Good Bones: Women of Eden, #1

By Faith O'Shea

Jord Sheafson swings a sledgehammer as well as any man working for her, but few men appreciate her skills. Wearing jeans and a tool belt doesn't get her much in the way of male attention, unless it's the negative kind. She's comfortable in her skin, and loves what she does for a living, and could care less what anyone thinks, especially the other project manager who works for Moore Construction. She's been screwed by a man like him before and has no use for that kind of tool.

Noah Timmerman has been working for Derek Moore since the company's inception and is his number two until Jord comes on the scene. Because of her impeccable restoration skills, she snags their biggest job yet and he's none too pleased. Thinking she's a fraud, he does his best to undermine her talents, until he begins to suspect she's the real deal. It's not only her eye for restoring the classics that has him rethinking his premise, but her awe-inspiring sculptures, and her athletic prowess on the basketball court. A fire begins to flicker in his belly, but fire is the bane of his existence, and when the sirens go off, signaling a five-alarm blaze, it's the warning he needs to stay clear.

Noah inches closer, in spite of the heat, but Jord is determined not to get burned again. Will she finally realize he's not the old, outdated antique in need of demolition she thought, but a man with good bones and a solid foundation who's just in need of a little restoration? 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Faith O'Shea
• Release date: Jul 26, 2022
• ISBN: 9781734733761

Book preview

Good Bones

Jord Sheafson swings a sledgehammer as well as any man working for her, but few men appreciate her skills. Wearing jeans and a tool belt doesn’t get her much in the way of male attention, unless it’s the negative kind. She’s comfortable in her skin, and loves what she does for a living, and could care less what anyone thinks, especially the other project manager who works for Moore Construction. She’s been screwed by a man like him before and has no use for that kind of tool.

Noah Timmerman has been working for Derek Moore since the company’s inception and is his number two until Jord comes on the scene. Because of her impeccable restoration skills, she snags their biggest job yet and he’s none too pleased. Thinking she’s a fraud, he does his best to undermine her talents, until he begins to suspect she’s the real deal. It’s not only her eye for restoring the classics that has him rethinking his premise, but her awe-inspiring sculptures, and her athletic prowess on the basketball court. A fire begins to flicker in his belly, but fire is the bane of his existence, and when the sirens go off, signaling a five-alarm blaze, it’s the warning he needs to stay clear.

Noah inches closer, in spite of the heat, but Jord is determined not to get burned again. Will she finally realize he’s not the old, outdated antique in need of demolition she thought, but a man with good bones and a solid foundation who’s just in need of a little restoration?

Praise for Faith O’Shea

Faith O’Shea is a contemporary women’s literature writer who loves writing about romance, magic, conviction, and loyalty, with strong women and the friendships they build. She has created many series of stories to make us laugh, cry and feel empowered and writes in a voice that speaks to women of all ages. Faith believed there were subjects and life that needed to be written about. ~ Loyce M.

I truly love the Everyday Goddess series. The strong, leading women characters, in this day and age, are inspiring to me and keep me coming back for more! The books are light, fun, extremely relatable and I can't put them down! ~ Kathryn B.

I just finished the Fire and Ice series. It had romance, strong friendships between the women characters and complex stories that were clearly very well researched. Loved all of them and looking forward to the goddess series next! ~ Gail N.

Oh wow! I just finished reading the Magic Bean Café and I must say that I was hooked from the first chapter and loved every page. The characters were full and believable. The child, Willow, had my heart with her wild imagination, gift of laughter, and the way she melted Aisin’s heart and helped him to realize that you can love a child that wasn’t yours. Thank you for gifting me this awesome read. ~ Your newest fan, Carol F.

Two Hearts with solid fill

Magic Bean Café is a fantastic book of compassion for others with realistic characters. Plus a generous millionaire to help fulfill dreams. ~ Belinda

Coming Home to You grabbed me from the start! The storyline was very different from other books and it captured my interest. And of course the dynamics in the Scalera family is always amusing. ☺ I laughed out loud but there were a few parts where my eyes teared up as well. Great story, definitely worth the read! ~ Robin

Good Bones is an illuminating story offering a heartfelt love of old homes and how two antagonists found common ground in the good bones of an old house. Intriguing elements of restoration. Jord and Noah make taking chances on love an exciting ride built on respect and finally trust. ~ Bunny

Women of Eden

The small town where people move for escape or stay for the fit.

