A Fresh Start Read Online Free Page A

back toward him. “I’m fine with it if you are.”
    Justin’s brows flickered up before he shrugged. “Let’s go then.”

Chapter Two

    Paige stepped into the house and turned back to face Justin as he closed the umbrella and propped it against the wall. She saw how wet he was as he casually brushed the water from his arm and ran his hand through his hair.
    Only his hair seemed to have escaped the rain, and under the lights, she could see the auburn in his medium brown hair. His eyes shared the same shade of brown. The combination of both giving him a rough, masculine edge.
    She had been nervous about the sudden change of person helping her with the house, but the Seymours clearly knew Justin well. Once she had hung up the phone, Mrs. Seymour picked up one of the photo frames near the dining table and pointed to the young boy in the picture; the same boy in so many of their photos.  
    “Why did you leave your lights on when you’re not home?”
    “I don’t like coming back to a dark house,” she answered without turning to him.
    “I thought you’re not afraid of ghosts.”
    “I’m not. I just don’t like the darkness.”
    “There must be something in the dark that you’re afraid of. Kids have their boogeyman. What’s yours?”
    “Do you like to psycho-analyze everyone you meet?”
    “Do you evade every question people ask?”  
    She narrowed her eyes at him and retorted, “Are you trying to pick a fight with me so that you can get out of fixing this house?”
    Justin grinned, looking around. “I’ve been inside here so many times, no more than fifteen minutes each time, I’m sure. Travis and I used to dare each other to come in here. Many kids do that, too. Nothing much to do in a small town.”
    “So the graffitis were done by the kids, too? I was worried there would be squatters or homeless people coming by.”
    “Have you fixed the locks to your doors and windows?”  
    “Yeah, fixed it up yesterday.”
    “Where do you want this?” Justin asked, waving the bag of muffins. “You just got here?”
    She took the bag from him and headed into the kitchen, placing the muffins into the fridge. “Been here a couple of times to view the house, settle the paperwork and all,” she said, returning to the living room.  
    She found Justin down on one knee, his eyes studying the floorings.
    “But I just moved in today, was staying at a hotel in Cheyenne.”
    He nodded and stood, brushing off the dust on his jeans. “When is your furniture getting here?”
    “I’ll be getting new ones, when the renovation is done.”
    “Okay,” he said. “You should still get an alarm. If squatters or homeless people came by before, there’s a chance they’ll come back.”
    “Perfect,” she mumbled.  
    “But you’ve already repainted the exterior, I’m sure they’ll know someone is living in the house now.”
    She smiled, grateful he was trying to make her feel better.
    “Why don’t you stay with the Seymours’ first? I can get the security system up for you tomorrow.”
    “I thought you’re only here to see what I needed done and then get back to Travis. Don’t you need to ask him first?”  
    A drop of water fell from his hair, landing onto the floor.  
    “I should get you a towel.” She jogged up the stairs, got a clean towel from her luggage, and headed back down. “Here you go.”
    “I’m sure Travis will want to stay with Amy for a few days, I can get some work started and let him takeover when he’s ready.”
    “Yeah, that’ll be great. But I do need a quotation first, I have a budget.”
    “Sure.” He shrugged. “I’ll take a look around and give you the quotation. Travis won’t mind.”
    “All right. Where should we start? Kitchen? Bathroom?”
    “Security system first, bathroom, then bedroom. That way, you’ll have a proper place to rest and you can start unpacking.”
    “I’ll show you the bathroom,” she said, going back up the stairs. “The security system, we