A Touch of Heaven Read online

  “I guess it really didn’t hit me until today.”

  “Why today?”

  “It just seems wrong to be using someone’s emotional distress to sensationalize our show. It just seems wrong.”

  “Well, that’s the way most reality TV is these days.”

  “That’s not the kind of TV that I want to be a part of, Dad.” The conversation died off and they continued the rest of the drive in silence, listening to the GPS directing them to their location. Once off of the main highway, they drove along the secondary roads until they came to a turnoff that could have been a road but seemed more like a driveway. “This can’t be it,” Sawyer mumbled as he turned at the insistence of the GPS.

  “We’re definitely not in Kansas anymore,” Max said lightly.

  “Not funny,” Sawyer said, trying to get a grip on where exactly they were. There were houses lining the road on large, heavily wooded lots. “What number are we looking for?”

  Max looked at his paperwork. “Number eighty-seven.” He craned his neck and looked around. “Looks like that’s it coming up on the right.”

  Sawyer turned into the long driveway and parked behind a sporty white SUV. Putting the car in park, he sat and took it in. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. The house was a ranch with a detached two-car/two-story garage that could work as an income property, he thought. The outside needed some TLC and the landscaping was a little overgrown but overall it wasn’t as bad as some of the properties he’d worked on.

  They climbed from the car and Sawyer came around to stand next to his father. “First impression?” he asked.

  Max walked a few feet away and took a good look at the property as a whole and then made some notes in the notebook that he insisted on carrying rather than joining the digital age and using a tablet. “First glance tells me that there are some boards that need to be replaced on the siding and we’ll only need a cleanup crew for the yard. I like the detached garage but the doors are in need of some paint.” Sawyer nodded. “I think that overall the paint looks good but could use a bit of sprucing up on the trim.” He took a step back so he could get a better view of the roof. “I’ll want someone to go up and check the gutters and look for any roofing issues.”

  “Isn’t this just supposed to be an interior thing?” Sawyer asked, clearly confused.

  “Normally, but I’m thinking if we’re going to go a different route with this one, we might as well break from the routine and throw in something new.” Again, all Sawyer could do was nod. “What about you? What are you thinking?”

  Sawyer shrugged. “I’m not thinking anything, actually. I’m trying to keep an open mind like you suggested and I’m trying to forget that there is family drama here.” He looked around and only noticed the one car. “Does the daughter live here, too?”

  Max shook his head. “Caroline said her daughter lives in Raleigh but that the house is technically half hers so that’s why it’s so important that we get the daughter on board with the project.”

  “I’m not going to bully anyone into this, Dad.”

  “I’m not asking you to. All I’m asking is for you to meet with them, look at the house and see if it’s something that you can picture doing on the show. We’ll be here an hour, tops.”

  Sawyer sighed with defeat. Hell, he had nothing else to do. The network wanted to do a couple of episodes in the Raleigh/Durham area and so he was stuck in the area until they lined up a couple of potential projects.

  They started walking toward the front door when Max stopped him. “Hey,” he said quietly, “we’re not heading off to our execution. Caroline’s a very nice woman and it would be helpful if you didn’t look like you were here with a gun to your head.”

  “You’re right. Sorry.”

  “I’ll spring for dinner tonight,” Max said to lighten the mood. “I’ll even go for Mexican.”

  Sawyer chuckled. “Just as long as we’re not sharing a room, you’re on!”

  “That’s my boy,” Max chuckled and led Sawyer to the front door where Caroline Amerson was waiting.

  The first thing that Sawyer noticed was the wide and welcoming smile. He had no doubt that she was going to hug them both as soon as they got close enough. If he had to guess he’d say that she was in her fifties; her blonde hair highlighted with gray. She stood about five feet seven and still had a good figure and out of the corner of his eye he noticed that his father was smiling just as broadly as she was.

  Interesting.

  “I see you found the place,” Caroline said as she stepped out onto the porch to greet them and as expected, she hugged them both. “I’m thrilled that you’re here. It’s like an answer to a prayer!”

  Sawyer hugged her awkwardly and was about to speak when his father suddenly took over. “I don’t think anyone’s ever told us that before, Caroline,” he said as he continued to smile and inclined his head toward hers. Sawyer took a step back, more than a little in shock. Was his father flirting? What in the world? It’s not that Max didn’t date; hell, he had been single ever since Sawyer’s mom left when he was just a toddler. This was the first time, though, that Sawyer had ever seen his father in action.

  “Why don’t you show us around, Caroline, and tell us what it is that you envision for your home.” Caroline hooked her arm through Max’s and led him into the house, effectively leaving Sawyer outside by himself with no choice but to follow.

  Chapter Two

  Her day had been hectic and crazy and all Regan wanted to do was go home, have a glass of wine and relax. But no, she had to go to her mother’s and make sure that she wasn’t getting conned into some crazy scheme by some shifty contractor. Sigh. It seemed like lately everything was a challenge with her mother. They argued at work, they argued at home. Regan wasn’t sure which one of them was being unreasonable but they were butting heads with more frequency now than they had when Regan was a teen.

