She blinked back sudden tears. "It's bittersweet," she murmured, "having an Easter project."
ChapterSeventeen
When lunchtime rolled around, Roy stretched his back.
“Take a break,” he said. “I’m going to head out and get us lunch.”
“You really don’t have to keep buying me lunch,” Beverly protested.
“I want to,” he said. “It’s a perk of the job.”
“Not all bosses do that for construction workers.”
“Well, I do. You should be used to that by now.”
She grinned. “Thank you. I do appreciate it.”
“Of course. Just don’t work while I’m gone.”
“Sure…”
He laughed and shook his head as he turned around and headed to the parking lot. If he knew Beverly, which he did, she was going to keep on working despite what he had said.
Roy drove downtown to the center of Shooting Star Canyon. He wasn’t sure what he was in the mood for today. Eventually, he found a parking spot and got out and walked up the block, bypassing a few laces that were far too busy in favor of a deli.
There was a line, a relatively short one, though, and he stood behind an older man who was on his cell.
“I’m telling you , this construction company I hired is terrible. Just terrible! They’re dragging their feet, and not one of them, not a single one, is a hard worker. They’re trying to make this job take a lot longer than it has to, and I know it’s because they’re trying to milk more money out of me. It’s just not right. I’m fit to be tied, and… I’m ready to fire them, but I’m afraid they would do something to ruin the entire thing so I’m stuck. Yeah, well, you know how they say they don’t make things like they used to? They sure don’t make workers like they used to either. It’s a shame. A real shame. I just… I’m up to order. I’ll call you back.” The man hung up.
“What can I get you, Mr. Davis?” the woman behind the counter asked him with a smile.
“The usual,” he grunted.
“You got it!”
She got to work making his sandwich, got him a fountain drink, and a cookie. He thanked her and paid, and now it was Roy’s turn.
“What can I get for you?” she asked, still smiling.
“Ah…” Roy had been so busy listening to the man’s grumbling that he hadn’t paid attention to the menu. “Let’s do two specials with drinks and cookies.”
“Sure thing!”
Three minutes later, Roy walked out of there. He glanced up and down the sidewalk and realized he was looking for that older man, but he was long gone. There was something about that older man and the way he talked about the construction workers that really fired Roy up.
* * *
Despite feeling upset earlier with that man, Roy was all smiles when he approached Beverly. The stone path she had started was really coming along, the stones artistically arranged with large ones in the center and smaller ones all around.
“Looking good, but you know what looks better? These specialty sandwiches.”
“Thank you! I’m starved!”
They sat down on the grass and dug in. Roy kept telling himself not to say anything, but he couldn’t help himself.
“There was a man at the deli in line in front of me. He was complaining about the construction company he hired, saying they were being slow on purpose to milk more money, and it just…”
Beverly shrugged. “Sometimes, that does happen,” she said. “I would never. My father would never, but a few times, we had been hired to finish jobs other companies started because of similar issues.”