Something Old - Dianne L. Christner [127]
Breathing in Jessie’s perfume in the quiet of Jake’s room, Katy paused to collect her thoughts. “It’s up to You, God. Whatever Your will, I accept it.” She began to type.
CHAPTER 37
Jake stood on the newly laid street, looking over the construction site. In a sense, the streets were laid with gold because the barren dirt lots would someday hold fifty new brick two-story houses. The project could line his pockets and secure his future if this interview went right. But he hadn’t driven across the country for the lure of money. He’d never been money hungry. He’d come for peace of mind. Working with his hands and building something for other folks to enjoy brought him satisfaction. And he needed that now to forget about Katy. He needed to make new dreams and to numb the raw pain that kept him on his knees.
Inside the mobile office earlier, he’d noticed that the project’s landscape mock-up included grass and trees and winding roads, even a few ponds and playgrounds. The houses would be for middle-class people, but definitely upscale, a worthwhile project.
Yet he held some reservations. Texas wasn’t what he’d expected. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his sleeve. He hadn’t known the place could be so hot in April, but the newspaper he’d read in his hotel room the night before had predicted eighty degrees for the afternoon. In April! Would he be able to get used to the heat?
He’d checked Houston out on the Internet, and the temperature could rise past one hundred degrees in the sultry thick of summer. He tried to imagine what that might feel like. And then there was the threat of hurricanes.
With this project, the grid of lots would soon face change, and if he accepted the position so would his own life. He hoped he presented himself as confident, but he felt out of place, an Ohio farm boy gone to the big city. Why, he’d even seen his first palm tree.
“Wasn’t easy diverting the bayou,” the contractor drawled in his southern manner of speech. “Even had to transport a stubborn alligator.”
Jake crossed his arms, mirroring the other man’s stance. “Never dealt with alligators, but I had a mad bull chase me around the pasture one summer.”
Ben Rawlins, of Rawlins Construction, chuckled. “I think that would be worse.” He tilted his face, studying Jake. “I like you. And Tom gave you a high recommendation.”
Tom was Jake’s college professor. He was a brother-in law to Ben Rawlins and had recommended Jake to the contractor. The job opportunity was a superintendent position for Rawlins Construction’s current land-development project.
Rawlins excused himself to take a call, stepping away and turning his back to Jake. They had spent the better part of the day together, going over the project, the job requirements, and just getting to know one another. Jake had been invited to the Texan’s home for barbecue. When the contractor got off the phone, he told Jake he had to go take care of a problem. Rawlins dismissed him with directions to his place, hollering over his shoulder, “I’ll e-mail you those blueprints, and you can look them over before you come out to the house later.”
Back at his hotel, Jake popped open a cola from the little refrigerator in the kitchenette and cranked on the air conditioner. Then he sank in a comfortable chair and pulled out a phone book. He propped his feet on the desk and leafed through, checking to see if there were any Mennonite churches in the area. He found one, but it didn’t mention anything about being Conservative Mennonite. Another change he’d have to make. He’d told Katy that he could fit in at a more liberal church, but he had no idea how liberal this one would be. Maybe he just didn’t know the names of all the suburbs. Hopefully, there was a Conservative church in the area.
With a sigh, he checked the time on his phone and saw he had a few minutes before he needed to shower. That was just enough time to check the computer for those blueprints the contractor had promised to e-mail.
While he waited for the computer to boot, he considered the pros and cons