  Deep down, Regan felt like her mother was ready to retire and move on to something new and that she was the one holding her back. Caroline never came right out and said that she wanted to move on but with the way things were going lately, Regan had a sneaky suspicion that something was definitely up.

  It wouldn’t be hard to run A Touch of Heaven on her own; as it was, Caroline made her own hours and mainly worked to keep herself busy. It would be hard on a personal level, however, for Regan to not have her around every day. It wasn’t that she was afraid to be on her own, quite the contrary. Regan loved her independence. She just considered Caroline to be a friend as much as a parent and genuinely enjoyed the time that they spent together.

  Even when Caroline was making her crazy.

  She pulled up in her mother’s driveway and parked behind a massive Ford pickup truck. Oh, joy, she thought, they’re already here. With a fortifying breath, she climbed from the car. It was just four o’clock and yet Regan felt like she had worked more than a full day and just didn’t have the energy for this. “Home makeover,” she mumbled with disgust. “There’s probably a boatload of fine print saying that this is going to cost us a fortune.”

  That look and feeling of disgust stayed with her as she entered the house and called out for her mother. “In the kitchen!” Caroline called out and Regan headed that way. She found her mother and an older gentleman sitting at the table drinking coffee and laughing like old friends. Max Bennett was a big, burly man who made Caroline look petite and had her laughing like a schoolgirl.

  Interesting.

  “Regan, this is Max Bennett. Max, this is my daughter Regan.” Caroline stayed seated while Max rose and walked across the room to shake Regan’s hand. “Regan’s not on board fully with my selling the house or changing anything. I hope you’ll be able to change her mind.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Regan,” Max said and he completely towered over her. Regan only stood five feet four and always wore heels to keep from feeling her actual height. He had a great big smile, dimples and twinkling green eyes and Regan had a feeling that he was goin
g to charm the two of them no matter how hard she tried to fight it.

  “Same here,” she said, forcing a smile. “My mother tells me that she won this home makeover. I don’t mean to sound critical, Mr. Bennett…”

  “Please call me Max,” he interrupted.

  Regan cleared her throat. “As I was saying, I don’t mean to sound critical but I find it hard to believe that you are going to come in here and do a home makeover and it’s not going to cost us a dime.”

  “Regan Elisabeth!” Caroline hissed.

  Regan turned toward her mother. “Look, I don’t believe in wasting anyone’s time. Let’s just cut to the chase, shall we?”

  Max held out a chair for Regan but she shook her head, choosing to lean against the counter while he sat back down next to Caroline. “There is no chase, Regan,” Max said evenly. “Our show, The Bennett Project, chooses homes that need our help. The only cost to you is what you were going to spend to spruce up the place yourself.”

  The snort of disbelief escaped before she could stop it. “So what you’re saying is that we’re going to get a home makeover for the cost of a couple of gallons of paint, do I have that right?”

  Max nodded.

  “And how does the show make money on that?”

  “Product placement, advertising, media coverage of how we help in the community, that sort of thing.”

  “Look, Mr. Bennett…”

  “Max…”

  Regan sighed irritably. “Max. We appreciate the offer but I’m not interested in having the house torn up. As I’m sure my mother has already shared with you, I already have some issues with selling this house. This is my home; where I grew up. The thought of another family living here is…” she had to take a moment to compose herself. “Let’s just say that it’s hard to imagine another family here. To add demolition to the equation and watching you and your crew tear down parts of the house is just too much. I’m sorry to have wasted your time.”

  Max simply nodded and looked at Caroline before addressing Regan. “Are you familiar with our show, Regan?” She nodded. “Okay, then you know that our motto is ‘minimal demolition/maximum results, right?” Again, she nodded. “So we’re not going to be tearing down walls or ripping out things that you don’t want ripped out. What we do is take what you have and enhance is. If something needs to be repaired, we repair it; if it needs to be replaced, we replace it. Nothing gets demo’d unless you want it that way.”

  To say that she was skeptical was an understatement. One look at her mother told her that she was alone in her feelings. If anything, Caroline was absolutely beaming. With a sinking sensation in her stomach, Regan knew she was fighting a losing battle. “I’ll want all of that in writing.”

  “Absolutely.”

  “And I’ll want our attorney to look it over.”

  “Of course,” Max said, beaming just as much as her mother was.

  “What kind of timeline are we looking at?” Regan finally asked with resignation.

  “That will depend on Sawyer,” Max replied and when Regan looked confused, he clarified. “He’s the host of the show, so to speak, and he does all of the designing and planning and once he gets an idea of what he wants to do, we can give you a better estimate.”

  Regan looked around. “Is he here?” she asked as an idea began to form in her mind. Maybe she could convince Sawyer that this was not a project for his show. She could be rude and difficult and make demands that would ensure that he wouldn’t want to take this on. “I’d like to meet him,” she said sweetly, hoping that she’d be able to pull this off and get this father and son team out of here.

  “He’s walking around taking measurements and making notes,” Max told her, seemingly pleased that she appeared to be on board.

  “Great,” she smiled. “I’ll go find him and introduce myself.”

