Built to Last Read online

  ***

  Afternoon found the two of them in Cade’s den. They were curled up on the couch together watching old movies and reading. It turned out that Cade had quite the library in his house.

  “I still love collecting books. With all the e-books you can find these days I worry that someday words on actual paper will be gone.” She told him as she looked through the books on his shelves.

  “I like the weight of a book in my hands. It makes me feel more connected to the story and characters inside.” He replied standing behind her with his hands resting comfortably on her shoulders.

  “Which one is your favorite?” she asked turning in his arms.

  He reached for an old beat up paperback, handing it to her.

  “Really? I would have never pegged you as a Sci-fi guy.”

  “When I was a kid, I used to dream of flying through space inside my own rocket and landing in cities built on other planets,” he admitted.

  “Ohhhh, that is so cute!” she teased reaching up to ruffle his hair.

  “Are you mocking me?” he grinned grabbing for her as she tried to dart away.

  “Who me?” she asked with mock innocence. “Never!”

  He laughed and caught her up in his arms. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. “I’ll teach you to mock me,” he growled and carried her off to the bedroom once more.

  ***

  The storm was still going strong that evening, nearly another six inches had fallen throughout the day, but it was the winds keeping everything and everyone at a standstill. It was a record-breaking storm according to the news. Noelle stood at Cade’s bedroom window wrapped in his bathrobe staring out at the weather. She turned and looked back at Cade, asleep in his bed. He sprawled in his sleep, which told her he was not the type to share his bed often. The thought made her smile.

  They’d played games, read, slept, watched TV, and made love all day. It had been a perfect day, but doubt still played at the back of her mind. The sex was amazing, their conversations were interesting and playful, he even could cook, and Noelle could see herself falling for this man. There was no doubt in her mind that was exactly where she was headed but she didn’t know what the future held for her. She was running headlong back into her life and the speed of which everything was happening was quite frightening.

  She’d had a plan for her life once, before her mother had gotten sick. She wanted a career. She wanted to teach and maybe write a novel or two. She wanted to find a man that respected her drive and wanted to be her partner. She wanted to be a mother with a houseful of kids. All these things had been her dreams. Now, at twenty-seven she had come to realize that some of those things might just not be in the cards for her. They took time. School was a good start, but it was just that, a start. When she let herself go in Cade’s arms, she felt that those dreams might get left in the dust. She didn’t want to lose herself completely in him. She needed to spend some time finding out who she was again, and she knew that no matter how much she enjoyed being with Cade. She could only figure it out on her own.

  “Hey beautiful, come back to bed,” he murmured to her sleepily.

  She smiled down at him. He looked so incredible laying there reaching for her. His hair fell across his forehead and she reached down to brush it back. She knelt on the side of the bed and leaned down to kiss him, melting into his arms again. Nothing could be done tonight. She would savor this moment and tomorrow she would begin to get on with her life.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Morning brought with it the realization that Noelle would be returning to her apartment. As much as he wanted her to stay, they both had lives to get back to that even a snowstorm of the century couldn’t put off. He lent her a pair of his sweatpants and a t-shirt to go home in. They were much warmer than the outfit she had been wearing two nights ago. They’d gotten up early enough to eat breakfast and get her back to her apartment so she could get ready for work. He told her that he’d pick her up after work and they’d get her car unburied from his driveway so she could drive on her own for her Friday shift. She had put up a little bit of a fight until she saw how buried her car really was and then given in. He had to get to the site and see what he could do about getting everyone back on track. He needed the crew to start pushing their time. He wasn’t looking forward to having to pay overtime to get everything done by the deadline. He was supposed to meet with the owner for an update in the afternoon. He hoped that he would have a decent progress report to give them.

  The drive into the city wasn’t as bad as he expected. The storm had taken out tree limbs and in some places power lines, but the cleanup was happening quickly. He dropped Noelle off with a promising kiss and drove off to the work site. What he was greeted with, was not at all what he hoped. Men from his crew were standing around talking. His foreman waited until he parked the truck and then joined him.

  “I’m afraid we had some vandals Boss.”

  Cade swore under his breath and went to see the damage.

  ***

  Noelle closed the door on her apartment and nearly tripped over Precious as the cat wove between her legs. She reached down and picked up the Siamese. “I know baby I’m sorry. I’m going to get you something to eat.” She moved to the kitchen and pulled down one of the special cans of cat food. She emptied it into the dish then refilled her water bowl and hard cat food bowl. After petting her for a few minutes, while she was eating, Noelle stripped out of the oversized T-shirt and sweatpants and headed for the shower. She still had an hour until she needed to be to work. The bus would get her there and could have gotten her home as well, but Cade had been insistent and she did need her car back.

  Her cell rang from the charger as she was drying her hair. “Hello?” she answered eyes darting to the clock to check the time. She needed to leave in the next ten minutes to make the bus.

  “Miss Fuchs? This is Cindy from the Temp office.”

