Gulf Coast Wedding by Maggie Miller
Chapter Twenty-three
Levi and his mom met Travis outside of the new house. Travis was getting stuff out of the back of his truck, so Levi hustled to get the front door unlocked so he could help bring equipment into the house. “I should get some copies of these keys made. At least one. I know we can’t really change the locks until after the closing, but until then, I’d feel better with more than one key.”
His mom held out her hand. “If you don’t mind me taking your car, I can run to Beachside Hardware and get that done.”
“Yeah? That would be great.” He dropped the key onto her palm. “Thanks.”
“Sure. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Try not to have too much fun without me.”
Travis had a sledgehammer over his shoulder and a drywall bucket in the other hand as he walked toward them. The bucket had an assortment of odds and ends in it. “We’ll be sure to save something for you to destroy.”
She laughed. “That sounds perfect.”
As she hopped in the car, Levi looked at Travis. “What else should I bring in?”
“You can grab my toolbox out of the back seat.”
“Got it.” He hefted the worn metal box, surprised by its weight, and followed Travis inside.
Travis set the bucket down by the kitchen counter, then leaned the sledgehammer against it. “What time is the dumpster supposed to be delivered?”
Levi shook his head. “There isn’t one. Yet. I didn’t think to do that.” He really didn’t want his future father-in-law to think he was a slacker. He just hadn’t realized he should have set that up. “Sorry.”
“No need to apologize. Unless you’ve secretly been flipping houses all this time and should have known better.” With a slight smile, Travis shook his head. “I realize now I mentioned that to your mom, not you. I’ll handle it.” He pulled out his phone, tapped the screen a few times and put it to his ear.
Levi laughed. “I definitely haven’t been flipping houses.”
Travis spoke into the phone. “Morning, Deanna. You have any twenty-yard dumpsters available?” A second later he nodded. “Great. Let me give you the address.”
Levi exhaled. Travis was an impressive guy. He knew how to do so much that was completely foreign to Levi. Actual hands-on kind of stuff. The skills that Levi’s father should have taught him but never did. Although Levi wasn’t sure Randy had known how to do them either.
He’d told Levi once that there was no point in wasting time or effort on something you could pay someone else to do.
Dumb philosophy in Levi’s mind. There was a lot of satisfaction in a job well done. Not to mention, this was a perfect example of when paying someone else to do something wasn’t the right financial choice.
Levi still had a decent amount in his bank account, but he’d paid cash for this house, which had taken a good chunk of his cyber coin funds. It had been the only way to make the closing happen so quickly. That felt like an important thing that needed to happen, so he’d been happy to do it.
After all, this was an investment in his and Sam’s future. The place where Clayton would do the rest of his growing up. Maybe where they’d expand their family, too.
“Okay,” Travis said. “We should have a unit here by this afternoon.”
“Thank you for taking care of that. I’ll pay you back whatever it costs.”
Travis stuck his phone away. “This one’s on me.”
“Thank you, but you don’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I do. I know enough about houses and real estate to know that a two-week closing doesn’t happen unless it’s a cash sale.” His eyes narrowed. “That is how you made that happen, isn’t it?”
Levi nodded, unsure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Travis shook his head. “That’s impressive. And commendable. Does Sam know?”
“Yes, I told her right away.”
“Good. And I understand wanting to get this taken care of, but you didn’t leave yourself short, did you?”
“No, I’m all right.”
“Good. Glad to hear that. But Sam doesn’t have anything to offer for her part except for sweat equity. Hers and mine. So if I can help out in some places, especially where I have contacts and can get a better deal than someone off the street, I’m going to do it.”
“I really appreciate that. I do have one favor to ask.”
“Shoot.”
“I don’t know anything about repairs or home maintenance or any of that. My dad just never taught me. If there’s something I should know, will you teach me? I want to be able to take care of this place once we’re living in it.”
Travis smiled. “I’d love to.” He reached into the bucket and pulled out two large box cutters, and two face masks. “That offer goes for anytime. Not just while we’re working on the house. If something comes up after you’ve moved in, and it will, all you have to do is call.”
“Thanks.” Levi appreciated the offer more than he could say.
Travis held out a mask and one of the box cutters. “What do you say we start tackling some of this carpeting? In fact, why don’t I get you started, then I can do a complete inspection of the house and see if there’s anything I missed the first time. That was a pretty superficial inspection. I really should get back in that attic and have a better look around.”
