Daniel is the next to show up at Caroline Street, still early, two coffees in hand. He passes one to me.

I raise my eyebrows, surprised. “Thanks.”

“Thought you might be here already.”

“Just reviewing the addition.”

“Plumbing guys are coming this morning.”

I take a sip and nod. “As planned.”

“I met with the electrician yesterday.”

I knew this, too. “We still on track?”

Daniel chuckles low. “We’re ahead of the game and you know it. By a week at least. But…”

“Oh no. What?”

Daniel scratches at his silvery stubble. “Steve got a call from Lyle last night. He wants to mess with the deadlines a little. For dramatic integrity or some BS.”

“He wants to mess with the deadlines on the construction of a real house with real owners paying real money for dramatic effect?”

“That’s what he said. He canceled the order on the tile.”

I groan. “Backsplash or bathroom?”

“All of it. We need to reorder today, obviously, but it’s likely we’ll be put back in the queue for that Spanish backsplash.”

“We can order something else, though. Something that fits our schedule.”

“We can.”

“Fucker,” I mutter.

“You aren’t supposed to know any of this, by the way. They wanted your reaction live.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less. Fair warning, this won’t be the last of the garbage he’s gonna pull.” I tug out my phone and show Daniel the clip of Shelby and me from this weekend.

“It’s all over the internet, apparently.”

Daniel watches in silence and passes the phone back without comment.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?”

“I better not. Shelby’s her own woman.”

“I really care about her, Daniel. I want you to know that.”

He laughs, shaking his head, and gestures to the phone. “I know you do, kid. Everyone knows you do. Does this mean you’re sticking around for a while?”

I exhale, fidgeting with the brim of my ball cap. “I’m trying. I told Nat Geo I wouldn’t take a project this fall, which means I’m jobless. So…” I put down my coffee cup and spread the plans out on a makeshift sawhorse table, moving on. “I want to give Shelby plenty of time for her nook. That dining room table is a masterpiece, but it’s been a huge time suck for her.”

Daniel looks like he wants to say something more but allows the subject change. “She’ll be fine. Not the first time she’s worked under pressure.”

I straighten with another groan. “That’s why they asked her to do that table, isn’t it? To create more drama if she’s rushed.”

“Probably, but she’s risen to the challenge. Just like you have and will.”