  “Oh, hi Cindy, what can I do for you? I’m getting ready to head out the door.”

  “I have a change of plans for you then. The Realtors office has decided to go a different direction, and since the storm had them closed down yesterday they are taking the opportunity to implement that new direction.”

  “So what you are prettily trying to tell me is that I’ve been fired.”

  “No, no, not at all. In fact, this kind of thing is not uncommon in the temp business. They simply found that the position was something they wanted to do without.”

  “I thought they were interviewing for a permanent replacement, for the woman that was retiring.” Noelle felt annoyed.

  “They were. All I can tell you is what we were told. They no longer have need of a temp and so you don’t need to go in today.”

  “Okay, thanks.” She’d only worked two days for them, but still felt it was a little personal.

  “I do have a couple of other jobs that crossed my desk this morning. One of them is a three month job and would start Saturday if you are interested.”

  Noelle hated working weekends but right now, any cash coming in was a good thing. “Tell me about it.”

  “Basically it’s a house sitting job. You’d be watching someone’s home for them, getting it ready for them to occupy this summer.”

  “That really isn’t in my resume and I just moved into an apartment. I also have a cat. Why would I be a good fit for this kind of job?”

  “When you gave us your resume, you put down that you have been taking care of your mother in her home for the majority of the last six years. That actually makes you qualified for what the owner is looking for with this house. Someone that has handled house problems, dealt with utilities, and maintenance. The house has been empty for several years. I don’t see anything here that says that you need to reside on the property for the three months but I imagine that would make it easier. It pays five thousand a month outside of your expenses. It’s up to you. Do you want me to put your resume in the pile for it?”

  Noelle hesitated for
only a moment, “Yes, go ahead. I’ll see what I can do on this end if they offer it to me.” She hung up the phone and dropped onto the couch. Five thousand dollars a month was a lot of money right now. That would go a long way to helping pay for everything she needed and some toward tuition in the fall. She went to look for her lease on the apartment. Maybe there was a possibility of subletting the place to someone else for three months. Then she wouldn’t have to pay rent either. She found the lease and sat back down on the couch to look it over. She clicked on the TV to a morning talk show for some background noise. Precious jumped up on the couch next to her and curled up on her lap. Now fed and happy, she wanted attention.

  “I know we just got moved in girl, but how would you feel about moving again?” She scratched the cat’s chin and received a contented purr in response.

  Nothing in her lease said she couldn’t sublet the place. However, the question was to whom? She didn’t think she wanted to have some stranger living with her things. The furniture and her meager possessions were all she had now. She wondered what Cade would think about this. Three months was a long time. Moreover, she had no idea where the house was. Of course, Cindy had said that she might be able to drive there and home every day so it couldn’t be too far away. No, she shouldn’t think about Cade. She wasn’t ready for a full-blown relationship at the moment. However, thinking about Cade also made her think about Griffin, who was in Salt Lake for at least three more months... but also Griffin whom she had just shot down. She had told him she would call him and he hadn’t called her after the other night. It wasn’t as if she was asking him on a date. She knew Griffin, he was like family. Having talked herself into it, she picked up her cell phone and chose his number.

  ***

  Cade decided to go to the site to work for the rest of the day. He needed to burn off some steam after being stuck in the office all morning listening to a pair of his clients bickering with each other over building details. He was already in a mood, even though his day had started out with more love making with Noelle before she went home. He missed her already. The last two days had been simple and fantastic. He felt happier than he had in a long time. Then reality had intruded again. The snow had been wet and heavy leaving parts of the city without power and one of his projects with roof damage. Then, his foreman on the Plaza job reported that there had been some vandalism to the site there as well. So when he arrived on site he had a head full of grumbling. He looked at the damages. Spray paint on freshly painted walls. Graffiti on his seven million dollar project. Well, he supposed it could be worse.

  “Hey Boss,” Griffin acknowledged him.

  Something about the mason perturbed him. It had pretty much from day one. The man did have an excellent working knowledge about stone masonry though, and marble in particular. Griffin had already done twice the work of Kelly in half the time. According to the foreman, most days he was gone from the site before the rest of the crew had their tools cleaned up. Still, Cade would not be sorry to see the man leave when the job was done.

  “Hey Griffin,” Rick Caster called from down the corridor where he was working. “Did you get snowed in with that pretty brunette of yours?”

  Griffin glanced at Cade briefly and turned back to the work he was doing. “Had a date with her the night it started. Took her to a club for some fun. You know how women can be around musicians. A couple of beers and I had to take her outside to cool her off.” Technically not a lie, he thought.

  Rick laughed along with the other guys that were in earshot. “Sounds like you have your hands full with that one. Didn’t you tell me, that you used to date her roommate or something? Dipping your wick in both pots back then?” he waggled his eyebrows lewdly.

  Griffin shrugged and didn’t say anything further.

  Cade gritted his teeth, picked up a sledgehammer and tossed it over his shoulder before slamming it into the vandalized wall. Several more blows had not soothed his anger but had knocked down the wall.

