When I awoke I decided coffee and something to eat was definitely needed. So I dug through my boxes of clothes, until I finally located a hoodie and a pair of jeans. My undies were in their own box, so there was no need to search for those . I got dressed and went to the bathroom to brush my teeth, spritz my hair with water and put some moose in it. Curly hair and rain equals a big time afro once it dries, and that's usually pretty scary.
"No need to frighten the natives" I said to myself.
When I walked out and locked the house up, I saw Emily leaving her house across the street. She smiled and came walking towards my house, so I did the same meeting her on the sidewalk.
"How are you this morning Ashley?" she asked with more enthusiasm than I could muster up this early in the morning.
" I'm good, still a little tired though, the air mattress I have didn't like my bones and muscles last night" I said my words thick with sarcasm.
"I was actually going to go see if I could find a decent cup of coffee and something to eat. Any suggestions?" I finished. Emily smiled one of her huge grins.
"There's this place just right down the road called Ulrey's Tavern, they serve pretty good coffee, nothing fancy, but it tastes just fine. And they have the best baked goods around, I would say that place is your best bet" she replied.
We both laughed and started for the tavern, I told her that not too many taverns actually make breakfast. She explained that since her place was the only one around, she did what she could to satisfy her customers. I could tell she genuinely was a very loving and kind person. When we got there she showed me what needed to be done in order to open the place, while at the same time the coffee was already brewing.
She told me I could work whatever time of the day I needed, so I decided to tell her that I did have children, but that they were with my family until the end of summer. I would prefer to work the hours when my kids were at school, once it started again after the summer. The fact that I children, seemed to worry her a little. She poured me a cup of coffee and handed me a breakfast menu, I looked it over and decided on a banana nut muffin
"A banana nut muffin sounds great" as soon as I had told her, she went in the kitchen and returned with one.
"So is your husband coming with the children?" she asked sheepishly. I laughed and decided I could tell her at least part of my story.
" Actually I am a single mother. My boyfriend that I was with since my junior year in high school, who is the father of my girls, left me early this year, we haven't seen him since.
"She gave me a pity smile, and said she was sorry for asking. I told her not to worry about it, that I really was ready to move on with my life and try and give my girls the best life possible. We talked for a while about her husband and son, and my girls. I found out that her husband used to work construction and then opened a garage with some of his buddy's. A few older people came in and ordered coffee, she served them while keeping up our conversation.
She asked me about my air mattress, so I explained that I hadn't got around to unloading my furniture yet. She said she would send her husband and his friends over to help, that would come in handy. She let me borrow a phone book while she attended to the other customers. I searched for a cheap contractor to lay the foundation that I needed on the back of the house, and was amazed to actually find one. Since I had the money upfront, he promised me he would be out today, which really made my day. I was finally getting started on settling in, since I still had a lot of unpacking to do, I decided to head home and get started. So I said good bye to Emily and left for my new home.
When I got home, I decided to check out the garage first, the realtor told me that there was an apartment above it, but that the stairs were too unsafe to go up there. I went to the side of the garage that faced the small tree line running besides the property, from the street all the way back to the woods. I noticed that only a couple of boards were actually broken, so I went to the u haul and grabbed my tool belt. I nailed down the pieces that needed to be secured and the one on the bottom I just took off completely, eventually I would make it to a hardware store.
The stairs led to a small balcony probably big enough for a couple chairs, and still leaving enough room for the door to actually open. The front door needed painting, but otherwise was it was in a fairly good shape. When I opened the door I noticed that it opened into a small one room style apartment, with the kitchen area on the right. It had a fridge and a built in stove against the far wall, an island separated the living room from the dining area. On the opposite wall were two doors, one led to a fairly large bath that needed a new shower, the other opened up to a bedroom.
As I looked around I wasn't at all displeased about the shape it was in. If I fixed it up and rented it out, I could be earning a little extra money. I knew the job I had just gotten at the tavern, wasn't going to be able to pay all my bills. I decided that I would work up here at night, because during the day I was going to get our house ready for when my girls got here. I couldn't wait for them to see their rooms, once they were built. They always shared a room, so I knew they would love their own rooms.
When I got around to the front of the house I noticed, what must be Emily's husband, and a couple of other guys walking over. One just happened to be Mr. gorgeous, I smiled as they reached me.
"Hello I'm Sam, these are Embry and Seth. Emily called and said you could use some help moving in some of your furniture" he said while reaching his hand out to shake, in turn I took his it I shook as well, trying to ignore the warmth his huge hand was giving off.
