Free His By Design by Karen Ann Dell

Amanda’s car gave them plenty of time to chat and brought their budding friendship into full bloom. Zoe’s spirits rose with each mile on the return trip.
    “I wonder how much they finished while I was out enjoying myself,” she mused. A sliver of guilt slipped under the delight in her new acquisitions. Boss or not, she’d promised Jeff to work right alongside him till the renovations were completed.
    “They might have appreciated having some guy-time since I gather they don’t see each other very often,” Amanda suggested.
    “I hope so. I know there are lots of things Jeff doesn’t want me to do, either because I don’t have the skills or because he’s afraid I’ll hurt myself. Maybe having his dad help with some of the heavy lifting was a good thing. Want to come in and see the progress on my new digs? Now that the walls are framed in you can get a pretty good idea of how it will look.”
    “I would love to.” Amanda parked in front of the gallery and they went inside.
    “Jeff? Frank?” Zoe could hear rhythmic hammering but neither man was on the main floor. The second restroom was plumbed and waiting for the sink and toilet to be installed. That meant her space was probably ready for floor tile and cabinetry. She headed for the stairs. “Come on up. Let’s see what’s new in my place.”
    A short hallway, created to separate the gallery storage area from her space, led to her apartment door. Although none of the doors had been hung yet, Zoe noticed how much brighter the hallway was. When she went inside she couldn’t believe how much daylight flooded her studio area. She looked up and saw Jeff nailing something around the edge of one of her brand new skylights. She clapped her hands to her cheeks.
    “Jeff!” she shouted. No response. “Jeff!” she shouted even louder, then went to stand under the skylight and waved her arms to get his attention.
    “I don’t think he can hear you, honey,” Frank commented from behind her.
    She whirled to face him. “This is amazing. These are amazing. I didn’t even know the skylights were here, let alone that you two would get them in today.” She gave him a hug. “Thank you so much for helping me, us . . . Jeff. I’m just awestruck at the difference in this room.”
    She gestured Amanda to come closer. “Frank, I don’t think you had a chance to meet Amanda Adams this morning before we left. She’s my accountant—and my friend. Amanda, this is Jeff’s father, Frank Petrosky.”
    “How nice to meet you, Mr. Petrosky.” They shook hands. “I understand from Zoe that you’ve gotten a tremendous amount of work done in the few days you’ve been here.”
    The hammering on the roof stopped and Zoe went to stand under the skylight where Jeff had been working. Getting his attention at last, she blew kisses up at him with both hands, and gestured for him to come down. She turned with a smile. “He’s amazing, Frank. I am so glad he stopped by that first day. I have to admit this renovation would never have moved along this quickly if I’d had to hire a bunch of different contractors. And his plans for this apartment were so much better than what I had envisioned.” She reached over and gave his arm a squeeze. “You must be so proud of him.”
    Frank nodded. “I am, I am. He’s a very talented fellow. And while I can’t take any credit for his artistic abilities, as far as construction goes, I taught him everything I know. Give him a scrap piece of wood, and in a day or so he’ll give you back a horse or a dolphin or—”
    “A bunch of toothpicks,” Jeff interrupted with a dismissive shake of his head. “Enough about my meager talents as a wood carver. What do you think of the skylights?”
    For the second time that day, Zoe threw her arms around him. This time she added a kiss to his cheek. “I-I-I can’t begin to tell you. They’re wonderful. You’re wonderful.”
    Realizing all of her exuberance had an audience, she quickly backed away