  ****

  As much as Sawyer hated to admit it, the house had potential. It was sound structurally and other than being outdated, the project would be a no brainer. He knew that he should pass on the job; there wasn’t a challenge here construction-wise. Unfortunately, if he took on this project it was going to be all about the family drama and that was something Sawyer just couldn’t do. He didn’t go for the cheap shots just to get ratings and as much as Caroline Amerson seemed like a sweet lady, he was going to have to decline the project.

  It was a shame, really, because now, standing in the master bedroom, Sawyer had all kinds of potential and ideas of how he could renovate the space and really turn the room into the kind of retreat a couple would love. Taking out his tape measure, he couldn’t help but let himself get caught up in the design in his head. “Change the lighting,” he muttered as he typed notes into his tablet, “Add a ceiling fan and crown molding…” more typing, “rip up the carpet and replace with hardwoods…” type, type, type, “put a king size bed in here because really, what couple wouldn’t enjoy a king size bed?”

  “My parents didn’t, actually,” a voice said from behind him. Sawyer turned and nearly forgot how to breathe. She was stunning and sexy and clearly mad as hell at him for being there judging by her defiant stance in the doorway.

  “You must be Regan,” he said when he was able to find his voice. Walking toward her, Sawyer extended his hand in greeting. When she met him halfway and placed her hand in his, he felt as if he’d gotten an electric shock. Meeting Regan’s eyes, he was pleased to see that he wasn’t the only one.

  Regan didn’t know what to say or if she would be able to form the words at all. My goodness but Sawyer Bennett was even better looking in person than he was on TV. He towered over her much like his father did but where Max Bennett was big and burly, his son was simply big and muscular. Her hands itched to just reach out and touch one of his biceps just to see if it was actually as hard as it looked.

  Bad Regan! Knock that off! Clearing her throat, Regan tried to think of something witty to say but got lost in Sawyer’s sea green eyes. The whole making-him-go-away thing was suddenly not appealing at all. “So,” she began and winced at the croaking in her voice, “You seem to have a lot of ideas for this room.”

  Sawyer still hadn’t let go of her hand and merely nodded.

  And that’s when he saw it.

  The t-shirt.

  The bedazzled words emblazoned across Regan’s ample breasts mesmerized him. A Touch of Heaven, he read to himself and actually felt the sweat breaking out on his temple. His gaze lingered more than was appropriate and when he finally forced his eyes away they met a very angry pair of brown ones.

  “The room, right,” he stammered and released Regan’s hand. “I was thinking that with the high ceilings, it was a shame that crown was never installed. The lighting fixtures are outdated and a ceiling fan would work wonders. The French doors leading out to the yard could use a good rehab as well as blinds for privacy.”

  It didn’t take long for Regan to realize that she somehow had made Sawyer nervous. Maybe it was because she caught him blatantly staring at her breasts or maybe it was because he knew that she was against this project. Either way, it gave her the power in this somewhat awkward situation. “That’s all fine and well but I really don’t want this room touched.”

  He turned and looked at her with disbelief. “Excuse me?”

  “I’m sure my mother has already shared with you that I am against this project. If there was any way to not sell this house, I would do it. This is where I grew up; I have a lifetime of memories here and the thought of changing all of this around before we go is not something that I am prepared to do.”

  Sawyer crossed his arms across his chest and studied her until Regan started to squirm. “You realize that if we take on this project there is going to be a decent amount of change that’s going to happen, right?” When Regan nodded he continued. “I won’t be doing a lot of structural changes, if any, but you have to admit that there is plenty here that is outdated and in need of renovation.”

  “Oh, I’m not denying that, Sawyer,” sh
e said and somehow his name came out a little more breathless than she had intended. “But the fact still remains that I don’t see why I have to make this house over for someone else to enjoy. I will agree that some paint is needed in the kitchen and the hall bathroom but that was all I was willing to commit to. So, I think you can see that this project is really a waste of your time.”

  It was exactly what he wanted to hear; it was all the excuse he needed to get him the hell out of here and yet now that Regan had said it, it was the last thing that Sawyer wanted. Leaving here would be leaving her without getting to know her and he knew right then without a doubt that Regan Amerson was someone he definitely wanted to get to know. It had been a long time since he’d wanted to really get to know a woman and something about this pint-sized beauty in front of him, with the wavy brown hair and angry brown eyes made everything in him want to know everything about her. From the tips of her pink painted toes in her stacked heels on up, was like a present that he wanted to unwrap.

  In that king-sized bed he imagined in here earlier.

  Damn.

  The smart thing to do would be to thank her for her time, go and collect his father and leave; cut their losses and run. But suddenly that was the furthest thing from his mind and Sawyer knew without a doubt that he had to convince Regan to let him stay; to let him and the show work on this house. He thought about the notes he had taken. Honestly, the job shouldn’t take more than three weeks but now that he’d gotten a glimpse of Regan, Sawyer knew that he’d need to find a way to drag that time out so he’d have more time to win her over.

  And there was no doubt that he’d have to win Regan over. Between the issues she was having with her mother over the house and the fact that he was going to be the guy doing the work on the house, he was certain that he was going to be persona non grata with her. Well, Sawyer could certainly be charming when he needed to be and clearly he needed to be right now.