Slowly, she nodded. “I think you are.”
At the sound of a sigh, Tyler eased back. Norah clutched a hand over her heart, wearing the same sappy smile Tyler had reason to know she wore at the end of all good chick flicks. Tucker was smirking, and Piper watched them with an expression she couldn’t read.
I’ve really got to stop doing this stuff with an audience.
She cleared her throat. “So. We have a plan for labor and materials. We’ll need to get in and do a more thorough evaluation of the specifics of what will be needed on both fronts. I’ll start getting in touch with people to ask about volunteer labor.”
“What about the permits?” asked Piper. “Aren’t those required for this kind of work?”
“I can push those through,” said Norah.
“This whole plan presupposes that the Stantons will even let us do this,” said Tucker. “You can’t exactly do construction on a building you don’t own without permission.”
Tyler bristled. “What is wrong with you? When did you turn into a pessimist about this project?”
“About the time the balcony came crashing down. I’m not saying we shouldn’t try. Just trying to point out the road-blocks before we get into things and waste time, money, and effort on something that ca
n’t be followed through.”
Brody tugged Tyler closer, until her back pressed against his chest. “No, he’s right to bring it up. We have to manage all the details if we’re going to pull this off.”
Norah grinned, in her element. “Have faith and leave them to me.”
~*~
It always looks worse before it looks better, Brody reminded himself. And it did look bad right now.
The debris had been fully cleared away. The remaining segments of the balcony were jacked up and rigged with temporary supports. The seats they were able to salvage had been detatched and relocated for cleaning, along with several sections that had to be removed for equipment access. A hole gaped in the center, reminding him of a fighter down his two front teeth. Which wasn’t a bad analogy, actually, as this whole thing felt like a sucker punch. Much like finding out how things had gone so horribly wrong with Tyler all those years ago.
“We’ll fix you up, old girl,” murmured Brody. “And maybe it’ll be enough to change her mind.” He didn’t know how to fix things with Tyler, or how things would work out between them in the end. But making the repairs on the theater was solidly in his wheelhouse, so, for now, the focus had to be on the job. He couldn’t let himself think beyond that.
The emergency exit opened on a shriek of hinges. Roy Simmons, one of the carpenters from the Babylon job, poked his head in. “Supply truck is here.”
Shaking himself out of his musings, Brody waved in acknowledgment. Time to get this show on the road.
He headed to the front of the building. The carpeted lobby was covered in drop cloths, and a handful of men were setting up work stations near the available electrical outlets. Outside, beyond the dumpster that had been hauled in for demolition, a large flatbed truck with the Edison Hardware logo emblazoned on the door, was parked at the curb. Tyler slid out of the driver’s seat as he emerged. Her hair was drawn back into a pony tail, pulled through the back of a maroon MSU baseball cap. In work-worn jeans with frayed hems and a black track jacket to ward off the chill of early morning, she looked mouthwatering.
“You’re amazingly bright-eyed considering the hour,” Brody said, crossing to her.
She ducked back into the cab and came out with a pair of extra tall to-go cups. “I’ve already been by the Grind.”
He took the one she offered him and sipped. His eyebrows shot up at the first, rich punch of sweetened coffee. “Jesus, no wonder you’re awake. What is this, a triple-shot espresso?”
“They’re calling it the Zombie Killer these days. Hey, it worked for finals week in college. It’ll work for this. There are donuts in the truck for everybody. How many folks did we end up with today?”
“Ten signed up for this shift, besides me. Mitch is leading up the second crew that’s coming on for the night shift. Not sure of the final count for them, but similar numbers.” They’d have more when it came to reassembling the final touches, but for now, it was all skilled labor, divided into two crews on a schedule that would rival those on the set of any HGTV crash renovation.
“Then I’ll make an even dozen,” she said.
“You don’t have to work?”
“Dad’s covering the store the rest of this week so I can help out.”
Brody rearranged details and work crews in his mind to accommodate the extra hands. They’d need every pair they could get. “Been a long time since we swung hammers together.” It had been a long time since he’d picked up a hammer at all. He was too used to overseeing, managing jobs from the top down. This was his first opportunity to really run a crew in several years, and he found himself itching to get started.
“I’m still in practice,” Tyler assured him, reaching back into the truck and drawing out a tool belt. She set the coffee down and snapped it on.
Brody took another swig of coffee to wet his suddenly dry mouth. “You look entirely too good in that thing.” The whole picture was that much hotter knowing she was more than capable with all the tools attached to it.