Welcome Home was such a fun
book to read! I fell in love with Jess and her group of friends. It was so easy
to see similarity in personality with my own friends. This allowed the story to
seem more real to me. The plot was something that I could envision happening in
real life. I am sad the next book isn't released until early 2020 as I want to
see what happens to Jess' friends! ~ Liz Overby
Amazon Review
BUY LINKS
EXCERPT
Jessica
Winters, Jess to everyone, cursed when a sharp pain shot up her leg. She’d
banged her shin as she stepped over one of the cross-piece boards tacked to the
framing of the new home under construction. What was wrong with her today? She
definitely needed more caffeine and to keep her mind on business. Stupid to let
her dad get under her skin… again.
Ever
since his construction business folded, life had taken a nose dive. Each year,
he’d withdrawn a little more, until now, seventeen years later, he was bitter
and indifferent. Every chance he got, he let her know she’d never make a go of
it in construction. It hadn’t been easy, and she learned the hard way to be
careful who she trusted, but so far she’d done a good job of proving him
wrong.
Narrowing
her eyes against the throbbing in her shin, she wished she could bend down and
rub the sore spot. But as one of the few female general contractors in the Sacramento
California area, she had to appear tough. Any sign of weakness and Uniquely Yours,
Construction and Design—the all-female company she and four of her friends
owned and operated—and they could easily lose potential clients to their male
competitors. As a petite, blue-eyed blonde, Jess didn’t fit the hard-nosed
image in this male-dominated industry.
The
partners weren’t about to let the success of their company hinge on the
vagaries of public perception so they’d saved every penny they could spare.
Using that seed money, they started buying homes in need of tender loving care,
fixing them up, and then reselling them. Flipping homes had become their
primary revenue stream, but they still took on remodeling or new construction
projects. Versatility was key. No matter what the job, their goal remained the
same—to create the perfect home so the people who lived there felt comfortable
laughing, loving, and dreaming.
And
wasn’t that hope for her clients exactly what she wanted for herself? To build
a place where she could thrive? Where she felt respected and loved? Her lips
softened. She also longed for a partner who would make her secret romantic
heart beat faster. A man who’d always have her back as they built a home and a
family together. Now in her early thirties, she wondered if that man would ever
appear.
Sighing,
she glanced down and kept moving, flicking between the pages on the clipboard
she carried. That was, until she came to an abrupt halt against a solid wall of
masculine chest. Cursing again and inhaling deeply, she got a lungful of pure
man. Jess glared at the immovable object blocking her path. An odd zing of
attraction bounced around her like an annoying fly. Mentally she swatted it
away and stood her ground under his assessing gaze.
“Ya
lost pal? This is private property.” Jess inched her hardhat higher on her
forehead and tapped her pen against her clipboard. Darkly handsome, broody
eyes, scruff on his jaw, dark hair that skimmed his collar—the kind of man who
wasn’t on her agenda today and maybe ever.
“Nope.
Told to come here before seven and meet a guy named Jess.”
His
low, husky voice wrapped around her like her favorite sweater. She frowned and
heard her friend Victoria’s voice in her head nagging her to lighten up. ‘Laugh lines age much better than frown lines.’
The thought almost made her smile. “We’ll you’ve found her.” Jess arched one
brow. “What can I do for you?” She hated having to act tough, but if she
didn’t, people tended to walk all over her.
“Understand
you’re hiring.” The stranger didn’t fidget or act nervous in any way. Simply
stood quietly and waited. He also hadn’t shown surprise that Jess was a she and
not a he.
“Do
you have any experience in construction?” She gazed into blue eyes that
reminded her of rain clouds.
“No
Ma’am, but I hear you hire unskilled labor…” He looked at the ground and then up,
refocusing his intense gaze on her. “I could use the work. I’m willing to do
whatever needs doing.”
Jess
examined the stranger. Gave herself time to gauge his suitability. Reserved.
Self-contained. She wasn’t picking up any bad vibes, and she had a soft spot
for those down on their luck. He wasn’t a kid. She placed his age around
mid-thirty. Kind of late to get into construction. “Okay, I’ll give you a
chance. What you do with it is up to you. You’ll be rotated where we need you.
I assume you have reliable transportation?”
He
angled his head towards a beat-up Chevy truck at the curb. “It’s old, but it
gets me where I need to go.”
Jess
retrieved a business card from her pocket. “Go to this address and talk to
Kaitlin Connors, our business manager. She’ll have you fill out our paperwork,
give you a list of tools you’ll need, and assign you to a work site for
tomorrow.” She watched a shadow pass over his face.
