Husband Under Construction

“Unfortunately.”

“What’s wrong with your hair?”

“You could hide a family of prairie dogs in it?”

If he lived to be a hundred he’d never understand what was up with women and their hair. Although then she added, “But at least I have no issues with my breasts. Or butt. I like them just fine,” and the little pop-pop-pops become BOOM-BOOM-BOOMS.

Before the fireworks inside his head settled down, however, she said, “Mae and Charley really were like second parents to me. Even before…the accident. If it hadn’t been for them I honestly don’t know how I would’ve made it through that last year of school. All I wanted to do was hole myself up in my bedroom and never come out. Until Aunt Mae—she was Mom’s older sister—threatened to pry me out with the Jaws of Life. So I figure the least I can do for Charley is return the favor.”

“Whether he likes it or not,” Noah said, even as he thought, How do you live with that brain and not get dizzy? Because he sure as hell was.

“As I said. And the bathroom’s the second door on the right.”

To get there Noah had to pass a small extra bedroom that, while tidy to a fault, still bore the hallmarks of a room done up for a teenage girl, and a prissy one at that—purple walls, floral bedspread, a stenciled border of roses meandering at the top of wall. None of which jibed with the woman standing five feet away. Except the room made him slightly woozy, too.

“You like purple?”

She snorted. “Aunt Mae wanted pink. I wanted black. Purple was our compromise. Didn’t have the energy to fight about the roses.”

“Somehow not picturing you as a Goth chick.”

A humorless smile stretched across her mouth. “Honey, back then I made Marilyn Manson look like Shirley Temple. But…guess you didn’t notice, huh?”

A long-submerged memory smacked him between the eyes, of him and his friends making fun of the clot of inky-haired, funereal girls with their raccoon eyes and chewed, black fingernails, floating somberly through the school halls like a toxic cloud. One in particular, her pale green eyes startling, furious, against her pale skin, all that black.

“Holy crap—that was you?”

To his relief, Roxie laughed. “‘Twas a short-lived phase. In fact, I refuse to wear black now. Not even shoes.” Grimacing, Roxie walked to her bedroom doorway, her arms crossed. “I put poor Mae and Charley through an awful lot,” she said softly, looking inside. “I even covered up the roses with black construction paper. Mae never said a word. In fact, all she did was hug me. Can you imagine?”

His own childhood had been idyllic in comparison, Noah thought as a wave of shame washed over him. Man, had he been a butthead, or what? “What I can’t imagine, is what hell that must’ve been for you. I’m sorry. For what you went through, for…all of it.”

“Thanks,” she said after a too-long pause.

“So you gonna paint in there or what?” Noah said, after another one.

Roxie turned, bemusement and caution tangling in her eyes. “Why? Not gonna be around long enough for it to matter, God willing. So. The bathroom?”

Yeah, about that. Nestled in a bed of yellowed, crumbling grout, the shell-pink tiles were so far out of date they were practically in again. As were the dingy hexagonal floor tiles. And way too many vigorous scrubbings had taken their toll on the almost classic pedestal sink, the standard-issue tub bearing the telltale smudges where a temporary bar had been installed. And removed.

There was way too much pain in this house, like a fungus that had settled into the rotting wood, lurking behind the peeling wallpaper, between the loose tiles. Noah pressed two fingers into one pink square; it gave way—probably far more easily than the bad vibes clinging to the house’s inhabitants.

At least he could fix the house. The other…not his area of expertise.

“Since the tile’s crap, anyway—” He flicked another one off. “Why don’t we do one of those all-in-one tub surrounds? Although it wouldn’t be pink.”

Roxie leaned against the doorjamb. “I sincerely doubt Charley would miss the pink. Although…could we install grab bars at the same time?”

Noah got the message. “They’re code now, so no problem.”

“Oh. Good.” Roxie sighed. “Charley’s far from decrepit, heaven knows, but I know he wants to live on his own, in his own house, as long as possible. So I’d like to make sure he can do that.”

Noah looked at her. “Because you won’t be around.”

A dry laugh escaped her lips. “To be honest, when I was eighteen and stuck here…oh, Lord. I thought I’d been consigned to hell. It was one thing to come for vacations, but I couldn’t wait to get back to the city. I love the energy, the way there’s always something going on, the choices. Heck, I even like the noise. So no, I can’t see myself calling Tierra Rosa home for the long haul. Besides, I have to go where the work is. Work in my field, I mean. And so far, I haven’t even been able to find anything close by—”

“Roxie? You up there?”

