Free His Garden of Bones (Skye Cree Book 4) by Vickie McKeehan Page A

grown accustomed to having you to lean on and now when you’re gone...”
    “I feel the same way when I’m on the road.” He pressed his lips to her forehead in a tender gesture. “I’m starving. Why don’t we order from that French place in town that delivers?”
    “The new place? Sure. Beats the cheesy chicken nachos I had planned to throw together in a pinch.”
    Josh crawled out of bed to call in the food.
    Forty-five minutes later they were feasting on pork tenderloin and an assortment of fresh veggies as they sprawled in front of the TV.
    While the lighthearted comedy Love Actually —a movie they’d seen many times before—droned in the background, they talked about the old motel they’d bought and were in the middle of revamping. At the project’s completion it would provide individual studio apartments to homeless families.
    “Right now I have to crack the whip on the most recent contractor I hired and fire his ass for not showing up to the job site while I was in New York.”
    “At all? What is that, the third contractor since we started this remodel? We don’t seem to be able to find anyone who knows what they’re doing or wants to stick it out for the duration.”
    “I’m disappointed to say the least.”
    “Why did you hire him in the first place?”
    “Tate recommended this guy personally.”
    In a playful gesture, she reached over and mussed up his hair. “You’re such a loyal guy to family. It’s such a good thing you do to keep Annabelle’s brother in your life. I love that about you. Tate practically worships you.”
    “I wouldn’t say that. But he was just a kid when Annabelle and I got together, just a kid when I married his sister.”
    “So let me guess, when Tate recommended this contractor you didn’t have the heart to say no to either of them.”
    “That’s about right. His name’s Hank Fielding. Hank worked hard for ten days or so, ripped out the guts of some of the rooms but then when I went out of town, for some reason he stopped showing up. No phone call, no email, no notice.”
    “Hmm, here’s a thought. Why not see if Travis could recommend someone reliable? We plan on seeing him on Sunday, right? He knows a slew of people. If nothing else, he’ll be able to point us toward a reliable company that specializes in getting the job done right.”
    “I guess that’s what I’m afraid of, I’ll find someone who’ll want us to tear the entire place down and rebuild from scratch.”
    “Would that be so terrible? The building itself needs work, the foundation is crumbling, the interior is in shambles, the plumbing shot. Maybe the best thing is to tear it down and start from the ground up. The contractors we’ve hired so far seem to work for a week or two then go onto another project of their choosing. What have they gotten done other than cause your blood pressure to jump and get you frustrated?”
    “Point taken. Okay, I’ll solicit a little advice from Travis and see what happens. But that doesn’t change the fact I still have to can the current contractor. I sent him an email.”
    “Want me to do it?”
    “Fire the guy? You? Really?”
    “You don’t think I can do it?”
    “Sure. It’s just… Why would you want to? This guy’s a bit of a strange bird.”
    “What’s that mean? Is he dangerous? Unsavory? How strange?”
    “No, not dangerous. At least I didn’t pick up on anything like that. Tate said Hank was a gamer, said the guy picks up extra money now and then doing construction. I thought I’d do a nice thing, you know. I took everything at face value. But after Hank stopped showing up, I’m sitting in my hotel room and I decided to check out his references.”
    “Uh-oh.”
    “Yeah. I discovered Hank’s company is a complete sham online. His entire Internet presence is a fabrication. He does have a contractor’s license but no recent real experience to speak of.”
    Skye didn’t like the sound of that and made a face. “So Tate doesn’t