Page 27 of Drilled

Dax’s jaw ticked.

I waited until the very last second for him to say something. But when he did, it was just to add another brick to that wall.

“Yeah, you can help me out with something. You can butt out of my life and mind your business. That’ll help.” Then he turned around and stalked back to the living room.

9

Lane

The renovation timeline had taken a bit of a snag, and I couldn’t exactly say that I was complaining about it. Silas and Bear had mentioned it during the Euchre game. They explained to me about how the rotted wood joists Dax had found meant that they’d have to sister, level and reinforce them first before they could lay anything heavy down.

Then there were the weather delays. Bear said this time of this season was the worst for the work year, largely due to slowed material delivery and the cold preventing concrete from curing properly. They mentioned some other things too, but by that time I was already so buzzed from the wine and beer that I couldn’t recall anything else.

All I knew was that the boys were going to be knocking up the old concrete today. That and that Silas wasn’t feeling too well. He hadn’t said anything but I noticed that after he came back from the kitchen on his last beer run, he didn’t look very happy. I was used to being shut out of knowing things when it came to Dax but Silas was different. Seeing the usually cheerful giant suddenly somber was enough to send me straight to The Blocks Meat Market after work.

Nance had put me through the ringer trying to figure out why I was leaving early, but I couldn’t exactly tell her that I needed to get my hands on a pre-cooked Italian beef kit before the market closed. And trudging home with the Chicago-style shredded beef, aus jus and giardiniera rolls, I felt triumphant.

Sy had mentioned his love for this particular comfort meal in passing, but I remembered. I wanted to do something special to thank him for all the help and little thoughtful things he did without me even asking.

Using my words was surprisingly difficult, go figure. I was far better at contesting a point than I was at accepting a compliment, but I hoped this would do.

I entered the house, instantly sighing with relief as I dropped my keys and trench coat on the table. I made a beeline for the kitchen with the box of goodies and set them on the island closest to the pantry. I was planning on maybe texting Silas and asking him to come up when I heard heavy, muffled rhythmic hammering and male laughter echoing up from the lower level.

I followed the sounds like a siren call, making my way to the main bathroom construction zone where the three men were hard at work.

The gutted bathroom was a humid, claustrophobic vault of white dust, bare studs and raw floodlights. And inside, Silas and Bear were stripped to sweat-sheened undershirts, their biceps bulging as they hoisted a heavy concrete mixing tub. Dax was on his knees, tool belt low on his hips and jaw tight as the muscles in his shirtless back rippled with every strike of his hammer.

My senses were overwhelmed with the sight before me and the scent of copper, damp earth and clean male sweat. My throat went dry, my pulse spiking. Just moments ago, I’d been freezing half to death but now my body felt hot to the touch. The focus on their faces, and the way the dust and dirt and grime streaked across their skin and highlighted the power behind every movement…Good God.

Silas was the first to notice me, his face beaming and completely oblivious to the absolute havoc he and his two musketeers were wrecking on me. He and Bear heaved the tub onto the newly reinforced subfloor with a dull thud before he made his way over to me, wiping his brow.

His golden hair was messy, slipping out of the topknot on his head and sticking to his flushed skin. But that smile…wide and white and so genuine it made my heart and other places ache.

“Hey, Lane!” he said, stepping across the threshold. Bear grunted out a greeting of his own but Dax was silent, furiously finishing up his own task and overtly ignoring my presence. But for right now, Silas had all of my attention.

“Well, you guys have been busy,” I said lamely, peeking around at the exposed studs. His grin widened and he gestured proudly to a heavy, gleaming knot of solid gold-colored metal anchored right between them.

“That is a thermostatic mixing valve. It’s basically the ‘brain’ of your new shower that automatically balances hot and cold water so you never get scalded when a toilet flushes,” he announced like he was the one who invented it.

“Wouldn’t that be amazing,” I said, trying to keep my calm and not focus on the drop of sweat dripping down his broad chest that I just happened to be eye-level with.

“I’m prepping the copper water lines for it right now,” he continued, reaching for a length of pipe. “Still up for helping me rig it up?”

Shit, I forgot I’d even asked. I must’ve made the request somewhere between my third glass of wine and first beer. I had no alibi for this one. Bear lifted his toolbelt, then stepped out of the tight shower frame to give us some space. I followed Silas inside, my heart sounding louder in my ears than the hammering that drew me down here.

“I’m not exactly dressed for plumbing,” I said weakly, trying and failing to sound like I was joking.

“Would you want to go change first?” Silas asked, raising his eyebrows. “I can wait.”

The logical thing would’ve been to go change, maybe splash some cold water on my face in the kitchen and go have a long, hard look at myself in the mirror to admonish the unbecoming thoughts that were starting to flood my brain. But logic just did not compute with me right now. A very unusual thing for me.

“No! No, I’m good,” I told him. “It’s not like I’m going to get wet or anything.”

Of course not. Not a chance.

Silas smiled, then stepped in close behind me, holding up a small, round wire brush that he slipped into the open end of a copper fitting.

“So, my apprentice, before we solder, the metal has to be completely raw and clean,” he said, his chest brushing against my back as his large hands covered mine. I could feel the bass of his voice and had to bite the inside of my cheek just to stay sane. He guided my hand to the loose fitting pipe. “Twist it right there until the copper shines.”