Good Bones

Jord Sheafson is the master at restoration, and she’s busy with her newest project. Noah Timmerman is doing a straight up reno. There’s another restoration going on behind the scenes that no one expected. Will there be good bones, or an outdated antique in need of demolition?

Both Sides of Life

Eppie comforted the sick and healed the body. Rick comforted the grieving and healed the spirit. When will they realize they weren’t very different at all?

Good Bones

Women of Eden, Book One

FAITH O’SHEA

Copyright 2022 Susan Faith Campbell writing as Faith O’Shea

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in all form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known of hereinafter invented, including xerography, photocopying, and recording, or in an information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the author, Susan Faith Campbell writing as Faith O’Shea at [e-mail]

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover Design by Jaycee DeLorenzo at Sweet ‘N Spicy Designs

Formatted by Woven Red Author Services, www.wovenRed.ca

Good Bones/Susan Faith Campbell writing as Faith O’Shea- 1st edition

ISBN eBook: 978-1-7347337-6-1

ISBN Print: 978-1-7347337-7-8

Dedication

Dedicated to my husband, Jeff Shea, who watches all my favorite home improvement shows with me.

To My Readers

I decided to stay in Eden for another series. I love the small town, love the people in it and I can re-introduce my goddesses anytime it seems appropriate. In Good Bones, Cerri makes quite a few appearances and has become one of Jord’s good friends.

The women I’ll be introducing you to in the next several books, are, naturally, strong, independent, and uniquely qualified. They bring skills and an outside-the-box mentality to what they do. Jord is a preservationist, who restores old houses, bringing them back to their former glory. Eppie’s a mobile vet, who loves the open spaces and farm animals she tends to. Eve is a mid-wife, who’s making every effort to make the woman/mother a more prominent participant in the birthing equation. Mamie is a drama teacher who is off-beat and quirky, the type of woman who can have fun at her own expense. Ishani has walked away from her life as a model and has taken up a new career, hoping to reclaim her freedom. Mari is a barkeep, who owns O’Farrell’s, once a speakeasy opened by her great-grandfather. Sophia and Ida might also have stories to add somewhere down the road but as always, there’s another series percolating….

Hope you enjoy Good Bones, the first in my Women of Eden series.

Faith

CHAPTER ONE

Jord Sheafson stood looking out her kitchen window into the darkening sky, watching the snow come down as wispy-like flakes. It wasn’t going to amount to much, this time, but December had already proven itself capable of much more. Since moving here from California in September, she’d witnessed an ever-changing climate, from Indian summer to fall breezes and finally the frigid temps she’d thought only an exaggeration by the townies she’d gotten to know. Construction in this part of the world was a seasonal enterprise, but the work going on just beyond her lot line would keep the bill collector from the door. A new subdivision was going up, and with three of the houses framed before the ground had frozen, Derek Moore’s crew was busy with interior work. At least they had been up until noon. It seemed the whole town was breaking early for the holiday weekend. There were four other lots measured out, but they wouldn’t be touched until spring, and if the project she’d been assigned was finished by then, she might be a part of it. At least she’d have a short commute.

