Lucky Baby (Crescent Cove 11)

She straightened and her demeanor changed. “Exactly. He’s super active.”

“Okay. Is he a music guy or more of an action movies guy?”

“He’s a sports guy. But more playing them than watching.”

“Hmm.” I tapped my pencil on the notepad she’d given me. “Why don’t we go look at the barn again before it gets dark?”

She nodded.

I gathered the pile of sketches and followed her into the hall. She grabbed a sweatshirt out of the closet and stuffed her feet into a pair of those ugly shapeless boots women seemed to wear throughout the fall.

She shut the door then looked up at me. “Do you need a jacket?”

I shook my head. “Not until it’s twenty degrees out.”

“Okay then.”

“How long have you lived here?”

“Three months.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Decorating not your thing?”

“I keep meaning to, then I get busy at the shop.”

“Yeah, I get that. My place is a wreck.” More than a wreck. I had a ton of half finished projects going on at my apartment. It was a two-story house with an older couple on the bottom floor. I took care of the maintenance on the property for a bit off the rent.

In my boredom since my best friend had thrown me over for a chick, I’d started a TikTok profile. One of my how-to videos had gone viral, and I was forever chasing the next post that would get hot. I never seemed to get around to finishing the projects. I’d started a pantry, custom cabinets, a microwave stand, and a converted bench in the last three weekends.

I held the door open for the dog. Butch followed us then got distracted by a pile of leaves. Since she didn’t seem to wander off so far, I let her have her fun and do her business.

Hashing out a list was my next task. Luckily, I had Gideon’s contacts to get supplies, but I needed a better look at what I had to work with.

I grabbed the ladder against one wall.

“What are you going to use that for? It’s an empty space.”

“Yeah, just want to check a few things.”

“Don’t hurt yourself. I need to up my insurance before you start working in here.”

“You’re all heart, Ruby.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve already dealt with one ER today, let’s not go for a round two.”

I set the ladder against the post at the back of the barn. It was holding up a loft with a lot more junk. “You said you have some guys coming in to do demo tomorrow?”

“Yes. I threw some money at some high school kids. They seemed excited about destruction. I have a dumpster coming tomorrow too.”

“Good.” I gripped the framing of the loft and gave it a good shake. The only thing that moved was dust. I’d have to do a test in better daylight and make sure it was bug free, but the strong scent of cedar gave me hope.

It wasn’t cheap pine and would give me a decent base to build out a few bedrooms for the second floor. It wouldn’t be a complete gut job from what I could see.

I hopped down to find the sketches scattered around the floor. She seemed to be lining them up in a certain order. I crouched next to her. “Inspiration?”

“Sort of. I really want to keep it open.”

“Looks like we’ve got a semi-plan. I’ll come back and do measurements tomorrow and supervise the guys. It’s easier for me to tell them what I need torn out and what can stay.”