Rode Hard, Put Up Wet: Cowboy Romance (Rebels & Outlaws 2)

He followed a ways behind, but the ladder was almost long enough to sidle up beside her, a reminder that he wasn't far behind. She looked up at the roof as she got closer. It wasn't the tallest building in Applewood Junction, of course. That was the steeple on the church. But it was tall, for the little town. Nothing like New Orleans, of course, but it had its own sort of charm.

Or, at least, it had its own charm before something had punched a hole in her roof. Now that she knew where to look, it was immediately, embarrassingly, painfully obvious to her. She took a deep breath and stopped once they were almost to the door.

"The roof, you said, right?"

It was the first thing he'd said to her since he'd reappeared with his ladder.

"Yeah, there's a big man-sized hole up there."

"Alright," he said. "I'll take a look."

Ten

It's been a long time since the apprenticeship ended. It was supposed to turn into a long and manageable life, same as Chris's father had led. It was supposed to be a nice, quiet life ahead of him.

That wasn't what had worked out. Almost as much time had passed since the last time he'd picked up a hammer as he'd been alive when he'd put it down for the last time.

The way he felt climbing up the ladder wasn't what he'd expected, though. He ought to have felt at least a little uncomfortable. Out of place, maybe. But that was the last thing that he felt.

Chris took a deep breath. There was more to it than Marie had realized. It should have been obvious, but he was out of practice looking at framing, so the common problems had slipped out of his head. But the fact that there was a hole in the roof, maybe two feet across, more than wide enough for him to slip through if he put his mind to, it should have been obvious.

It was going to take a little work. He had time, though. A few days off would let folks cool their heads, and maybe they'd get some ideas about him being a good worker, if they saw him working with his hands.

There was one thing uncomfortable, though, about the job. He'd worn that pistol for so long, it felt like it was almost a part of him. He looked around as he climbed, worrying that someone would see him without it and get a funny idea in their head.

It was completely nuts, of course. There wasn't anyone in Applewood Junction who tended that way. Even once they got a few drinks in them, he couldn't think of anyone who would like to tangle with him, whether he had that pistol sitting on his hip or not.

But the thought still bothered him. Itched at the back of his mind, like. He kept his hands moving up the ladder and pulled himself free and up onto the roof. Once, the height had made him a little nervous, but he'd been broken of it before he could read.

Now it was almost peaceful. He ducked his head down under the roofing and confirmed once again what he already knew. The frame would need to be repaired. That meant that the roofing would need to come up, and if that was all then he'd be lucky. But he'd already stuck his foot in it.

Damn his weakness for pretty women. If he'd had a lick of sense in his head, he'd have asked her for at least something. But the time for that had passed, now, and he had to deal with it.

Chris slipped his gloves on, leather that hadn't had a reason to break in yet. He'd give it a good reason now. The roofing came up with a hard tug, a little ways, and he tossed it aside. Maybe he'd be able to reuse it, or maybe they'd have to buy more.

Thirty minutes later found him breathing hard, his legs dangling over the peak of the roof through the hole he'd torn in the top. He laid back and let his aching muscles relax just for a minute. Soon, he'd be pulling nails from timbers and trying to pull a rotting rafter onto the roof, instead of letting it fall through.

A sweet voice called up from inside the building, the place he'd told her absolutely not to stay. Well, that wasn't all that surprising, he supposed.

"Everything alright up there?"

Chris shifted himself around the other way until he was looking down through.

"Just taking a break before the next part."

She was hiding a worried expression, which he found almost cute.

"You just, be careful up there, alright? Don't break anything. I don't want to have things get worse."

He chuckled and stood himself up. The roof was steepled and there was always some risk of slipping, but his boots dug in comfortably and he wasn't worried.

"Don't you worry, Miss Bainbridge. I wasn't fixin' to make things worse."

He wedged one arm under the rafter and pulled hard, twisting. The board was rotted most of the way through and though it had been nailed in fairly well, the nails pulled free easily, staying lodged into the ridge-board. The rafter was heavy, but with a grunt he managed to pull it aside until it sat safely off to the side.

Another deep breath. That should probably have been a two-man job. Dangerous didn't begin to cover it, he realized as soon as it was done. But it was done. He just had to go down to the bottom and pull that side of the rafter off as well, now. Then it would be a matter of pulling the nails out, and then he could cut something to length and put it back in place.

Then…