Their Forever Home. Syndi Powell

He might have been paired with the bully.

      STILL IN SHOCK at hearing her name, Cassie felt Biggie pat her on the shoulder and Tiny nudge her toward the platform. She’d done it. She’d made it into the top five contractors. Until this moment, she hadn’t realized how uncertain she’d been of succeeding in this.

      She closed her mouth and took careful steps toward the stage. The applause that followed after her name had been read out was softer than that for her competitors, and she knew it was because of her father, but it had stung all the same. Would there be a day when it wouldn’t hurt?

      John stood on the stage and watched her as she approached the three steps. She took the first step, teetered because of the heels and then felt his hands on her elbow and waist as he helped her. She whispered her thanks and joined the other teams as the last two names were announced.

      “Let’s hear it for our top five teams!” Mr. Belvedere turned with a flourish of his hands, and she heard the applause.

      She tried to smile as photographers took their pictures and reporters yelled out questions. She hoped that she at least appeared composed and confident, because she felt anything but those things on the inside. What had she done? Did she really think she could pull this off? Maybe her mother was right? Maybe she should have agreed to let go, sell the company and start over in a different career. But something deep down had told her that she could do this. She clung to that hopeful ember and straightened her spine.

      “Ms. Lowman, have you heard from your father? Does he know you entered the contest?”

      “Do you know where your father is hiding?”

      “Have you given any evidence to the police?”

      The smile on her face threatened to fade, but she hung on to it. She wouldn’t let their questions take away from her moment. Because this was about her, not her father. This was about her talents and abilities. Her time to shine, not to hide in shame.

      John leaned down and whispered into her ear, “Just keep smiling.”

      She gave a short nod and hoped that this would be over soon. She could see the brothers clapping, Tiny beaming while Biggie wiped at his tears with a faded red bandanna.

      Finally, the announcer gathered the five teams in a lopsided circle and handed them all manila envelopes. “Inside the packet, you’ll find the address of the house you’ll be working on along with the keys. Your budget is included along with a list of preapproved subcontractors.” He turned to Cassie. “I’ve already approved the Buttucci brothers’ application to work on your team.”

      “Thank you. I’m pleased to know that,” she replied.

      “We will have an in-depth meeting Monday morning at nine at the foundation’s office to go over everything that is required of you. In the meantime, go out and mingle. Talk to the press. Congratulations to all of you.”

      Cassie glanced around, unsure of what to do now. She wasn’t interested in talking to the press since they wanted to focus on her father instead of her. She spotted Beckett looking as shocked as she felt. She took a step toward the contractor and he flinched. She’d heard the vet had returned from Afghanistan with PTSD, but she hadn’t seen evidence of it until now. He waved to her, so she approached him. “Congratulations, Beckett, on making the top five.”

      He stared at her for a moment and said, “Thanks. You, too.”

      “They paired you with Lauren Sterling, so you’re in good hands.”

      He took a step away. “I guess.” He glanced around at the group of people waiting to talk to them. “I gotta go.” And he disappeared into the crowd.

      The stage started to clear as Cassie turned to John. It probably wouldn’t hurt to address one of the elephants in the room that stood between them. “What I said earlier about not wanting to work with you...”

      He held up his hand. “I know you didn’t mean it.”

      “But I did. Still do.” She winced and tried to use better words. This wasn’t the way to start a working relationship. “I hope that we can find a way to work with each other, because it’s going to be a long, fruitless endeavor if we can’t.”

      “I don’t doubt that we can work together, Ms. Lowman. But I believe we both need to make a commitment to each other and this contest right now.” He held out his hand. “I’m going to give my very best, and I hope you will, as well.”

      She shook his hand. “I never give anything less than all that I have.”

      With their hands clasped, she had the feeling that this was the beginning of something...different.

      JOHN HELPED CASSIE off the platform, and the members of the press surrounded them, yelling questions and pushing in from all sides. When John had met Cassie earlier, he hadn’t put her name together with the contractor who had been accused of embezzling from his own company though never proven. However, he couldn’t hold her father’s alleged crimes against her. If anything, it would bring more attention to them during the contest. Maybe they could come up with a strategy to use that to their advantage.

      “Miss Lowman has no comment about her father at this time,” John said into the microphone closest to him. “But we’d be happy to discuss making the top five teams tonight.”

      After a few moments of Cassie fielding inquiries about her experiences in rehabbing houses and him explaining his design credentials, the members of the press started to recede into the crowd. Clearly they weren’t going to get the story they’d hoped for. Cassie turned to him. “Thank you for that. I still don’t know what to say about my father.”

      He gave a shrug, as if it didn’t matter. “This is about us, not him. And the sooner we established that with the press, the better.”

      But she still looked up at him as if he was a hero. Her two big friends approached them, and the slightly smaller one picked her up by the waist and swung her around. “I knew you could do this, kid.”

      She squealed and demanded that he put her down. Once on her feet, she waved her hand at them. “John, these are the Buttucci brothers Luigi and Mario. Better known as Biggie and Tiny. They are the best in the construction business I’ve ever known, and we’re lucky that they’re going to be working with us. They do everything: demolition, electrical, plumbing. But where they really shine is in painting. They don’t need tape or edges. Steady hands, that’s what they have.”

      John shook their hands in turn, wincing slightly at the pressure of each clasp. They seemed to be sending him a warning about not only themselves, but Cassie, too. He could see the protective stances they had with her, sandwiching her safely between them. He gave each of them a nod, hoping they could understand that he wanted only the best for their team. “It’s great to meet you both.”

      They grunted, then looked back at Cassie. Tiny wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “Someone said you got the keys to the house. Wanna go see it now?”

      It would be nice to get a sneak peek at the house that was going to consume all their attention for the next few months. John nodded. “I’m in.”

      They each drove their respective cars to the run-down neighborhood and parked on the curb under a tall oak tree that mirrored others that lined each side of the street. John stared up at the house, which seemed to have a small porch that listed to one side. Cassie took a few moments to change out of her heels and into work boots that she had apparently kept in her truck.

      John was the first to walk up the cracked pathway to the small, rickety porch. He put a hand on a wrought iron column and winced as it shifted with very little pressure. He didn’t need to have construction experience to realize what that probably meant. He turned to the trio behind him. “The