Jenna Mindel - Mending Fences

“I’m buying your barn and twenty.” A slow grin spread across his face and then he remembered. “I have movers scheduled for this weekend.”

Laura bit her bottom lip. “I have to clear out the barn, but that shouldn’t be a problem.”

“If you’d like, I can buy what’s in there for another two thousand.” He wanted that tractor.

Laura shook her head. “I need to sort through things first. There might not be anything of worth.”

Again, she didn’t take advantage of the situation. She might be deadly direct in negotiations, but she had integrity. “Do you mind if I swing by early tomorrow and start cleaning?”

“Does that work for you, Laura?” Maddie asked.

“It does.”

Jack looked at the last name on the listing agreement. “So tell me, what nationality is Tee-ovo?”

Laura tipped her head and laughed softly. Her pretty eyes slanted even more. “You’re saying it wrong. It’s pronounced Toy-vo. It was my great-grandfather’s first name but it got turned around during immigration. I’m Finnish on both sides.”

“Pretty name.” For a pretty woman. He shouldn’t like the color that stole over her cheeks, knowing he’d put it there with such a simple compliment, but he did.

He watched Laura’s attention waver by the arrival of the pizza. She reached for a piece.

“Does anyone mind if I say grace?” He might as well let her know he was a man of faith right up front.

Laura’s eyes narrowed as if judging him, questioning his sincerity. She shrugged her shoulders. “Go ahead.”

“Wonderful.” Maddie laid a slice on her plate.

Jack offered up his simple thanks and asked a special blessing upon both Maddie and Laura. Then a cell phone rang.

“I’m sorry.” Laura got up from the table and headed outside.

“She’s in sales,” Maddie said with an indulgent smile.

Jack nodded, thinking that made perfect sense.

Laura closed her phone. Mr. Albertson wanted to wait for her return before signing. Her sales manager, Jeff, offered to step in and close the deal, but Mr. Albertson wouldn’t hear of it. He didn’t trust Albertson Manufacturing’s I.T. support to anyone but Laura.

It felt good to be that respected by a client. Laura hadn’t impressed anyone in her family with her climb up the corporate ladder from computer programming geek to one of their top salespeople.

She’d managed to impress Jack Stahl, though. He’d given her a look of admiration over the negotiation table. Jack seemed like the kind of man who was used to getting his own way, but she hadn’t let that sway her. Hearing him pray had been surprising. When he asked a special blessing over her and Maddie, softness had crept into her heart.

Laura had stopped looking to God for help when she was a kid, but she wouldn’t mind a little divine assistance now. With her manager pressing for a return date she couldn’t give, and her mother’s blood pressure still unstable, Laura hoped things got back to normal fast. Until then, she’d work as much as she could from here. She had her laptop, but the sooner she got back to work, the better.

The next morning Jack called his sister from his motel room to let her know that he’d be home later than planned. He asked if she’d keep Angie one more night. His daughter was still asleep, so there wasn’t a chance to talk to her. He’d soften the blow of their new home in person.

After a quick breakfast at a local diner, Jack stopped at the school office to confirm Angie’s enrollment, then he turned down the road toward Laura’s. After pulling in the drive and shutting off the motor, he checked his watch. Eight-thirty. The Realtor wasn’t coming until noon so he had plenty of time. He stared at his barn, soon to be home, and his hands itched to grab his tools and start renovating. But cleaning was the first priority.

He glanced at the house. Was Laura an early riser? His wife used to sleep in on Saturdays. Jack had never succeeded in getting Joanne up early in the morning to kayak with him on the river near their town house. No matter how hard he pushed or pleaded, she hated mornings and the water. If only Jack had paid more attention to her fears.

He got out of his truck, shifting a box of cleaning supplies on his hip. Taking care not to dump the contents that rattled and clanged, he walked to the side door of the barn and turned the knob. Locked. Laura had the key.

He headed toward the porch and rapped on the kitchen door. Laura’s sleek blue convertible sat in the driveway. That car didn’t belong in this part of the U.P. where the winters were long and harsh. He knocked again.

The curtains parted abruptly and Laura peeked through, her cell phone against her ear. She gestured for him to hold on. He waited only a few moments until she opened the door. “You’re here early.”

He took in the picture she presented, starting at her bare feet with toenails painted bright purple. She wore khaki shorts and a matching T-shirt.

He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry. The door to the barn is locked. Can I have the key?”

She scanned his box of cleaning supplies. “Wouldn’t it be easier to hire someone?”

“Maybe, but I need to get to know my place hands-on,” he said.

“Give me a minute and I’ll join you. I need to go through my dad’s stuff anyway.”

Jack shifted his box. He didn’t want her invading his space, distracting him. “It’s dirty out there. I can handle it.”

“What, I can’t get dirty?” She reached for a key tied to a faded blue ribbon and handed it to him. “Besides, I can show you some of my dad’s tools in case you want to buy them. I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.”

Jack stood staring at the doorknob, key in hand. It’d been a long time since he’d noticed another woman with interest. And it was impossible not to notice Laura Toivo. Losing Joanne had left a gaping hole in his world, but he was finally putting his life back together. And that meant focusing on his kids. Building a secure environment for Angie. He didn’t have the time or energy to date.

He refused to find a high-strung saleswoman like Laura desirable. She had career first family second written all over her. Definitely not what he wanted. If only he didn’t find tall, blue-eyed blondes attractive.

Laura pulled on her sneakers from under the kitchen table, where she’d kicked them off last night. Just that small movement caused sweat to bead along her brow. Morning and already it was a scorcher. Unusual for late August in the U.P.

She opened her mother’s cupboard and grabbed an old-fashioned pitcher. She smiled when she thought of the look Jack had given her on the porch. She should be used to it by now—the eager eyes most men wore when they noticed her. But Jack’s expression had been softer, sweeter somehow. He had turned beet red. He was too cute. Something she certainly had no business noticing.

She quickly made lemonade, grabbed a couple of ice-filled glasses, and headed out the door. It was as good a time as any to go through her dad’s things. And she might as well get to know Jack, now that he was going to be living across the driveway from her mother.

As Jack scrubbed the toilet, he heard Laura’s approach with a clinking of glass. He looked up.

“Want some lemonade?” She stood in the doorway brandishing a metal tray topped with refreshments like some sort of shield.

“Sure.”

“Ugh, that’s just gross.” She placed an icy glass on the edge of the sink. “I’m sorry this place is in such sad shape. It’s too much for my mother to keep up, so we decided to sell it.”

“It’s not so bad.” Jack took a long drink. It made sense, the neglected property, the outdated wiring. He’d bet Laura didn’t live anywhere near here. Good thing, too. Out of sight, out of mind. He went back to the toilet with a vengeance. “Is it just you and your mom?”