I snorted and then indicated the section of the green that Jeff and Matt were starting to clear. “Make sure to make the circle seven feet, leaving room for the gravel,” I instructed.
Todd nodded. “The gazebo is due to be delivered later this week and the gravel this afternoon. I have Lucky erecting the new fence along the north side, and Mary is clearing out the old flower beds. As long as there’s no hang up on the deliveries, we should be good with the projected timeline.”
I took another sip of herbal tea before giving up and tossing it in the trash. I’d pay Mary back for it later. “We gave ourselves some wiggle room with the timing. As long as we give the Festival Committee time to decorate for the Apple Blossom Carnival in three weeks, we’re good. Marla Delacroix extracted my oath in blood that they’d have a week to set up.” I grimaced, and Todd laughed. Both of us were more than aware of Marla Delacroix’s unforgiving personality. She had been on almost every committee in Southport for as long as I could remember, and she coordinated the annual Apple Blossom Carnival every single year. But this year was different. It was the seventy-fifth anniversary of the festival, so the town had agreed to a massive overhaul of the town’s central square that included a fancy new gazebo to go smack dab in the center.
I had submitted a proposal along with seven other landscaping companies. I didn’t think I had a snowball in hell’s chance of being chosen, so I was knocked sideways when Marla called, offering me the job.
My plans weren’t too bold—Southport couldn’t handle that. Instead, I went for something timely and clean. The square was the size of two town blocks and was rather nondescript except for the old oak tree and a half dozen benches that were starting to rot and had seen better days.
“I’ll start digging up the bushes along Maple Street,” I said, turning toward the line of old box hedges that faced the law office of Jenkins, Decate, and Wyatt.
“Okay, sounds good. Do you want me to help Lucky or Mary?” Todd asked.
“I think Mary’s good for now. The fence is the bigger job, so go give Lucky a hand with the posts,” I told him.
I picked up my shovel and headed toward the hedges. It looked like easy work. It wasn’t. The bushes were older than I was, and their roots ran deep. It was almost a shame to get rid of them, but half of them had been decimated by moths last summer and were nothing more than sticks. They would be replaced with symmetrical flower beds filled with seasonal flowers and plants native to the area.
I was wrestling to get the bush out of the dirt when I heard someone calling my name. I looked up, sweat dripping into my eyes, to see my best friend, Adam, waving from in front of his law office. He had obviously just gotten to work. Looking both ways, he quickly crossed the road.
“Hey, buddy. How’s it going?” he asked.
I looked from my dirt-covered hands to his pristine slacks and pressed shirt pointedly. Adam laughed. “Mom was talking about your plans for the square. It sounds pretty awesome, Web.”
“They met Marla Delacroix’s approval, so that’s enough for me.” I chuckled, leaning against the handle of the shovel.
Adam let out a low whistle. “That’s high praise, my friend.”
“Don’t I know it,” I said with a smirk.
“You and Katie are still coming over this weekend, right? Meg’s been planning the menu for days. If you cancel, she’s liable to either break down or murder you in your sleep,” Adam intoned dramatically. He widened his eyes for effect.
“I wouldn’t dream of canceling,” I promised. Adam’s wife—and also my best friend—Meg, was six months pregnant, and a ball of very extreme emotions. She had always had a fiery temper with moods that changed with little notice. Pregnancy had only amplified the more intense elements of her personality. But Adam was so in love with his wife that he took her threats of bodily harm paired with random torrents of tears like water off a duck’s back.
“Good. Jeremy, Lena, and Daisy will be there too. And Skylar as well. Rob is up in the air. Says he has stuff to do, but he’d try.” Adam shrugged.
“Sounds great. Should I bring anything?” I asked just as a blue Toyota Camry hybrid pulled up in front of Adam’s law office.
I didn’t hear Adam’s reply because the sight of the woman climbing out of the driver’s seat was enough to render me deaf and dumb.
It was Adam’s sister-in-law. Meg’s older sister. My first love. My only love if I was being honest with myself.
And the woman who had taken my heart and stomped all over it.