Blanching, she whispered, “Crap. He wasn’t supposed to be back for another hour!”

“Should I hide in the closet?”

“Believe me, it’s tempting,” she muttered, then pushed past Noah to call from the landing, “Up here, Charley. With…Noah Garrett.”

“Noah? What the Sam Hill’s he doing here?” Charley said, huffing a little as he climbed the stairs, only to release a sigh when he saw the clipboard in Noah’s hand. “Ah.” A bundle of bones underneath badly fitting khaki coveralls and a navy peacoat probably older than Roxie, the older man turned his narrowed gaze on his niece. “Thought you’d pull a fast one on me, eh? Guess I fooled you. No offense, Noah. But it appears the gal was getting a little ahead of herself—”

“But you agreed to let me get an estimate—”

“I said I’d think about it. Honestly.” Again, his gaze swung to Noah, as if he expected to find an ally. “What is it with women always being in such a rush?” He glared at his niece. “Bad enough you act like you can’t get rid of Mae’s things fast enough, now you want to change everything in the house, too? And what’s up with you being here and not your daddy?” he said to Noah, who was beginning to feel as if he was watching a tennis match. “You sniffing around Roxie, like you do every other female in the county?”

“For heaven’s sake, Charley—!”

“I’m only here on business,” Noah said, getting a real clear picture of what Roxie must be going through, dealing with her uncle every day. If it was him he’d be looking for out-of-town jobs, too. At the same time the near panic in the old man’s eyes was so much like what he saw in his father’s—that threat of losing control, of everything changing on you whether you want it to or not—he couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for the guy. “Because Dad’s tied up. And Roxie only has your best interests at heart, sir. To be honest, I’m seeing a lot of safety issues here. And the longer you put off fixing them, the worse they’re going to get. And more expensive.”

“Well, of course you’d say that, wouldn’t you? Since it’s you standing to make money off me—”

“Charley,” Roxie said in a low voice, gripping his arm until, mouth agape, he swung his pale blue eyes to hers. “Listen to the man. The house needs work. A lot of work. And if you don’t take care of it you’re not going to be able to stay here.”

Her uncle slammed his hand against the banister railing. Which was missing a couple of stiles, Noah noticed. “I’m not leaving my house, dammit! And you can’t make me!”

“Then let’s get it fixed,” she said gently but firmly, “or you may not have any choice in the matter, because no way am I letting you stay in a pit—”

“Choice?” Her uncle yanked off his snow-frosted knit cap and slammed it to the floor, freeing a forest of thick, white hair. “What kind of choice,” he said, wetness sheening his eyes, “is railroading me into something before I’m r-ready?”

“Oh, Charley…” On a soft moan, she wrapped her arms around him, her tenderness in the face of his cantankerousness making Noah’s breath hitch. Then she let go and said, “I know this is hard. And you know I know how hard.” She ducked slightly to peer up into his averted face, thin lips set in a creased pout. “But sticking your head in the sand isn’t going to solve the problem. And we can’t put it off much longer, since I have no idea when a job offer’s going to come through. I’m trying to help, Charley. We all are.”

Several beats passed before her uncle finally swung his gaze back to Noah. “It’s really that bad?”

Catching Roxie’s exhausted sigh, Noah said, “Yes, sir. It is.”

Charley held Noah’s gaze for another moment or two before shuffling over to a small bench on the landing, dropping onto it like his spirit had been plumb sucked right out of him—a phenomenon he’d seen before in older clients, his own grandparents. As somebody who wasn’t crazy about people telling him what to do, either, he empathized with the old man a lot more than he might’ve expected.

“So what’s this all gonna cost me?”

Noah walked over to crouch in front of him. “Until I run the figures, I can’t give you an exact estimate. But to be honest, it’s not gonna be cheap.” When Charley’s mouth pulled down at the corners, Noah laid a hand on his forearm. “Tell you what—how about I prioritize what should be done first, and what can maybe wait for a bit? Your niece is right, a lot of this really shouldn’t be put off much longer. But nobody’s trying to push you into doing anything you’re not ready to do. Right, Roxie?”

When he looked at her, though, she had the oddest expression on her face. Not scared, exactly, but…shook up. Like she’d seen a ghost. At her uncle’s, “What do you think, Rox?” she forced her gaze from Noah’s to give Charley a shaky smile.

“Sounds more than fair to me.”