Free Disgruntled by Shelley Wall

be like my old dollhouse is it?
My parents bought one of those build-it-yourself dollhouse
kits when I was ten and we worked on it two or three nights
a week for over a month. It sat on the counter in the den for
ages unfinished because I lost interest. I basically grew out of
dolls while it sat there. My dad finally admitted defeat and
gave it to a little girl down the street.”
“What are you trying to tell me?”
“That if it can be done quickly and efficiently so I can use it
right away, I’m all in. Otherwise…count me out.”
“So, you’re not a very patient woman then?” he teased.
She shook her head, sending the ponytail whisking back and
forth. “Nope. Not for that kind of thing. I love building
things but I love finished things more. I do technical projects
for a living so I’m pretty good at them…and I like to get
them done ontime. On the other hand, I do believe in doing
things proper and sturdy. So, I guess you could say I’m
patient to a point, but once it crosses the realm into tedious
and boring, you lose me.”
Todd held up his hands. “You might get a little dirty doing
this but I doubt it will take us more than one day, maybe
only an afternoon. Depending on how much you like hard
work of course.”
“Is that a challenge?”
“Pretty much. What do you think?”
The rumble of a car approaching caught her interest and she
glanced down the street. Todd noticed that she moved a few
steps toward the house and frowned. “Okay, come by on
Saturday but not in the afternoon. I don’t want to be out
working in the yard in the heat of the day. Be here at eight.”
“Sounds good.”
“You’re not going to leave this here in the front yard, are
you?”
Todd laughed. She sounded like his mother. “Of course not,
but I wasn’t going to go traipsing around in your backyard
without talking to you first. Not only would that be bad
manners but, based on the scare you had when Bugsy made
his escape, I was afraid I’d catch you topless or something.
Then you’d probably call the cops on me.” His thoughts slid
back to the strings left loose around her neck from her bikini
and the way they’d tantalized him as if they’d fall at any
moment. Maybe he should have gone to the backyard first
anyway.
“Yeah, probably. I’ll help you carry it back and we can stack
it next to the door until Saturday.”
Reva bent over and
picked up the largest of the rocks. He noticed she tested the
weight before lifting to prevent injury, which indicated she
had done a fair bit of lifting before. He admired that she
hadn’t been afraid of the work.
“Are you trying to impress me?” he asked.
“Impress you how?” She craned her neck up at him.
“By going for the biggest rock just to show you’re not
helpless.”
“No, but if that impresses you, feel free to wonder at my
incredible charm and beauty while you’re at it.”
Todd stacked two rocks on top of each other and hoisted
them in his arms. “I already noticed that part, Reva, but it’s
good to know you’re strong as an ox too. That’ll come in
handy next time I get in a gang fight and need Helga the
Bone-crusher on my side. Been doing a little weightlifting
along with the running?”
He followed as she worked her way to the backyard with the
rock. As much as she wanted him to think her an Amazon
woman, she struggled under the weight. The thought to
drop his and help was fleeting. She wouldn’t want the help.
She pressed the rock against the wall of her house while she
maneuvered her weight under it.
“I stay in shape. You never know when you might be in a
position where you have to kick some ass.” She pulled the
rock back and crossed the remaining distance to her back
door before dropping it to the ground. The thud punctuated
her statement quite effectively.
“Or protect yourself. Remind me not to piss you off,” he
answered before adding his rocks to her pile of one. They
carried the rest of the pieces back and when done, she
offered him an iced