“A lot of hard work,” Roy commented, grinning as his brothers howled with laughter that continued to ring after he waved and shut Jack’s apartment door behind him.
ChapterTen
Her mom's flight had been delayed, which was why her mom was only getting in that night. Despite Beverly offering to pick up her mom from the airport, her mom insisted that she would just Uber home.
Her mom's flight was due in thirty minutes, so Beverly decided she could maybe hold off until then to eat dinner and texted her mom that maybe they could eat out tonight at a restaurant if she wanted.
To her surprise, not five minutes later, she received a response.
I'm tired. Eating out will have my face falling into my soup or salad. If we order out but have it at the house, that would be one thing.
Sounds good to me! What are you in the mood for?
How about Chinese?
You got it. How was the flight?
I couldn't sleep. I kept dreaming. Smooth flight but a little bumpy landing. I can't wait to see you.
I could always come get you.
I already have the Uber arranged. I'll see you soon. So glad the flight got in a little faster than anticipated!
Me too.
Beverly knew just the place to order Chinese from, and with her mom's arrival time quickly approaching, she called to place the order. The restaurant currently had deliveries free of charge, so she opted for that instead of picking it up. It gave her time to hurriedly set the table, making sure everything was extra tidy. She was eager to catch up with her mom and tell her about her new job. As soon as she finished setting the table, she hopped onto the couch and waited for the food to arrive and for her mom to get home.
Dinner arrived maybe five minutes before her mom did.
Beverly greeted her with a hug before ushering her into the living room where dinner was served. The smell of Szechuan chicken filled up the small space almost instantly, and Beverly couldn't help but smile as she watched her mom close her eyes and take a deep breath before sitting down at the table.
"I'm so glad you're here," Beverly said as they both started digging in to their meal. "I've got some news I wanted to share."
"You look happy, so I'm hoping it's good news," her mom said with a grin.
Beverly laughed. "You could always read me like a book. Yes, it's good news. I got a job!"
"You did?"
"Yes!"
"A... construction job?" her mom asked a bit more timidly.
Beverly's heart sank. Why would her mom think she had been looking for a different job? Did her mom not think anyone would hire a woman?
Granted, three jobs that had turned into zero gigs wasn't exactly a strong look, but Beverly wasn't going to be deterred.
"Yes, a construction job and a big one at that." Beverly quickly gave her mom the rundown of the job and made sure to mention that Roy, the cowboy who had hired her, was helping out. "It's perfect because I don't have to pay him any, and he's willing to listen and learn."
"That's great, honey," her mom said, sounding so relieved that Beverly felt ashamed for being upset with her mom just moments ago. “I am so very proud of you for making a way for the business to continue to flourish. Your father would be just as proud."
"Thanks. Roy and his brothers are all so nice. Colton is the owner of the orchard, and he's a bit more serious, but I think that's because he's the boss, and that whole freak storm we had has him a bit preoccupied with everything the orchard still needs done in addition to all of the construction. Roy... originally, it sounds like he wanted to do it all himself, but he just wanted my expert opinion in case some of the buildings need to be completely redone because of structural damage at their foundations. I'm hoping that at least one of them can just be repaired. We'll see, though."
"It sounds like you and Roy have a handle on thins."
"Yes, we do. We make a good team. We'll have to be a great team, though, if we want to get it all done before Easter."
"Before Easter?"