The Reunion: Claire's Rebuilding Contract (Starting Over Series) Read online

  “Your neighbor is my oldest friend. And I have spent all morning digging through the dirt with you. Doesn’t that at least earn me a hamburger?” he asked with a grin. Wow. What a smile. He had perfect teeth and his face brightened unlike anything she’d ever seen before when he smiled.

  “I suppose so,” she said, agreeing mostly because her stomach was growling so loud she could hear it over the trees being cut down in yards near hers.

  They walked to his big red truck, and he opened the door for her. She had forgotten how chivalrous true Southern men were. As she went to climb in, her muddy shoe slipped which sent her falling backward into his arms. He was strong and smelled of cologne, and her mind went blank for a moment. It felt nice to have a real man put his arms around her, even if it was because she fell. The irony was not lost on her. Cameron never caught her - physically or emotionally. He was never “there”.

  “You okay?” he asked as he steadied her.

  “Yeah. I’m fine. Sorry about that,” she said turning to look up at him. “Let me try that again.”

  “Let me help you. It’s slippery out here,” he said while simultaneously grasping her waist and lifting her straight up into the truck. His strength astounded her. He was nothing like the typical Hollywood pretty boys she had dated before Cameron. The ones who didn’t get their nails dirty or wear clothes that were “out of style” that season.

  As she waited for him to come around to the driver’s side, she took a quick glance inside of his truck looking for something to tell her more about this man. Who was he really? Because he seemed like some kind of knight in shining armor to her, and that couldn’t be true.

  ***

  “So let me get this straight? You order a hamburger and then you remove the bun and eat the insides?” Jack asked as he sat there staring at Claire across the table at a local diner.

  “Yes. What’s wrong with that?” she asked staring back at him.

  “Well, for one, it’s a hamburger. You are supposed to eat the bun. Secondly, you are using a fork on a hamburger,” he said pointing at her plate as he took a drink of his Coke.

  “The bun just adds extra carbs that I don’t need ending up on my waist, if you must know,” she said smiling.

  Jack eyed her across the table and then leaned around to look at her from head to toe. She felt very uncomfortable for a moment, as if she was being judged in a pageant.

  “I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you,” he said as he leaned a bit forward.

  “And why is that?”

  “Because you’re as close to perfect as I’ve ever seen,” he said with a sly smile as he took another bite of his burger.

  “What a line!” she said without thinking.

  “A line? What are you saying?”

  “Do women really buy into your lines?” she asked sitting back.

  “Well, first it wasn’t a line. I was being completely serious. Second, something tells me that you aren’t used to a man complimenting you.” He continued eating his burger while staring into her eyes.

  Claire thought about his words for a moment. “No, I am most certainly not used to it.” She averted his steady gaze. Why was he staring at her?

  “Get used to it,” he said under his breath.

  “Excuse me?” she asked.

  “You should get used to it. You are a very beautiful woman, even when you’re covered in mud,” he said with a smile. “Now, please eat you buns…”

  “What?” Claire asked with her mouth hanging open.

  “Your buns. On your plate there,” he said pointing to her hamburger with a laugh. Claire’s face turned bright red. “It’s okay. It’s been a long day.”

  As they continued their lunch, Claire reassembled her hamburger, throwing caution to the wind when it came to her waistline. She enjoyed Jack’s company, and it was nice to get away from “life” for a little bit. Watching her neighbors lose their homes and seeing hers damaged was hard to take. It was like her life was in flux yet again, just as it had been after her divorce.

  Jack, on the other hand, was a breath of fresh air. She hadn’t dated at all after the divorce, not that she was dating Jack either. But having a kind, chivalrous Southern gentleman in her presence was a welcome relief after eleven years with a narcissistic actor who only cared about his wants and needs.

  Claire’s thoughts were interrupted by the ring of her cell phone. It was Aven calling from Amelia’s house.

  “Honey, is everything okay?” she asked as she answered her phone. As she spoke to her daughter, Jack watched her face. She had the most gorgeous and thick dark hair. It was almost black. Her eyes were an interesting shade of brown with flecks of copper in them. Her smile was bright, and her skin was a tone of olive he’d never seen much on the women around here. He imagined she had some Native American genes in her family tree.

  “Everything okay?” he asked as she hung up her phone.

  “Oh, yes. She was excited because Amelia took her to see a movie and out for ice cream,” she said smiling.

  “Amelia?”

  “She’s my regular babysitter. Stay at home mom one county over. She’s keeping Aven until I can get the house back to some semblance of normal.”

  “I see. Well, I plan to help you do that quickly,” he said taking a final sip and standing up. “Ready?”

  “Sure,” she said standing up.

