Sweet Surprise by Candis Terry Page A

zipper, and the way they hugged his thighs when he knelt to drill something.
    The cabinets he’d built were beautiful. Just enough design to make them interesting but not too much to draw the eye away from the products for sale.
    “Do you know anything about sanding floors?” she asked, finishing up the back wall with a last layer of paint.
    He lifted the safety glasses to the top of his head. “You talking about these floors?”
    She nodded.
    “I’d advise against it. It’s expensive. And unless it’s done right, it’s messy.”
    “Oh.”
    “I think the way they look now adds character to your shop.”
    She liked that he had an opinion that seemed carefully spoken. Unlike the Wilder brothers, who offered their advice or opinion whether you wanted it or not.
    “Well, lookee here.” Jana Wilder and her big Texas hairdo came in through the back of the shop. Hanging from her arm was a wicker basket with a floral cover thrown over the top. “Y’all have really made some progress. Y’all make a good team.”
    “I have a very short window to get things done,” Fiona explained, suddenly feeling like she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
    “Guess it’s a good thing I called in my charity debt and got Mike to help you.”
    Fiona looked at Mike, who took a sudden interest in the cabinet trim. “You didn’t tell her?”
    “Haven’t had a chance,” he said, without looking up.
    Fiona sighed and silently called him a chicken.
    No doubt Jana was the head of a strong-willed bunch of sons because she was pretty iron-willed herself. When she got something in her head, Lord help anyone who tried to remove it. Fiona knew anything her former mother-in-law did was with good intent, and that didn’t always make it easy to throw a roadblock in her path.
    So she softened the blow with a hug. “I really appreciate you offering your charity donation for Mike to help me move my boxes and furniture around, but I can’t accept that generosity. I want you to play that card for something you really need to have done around the ranch. Or maybe even the shop you and Charli are putting together. Surely, you have things that need to be built over there.”
    “Not really. Pretty much everything we need to fill our place can be covered with the stockpile of antiques I have above the barn. If not, the boys can take care of it.”
    “Oh.” Crap. “Well, I budgeted enough to hire a woodworker. Mike told me he has a construction business on the side, so I hired him to build the cabinets for the shop. He was supposed to tell you he’s working for me.”
    “You hired him?”
    Fiona nodded.
    Jana shifted her gaze to Mike. “You’re working for her?”
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    “Interesting.” Jana flashed a smile that seemed just a little twisted. Like her wheels were spinning all crazy in her head.
    “I really do appreciate your offer, Jana. I’m not trying to throw your generosity back in your face. Honestly.”
    “Sugarplum, you’re such a smart girl.” Jana patted her cheek in a motherly way. “Looks like you’ve got everything all figured out.”
    “Down to the smallest detail,” Fiona said proudly.
    “We’ll see.” Jana’s gaze danced between Fiona and Mike. “I brought y’all some lunch.”
    When Jana flipped back the floral cover over the basket to reveal several roast beef sandwiches and golden delicious apples, it somehow felt like a diversion.
    “That’s enough for an army,” Fiona said. “Did you really think I’d eat all that by myself?”
    “Well, y’all know me. I do everything on a grand scale.” Jana started pulling sandwiches out of the wicker basket. “Gets me in trouble once in a while, but it’s usually worth it.”
    An understatement if ever there was one.
    “Come on over here, Mike. I’ve got roast beef with cheddar or Swiss. Take your pick.”
    Mike set down his tape measure and grabbed a sandwich with Swiss.
    Fiona was amazed as he bit into the thick slices of wheat