Page 33 of Begin Again

“I don’t take it home with me,” she said. “I do what I need to when I’m there and then move on. It’s the only way to not get burned out.”

“That’s my girl,” Trevor said.

Christian could see how close the two of them were.

“It’s a good attitude to have,” he said. “So if you don’t have anything to take your anger out on, then it might hurt you because you know how much money you’re going to spend.”

“Not as much as I would have,” she said. She was frowning and he knew she was still put out over having her father and him do the work. More her father working than him.

“I don’t have a problem doing it,” her father argued. “You just have to live without a kitchen for a bit longer.”

“It’s worth it,” she said. “And the cabinets will be delivered Wednesday?”

“Yes,” her father said. “That is what they said and I went to double-check for you yesterday.”

“Thanks,” she said. She moved to Christian and gave him a kiss in front of her father. “Thank you too for drawing it up and making it easy to order the cabinets a few weeks ago.”

“Not a problem,” he said. “I can’t wait to see it done.”

He wouldn’t tell her that he was probably more excited than her.

She’d taken all his suggestions from the first time he’d been in the house and what he’d want to do. Then when she’d told him what she ordered, the colors were damn close to what he’d have picked out too.

The browns, creams, and tans were going to look so much better than white and gray in here.

This house deserved the warmth and Liz seemed to understand that.

“Me neither,” she said. “A few months from now.”

“Not that long,” her father said. “I promise. We’ll get this ripped apart today and then we can start on the floors. I’ll get going on them this week after work.”

“No, Dad. You’re working all day, you don’t need to come back here and work too.”

“I’m just paying you back for all the food you cooked for me for a year.”

Liz smiled at her father, but Christian knew she felt guilty about the work her father was doing for her.

“I’ll be cooking for you for years to make up for this,” she said.

“What about me?” he asked.

She smiled and winked at him. “We could come up with another arrangement,” she said quietly when her father went to get his sledgehammer.

“I can get on board with that. Let’s get this kitchen taken down. Tell us what you want with the appliances.”

“I’m going to put the fridge in the garage. I’ll need it for things anyway, but I want an extra even after the kitchen is done. I sold the stove and dishwasher. Someone is coming to get them today. I just have to text them.”

“That’s my girl,” Trevor said again. “Always a bargain shopper.”

“In this case, it’s enough to feed you guys. I was going to just give them away, but they wanted to give me something. They said fifty bucks and I said sure.”

“That’s nice,” Trevor said. “Sometimes people need to feel their worth. Everyone’s got their pride.”

Christian saw Liz nod and started to realize more of what might be going through her head.

She was like this back in school too. He remembered people said stuff about her mother not being around. Or maybe she didn’t have a car like other kids did when she was sixteen.

She worked a part-time job when a lot of the girls didn’t.