When Derek had offered her a job, she’d readily accepted and had been more than thrilled when he’d assigned her a restoration project. The Victorian the town had purchased on Main Street was in need of a complete rehabilitation, and she couldn’t wait to take it right down to its bones and build it back as a museum that would eventually make its debut, replacing the one already on the outskirts of town. It was her area of expertise, and she couldn’t believe she’d been handed the opportunity to use her skills so quickly. It’s what she’d done before moving here. Preserving and transforming old homes, with their unrealized potential and fascinating stories, was her happy place. She’d completely restored a Mission Revival mansion, a Craftsman bungalow, a French Normandy cottage, Mediterranean Tuscan-style home, and even a mid-century modern, all part of the Golden State’s architectural history. She would have stayed had there not been a couple of life speed bumps that drove her off the road she’d thought she was on for life. A visit to her college roommate during her grieving period had prompted the move to Eden and now that she was here, she was appreciating the differences in architectural styles and couldn’t wait to sink her teeth into the late Victorian she’d be working on, in tandem with her own newly purchased farmhouse. They had the distinctive characteristics of a different era, the Queen Anne built in the late nineteenth century, just before they went out of fashion, and the other, a quintessential two-story New Englander, an 1860s shingle style, which had been rebuilt after a fire, at the turn of the next century. She’d found a picture of the old Colonial when it was newly built, and another one taken after it was reconstructed. There’d been a multitude of changes made in the interim years, and she’d dug into the archives and followed the permit file from the nineteen seventies onward. That decade had seen the exterior painted, and the plaster ceilings in what would be her office replaced. In the eighties, the owners had installed new windows, added insulation, and had the whole house rewired. In the nineties, chimneys were rebricked, and they’d reconstructed the foundation. Every improvement was important to the integrity of the home, but the remodeling itself was nothing short of criminal. Respect for originality had been non-existent, completely ignored by renovators. Nowadays, everyone wanted open concept, something she didn’t understand at all. Beams were taken down, chimneys covered over, classic bookcases and tapered posts removed, and natural woodwork painted white. Stripped down of their natural beauty, the result was one-room houses lacking character and detail. As a preservationist, in contrast to other contractors, she investigated the bones, uncovered how the house wanted to be lived in, and let that guide her.

Old houses kept secrets, and they were waiting under layers of renovations for someone to uncover them. Her father had taught her how to talk to them, or rather, he’d taught her how to listen. She could easily identify those character-defining elements that made it historic. Under his tutelage, she’d learned the best practices for updating classic homes without turning them into new and how to retain the intrinsic historical or cultural value. Rehabilitation might necessitate adaptations and compromises, but her ultimate goal was to preserve its former glory. Her father called it practicing preservation.

She felt the smile slip into a frown and sadness well up again. Oh, how she wished he were alive. She couldn’t believe how much she missed him, the raw wound still an ache. She knew for sure they’d still be working together, two peas in a pod, which is what they’d been since her mother had died when she was four. He hadn’t let grief keep him from totally immersing himself in fatherhood. He’d taken her everywhere he could, taught her everything he knew, and she’d spent more than half her life with a hammer or wrench in her hand, loving every minute of it. Her first memory was riding in one of the dump trucks he’d leased, the straining rumble of the engine as it climbed the hill, the beep of the horn as he passed a group of kids waiting at a bus stop. His death four years ago had totally unmoored her. He’d lingered long past expectation, and she’d nursed him as best she could throughout the ordeal just as he’d done with her mother. She might have been young, but she could still remember them sitting by Janice’s bedside as he read from one of her beloved classics. He’d gently wash her each morning and feed her by hand when it got too much for her to lift her head. She’d tried to match the loving care when he got sick, even as she worked to pay his medical bills. It hadn’t been enough to keep him alive, and she was left with a staggering debt. His life insurance had only partially covered his outstanding expenses, so she’d been forced to sell their renovated English cottage, and their business, to cover the rest. It had been a mistake. She knew that now, but back then, reeling from his death, she’d done the unthinkable. It had been Leroy Walters who’d stepped forward to buy Sheafson’s Restoration Company and he’d all but guaranteed her a job for as long as she’d wanted it. It had been a seamless transfer, and she’d worked diligently on whatever preservation project came their way. It was her work that had been profiled in the natural trust magazine and that had garnered them praise, won them awards, and increased their revenue, but it wasn’t enough to secure her position. All it took for the rug to be pulled out from under her feet was an insecure woman, who’d attached herself to her man. She’d been dumped, and fired and left with nothing but her reputation, although they’d tried to take that away from her as well.

Screw them all.

She’d landed on solid ground, and from what she’d heard, the last few months had been hard on Walters and Son. A friend and co-worker, who’d left soon after she did, had kept in touch. He’d told her the company had lost a couple of contracts as soon as the news she’d been let go had hit the streets. Neither Leroy nor Brendon had the patience or the knowledge to preserve anything. They did new, cookie-cutter and unimaginative and she’d often wondered who they’d hire to take her place. From what she’d heard, they hadn’t, and all she could say was good riddance…

She turned, surveying her domain. The amount of work needed would have intimidated most, but she couldn’t wait to peel away the skin of this beauty. With Breet’s help, Breet being a local librarian, she’d found half a dozen articles about the Farnum family, the original owners. They’d settled in the area in the seventeen hundreds, starting out with over two hundred acres. The property had been whittled down over the centuries as the land was splintered off and small tracts were left to heirs and descendants. What survived intact was the twenty acres recently purchased by an out-of-town developer, her house part of the homestead. According to the mayor’s specifications she’d been deeded two acres to go with it.