  “One question. Where did you get the name Aven?” he asked as they walked out onto the sidewalk after paying the bill.

  “My ex-husband is Irish. The name means ‘fair radiance’, and my daughter came out with fair skin and red hair, believe it or not,” she said with a giggle as she pulled on her own hair.

  “I guess a name like Callahan is Irish…” Jack said without thinking. Up until then, she’d had no idea he knew who she was and he’d wanted to keep it that way.

  “What did you just say?” she asked stopping dead in her tracks beside the truck.

  “Nothing.”

  “You said Callahan. My last name is Miller. How did you know?”

  “I found your divorce papers in the bushes. I didn’t know what they were until it was too late,” he said looking down at his cowboy boots.

  “I cannot believe this. Why didn’t you tell me that? Where are they? Did you sell them to some tabloid already?” she asked with her hands on her hips.

  “Settle down, woman. I put them inside your house. They are on your kitchen table. Why on Earth would you assume I sold them to a tabloid?” he asked.

  “Because that’s what people do. They destroy your life for fun and profit,” she said dryly as she climbed into the truck. This time, he dared not touch her.

  Chapter 4

  Sunday morning came, and Claire could hear work going on outside. Her home had been covered by a large blue tarp, but when she went out into the living room in her fluffy white bathrobe, all she could see was sunlight above her.

  “Mornin’,” Jack said with a grin as he looked down into the living room. Claire put her hand on her chest and gasped in surprise.

  “You scared me to death!”

  “Sorry… again. You really need some nerve pills,” he said jumping down from his perch into the living room. “You wouldn’t happen to have some coffee, would you?” he asked like he owned the place.

  “Sure… I was just about to brew some…” she stammered. What was it about him that caused her language skills to fly right out the window?

  “Good. I like it black. I’ll be on the roof if you need me,” he said with a smile as he tipped his well-worn blue baseball cap and climbed back up the ladder outside the front door.

  Claire stood there stunned for a few moments before starting the coffee and going to change her clothes.

  ***

  As the day wore on, Jack and his crew worked tirelessly on repairing her damaged roof and re-shingling it. By dinner time, they had finally finished most of it. At least she had a roof in place, but they would have to finish the shingles the next da
y. Having a literal roof over her head made Claire feel a lot safer in her home.

  “Well, I will be by tomorrow morning to get things finished up,” he said when he appeared at her door just after six o’clock that evening.

  “Good. I will be glad to get this behind me,” she said looking around at the damage that her living room suffered. Her carpet would need replacing, the walls had damage and there was debris all over the place.

  “Yeah, you’ve got a lot to fix in here too, don’t you?” he asked.

  “Unfortunately. I am exhausted with it all,” she said hanging her head in defeat. “Guess I have to interview some contractors for this too.”

  “Well, actually, I am a general contractor. I can do all of this for you if you want. I am already approved by your insurance company…” he said looking around with a grin. There was that grin again…

  “Oh really? If I didn’t know better, I might think that you just like hanging out with me, Jack Stone,” she said with a smirk. “Mrs. Stone might not like that, though.”

  “Well played, Claire. But, there is no Mrs. Stone. She passed away,” he said. The fleeting expression of sadness crossed his handsome face, and she felt horribly guilty.

  “I am so sorry, Jack. I was just playing around…”

  “It’s okay, Claire. It was a long time ago. Almost ten years now,” he said.

  “Still, I am sorry…” she said trying to avert his gaze.

  “So, I will be here tomorrow around eight. Is that okay?” he asked, changing the subject.

  “Sounds good. I will see you then,” she said. As he started to walk to his truck, she called out to him. “By the way, I ate my buns again today.”

  He swung around and stared at her for a moment. “Really? I would have paid good money to see that.” With a chuckle, he climbed into his truck and drove away.

  ***

  For the next five days, Jack and Claire worked side by side trying to get her home back to normal. She took some time off work so that she could be there, mainly because she wanted to see more of him.

  Her carpet was replaced, the walls were repaired and she threw away a lot of debris that was scattered around her house.

  The two of them became like a well-oiled machine working together. Every morning, she would get up and start the coffee before he got there. When he arrived with the biscuits and gravy from the local Pancake House, they would sit at her table eating and laughing. She couldn’t remember when she’d had more fun with a man.

  After breakfast, they would work until lunchtime, and then he would take her to a local restaurant. They would spend more time laughing and talking about life before going back to the house to work.

  Sadly, on day five, all of the work had been done. It was time to say goodbye to Jack, and Claire was not at all happy about it. She was delighted that Aven could come home soon.

  “Well, I guess this is it,” Jack said as he stood in her doorway with his tool-box in hand.

