Back to the Drawing Board (18 page)

JULIA PULLED INTO THE COLORADO
Cares neighborhood, about thirty minutes away from my apartment. I looked at the dozens of work trucks driving back and forth and the many people that stood around, waiting to be given direction. Wow. I’d never been part of anything like this before. From what I could see, there were about fifty houses in different stages of construction.

I had no idea what the hell possessed me to kiss Julia on the cheek when I’d gotten into the car, or to flirt with her about taking my clothes off. I knew I was sending mixed signals. She hadn’t taken the bait, and I couldn’t blame her. I’d woken up this morning wanting to talk to her, having missed her yesterday at work. I’d had no idea I would end up spending the day with her. I didn’t care what I had to do or how much I had to sweat, doing it with her would be worth it.

She turned off the engine in front of what looked like a community center. People milled around everywhere. “Do you know all of these people?”

“Most of them,” she answered. “Though there are always new volunteers. You ready?”

I looked over at her, and my heart sped up. She looked so lovely. “Yes. Let’s do this.” I forced myself to get out of the car and followed her into the community center. She scanned the room, and I looked around, not knowing the guy, Colby, we were looking for but needing to do something other than look at her.

“Ah,” she said finally. “There he is. Come on.” I wished she would’ve reached back and grabbed my hand like she did when we went shopping, but I had a feeling that was long gone. I’d told her several times I couldn’t do this, and I knew I couldn’t. When I turned her down at the benefit that had been it. I’d seen it in her eyes.

She stopped in front of a man I could only describe as most women’s dream. He was even taller than me, with jet black hair and light eyes. His olive skin stood out against his white Colorado Cares polo, and he was seriously shredded. He made me look like an out of shape teenager.

“Julia! I’m so glad you made it today.” He wrapped his beefy arms around her and hugged her tightly to his body. The grin that took over her face was like a punch in my gut. She hugged him just as hard back, and when he released her he pulled her braid and winked at her. I hated him already. At the same second I thought that, his eyes connected with mine. Julia caught it and turned to me.

“Colby, this is Carter McIntyre. He’s the new intern at work, and he wants to put his muscle to good use.”

Colby and I eyed each other for a moment, and I didn’t doubt he read my expression well. He reached his hand out first and shook mine, practically crushing it. I refused to flinch, so I just smiled, releasing my hand from his. Oh, it was going to be like that, was it? Seemed like he had a little thing for Ms. Gibbons himself.

“Nice to meet you, Colby,” I forced myself to say. “I’m excited to be here with
Julia
.”

“Colby and I go way back,” Julia announced. “We went to high school together and started volunteering here at the same time. He now works for the company and will be the CEO soon.”

He laughed, putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her to him again. “That is
not
true. I’m pretty sure the CEO’s job is intact.” He needed to stop touching her. I didn’t like what it was doing to me. I had a million questions, starting with had he ever touched her beyond what he was doing right now. They were a little too intimate for me.

“I have the Williamsons coming in soon, and I figured you could meet with them at their house and go over paint colors and flooring. Then if you could, take one of the trucks and pick up whatever they choose. The guys can start the flooring once you have the painting done.”

“That sounds great!” Julia grinned. “I love that family. I’m so glad their house is almost done.” She turned to me. “I met the Williamsons about six months ago when they applied to get a Colorado Cares house. Their story is something else. I helped frame that house about a month ago, and it’s already almost done.”

Colby caught my eye and smiled, but all I saw in them was a challenge. I was losing my mind. “Every one of our stories is a touching one. That’s why we do what we do. And people like Julia coming to help makes this all come together for the people of Colorado.”

“How many homes has the company built for families?” I asked.

“In the twenty years of its existence, over 100,000 homes have been given to deserving families.”

“Given?” I’d had no idea they were free.

“Yes,” Julia answered. “They apply for a home because of many things. There are some that do pay something for their house, but not many. They are asked to come help work on their house and to volunteer at least ten days a year helping other families get their homes, but that’s all. Everything is donated. The materials, the labor, all of it.”

I watched the expression on Julia’s face as she explained to me what they did, and a piece of my resolve cracked. A little. A hairline fracture.

“Well let’s get started then! I can’t wait to help.”

Julia turned back to Colby. “Do you want Carter to work with me today, or is there somewhere better you can use him?”

If I had to guess, Colby was going to put me as far away from her as possible. “He can work with you. That will work well. He can get a real feel for what we do, and if you decide you want to come back again, we’ll get you on the volunteer schedule.”

He could bet his ass I’d be back here again. She wasn’t coming here without me. “Sounds great. I’m sure I’ll be back.”

“Let’s go head to the Williamson’s house. It’s just a few houses from here, so we can walk. See you later, Colby.”

“Bye, Julia. Call me if you run into any snags at the store.”
Call him?
Of course, she’d have his phone number. I wondered if he’d ever asked her out. He’d said they went to high school together. They probably had quite a history.

I followed her out of the center and to the house, neither of us saying a word.

“This is it,” she said, stopping in front of a small but homey stucco house. “It’s a three bedroom, two bath home with approximately a thousand living square feet. It has this little front porch here, and a large backyard. It’s nothing fancy or extravagant, but to them it’s home.”

“It’s wonderful. All of it is,” I said. A piece of hair fell out of her braid, and I stared at it, wanting to tuck it behind her ear.

“Ms. Julia?” a small voice came from behind us, and I turned to see an adorable little boy with spiky blonde hair running up the driveway. If I had to guess, he was about five years old.

“Garrett!” Julia crouched down and he ran into her arms. She scooped him up and he hugged her neck tightly. “What do you think about your new house?”

“It’s so cool! I have my own room now! Mommy said I get to pick what color I want it!”

