The Magnolia Inn(38)

She rolled her neck a few times to get the soreness out. This construction business was harder on the body than standing on her feet eight hours behind a bar for sure. But she was beginning to get a picture of what he’d visualized all along. Maybe as Aunt Sugar and Uncle Jasper came back across the United States on their way to California, they’d stop by and see all the improvements. Jolene was almost giddy as she thought about showing off the new bathrooms and all the remodeling.

Tucker’s hand stuck out of the crawl hole. “Hey, I need a crescent wrench.”

She put a tool in his hand, but in five seconds it came back out. “A crescent wrench, not pliers.”

“Sorry about that,” she said. “Don’t fire me. I’m still learning.”

“No way.” He chuckled. “At least you didn’t give me a pry bar, like my last assistant did,” he said.

“That’s because I’m not an assistant. I’m a partner, and I work real cheap.”

When he finished, he inched out from under the house on his back, face-first. She was sitting cross-legged on the cold ground, all the tools laid out before her like surgical instruments. “Man, you are organized,” he said.

She raised a hand and grinned. “My name is Jolene Broussard, and I’m afflicted with a slight case of OCD.”

He pulled himself on out and sat down beside her. “My name is Tucker Malone and I have a confession. I’m a weekend drunk, but my deceased wife keeps tellin’ me to stop living in the past and get on with the future. I never have wanted to do it before, but now I kind of do.”

“Maybe we should both listen to her.” Jolene hopped up. “I didn’t know that you did plumbing as well as construction.”

“It’s not my favorite part of remodeling. Electricity is even farther down on the list. But I got my license in both when I started flipping houses as a hobby.”

“Why didn’t you just do that rather than police work on top of it?” she asked.

“My grandpa was a cop. I adored him and wanted to be like him. But I always loved working with my hands, too.” He rolled up onto his feet. “That should do it for the plumbing. Let’s go up and turn on the water, and then I’ll test for leaks before we cover up the crawl space.”

She sighed. “Will this be the process every time we put in bathrooms?”

“Kind of, but not really. I can tie into the pipes in the dining room wall, but that hole won’t be covered up until we get finished.” He put his wrenches into his toolbox and carried it inside the house.

“I’m just glad you’re the one crawling under the house. I’m claustrophobic,” she admitted. “And I’m afraid of heights. Or maybe not so much afraid of high places as falling off them. Do you put roofs on houses, too?”

“Yep. I’m not afraid of being up high or in tight spots, as long as there’s no spiders in either place. Here.” He tossed an aerosol can toward her.

She caught it midair. “What is this?”

“Bug spray. I never go under a house without it.” He grinned.



Dotty met her at the back door of the Gator that night with a worried look on her face. “It’s only five minutes until we open. I was gettin’ a little worried.”

“Time got away from me.” Jolene put her coat and purse under the counter and grabbed an apron. “Tucker and I were putting up drywall. How did it go with Lucy? I’ve been meanin’ to call all week, but we were so busy.”

“I think we finally got her to see the light. She admitted, while she was drunk, that she felt like God was always punishing her for sleeping with men when she wasn’t married to them, and that He was killin’ them off or else making them break up with her. We got her to understand that wasn’t the case. It’ll take a little reinforcing along the way, but I believe she’s going to do better. She can have boyfriends. She can sleep with them. That’s not why they die. We’ll just have to keep her reminded. She’s pretty mouthy, but she’s kept all this shit bottled up. Me and Flossie and Sugar knew why she was doin’ it, but she had to finally admit it to herself. You know, it’s kind of like smokin’. Until the one with the cigarette in his hands realizes he’s got a problem, no amount of bitchin’ from his family or friends will help him stop.”

“You got that right.” Jolene thought of her mother, who never one time had admitted she had a problem. “Anything I can do to help?”

“No, but we did have to get Sugar on the phone. We put it on speaker, and she really helped us out. I got to tell you, Jolene, Sugar was kind of the glue that held us all together. I’m damn glad we can call her and talk about all this,” Dotty said. “Now tell me about Tucker. He must’ve had a hangover to have mentioned a hangover cure.”

“I told him it was a onetime deal. I didn’t want him to have a hangover when y’all were there, so I gave him the cure I always used on my mother,” Jolene answered.

“Why is it a onetimer?” Dotty asked.

“I felt responsible for Mama. I don’t for him. He’s a grown man.” Jolene waved at Mickey as he came out of the men’s room and took his place at the door.

She picked up a bar rag and gave the counter one more cleaning and thought about her statement. Tucker was a grown man, but he was also a troubled soul. Neither was any of her business, but these past days she’d felt an attraction for him.