Swinging the door open, she smiled and felt excitement grow when she thought about working with him to better the cottage.
“Wow, you work fast,” he said, setting a bag of tools and a paint bucket just inside the doorway.
“I’ve been dying to fix up this place,” she admitted. “I just didn’t have the willpower to do it all myself.”
He chuckled. “What about Robin?” He glanced around.
“She’s running errands all day today. And trust me, she’ll be fine with whatever we do to improve it in here.” She motioned to the floor. “She hates having to wear shoes inside.”
He nodded. “Think you can help lift the sofa? If not, we can slide it—”
“I can help,” she jumped in.
“Okay.” He motioned to one end. “We can fit it over by the table.”
She’d already moved all the end tables and other small stuff herself into the dining area. The sofa and the two recliners were all that was left.
The moment everything was moved out of the room, she stood back and watched Conner yank up the old carpet. It took him only a few tugs to have the massive square up from the floor and rolled into a heap. The amount of dust that floated in the air had her coughing and racing to open the front door and windows.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “I should have thought to ask you to do that before I started yanking this up.” He bent down and lifted the entire carpet in his hands. “I’ll take this outside.”
Once all the windows were opened, she leaned down and started removing the carpet pad. Sure enough, a beautiful dark hardwood floor was underneath the mess.
“Here, let me help with that. If we do it right, we can roll it up easily,” Conner said when he came back into the room.
They spent the next few minutes trying to get the pad up, but it had been stapled down to the hardwood floor with big staples. Conner disappeared outside and came back with a pair of pliers and started pulling out each spot that was stuck.
In the end, she had to bring in her large garbage can and stuff it completely full of the pieces of the padding, which were nothing more than hand-sized chunks by the time they were done.
She poured them each a glass of iced tea as Conner pulled off all the tack boards from around the perimeter of the room. The wood strips came up a lot easier than the staples had.
They drank their tea and looked at the flooring.
“This looks…”—she shook her head slightly— “amazing. I mean, it’s like a hundred times better already.”
“If you have a broom and dustpan, we can get all the dirt cleared up. Then we’ll be able to see just how damaged the wood planks are and how much sanding and staining will need to be done.”
“Sure.” She set her tea down and disappeared into the kitchen. She opened the pantry door and cried out when the door shifted and started to fall towards her.
Strong arms reached around her and held the heavy thing up.
“This is dangerous,” he said, stepping around her and removing the door completely.
“It’s on the list to fix.” She sighed and rolled her shoulders, then reached in and took out the broom and dustpan.
Conner was looking at the rusted hinges on the doorframe.
“I might have some new hinges in my truck,” he said absently. After he leaned the large door against the countertop, he turned towards her. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, thank you.” She tried not to look too affected by his chivalry and those muscles he’d used to lift the heavy wood door.
His eyes ran over her slowly before he nodded. “I’ll run out to my truck.”
The moment she was left alone in the kitchen, she melted against the countertop, almost tipping over the door again.
Could she get any more turned on at this point?
Sure, the house was now a complete mess and covered in a layer of dust from the carpet, but watching Conner work was one of the greatest pleasures in her life.
When he walked in with a small box in his hands, she was back under control. Or so she thought. When he started working on replacing the door, she excused herself and went back into the front room to sweep all the dirt and dust from the hardwood flooring. She even pulled out the mop and worked until the wood flooring almost shined.
She’d been so busy herself that she hadn’t noticed that it had taken Conner a long time to rehang the door.
She stepped into the kitchen and held in a low gasp when she noticed he’d removed the cupboard doors.
“What are you doing?” she asked, instantly embarrassed at the lack of items and organization that the old doors had hidden. There had only been a few doors left on the cupboards when they’d moved in, and so they were the only cabinets that they had been able to use. The rest of the cabinets sat empty since they didn’t want to showcase the mess.
“My mom has some cupboard doors that would go better in here,” he said over his shoulder as he took down the last door. “She just had me move them all into the barn for storage. We can paint the cupboards and the doors and then add a few new knobs. By the time we’re done, you’ll have a new kitchen.”
“I didn’t expect you to go this far.” She shook her head.
He looked concerned suddenly, and she reached out and touched his arm. “I’m thankful, but don’t you have things to do other than this?”
He shook his head and then smiled quickly, and she felt her knees go weak.
Chapter Six
How could he tell her that she was saving him? Saving him from having to follow his little brother around like an underling. It wasn’t as if he didn’t have skills of his own. Hell, he could outswim Jacob any day or night.
But in the last two years, Jacob had spent his free time getting his general contractor’s license and studying everything there was to know about building.
“No, as I mentioned, I’m avoiding getting between my brother and Rose,” he reminded her.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, and he understood she was skeptical of his reasoning.
He sighed and relaxed slightly. “About a year ago my uncle chose my little brother as head of what could be the largest project to come to Pride since the Coast Guard opened a training facility just outside of town about fifteen years ago.”
Her eyes opened slightly. “It stings. Knowing that your sibling is…” She stopped talking when his eyebrows shot up.
“Smarter?” he asked. He knew that Robin took care of the business side of things, while Kara tended to… be left hauling plants.
She frowned instantly and shook her head. “I was going to say more talented.”
He chuckled and motioned around. “I’m pretty talented myself. At least when it comes to fixing things up. Our dad never let us go one summer without doing something constructive around the old place.”
“Isn’t your dad a chef at your family’s restaurant?” she asked almost sarcastically.
He chuckled. “And I’m a glorified lifeguard.”
“I wouldn’t call you a glorified anything.” She instantly closed her mouth, and he watched heat flood her cheeks.
He couldn’t help but smile seeing her face heat. She’d been sexy in a dress at the wedding last week, damn hot in nothing but underwear and her bra as he’d pulled her from the water, but now, dressed in a pair of worn jeans and an old shirt covered in a layer of dust with her honey colored hair tied up, she was knockout gorgeous.