The Best Man's Baby by Victoria James Page A

appointment would jump into her head. Things were seriously getting way ahead of her. What was happening? Jake was turning into a caring, concerned partner, and it was becoming more and more impossible to relegate him to the sidelines.
    She unlocked the front door of her shop, fumbling with the key a few times before it finally opened. She threw her keys, purse, and coat on the empty counter and walked to her small office in the back of the store. Her heart hadn’t returned to a normal beat yet as she plunked herself into her swivel chair. She stared despondently at her closed laptop screen. It was all a mess, she thought, placing her head in her hands.
    Hadn’t she always wanted Jake’s attention? So what was wrong? What was wrong was the undeniable knowledge that he was just doing this out of duty and nothing more. He wasn’t in her life because he wanted to be. Just three days ago no one knew she was pregnant. Now, because of her renegade spectacle, the entire town knew…except her mother. Her mother. Claire glanced down at her watch.
    In approximately one hour, Lucinda Holbrook would find out she was about to become a grandmother.

Chapter Six
    “This is garbage,” Jake muttered as he crouched down and looked at the uneven subfloor. He scowled up at Quinn. “This isn’t going to pass code,” he said, rising and wiping his hands on the front of his jeans.
    Quinn walked around the room shaking his head. “This is brutal. And this is the model suite. We don’t get this done, we can’t launch on time.”
    Jake nodded, walking across the small town house unit. His six weeks away from Red River had put him behind. He was head builder for Manning Construction, and with the growth they’d had, building was the last thing he’d been doing. Going to their various sites had taken up most of his time, and now they were in jeopardy of making some huge mistakes that would cost them their reputation and a hell of a lot of money. “We can’t keep using subcontractors. Ella could have done a better job than this. I’m telling you, you need to hire more full-time guys. You have way too many projects going on.”
    Quinn was nodding and looking around the small living room. “You’re right. Do what you gotta do. We can’t afford delays on this.”
    Jake nodded and looked away. He was going to have to tell Quinn about William. The problem was that he didn’t have everything figured out yet, and he couldn’t exactly ditch his brother without notice.
    “We’ve always had trouble finding quality guys out here. I was thinking about seeing if any of William’s guys are looking for extra hours. Maybe weekends. At least to get us back on track.”
    Jake’s gut twisted. Now he was going to be outright lying to his brother. “None of his guys are part-time.” He knew that for a fact because he’d spent hours poring over payroll, work orders, time sheets, and employee contracts.
    “Suggestions?”
    He shrugged and looked out the window. The parking lot below was filled with cars and Manning Construction trucks. In a few weeks, he’d have no ownership over this business. The days he spent working with his brother would be over. But he’d have his own company, one that wouldn’t be associated with their father. “I was thinking we should take on some guys in college. Do an apprenticeship program with the government. Something to get qualified workers. You’re better off training people yourself and having quality trades over random contractors.”
    “Okay. I should have listened to you earlier. You were right.” Reasonable, levelheaded Quinn. That made all of this harder. “You’ll be doing all this anyway. So go ahead.You should do the hiring. You have good instincts about people,” Jake said, pulling his iPhone out of his pocket. He glanced down at the screen to avoid Quinn’s stare.
    “Really? You’re the one who works with the crew. I’d rather you handled it.”
    Jake kept his head down. “Well, I’ll