Laying a Foundation: Bonus volume: Includes series prequel, The Groundbreaking (The Love Under Construction Series) by Deanndra Hall
Authors: Deanndra Hall
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needed to unwind.
Nikki lit her Candle of Intention, curled up in the bed, and drew the dogs close. She was about to open her latest read when something crossed her mind.
Grabbing a slip of paper and a pencil, Nikki crossed the room to the candle. She lit it every night in hopes that something would come to her, some positive move she could make to finally improve what was left of her life. But tonight she wanted to do something different. Which goddess? Clíodhna, queen of the Bean-sídhe , the Banshees – she’d do. Nikki hesitated for a few minutes, trying to come up with rhymes that made sense. Then she wrote on the paper:
Clíodhna, queen of the Banshees,
Hear my solemn plea.
Send the Banshees’ keening forth
And bring someone to me.
As I ask it,
So mote it be.
Hmmmm . . . would that do it? She tore the corners off of the paper and dropped them into the candle’s flame; they flared momentarily and then ashed away. Then she began to read the poem, nine times aloud, visualizing someone coming toward her. She wasn’t looking for a lover or another husband, just hoping for someone to maybe go to the movies with her, or on a picnic, or maybe to a ballgame. No big deal. Maybe gay! A gay guy friend would be nice and safe. When she’d finished reading, she rolled the poem up and tied it with a piece of thread from the drawer of the chest on which the candle sat. Then she lit the tiny tube from the candle’s flame and watched the paper curl and turn to white ash.
Nikki climbed back into bed. The rest was up to the Universe; she had done her part. All she could do now was think positively and keep her eyes open. She turned off the light and sighed, staring into the darkness until her lids grew heavy and sleep finally found her.
CHAPTER TWO
B link, and something got screwed up. How exactly did that happen so fast, and how did the guys make it look so easy? Tony drummed his fingers on his desk, listening to Cal tell him the crew had put the wrong kind of reinforcement in the concrete forms and all of it was going to have to come out before the pour the next day.
“And exactly where was the person who was supposed to be supervising this?” Tony asked.
“At the hospital with his wife. They had their baby,” Cal shrugged.
“Well, I guess Walters Construction can’t compete with a baby,” Tony grinned. Cal visibly relaxed. “You know how I feel about this kind of thing. I don’t want it to happen, but sometimes it does. We fix it, we go on. And we try not to have it happen again. Right?”
“Exactly!” Cal agreed enthusiastically. Tony had to fight to keep from laughing. The short, bald, stocky guy was definitely the best foreman Walters Construction had ever had, but he was the epitome of high-strung. Tony took everything very seriously too but, unlike Cal, he tried not to give himself a stroke over anything. Virtually everything could be fixed, but the goal was to not have to fix anything.
“Okay, so go pull the mesh, replace it, and get that truck down there. We need that concrete poured tomorrow morning or we’re going to be behind schedule.” Tony rose from his chair and crossed the room to the coffee pot. “I’d really like to get this job finished ahead of schedule. We’ve got the possibility of landing the contract for that new hospital in Willisburg and I’d hate to have to pass because we’re dragging ass on this job.”
“You got it, boss. Anything else before I go?”
“Yeah,” Tony turned and grinned. “Tell Matt I said congratulations and I hope Andrea and the baby are doing great. Boy or girl?”
“Girl. Madison Paige.”
“Thanks. I’ll be out on the jobsite tomorrow morning if I don’t see you before then.” Tony shook Cal’s hand as the younger man headed out the door. He turned back to his coffee, dropped one sugar cube in and stirred.
“Hey, Cheryl?”
“Yeah?” Tony’s secretary called back.
“Could you please send flowers over to the hospital for
Nikki lit her Candle of Intention, curled up in the bed, and drew the dogs close. She was about to open her latest read when something crossed her mind.
Grabbing a slip of paper and a pencil, Nikki crossed the room to the candle. She lit it every night in hopes that something would come to her, some positive move she could make to finally improve what was left of her life. But tonight she wanted to do something different. Which goddess? Clíodhna, queen of the Bean-sídhe , the Banshees – she’d do. Nikki hesitated for a few minutes, trying to come up with rhymes that made sense. Then she wrote on the paper:
Clíodhna, queen of the Banshees,
Hear my solemn plea.
Send the Banshees’ keening forth
And bring someone to me.
As I ask it,
So mote it be.
Hmmmm . . . would that do it? She tore the corners off of the paper and dropped them into the candle’s flame; they flared momentarily and then ashed away. Then she began to read the poem, nine times aloud, visualizing someone coming toward her. She wasn’t looking for a lover or another husband, just hoping for someone to maybe go to the movies with her, or on a picnic, or maybe to a ballgame. No big deal. Maybe gay! A gay guy friend would be nice and safe. When she’d finished reading, she rolled the poem up and tied it with a piece of thread from the drawer of the chest on which the candle sat. Then she lit the tiny tube from the candle’s flame and watched the paper curl and turn to white ash.
Nikki climbed back into bed. The rest was up to the Universe; she had done her part. All she could do now was think positively and keep her eyes open. She turned off the light and sighed, staring into the darkness until her lids grew heavy and sleep finally found her.
CHAPTER TWO
B link, and something got screwed up. How exactly did that happen so fast, and how did the guys make it look so easy? Tony drummed his fingers on his desk, listening to Cal tell him the crew had put the wrong kind of reinforcement in the concrete forms and all of it was going to have to come out before the pour the next day.
“And exactly where was the person who was supposed to be supervising this?” Tony asked.
“At the hospital with his wife. They had their baby,” Cal shrugged.
“Well, I guess Walters Construction can’t compete with a baby,” Tony grinned. Cal visibly relaxed. “You know how I feel about this kind of thing. I don’t want it to happen, but sometimes it does. We fix it, we go on. And we try not to have it happen again. Right?”
“Exactly!” Cal agreed enthusiastically. Tony had to fight to keep from laughing. The short, bald, stocky guy was definitely the best foreman Walters Construction had ever had, but he was the epitome of high-strung. Tony took everything very seriously too but, unlike Cal, he tried not to give himself a stroke over anything. Virtually everything could be fixed, but the goal was to not have to fix anything.
“Okay, so go pull the mesh, replace it, and get that truck down there. We need that concrete poured tomorrow morning or we’re going to be behind schedule.” Tony rose from his chair and crossed the room to the coffee pot. “I’d really like to get this job finished ahead of schedule. We’ve got the possibility of landing the contract for that new hospital in Willisburg and I’d hate to have to pass because we’re dragging ass on this job.”
“You got it, boss. Anything else before I go?”
“Yeah,” Tony turned and grinned. “Tell Matt I said congratulations and I hope Andrea and the baby are doing great. Boy or girl?”
“Girl. Madison Paige.”
“Thanks. I’ll be out on the jobsite tomorrow morning if I don’t see you before then.” Tony shook Cal’s hand as the younger man headed out the door. He turned back to his coffee, dropped one sugar cube in and stirred.
“Hey, Cheryl?”
“Yeah?” Tony’s secretary called back.
“Could you please send flowers over to the hospital for
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