"Naw. I'm actually thinking about picking up a few extra jobs. I keep thinking about that lodge I want to build. I'm not getting there any faster seeing that I keep having stuff come up." I sighed and got into the truck. "You think Cliff would want a day off?"
"Not sure, but you can ask him." Dad started the truck and checked his phone before pulling out. Whatever he saw caused a smile to spread across his face.
"What's that about?" I nodded toward him.
"What?" His smile faded.
"Who was the text from?"
"Milly. She was telling me something funny that happened to her." He shrugged and pulled out of the church parking lot. "And, don't start on me. She's my secretary and that's all she'll ever be."
"Yep. Your loss." I glanced out at the snow-covered mountains outside of my window and cleared my throat. "You know someone with the last name of Burke?"
I turned in time to see him stiffen. "Yeah. He's one of our clients. Jonathan Burke. He's as bad as you at sleeping around. Good thing the ugly bastard is only here for the winter."
I chuckled as excitement pulsed through me. "Why do you have him as a client if you don't like him?"
"I didn't say I didn't like him. I said he was a slutty bastard."
Dad shrugged and I let it go. We had Chloe's dad on our listing at the office. She was going to find me in her front yard before she could blink twice. I only prayed that whoever was assigned to her house would give me the job. Money was tight and it was the holidays, but one could hope.
* * * *
I stopped by the office after my dad dropped me off at home and checked the schedule. A huge smile lifted my cheeks as I spotted her last name. Cliff was scheduled to go later that afternoon. I couldn't have gotten any luckier.
It took me a few minutes to grab a few shovels and a warm pair of gloves from the stock room, but as soon as I was done, I called Cliff and got into my truck.
"Hey, boy. How's it hanging?" he answered the phone on the first ring.
"Hey, old man. You're scheduled for a shoveling this afternoon at the Burke place. Can I take it off of you?"
"Well, damn. You know things must be bad if you're looking to take jobs off of the shovelers. You ain't got nobody with a plow you can call? You need to rest. You ain't as young as you think."
"Ain't isn't a word." I smiled at the sound of his laughter and couldn't help but think of Chloe. She wouldn't believe for one damn minute that fate had slung us back together. Three times in three days? Impossible.
"You can have it if you want it, but you have to tell me why it's important to you."
"I'm broke?"
"Liar. You'd have taken that fifty from me the other day free and clear. What's at the Burke residence that I'm giving up?"
"A pretty girl in her early twenties." I pulled my truck out of the snowy lot and headed toward one of the many wealthy neighborhoods in Aspen.
"She's all yours, then. My Martha would have a fit if she
even knew about this girl." He laughed, and I thanked him and hung up.
It only took twenty minutes to get over to the Burke residence, but by the time I did, my hands were shaking and I had no clue of what I was going to say. I almost felt sorry for Brian and his being terrified of talking to women. I'd never experienced it myself – not until now. She was going to be upset, or was she? Maybe I was over-thinking it.
I pulled up in the driveway and got out, pulling my extra sweater over my chest before zipping up my coat. I covered my ears, then my head, and pulled on my gloves. I decided to start working and then go deliver the invoice, instead of doing things the other way around. If Chloe was pissed, and refused to let me on her property, then I would have to deal with my dad as I had no doubt her father would call him.
Too much drama for what it was all worth.
I started to work, letting myself get lost in thought. I wanted her to see the other side of me. The one that hated one-night stands and wanted a different future. I knew that my actions and all the shitty decisions I'd made left me looking like a has-been, but I wasn't. I just needed a fresh perspective, a new start, and a good woman could give me that.
I glanced over my shoulder and noticed the curtains moving back into place. Someone had been watching me. Maybe it was her, but maybe not. All I could do was hope that if it was, she'd feel bad for me and come out with something warm to drink.
If she was the woman I figured her to be, she would.