  “I guess so. Thanks so much for everything you did for me, even the stuff that you weren’t being paid to do. I am forever grateful, Jack,” she said holding her hand out so he could shake it.

  He took her hand in his and held it for a moment. She didn’t move as he used his other hand to cover it between his. His hands felt strong and rough, like a real man’s. He pulled her toward him and wrapped his arms around her as she placed her head on his chiseled chest.

  “I think we are good enough friends now for a hug, don’t you?” he said with a husky voice. She reached around his waist and pulled him closer as they stood there for a moment without moving. Part of her wondered what on Earth she was doing. Could she really go from a Hollywood star to a roofing contractor?

  “Of course,” she said finally answering his question about the hug. Slowly, she pulled back and looked up at him. He had one of the kindest faces she had ever seen, and that was foreign to her.

  Jack waved at her as he walked down the sidewalk and jumped into his truck. Just like that, he was gone. She barely knew him, but she felt an immediate sense of loss.

  ***

  “Wow, Mommy! This place looks different!” Aven said as she looked at the new carpet. With her two favorite trees missing outside, she was a little stunned when Amelia brought her home.

  “Yes, it does. It was pretty messed up after the tornado, but I am thankful our home was saved and we were both safe too. So glad to have you home, pumpkin!” Claire said with a squeeze.

  The next few days were spent getting back into the groove as Aven went back to school and Claire went back to work. She tried to extract Jack from her mind by force, but he wasn’t going anywhere. She could still smell his cologne and sense his presence in her home even if he wasn’t there.

  His business card sat precariously on her coffee table. Every night after work, she would hold it in her hand while she contemplated calling him. But why hadn’t he called her? Maybe she was just being overly dramatic. Perhaps he thought of her as just friend material.

  “Claire, there is someone here to see you,” Natalie said as she walked back from the front desk. Claire had just finished up with a patient, so she walked up front. Jack was standing in her waiting room wearing a gray long sleeved Henley shirt, jeans and cowboy boots. Her legs went weak at the sight of him.

  “Jack?” she stammered with a smile. Natalie was craning her neck trying to hear the conversation, so Claire pointed for him to go outside with her as she shot a knowing glance back at Natalie. “What are you doing here?”

  “Okay, I am just going to lay it on the line here, Claire.”

  “Okay…” she said.

  “I miss you. I got used to being with you everyday. You are a beautiful, funny, smart woman, and I would like to ask if you would go on a date with me. There. I said it,” he seemed relieved.

  Claire smiled at his nervousness. He had never seemed nervous about anything before. It was cute.

  “I’ve missed you too, and I wonder how that is possible? We don’t really know each other that well,” she said.

  “Actually, we do. We ate together morning, noon and sometimes night, for a week. That’s a lot of talking, if you think about it,” he said trying to make a point.

  “I suppose so. I mean I do know your shoe size, your grandmother’s favorite flower and your fondness for John Wayne movies,” she said cocking her head up at him.

  “Yes, you do. And I know that you love piano music, hate the smell of Mexican food and like to watch chick flicks,” he said with a grin.

  “They are not chick flicks! They are romantic comedies,” she said poking him in the arm.

  “Like I said. Chick flicks,” he said poking her back. “Now, are you going to answer my question?”

  “Of course I will go on a date with you, Jack. When?” she asked.

  “How about Friday night?”

  “Two whole days away? Alright, I think I can wait that long,” she said acting dramatic.

  “Try your best. I will pick you up at six, okay? Wear something warm,” he said with a sly grin and turned to walk to his truck.

  “Hey, Jack?” she called to him.

  “Yeah?”

  “Why didn’t you just call me?” she asked.

  “Because I can’t see you when I call you,” he said with a wink as he climbed into his truck.

  That man had a way with words, she thought.

  Chapter 5

  Claire brushed her long, dark hair and then applied her favorite ruby red lipstick. She was thankful for her full lips. Those had been the only good thing that had come from her mother. The rest of her look - from her complexion to her copper colored eyes - had come from her maternal grandmother. She was close to her Nana, but she had died when Claire was only seven years old. She couldn’t think about her family much as it brought about a lot of sadness and regret. Tonight was about moving forward, and she was determined to stay positive.

  “Claire? I am here for Aven,” Ellie said as she walked into the house. She
had always been welcome at Claire’s, and she made herself at home.

  “Great. My date will be picking me up in half an hour, and my hair just isn’t right yet,” Claire said as she stumbled past Ellie trying to put on her cowboy boots. She’d bought some cool brown ones that had pink angel wings on them. She couldn’t wait to break them in tonight.

  “So, who is this date anyway?” Ellie asked. In her sixties, Ellie didn’t pull any punches. She just asked or said whatever was in her head at the time.