Restoring Her Faith. Jennifer Slattery

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ your glass in, get all the dust and grime and whatnot off them. Isn’t that how you do it?”

      Duh. She knew she’d forget something, as if she hadn’t looked unprofessional before. But feeding troughs? “I hadn’t thought to use farm equipment.”

      He gave a slight shrug. “When Leaded Pane came out a few years ago, they brought a tub, but that was when only one window needed cleaning. I figured there might be more to tackle.”

      She nodded. For uniformity, she’d need to wash them all. “I appreciate the forethought.”

      “No problem. Need anything else?”

      “I’m good.”

      “Hey, boss?” She saw a potbellied man in coveralls waving Drake over.

      “Excuse me.” He tipped his hat to her, then sauntered off.

      She gazed up at the side windows of the church, each at a height that made her stomach knot.

      Lucy had assured her, when Faith made her bid, that she could use the scaffolding they already had on hand, but that probably belonged to Drake and his crew. The thought of asking to borrow it, even though technically it was considered on-site equipment, made her jaw clench.

      The man obviously didn’t like outsiders and clearly thought she was the worst person for this job, probably because she was a woman.

      She’d just have to show him and his committee friends how wrong they were.

      Half an hour later, with notes, measurements and photographs in hand, she circled the property. When she reached the other side of the church, she practically cheered. There, two older men stood a few feet from the back of a dented white van, assembling scaffolding.

      “Howdy.” The taller of the two touched the brim of a sweat-stained ball cap.

      “Hi.” Hopefully these guys held women in higher esteem than Drake did. She approached with an extended hand and introduced herself. “I’m here to work on the windows.”

      Both men faced her with feet shoulder width apart.

      The one on the right mopped his brow with a gray rag. “So I heard.”

      What did that mean? Drake had probably been flapping his mouth to everyone out here. She resisted the urge to ask, and maintained a forced smile. “If it’s not too much of a bother, when you’re done assembling this—” she indicated the rolling aluminum tower they’d been building “—would you mind if I borrowed it? Briefly.”

      They exchanged glances, and the shorter of the two tugged on the skin beneath his chin. “Mind if I ask what for?”

      Drake joined them. “Everything okay here?”

      “Perfectly.” She faced him and repeated her request.

      He studied her a moment, his deep gaze latching on to hers, then he pivoted to look at the windows on this side of the building. “You need us to get the broken panes down for you?”

      “It’d be best if I did that.”

      “Woman, if you think I’m going to let you—”

      “Let me?” What century had this man stepped out of? “Why, sir—” She donned a demure voice, placed a hand under her chin and batted her eyes. “—we women can do all sorts of difficult things. We can write our numbers, read books, and not just the ones with pretty pictures.”

      The gentleman in the ball cap snickered, then covered with a cough.

      Drake’s mouth flattened. “Fellas, can you give us a minute?”

      “No problem.”

      His friends sauntered off, and Drake faced her. “Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot here. But if we’re going to be working together, we need to find a way to get along.”

      She released a breath, her tense shoulders going slack. She hated to admit it, but he was right. And she was better than this. So the man was infuriating and chauvinistic.

      And handsome enough to land on the cover of an outdoorsman magazine.

      “I agree.” She readjusted her ponytail. “But I can’t allow you or anyone else to remove those windows. The glass is much too fragile.”

      “I see.” He scratched his jaw. “How about we work together, and you show me how?”

      She wanted to protest, but at that height, and with the weight of those leaded panes, she’d need extra hands.

      “Fine. But it’s imperative you follow my directions precisely.” Before he could respond, she spun around and marched back to her trailer for duct tape.

      She returned to find him right where she’d left him—awaiting further instruction. A slight smile tugged her mouth. “Did you want to help me wheel the scaffolding against the siding?”

      His gaze bounced from her to the unbroken window. “I’m not trying to tell you how to do your job or nothing, but that window looks just fine to me.”

      “That’s why they hired me to restore the stained glass and you to remove bat guano.” According to Lucy, the summer before, they’d discovered the church had a bad infestation in the attic. Apparently they’d managed to get all the critters out a while ago, and prevent them from entering. But they hadn’t, as of yet, cleaned up the mess.

      Though Drake probably had his crew taking care of that, while he did more important things.

      Red blotches climbed up his neck. But, mouth set in a firm line, he complied.

      Faith wasn’t exactly making friends. She needed to start playing nice, before she dug herself into a mess that not only cost her this job, but tarnished her professional reputation, as well.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4SYURXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgADAEAAAMAAAABBicAAAEBAAMAAAABCbwAAAECAAMAAAADAAAA ngEGAAMAAAABAAIAAAESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEVAAMAAAABAAMAAAEaAAUAAAABAAAApAEbAAUAAAAB AAAArAEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAeAAAAtAEyAAIAAAAUAAAA0odpAAQAAAABAA СКАЧАТЬ