained around the edges.

“That’s good,” he said. “Only a few more weeks until summer anyway.”

“Dad, there’s eight weeks until summer break.” She rolled her eyes, because she was constantly teasing Cal that he had no sense of time. And he didn’t, so he never argued back with her. “And now we have to go for an extra week.”

“Yeah, that’s a bummer,” he said, though he didn’t think having his daughter tied up at school was a bad thing. Otherwise, she really had nothing to do. And a teenager with nothing to do could easily find themselves in trouble.

“Dinner’s almost ready,” she said. “I’m just getting this sauce a little thicker.”

“I’ll go shower,” Cal said, and he left her in the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, freshly washed and with damp hair, Cal sat at the bar with his daughter. “I wanted to talk to you about something,” he said, the words clogging his throat.

“If it’s about Travis—” she started.

“It’s not,” he said, because they’d already had that argument. Sierra had promised to tell Cal everything, and he got free access to her phone. If she found herself in trouble with the boy, he’d made her promise to call him, anytime. Day or night. He couldn’t help worrying about his daughter, and he’d often felt like he was fumbling in the dark for the past three years as she moved from child to teenager.

“It’s about me,” he said. “And my, uh, dating life.”

“Dating life?” Sierra burst out laughing. “Dad, never say that again.” She shook her head as she continued to chuckle.

“What would you prefer?” he asked, glad the mood was light between them. “Love life?”

“Ew, no.” She looked at him, and Cal could see so much of Jo in her. “Who are you going out with?”

“Lisa Ashford,” he said. “The blonde woman that was with me on the day of the tsunami?” He watched Sierra for her reaction. If she had one, she didn’t show it.

“She seemed nice,” his daughter said, and Cal nodded.

“I just asked her to dinner,” he said. “We haven’t gone yet or anything.”

A few seconds of silence passed, and then Sierra asked. “So how’s this going to work? You want me to meet her? You want to go out with her a few times first?”

Cal had no idea how to date as a single parent. He didn’t know he needed rules for himself. Or a plan for Sierra.

He thought through what he wanted, and Sierra let him have the time he needed. “I think I’d like to go out with her a few times first,” he said slowly. “See how things are going between us. I think she could meet you once I feel good about it.” He looked at Sierra. “Sound good?”

“Yeah,” she said.

“You know you’re the most important person in my life, right?” he asked, needing her to know this.

She rolled her eyes. “I know, Dad.”

“Seriously, Sea,” he said, putting his hand on her arm. “I don’t—I haven’t—I love your mother.”

Sierra sobered and simply looked at him. “I know that, Dad. I also know she wanted you to move on and meet someone new.”

“She did.” Didn’t mean a new relationship would be easy. “She can’t be replaced.”

“No.” Sierra shook her head, her dark hair swinging with the motion. “She can’t.”

Cal slid his arm around his daughter. “I miss her, too.”

Sierra leaned her head against Cal’s chest and they just breathed together. Then she said, “And if you need help with your date, let me know.”

“Do I need help?” he asked.

Sierra straightened and he dropped his arm. She surveyed him, and Cal didn’t like the calculating glint in her eye. “No jeans with paint stains on them,” she said. “And you need a haircut.”

“Well, get out the scissors, nugget,” he said. He rolled his eyes. “I am who I am. And she’s seen me with this hair.”

“But when you go out with her, you want to look better,” Sierra said. “Then she’ll know you made an effort—for her.”

“Is that what she wants?” Cal asked, because he honestly had no idea.

“Yes, Dad,” his daughter said. “That’s what she wants.” She smiled and shook her head. “If you need any dating advice, just come see me.”

Horror struck Cal right behind his lungs. Dating advice. From his fourteen-year-old daughter. “I don’t even want to know what you know,” he said, and he wasn’t kidding though Sierra burst out laughing.

He was just going to be himself, and if that wasn’t good enough for Lisa Ashford… Well, then they weren’t meant to be.

But he supposed he could get a haircut and at least look like he’d made an effort to look nice for her.