“Look,
if you’re short on cash, let Kaitlin know. We do have some loaner tool belts
and tools you can check out until you can purchase your own.”
“That
would be much appreciated.”
Jess
stuck out her hand. “And you are?”
“Devin.
Devin Miller.” He accepted her hand and a tingle raced up her arm. That was
unexpected.
Jess
pulled her hand back as discreetly as possible. A truck door slammed, and she
turned toward the sound. The interruption provided an excuse to dismiss this
disquieting man and focus on the reason she was here. She smiled as she watched
her blue team foreman hurry toward her. Bill Harriman, built like a
refrigerator with a beer belly, smoothed down what was left of his ginger hair
before he plunked his hardhat on his head.
“Sorry
I’m late. There was a wreck on the interstate.”
“No
problem. Just got here myself.” Jess watched his gaze flick to the man at her
side. “Bill, meet Devin. He just hired on as a new floater and is leaving to
fill out the paperwork.”
The
two men exchanged a hand shake. With a nod to her, Devin strode toward his
truck.
After
Devin had driven off, Bill asked, “Another stray?”
Jess
scowled at her foreman. “He needed a job, and in this tight labor market, I
take anyone who looks like they have potential.”
Bill
stepped back and held up his hands in surrender. “No judgement.”
She
willed herself to relax and then smiled at Bill. “I know. I’m a softie. He
seemed grateful for the chance.” She shrugged. “What can I say? I’ll assign him
to my crew for the first week to see how he does and then hand him over to you
to finish his training.”
“If
he shows any promise, you can count on me to bring him along.”
She
didn’t miss the quick grin he tried to hide. “I know you will.” Returning his
grin, she added, “Most of my hunches have paid off, and by giving folks a
chance, they tend to be pretty loyal.”
“Can’t
fault your instincts. You’ve put together a top notch crew.”
She
shrugged, secretly basking in Bill’s praise. “He seemed like a good risk.” She
clapped him on the back as they moved forward into the shell of the building.
“Where are we with this project?” Her head swiveled as she scrutinized the
work. Clear of debris. Everything looked solid. Permits clearly visible.
“You
got my text that the inspector signed off on the framing permit yesterday?”
Jess
nodded.
“Kaitlin
said the sheathing and house wrap materials will be delivered…” he glanced at
his watch, “any time now. I’ve got my crew scheduled to arrive in about thirty
minutes. We’ll have this house buttoned up and ready for us to install the
windows and exterior doors in the next few days. Roofers are scheduled for next
week.”
“Any
issues I need to know about?” Jess finished making notes and closed the
clipboard.
“One
of the crew said he was approached by BL Construction to come work for them,
but he turned them down.” He glanced toward the beeping sound of a large truck
backing up to the site. “Here’s our supplies… Anyway I just thought you should
know.”
“Thanks
Bill. Poaching good employees is a fact of life in this business.” Her lips
thinned, and she adjusted her hardhat. Figured it was Brendon’s outfit trying
to poach. Sleazy bastard. “I’m off to touch base with Rollo and his crew, then
meet my crew to start demo on the new Jackson Street flip.” She wanted to pinch
herself. They had three projects running simultaneously and another property
closing in two weeks. A dream come true.
“Rollo
said you had to replace the heating and air system on his job. Slowed things up
a bit, plus an unexpected expense.” Bill tugged his jeans over his belly and
back up to his waist. “Tough break. Shame you couldn’t repair it.”
“Yeah,
but I haven’t cut corners yet, and I’m not about to start now. Uniquely Yours
means quality. Our reputation is everything.” She tilted her head and glanced
at Bill. “I may pull a carpenter from here next week to keep Rollo’s project on
schedule. Got cabinets and trim work slated for then, and his crew needs to be
ready to start on the new flip in a month.”
“Whatever
you need.”
“You
want us to unload this in the garage?” The delivery man shouted.
“Be
right there,” Bill shouted back.
“Go
take care of business.” Jess set off toward her truck. “Holler if you need
anything,” she called over her shoulder. When she reached her truck, she paused
to admire the new logo emblazoned on the door of her new Ford F-350. They’d had
the vinyl wrap attached yesterday to all their vehicles.
She
traced a finger over the lettering, relishing the thrill. Proof of their
progress. The five friends had come a long way since starting their business
fresh out of college six years ago. They hadn’t looked back since purchasing
their first house to flip three years ago. Once the current projects in the
pipeline closed escrow, they’d be in a position to purchase a piece of land and
build their dream offices—that is, once they found it. They’d been looking for
a while, but nothing suitable had turned up. Settling herself into the driver’s
seat, she set her hardhat on the seat beside her, and focused on the tasks
ahead.
****
