Second Chances (Nugget Romance 3) by Stacy Finz Read Free Book Online Page A

me,” Colin said, zipping his down jacket. “You decide on your appliances yet?”
    Pat Donnelly, the contractor on the project, liked fixtures and appliances to be ordered well in advance. Being the top contractor in this part of the Sierra, he was spread thin and got ornery when he had to wait on late shipments.
    “We’re pretty set on the Wolf range. But we’re at an impasse on the fridge and dishwasher,” Sophie said, flicking her head at Mariah and rolling her eyes.
    “Don’t look at me,” Colin said. “I’m not getting in the middle.”
    The women laughed and Mariah said, “Hey, I met your new neighbor yesterday at the Ponderosa. Harlee, right?”
    “Yeah,” Colin said. They waited for him to say more, but what more was there to say other than she was gorgeous, had a screaming body, and was so far out of his league he had a better chance pitching for the Giants than getting the attention of someone like Harlee Roberts.
    “Well, what’s she like?” Sophie prodded.
    “Nice.”
    “What does she do for a living?” Sophie pressed, clearly frustrated at Colin’s reticence.
    But he didn’t want to dish. So he shrugged one shoulder and threw her a crumb. “I think she said she used to be a reporter for the San Francisco Call .”
    Sophie looked impressed. “What’s she doing now?”
    “I honestly don’t know. Maybe she’s writing a book.” Why else would she move here? Although he got the impression that her coming to Nugget was pretty last minute.
    “How old is she?”
    Geez, enough with the inquisition . Colin had stuff to do.
    “I don’t know,” he said. “In her twenties, maybe. I’m not good at that.”
    “And that’s why we love you,” Mariah teased. “Well, is she single?”
    Besides being a bunch of matchmakers, everyone in Nugget liked knowing everyone else’s business. It was a town hobby. He knew people wondered about him. Luckily, no one thought he was interesting enough to dig deep. It helped that he kept a low profile.
    “I better get to work.” He started for the house.
    Members of the crew had spread out to staple Tyvek to the exterior walls. Colin planned to come in behind them to install windows and doors. Some of the special-order glass hadn’t come in yet. Those openings he’d cover with plastic.
    “We’re taking off,” Sophie said. “If we don’t see you around, have a good weekend, Col.”
    They were good people, Sophie and Mariah. They’d all moved to Nugget about the same time—he from LA and Soph and Mariah from the Bay Area. Sophie had worked for a big-time marketing firm and Mariah had founded her own software start-up. Neither wanted those lives when they turned forty.
    They bought the Ponderosa, moved into the apartment above it, and hired Colin to bring the place back to life. They took one look at his house in progress and decide he was the man for the job. He and a consultant who knew everything about modern bowling alleys. He restored the original hardwood floors, did all the carpentry in the dining room, and refurbished the bar, which according to town legend had survived the gold rush.
    The couple persuaded their friends Maddy and her brother, Nate Breyer, to buy the run-down Lumber Baron and recommended Colin for that job too. He’d been working ever since.
    Colin strapped on his tool belt and started on the south side of the house, where the exterior had already been wrapped. He taped a window-and-door schedule to the wall and got to work. By the time he finished that side, the men had stopped for lunch, eating sandwiches on the tailgates of their pickups.
    It was this time of day, while the workers took their breaks, that Colin got the most done. One blissful hour of solitude. When they finished, Colin would find a quiet spot to eat his own lunch.
    He tugged the schedule down and readied to start at the back of the house. That’s when he heard a whining sound come from underneath the deck.
    At first he thought he’d imagined it and