" Hi I'm Ashley and yeah that would be great, I could pay you guys for helping me" he shook his head and said there was no need for that because there was no way he would be charging any friends of Emily's.
I felt a little awkward with the way he said it, I guess I just wasn't used to it that anyone could be so loving and caring towards their wife. I quickly turned and walked towards the u haul, trying to break the tension which I was creating, they followed me instantly. I unlocked the back of it baring all the stuff that still had to be unloaded, before opening the front door. When I turned around, I saw that they were already pulling some of my things out. I hurried to jump up the ramp to help with what I could, when Embry aka Mr gorgeous smile and grabbed me by the waist. A jolt of electricity tingled up my spine while my stomach started to flutter.
"Oh no you don't, we'll get all this stuff, you go in and show the guys where to put it" I blushed and wiggled out of his grip.
I jumped down again and ran inside to find Seth setting down my couch in the living room, a moment later Embry came in holding my flatscreen TV. As he placed it on the floor, he looked up and smiled at me. He kept smiling at me like that, every time he brought something in, this went on for at least an hour and a half, I must admit that he was pretty freaking hot. When they were finished, Embry asked if he could stay to help put some of my furniture back together. I contemplated on it for a minute and eventually decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea, to have an extra pair of hands to hold stuff up while I put in bolts and screws.
That and of course I love seeing e macho man's face when they found out I can do things, they could barely do, so I agreed. Honestly, if you looked at him, you'd think the man had just won the lottery. I laughed at him, rolling my eyes, Seth and Sam smiled and said goodbye. As they were walking out the door, I saw a cement truck that pulled up that read Keith's masonry and foundations.
" They must be lost, I'll take care of them" Embry started walking towards the door.
"Oh their not lost" I said running to get in front of him.
I took the guys around back and showed them the area I needed laid, they immediately got started so a confused looking Embry and me started back in to the house.
" Your making this place bigger?" he asked a little stunned.
"Yup, I am adding two more rooms" I stated and started for my bedroom.
Embry dropped the subject and helped me put up my canopy bed, we worked together in a comfortable silence. After a while he started telling me about himself, I found out that he was single, an only child of a single mother, which I liked, and that he worked crazy hours for Sam's garage as a mechanic. He also said that he was staying at Seth's but was really wanting to find a place of his own, as soon as he said it a light bulb flashed on in my head.
"Well I do have a 1 bedroom apartment above the garage, if you're interested let me know it won't be ready for at least a week though"
"Really, what's wrong with it?" he asked.
"I just need to do some painting and install another shower. If you help me the first month is free, and then let's say $400 a month, everything included?" He grabbed me into a hug, and said thank you like three times. I laughed and explained I was losing feeling in my toes, so he dropped me instantly apologizing excessively.
After Embry left and my foundation was laid, I ran to the grocery store, as I went I called to see how the girls were doing.
"Mommy I miss you and I want to see our new house! Oh and Avery pored Ma-maws pop all over her DVD player. Aunt Brittany pukes all the time, she has a baby in her belly, did you know a big bird came and kissed her belly and now she has a baby in it" I laughed as my 5 year old talked like she was on speed.
I talked to her and Avery and then my mother, who assured me they were doing great. She was surprised that I already had found a job and someone to rent the apartment to. She started getting all sappy, saying she was going to miss us all when we she brought the girls back and I decided to let her go. I love my mama, but I have been trying to talk her into moving here so we could all start over. She became a widow a few years back and just hasn't been herself anymore since.
I think a change of scenery would do her good, and then there is my sister. She was with a guy that left the moment he found out she was pregnant, loser. So my mom moved her back home, and is now planning on helping her raise the baby, it's their decision so I can only do and say so much. When I returned home from the grocery store, it was getting late so I just made me a cold meat sandwich.
As I ate it, I went to the living room and decided to put some of my movies and books on the book stands that were on both sides of the entertainment stand. After getting all of that put away, I put my curtains up and noticed Embry sitting on Sam and Emily's porch by himself. He was In a pair of grease stained jeans and a white tee shirt, god he looked like Auguste Rodin's famous statue 'The Thinker'.
He actually looked like a Greek god, as I thought it, I just realized I was falling for this man. Which is not something I really wanted right now. I couldn't do that too my girls, their life was chaotic enough without their mommy popping a man into their lives. I was lost in thought staring at him when he looked up at me and smiled, I froze but let the curtains fall into place and slowly made my way back to the couch. Then the door bell rang...