She walked over to stand at the threshold of what used to be a parlor. Turned out it was the perfect spot for her office.

She’d already removed the wallpaper and pulled up the outdated carpet to find maple hardwood perfectly preserved. She’d scraped the paint off the window casings until she got down to the original wooden finish. After a few weeks of demanding work, she’d gotten the room down to the bare essentials, and it was ready to be brought back to life. She’d begin gutting the kitchen as soon as that was done. She’d already peeled away three layers of flooring in one of the corners, going from tile to linoleum to the original wood she’d hoped was there. She was opting out of a fully updated modern kitchen, going instead with a combination of cabinetry similar to the beautiful American chestnut used for the butler’s pantry furniture pieces. It would provide functionality but adhere to the classic feel.

She wished she’d had more time to spend on it, but for the last month, she’d been working for a couple of Miko’s friends, which was no small favor. It involved an update of her friend Ina’s house and then a renovation of Ina’s sister’s house, which was technically a Craftsman, but vernacular in that it was trying hard not to be. It had helped her bank account which was all but empty. The purchase of the house had taken everything she had in savings, but she wasn’t sorry she’d taken it on. Once those side projects were finished, she’d been able to accept Derek’s job offer, and steady employment meant she’d have the money to buy the supplies she’d need for the lengthy rehab ahead of her. With the museum start date on Monday, she wouldn’t have any more time to spend on it than she’d had before, but the New Year’s weekend was a long one, and although she was itching to get started on the new project, she’d have three whole days to sink her teeth into bringing her office to life. It would be a big step in the right direction. She’d ripped out one of the walls to make sure there was no knob and tube wiring hiding, waiting to spark and bring the house down for the second time. Thankfully, the electric had been updated correctly and she’d gotten assurances from the electrician she’d hired that all was up to code and all he’d need to do was update the box. New Sheetrock had gone up and she was good to go. She was planning on a wallpapered focus wall and after searching through hundreds of styles, she’d settled on a vintage pattern that had vertical stripes of meandering vines in soft greens on a white background. She’d had to wait close to two weeks for delivery, but it had finally arrived via UPS a couple of days ago and it was the first thing she’d tackle tomorrow. When she needed a break from the painstaking work, she’d go out to her barn to work on her latest sculpture.

She chuckled to herself. Sculpting took as much patience and attention to detail as restoration did, so she wouldn’t find relief from that, but it ignited the creative side of her brain, and that always made her feel balanced and whole. It was also what soothed her when things got too much, or sadness came back to claim her. The horse she was working on was half-way done, and she couldn’t wait to get back to it.

During the few weeks it took to close on the house, she’d gone back to California to pack up her belongings for the move east. She’d sold her truck and rented a U-Haul, more for her sculptures than anything else. She’d needed to get both her finished and unfinished work, as well as the dozen bins of metal scraps she’d accumulated over the years, back to Eden. A couple of pieces were too large to fit, so she’d shipped them out, and the only other important pieces of her life were her clothes, which had worked only temporarily, the climate here chillier than in the west, her motorcycle, her portfolio, and her materials. She’d stayed with Miko and Eric until the deed to the house had been signed transferring ownership, and recorded, and then moved in lock, stock, and barrel. The barn had been a boon and one of the main reasons she’d purchased the house in the first place, and it had been her initial order of business. She’d taken the first week to repair all the rotted wood, the sills and strengthen the rafters. Then she’d organized all the materials she’d carted with her cross-country. Wanting to find a home for two finished pieces, she’d gone to Marmalade, a boutique that offered consignment opportunities for local artists that Miko had recommended, and the owner, Sophia Sass, had agreed to take them. The bionic- looking dog, made from gears, silverware, and other odds and ends, had sold almost immediately, and the eagle in flight within the first two weeks. When Sophia had called to tell her about the sales, she’d been excited about the prospect of more.

They add a creative edge that we haven’t seen here before, and people have been coming into the shop just to see them up close.