“Yes, you do! I’m going to paint it for you! Isn’t that awesome?”

“Can I help you?”

“Of course! My friend Carter here is going to help us, too. Is that okay?”

The boy turned and looked at me. “He looks like me, just growed up.”

Julia looked back and forth between us. “I guess he kind of does. I guess that means you’ll be a handsome guy, huh, Garrett?”

He threw his head back. “Ms. Julia, I’m already handsome. Ashley at school tells me that every day.”

“That kid.” A woman standing behind the child shook her head in laughter. A man who must have been her husband followed right behind her, holding a baby girl.

She hugged Julia, followed by the man. “Alicia, Ray, I’d like you to meet Carter. He works with me and is here to help.”

“Nice to meet you both,” I offered my hand to both of them. “This is a great place. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” Alicia wiped tears from the corner of her eyes. “I can’t even believe it.”

Garrett wiggled to get down, so Julia set him on the driveway. “Want to see my room?” It took me a moment to realize he was standing next to me, talking to me.

“Of course! If it’s okay with your Mom and Dad.”

They nodded at him and he put his small hand in mine and led us to the front door.

“That’s not my daddy,” he said matter-of-factly. “But Mommy said he could be my daddy. Even though he isn’t. He loves me even though he’s my sister’s daddy.”

I had no idea what to say to that. He was the age of Gretchen, and if they could ever meet, I knew they’d be good friends. He had a certain spunk about him that reminded me of my sister.

“This is my room,” Garrett announced, stopping in the doorway.

“That’s awesome, buddy! What do you think you want to paint it?”

“It’s so hard to pick,” Garrett said with the maturity of a much older person. “Do you have a daddy, Carter?”

I froze, my eyes locked on the light eyes of the child that did look like he could be mine. Wasn’t
that
a complicated question? “I do,” I said. Never mind that I had two of them, one that pretended he was and one that actually was.

“I don’t. I never met him before. Mommy says he’s not a nice man.” His little face scrunched up. “I wanted a daddy like all my friends at school have. It always made me feel bad when they talked about their daddies. My mommy plays with me and stuff, but a boy needs a daddy, right?” He shrugged his little shoulders. “At least my mommy says that.”

This kid was something else. He was making me emotional right here in the middle of his bedroom. “Yes. A little boy needs a daddy, for sure. Your mom is right.”

“So I prayed every night for my daddy to not be a bad man and come back and be with me. But he never has, and that used to make me really sad.”

“Why doesn’t it make you sad anymore?”

Garrett shrugged. “Because my prayer was answered, just not with
my
daddy. Now I have Ray. He tells me he loves me every day, and that I’m his little boy. Even though he has my sister and she
is
his baby, he says I’m just as much his baby as she is. Isn’t that cool? He didn’t even know me, but he’s my Daddy now.”

Tears flooded my eyes. I couldn’t stop them. Here was this kid, way younger than me, with such a positive outlook on the important things in life. He hadn’t had a dad at all. I was lucky enough to have
two
.

“When I was a baby, my name wasn’t Garrett. I don’t remember what it was, but it was something else. Mommy’s name was something different, too. Cool huh? We got to have new names.”

My stomach dropped. If what this kid said was true, something bad had happened to them and they’d changed identities. Julia was right. The people they did this for were so deserving.

“That is pretty cool, both things you told me,” I said. “Having a daddy is awesome. I’m so glad Ray is your daddy now, because you’re an awesome kid. I like your new name, too. And your room! Do you know where you’re going to put your bed?”

Garrett lit up, explaining where he was going to put his race car bed and his favorite toy trucks. It gave me an amazing idea for his room.

“I have an idea for your paint,” I said. He stopped and looked back at me, his big blue eyes wide.

“You love cars, right?” He nodded. “Well, if I promise to make it something
really
cool, can I make it a surprise?”

His mouth formed a little O. “YES! That’s
awesome
, Mr. Carter! Thank you!” He ran from the room, shouting for his mom and dad. I smiled, my heart full. Today was going to be an awesome day.

After spending two hours with the family picking out paint colors and flooring and then another hour at the store getting it all, Julia and I were alone in the Williamson’s house. I was working on Garrett’s room, excited the little guy gave me free reign.

Julia was in the master bedroom, painting it a light blue. I’d had no idea how much she liked doing interior design, but seeing her with the Williamsons at the store, picking complimentary colors, variations in flooring, and even throw pillows and drapes, I knew she had way more talent than I already knew she had. I made a note to ask her about that in more detail later.

We hadn’t seen Colby the rest of the time, and I was glad for that. I wished I was in the master bedroom with Julia, but my project was more important right now. I thought of my little sister, glad she would never have to know the things Garrett did. She’d grow up with both of her parents, not having to hide who she was or what had happened to her. She lived in a nice house with her own room full of every type of toy a little girl could want.

Being around Garrett had affected me in more ways than I was willing to admit. Stepping back, I admired the wall I’d just painted fire engine red. The room would be a car lover’s paradise that was for sure. My stomach growled, so I headed for the kitchen where I’d left my cooler.

“Julia, want a sandwich?” I called out. She didn’t respond, so I grabbed the cooler and headed for the Master. The door was shut, which made sense why she didn’t answer. I heard music through the door, so I figured she wouldn’t hear me if I knocked, either. Hopefully I didn’t scare the hell out of her.

I opened the door and my eyes widened, watching her. She was standing on a small ladder, gliding the roller back and forth on the wall. That wasn’t what had me staring, though. She was
dancing
, wiggling her body at whatever song was playing from her phone. I didn’t recognize it but knew instantly it was some country song.
Who knew
? I was an alternative/rock-and-roll kinda guy myself, but I’d listen to country all day to see her do that.