“Sounds like a plan. Just show me what to do. Although, do I really need the mask?”
Travis’s brows lifted. “That’s up to you, but they had a dog and who knows how many years of dust and dander have built up in that shag. Not to mention all the skin cells and, well, I don’t plan on breathing any of that in.”
“Good point.” Levi pulled the mask on before grabbing the box cutter.
Travis worked with Levi for a couple minutes, showing him just how to slice the old carpeting and pad underneath it into manageable sections, then how to pry up the nail strips holding it in place.
It was simple work, but in a few short minutes, Levi was already starting to sweat. He was oddly pleased with that. He’d never worked up a sweat sitting behind a computer. This was a nice change. He felt like he was really doing something.
Travis had gone off to do the inspection. Levi could occasionally hear a door being opened and closed, or a toilet being flushed.
Levi said a quick prayer that there wasn’t anything majorly wrong with the house. He much preferred spending money on improvements rather than repairs.
Before long, Travis walked through. “Headed up to the attic. Yell if you need me. Or text.”
“Okay.” Levi sat back on his heels and pulled the mask down. “Does that mean you haven’t found anything?”
“Nothing big. Lots of small stuff, but that’s to be expected. Nothing to worry about.”
“That’s nice to hear.”
Travis gave him a nod. “You’re making good progress. If you’re hot, you could open the front door and those dining room sliders. You ought to get a nice cross breeze. Remodeling is sweaty work. Not to mention it’ll get some fresh air in here and help clean out that smell.”
“Good idea.” He got to his feet. “After I’m done here, I’ll probably move to the bedrooms next.”
“I’ll help you when I get done.” Travis headed off to the garage.
Levi got the sliders open, then cracked the front door before going back to work. He cut the carpet into strips about five feet wide, then pulled each section up and rolled it into tight bundles that they could easily haul out to the dumpster when it arrived.
One more section and the living room was done. Maybe he was getting used to the dog smell, but it seemed like it was already starting to dissipate. He imagined that would only improve as the carpeting was removed.
His mom walked through the open front door. “Wow, you did a lot while I was gone.” She held out a small paper bag. “Here’s the extra key.”
He reached up to take it. “Thanks for doing that. I’m going to give that to Sam.” He surveyed what he’d accomplished so far. “It’s coming along.”
“What can I do to help?”
He wasn’t sure. He didn’t really want his mom on her hands and knees on this filthy carpet. “I’m not sure. I’d ask Travis but he’s in the attic having a better look around.”
“There has to be something I can do.”
“How about when I move to the next room, you can help me roll the carpet and padding up? I just need to see if Travis has another mask in the bucket on the counter. He was right about not wanting to breathe this stuff in.”
She nodded. “I can do that.” She glanced at the rolls already stacked by the door. “Where is that carpet going to go?”
“In the dumpster that’s coming. Travis arranged that because I should have but didn’t really understand I needed to.”
She gave him a gentle smile. “Travis is a good man.”
“Yes, he is.”
“I’ll go look in the bucket. You said it’s in the kitchen?”
“Yep.” As she went to do that, he got back to work on the last section, getting it rolled and stacked with the others by the door, then doing the same with the padding.
She came back as he was finishing up, a mask in her hands. “Sorry for the delay. I got lost staring out at that backyard. Clayton is going to have so much fun back there. You know, that big live oak in the corner might have a nice sturdy branch for a rope swing.”
Levi stood, brushing off his jeans which were already pretty dirty. “That’s a great idea. I bet he’d love that.”
“Who’d love what?” Travis asked as he came back in.
“Clayton would love a rope swing,” Denise answered. “I was thinking that big live oak in the backyard might be just the spot for one.”
Travis grinned. “I bet he’d like that a lot. We’ll have to put that on the list.” He shrugged. “Maybe even a tree fort. Who knows?”
Levi laughed. “I always wanted a tree fort when I was a kid.”
Denise looked at him. “You did?”
He nodded. “What kid doesn’t?” He glanced at Travis. “What’s the word on the attic?”
“Looks good. There’s the leak that was fixed, but you knew about that already. If it was my house, I might add some insulation. What’s up there is old and thin.”
“Is that expensive?”
Travis shook his head. “Minimal compared to everything else you’re already doing.”
Levi breathed out a sigh of relief. “Add it to the list.”