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Quinn let out a deep breath. "However, I'm at a loss. I haven't heard anything about you and your pup here."
Sid took Grace's hand on the table and turned his head to Quinn. "Grace is new in town. She's fixing up those bungalows across the road." He pointed. "They'll be short-term rentals for her."
Quinn chuckled and nodded. "That's a good business to be in in Blossom Springs. We have loads of tourists all the time. The weather is usually great. The fabulous sunsets make it popular, and the sandbar out there offers a place to play in the water. And Jace has done a fabulous job of bringing fishermen, water skiers, boaters, and vacationers to his place."
Sid nodded and looked out over the water. His eyes then landed on Grace's and he stared for a few moments. He liked looking at her.
Quinn broke the silence. "So tell me how you two met."
Grace nodded at him so he turned to his buddy. "I was having an attack. Turns out Chiefy here was trained as a support dog. She recognized my symptoms from across the road and pulled Grace over. Chiefy helped me through my attack, Grace did too."
He turned his head and smiled at Grace. Her lips turned up into a beautiful smile. "You actually did what you needed to do to get through it yourself. And, with Chiefy. I just came with her."
Sid squeezed her hand. Her words meant more than she'd ever know.
He turned to Quinn. "She's modest."
Quinn chuckled and Jan came over with his drink. "There you are. Jace said you came out here. Did you want to order something to eat?"
"Yeah." He nodded to Sid. "You two eating?"
"Yeah."
They placed their food order and he sat back to relax. He'd been tense during the exchange, and now his back was cramping up.
"So, I got the Knucklehead started today."
Quinn clapped his hands. "That's fantastic. Nice work. That only took what? A couple of days?"
"Right. That's only a small part of what that old girl needs. But, it felt good to get it started."
"I bet it did."
Sid glanced at Grace. "And, you should see the job Grace is doing at her place. She tiled the bathroom and painted. Now she's painting the cabinets."
Quinn leaned forward, crossing his arms on the table. "Well, now we're talking my language. I enjoy chatting about all things construction. Please tell me what you're doing."
"Aside from the things Sid mentioned, after the cabinets are painted, I'll be redoing the floors. I'm using a rubber laminate floor product so I don't have to worry about tenants getting the floors wet and not cleaning them up. Then, new baseboards, paint, and some decorations and I should be ready to start renting. Then my job starts all over with the second house."
Quinn nodded. "I'll tell you what. I've got a couple of guys I need to keep busy. I hire only veterans and one of them happens to be a whiz with those laminate floors. I don't have work for them for a couple of weeks. I'm happy to loan him out to you."
"That's very nice of you. But I'm on a tight budget and can't afford..."
Quinn held up his hand. "I don't mean to charge you. I do some pro bono work from time to time when I need to keep the guys working but don't have the work myself for them. You'd honestly be doing me a favor."
Grace swallowed and he saw her wrestling with this wonderful gift. He squeezed her hand. "That's a great idea and you'll be finished so much sooner and able to start renting. That's your main goal, isn't it?"
"It is." She took a deep breath. Her eyes looked at Quinn. "If you're sure. It feels like an awful expensive thing to offer me. I don't know how I could repay you."
Quinn laughed. "As I said, I have to keep them working. Many are recovering from PTSD, or other things and need to stay busy. And, I just don't have anything for them right now. The work on Jace's bungalows is wrapping up soon. The office building we're working on in Orlando is nearly complete, so this is perfect timing."
"Wow. I don't know what..." She smiled and her shoulders dropped slightly. "Thank you so much. I can't tell you how nice that will be for me."
14
Their food came and they ate and chatted. Grace asked for a paper plate so she could feed Chiefy. She always carried a baggie of dog food with her just in case. Jan, the waitress, brought out the plate and Grace poured Chiefy's food on it. Chiefy ate her food, drank from her bowl, and laid back down again.
The bikers started riding up and down Sunset Beach Road, revving their bikes loudly as they drove past the Sandbar.