Yesterday, with Kaeo Kalani’s help, she’d managed to transport one of the larger pieces, entitled Resistance, that had finally arrived from California. Sophia had carved out a special place for it in front of the window, as a teaser to anyone passing by. It was a copper rendition of a woman, the front in female form, the back, striations of copper in parallel lines, extending outward, as if the wind were trying to blow her away but unable to do so, and Sophia had been over the moon with it. The boutique owner was more than willing to accept the second piece, Woman of Steel and Kaeo had promised to help her get that one to Marmalade on Saturday. He’d been quite impressed with her work and had already put a down payment on the horse she was working on for his wife. He’d also commissioned a female Hawaiian shaman for his sister, Hina. She owned the local stables and offered equine therapy. According to Kaeo, she’d inherited the ability to communicate with their ancestors, a gift handed down from their grandmother, the shaman in question. He and his wife had just moved from Kauai to reconnect and were still living with her while waiting to close on the house they’d bought. Here to stay, the couple had found a Dutch Colonial that was in need of TLC that they both loved, and it wasn’t far from Hina, one of the pre-requisites. As part of her new construction crew, Kaeo had the skills to do the work, but with a baby on the way, time was of the essence, so she’d offered to help in any way she could. How she’d squeeze it in, she wasn’t sure, but he was a good guy and she’d make time. She smiled to herself. He didn’t have to know it wasn’t only to help him out. That particular architectural style would make a good addition to her portfolio.

She jerked when Thor bumped her from the rear. Pepper gave her a nudge on the side, and she smiled down at both of them.

You want to play, don’t you?

They both loved the snow and would be outside all day if she’d let them.

Let me get my boots, hat, mittens, and coat on. It had become a litany that she repeated over and over, not wanting to forget the most essential outerwear. She’d gone racing out after them one day without gloves and her hands were close to frostbite when she came back in.

As soon as she opened the back door, the chocolate Lab and his partner in crime, a Lab, boxer, and hound mix Jord had rescued from the local shelter a few months ago, went running like wild wolves across the white-swept lawn. The nipped at each other’s heels until Thor slid his body headfirst into the few inches that had accumulated. Pepper lapped up the fluffy mix before running off along the fence line as a UPS truck went by. Jord couldn’t resist chasing after her, her booted feet making tracks over Pepper’s pawprints, following her back and forth as the dog tried her best to outrace the truck. When she clapped her snow-covered mittens, Pepper turned the game around and began pursuing her. She’d actually come to love the snow as much as the dogs and had been like a kid the day she’d made her first snowman. Growing up in sun-kissed San Bernardino Valley, she’d had to travel to the nearby mountains if she wanted to ski or snowboard. Her dad, athletic himself, had made sure to introduce her to every sport imaginable, no matter where it took them. Here, she still had to travel to the mountains to ski, but the snow didn’t by-pass her house the way it had back there.

As she ran, Thor came barreling after her, knocking her to the ground in his exuberance. Ending up on her back, she laughed as he covered her face with wet and cold tongue laps.

She heard the muted sound of her cell from inside her pocket. After sitting up, pulling a mitten off with her teeth, and pushing Thor away, she swiped to answer. It was Cerridwen Moore, one of the new friends she’d made through Miko. They were playing on a basketball team together, and Cerri had dropped by last weekend to see the house and go over the blueprints for the restoration. It was no surprise that Cerri enjoyed DIY projects as much as she did. Her brother, Derek, had taught her all she needed to know about the construction gig.

Hey. What’s up?

A couple of things. One, tonight. Are you coming? Miko said you might opt out.

Miko had been talking to her on a daily basis for the last week about the bash that Minnie and Simon, more friends of Miko’s she’d gotten to know, were throwing for New Year’s at Delos. The restaurant Simon owned would be closed to the public tonight, making it a private celebration for anyone who’d been smart enough to make a reservation early. There’d been so many calls, he’d had to turn people away. Miko had issued the invitation a few weeks ago, encouraging her to join all the new friends she’d made, but she’d been reticent about accepting. The turn of the calendar page last year wasn’t a good memory. It was the night that Brendon had dumped her. After three years together, the relationship not only personal but business as well, she’d thought they were heading toward the next level when he told her he was in love with someone else. Seemed he’d started seeing one of their client’s daughters during a build and decided she was more of what he was looking for in a partner. Blonde, petite, and feminine, with baby-doll features and a job in retail, she was as different from Jord as a hammer was from stiletto heels. It would have been bad enough losing her lover, but Miss Priss Penny didn’t like them being together so much, so Brendon had acquiesced to the bitch’s demands and fired her on top of it all. Crushed, alone, and unemployed, she’d come to Eden to lick her wounds. It had taken time, but here she was uncrushed, employed, and happily single.