  Lunch break came and he walked out to the crew shack. “Andersen, I need to speak with you.”

  Griffin set his food aside, giving a shrug to the other guys in the shack, and pulled his coat back on. Cade was walking back to the hotel and Griffin followed him. As soon as he was out of sight of the other crew, Cade slammed him into a wall holding him there.

  “You had better stop the locker room talk about Noelle.” Cade threatened.

  “Who are you her father?” Griffin replied snidely. “What and who I do on my time off isn’t your business.”

  “Noelle is my business and I won’t have you disrespecting her.”

  “Last I heard, you’re just some guy she had a crush on in high school that she likes to occasionally have a good time with. She and I on the other hand…”

  “Knock it off. You can insinuate all you want, but you and I both know that you are the one in the friendship role here and if you keep it up the way you are, you won’t even have that, I’ll see to it,” Cade warned, letting go of the front of Griffin’s coat.

  “She’s a piece of ass Cade to both of us. Have no illusions that I know her as intimately as you do.”

  Without a thought, Cade swung at him, connecting hard. The crack of his fist against Griffin’s jaw felt very satisfying. The blow knocked Griffin to the ground but he just looked up and laughed at Cade rubbing his jaw.

  “Did I hit a nerve?”

  ***

  Noelle listened as the phone rang in her ear. He answered on the third ring.

  “Griffin Andersen.” He sounded very professional. She guessed he hadn’t bothered to look at the Caller ID.

  “Griffin, hi, are you busy?”

  “I’m at work so yeah a little. What can I do for you Noelle?”

  He sounded distant and cold to her and she was regretting calling. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think before I dialed. I can call back later.”

  “No, no, I could use a break anyway,” he paused, rubbing his sore jaw. She heard him holler to one of the other guys that he’d be back in five. “Okay you have my undivided attention.”

  “Would you like to take over the lease on my apartment?” she began.

  “You just moved in, what happened?”

  She told him about the job opportunity and summed up what it could mean for her. “And well, I thought that maybe you’d like to have someplace to stay that was more like a home than the motel. The rent is probably cheaper too.”

  “It’s something I could do,” he responded. “But they haven’t offered you the job yet, so we are getting ahead of ourselves here. When will you know?”

  “They want someone who can start Saturday. So I expect a call this afternoon latest tomorrow morning.”

  “All right Noelle I can do this for you and it will be nice to spend the rest of winter in a real apartment instead of a drafty motel room. Call me when you get the call.”

  Noelle hung up her phone feeling much more comfortable with her relationship status with Griffin and in a good place overall. Things really felt like they were coming together for her. She checked her watch to find that it was almost noon already. She remembered that she hadn’t called Cade to tell him she wouldn’t need a ride home from work. She picked up her cell again and dialed. She got his voicemail and left him a message telling him to pick her up here at the apartment when he was done with his day, so she could go get her car. Then she called her sister,

  “Hey there sister dear,” Del answered on the third ring. “What are you up to today?”

  “I’m stuck at home for the moment without my car.”

  “Oh?”

  “It’s at Cade’s covered in snow, can you believe that storm?”

  “We had a limb from the neighbor’s tree land on the roof. No real damage, but it made a big mess. The power was out for about three hours. What about you? You said your car is over at Cade’s place...”

  “Not going to talk about it right now Del. I have other things to deal with at the moment. I don’t suppose you’d mi
nd cat sitting for about three months?”

  “Precious? Why, where are you going to be that you can’t take care of her?”

  “I have a possible job that would mean living where I would be working and since it’s not my house, I don’t think they will let me take Precious with me.”

  “I’ll have to ask Sam, but you know the twins will have a field day with her. Are you sure you want her subjected to the two of them?”

  “At least she would be with someone I know. My other option would be to give her up and I don’t want to do that.”

  “And what are you going to do about your apartment if you get this job?”

  Noelle explained everything regarding Griffin. She and Del talked for a while longer and then hung up the phone. Soaps were playing on the public TV station, some overly dramatic woman was telling off her kidnapper as she struggled against her bonds. She looked awfully fresh and clean to have been bound and gagged for so long. Noelle scoffed at the screen and changed the channel.

  ***

  “So what happened with the job today?”

  “The Realtor’s office decided to go in a different direction. But I have another job starting Saturday. Cindy from the Temp service called again this afternoon. I’ll be working on reopening a house for a family that is moving back into the area the beginning of June. So how was your day?”

  “Miserable, but much better now that you’re here. So, what say I take you to dinner and then you can tell me all about this new job? Afterwards I’ll take you back to my house so you can get your car.”

  A little alarm went off in her head reminding her that she didn’t want to get into a relationship right now, no matter whom it was with. “I think I’m just going to get my car tonight and head back to my apartment. I have a day to get everything organized or packed. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”

  Cade looked disappointed in her decision, but nodded. “Okay I’ll take you over to my house then.” He was quiet for a moment, “You said packed...”