Not that I had a real deadline.
I didn’t have to work for money, didn’t have to work at all. I owned this piece of land outright and could just work on it until I died.
With that chilling thought, I did my best to shift my focus.
A couple of hours later, the sound of someone singing a soft melody echoed throughout the trees, and I moved slightly to see Archer walking around, taking notes, and moving stacks of bricks.
I frowned, wondering why I was paying attention all of a sudden. Evelyn and Robert had been around before, and I hadn’t noticed them, not really, but apparently this guy just kept making me see him.
I wasn’t in the mood.
Archer seemed to notice me watching him and turned, his eyes wide.
I could have turned away, pretended that I hadn’t seen him, but that would require caring. Archer gave me a small smile, waved, and moved towards me.
I sighed, knowing that I should have just walked away.
Then Cora burst out of the bushes, barking happily, and Archer grinned, going to his knees a few feet in front of me as Cora lapped at his face.
“Well, hello. You’re gorgeous.”
I swallowed hard and cleared my throat. “Cora, let the man breathe.”
“Cora is yours then? Beautiful dog, she doesn’t even seem to notice she is missing a leg, andsosweet.” There was a pointed way he said it, and I had a feeling he was wondering why such a sweet dog would be with an asshole like me. I asked myself that daily.
“Cora. Back. Sit.”
She listened, sat down on her haunches, her torso held up by only her front left leg, and let her tongue loll out, looking adorable as can be. I didn’t even notice the missing leg anymore, and like Archer said, she really didn’t seem to, either.
Archer wiped his face, grinning as he stood up. “I’ve always wanted a dog, but it’s hard for me to bring them to my workplaces all the time.”
“That would be difficult, and I would hate leaving them at home for hours a day.” I hadn’t even meant to say that out loud, or even speak at all, but here I was. I blamed Penny for this. It seemed the easiest.
“Yeah, that was my thinking. So, it’s just you and Cora out here?” he asked, looking around.
“Yep. In our hermit serial-killer ways.”
Again, with the humor. Who the fuck was I?
Archer’s eyes widened for a minute before he grinned. His whole face lit up, and he just looked happy.
I cleared my throat. “Anyway. Yes, the two of us.”
“It’s a great place up here.”
“Are you thinking of buying it?” I asked, curious even though I didn’t want to be.
“It’s pretty far away from my job and my family.” Archer sighed. “All of my siblings and their spouses and babies and my parents are all in the Fort Collins area. It doesn’t make sense for me to move out here alone when I work with them, and I like being near them.”
“Makes sense.” However, I didn’t know why I felt a little relieved about the fact that Archer didn’t have anyone waiting for him at home.
What the hell was wrong with me?
“Anyway, I’m just getting back to work, my team is setting up tomorrow, and we’re going to be doing a few demo things, and then I have to get at the plumbing.”
That sparked a question, and I tried to hold it back, but Archer seemed to understand I wanted to say something.How did I know that?
“What is it?” he asked.