Jord?

Yeah, I’m here.

Miko told me why you might want to skip it, but it’ll be fun. Honest. And you can’t sit home and mope.

She could but probably shouldn’t. It wasn’t that she still pined over the asshole. He’d proven what kind of mettle he was made of, and he no longer appealed. Quickly listing the pros and cons, of a night out in her head, she added them up and found going had won.

Sure, why not. How dressy do I have to go?

Not at all. I mean, no jeans, but no fancy cocktail dresses or anything.

Jord stood, slapping the snow off her jeans before heading for the house.

You said there were two things. What else did you want to ask me?

Are you going to come to our monthly ritual? Miko’s performing a Japanese tea ceremony and we’re all excited about it. I think she’s a little nervous and since you’re her oldest and best friend, she wants you there.

Jord knew the group of women who met once a month for what they called their sacred circle was tight, and when Miko had first asked her, she didn’t know the women well enough to accept. Now, she considered most of them friends.

She hasn’t mentioned it since last month, so I thought maybe she changed her mind.

She hasn’t and wanted one of us to let you know you’re more than welcome.

Then, yes. Of course I’ll be there.

Oh, and last but not to be forgotten, we’re talking about a ski weekend at some point next month. Thought I’d mention it, see if it’s something you’d want to do.

Excitement rushed through her. She’d been working non-stop since she got here, and some time with friends was too tempting to turn down. I’d love to. It sounds great.

Good. I need to get a count, so we know how many rooms we’ll need. Ioan and Gwen are in, as well as Eric and Miko, and Sass, and her fiancé Callum. Dev, Karzan, and Jared are maybes. We can talk more about it tonight.

I don’t think I know Sass. Is she related to Sophia?

Yeah, her name’s Selene but she’s been Sassy since she was a kid, I guess. She’s a homicide detective who works with Niall, and Callum is a retired Army Ranger now employed as a state trooper. They’re a lot of fun when they let their hair down.

Jord opened the door and let the dogs in before she crossed the threshold, surprised at one of the names mentioned. Miko doesn’t ski.

I know, but Eric was so excited about it that she said she’d play ski lodge bunny for the weekend.

Jord was glad her friend would be there. They hadn’t spent as much time together since she’d moved into the farmhouse as she’d hoped, and maybe she’d forego a day on the slopes to hang with her.

I’m definitely in. Thanks for including me. I haven’t been skiing in a couple of years.

I try to get up there a couple of times a season. It’ll be my first time with Zain, so it ought to be interesting.

The couple was pretty competitive, and Jord could only imagine what kind of challenges would be thrown down.

She laughed and said, Interesting might not cover it.

I know, right? I’ll see you tonight. You better not change your mind, or I’ll come and get you.

I promise I’ll be there.

Ending the call with a chuckle, she looked down at the dogs, suddenly realizing she’d accepted the skiing invitation without giving any thought to what she’d do with her animals. She’d only boarded Thor once, when she’d come out to visit Miko, after Asshole had fired her. Needing the time away had muzzled her guilt, and the kennel had five-star reviews, but she had no idea where to find one here. She began calculating who she could ask when Kaeo popped into her mind. She wondered if he and Aria would be willing to stay at the house while she was gone. He loved her dogs and had an affinity for them. She’d talk to him on Saturday, see if he were willing. She wasn’t going to leave them with just anybody. They were her babies and possibly the only kind she’d ever have. Family wasn’t one of her top three priorities at the moment and it might never make it there. She wasn’t sure she’d ever trust anyone with her heart again. She’d certainly never date someone she worked with. It was nice knowing that Derek was happily married with a kid on the way and the only other guy who might have interested her, more for his physical prowess than his mind or behavior, was Noah Timmerman the other project manager. But he was a tool, one she definitely had no use for.

After she fed the dogs, and had gotten them out to do their business, they cuddled together in one