“Only three more to go,” Kylie confirmed with a grin.
The house, which Cheyenne learned had actually belonged to Kennedy’s father, Sheriff Jeff Endsley, consisted of four bedrooms and four and a half baths. Only one of the bedrooms was downstairs, along with a full bath and a half bath off the laundry room. Aside from new carpet upstairs, there wasn’t much to do in the other two bedrooms besides paint. As for the master, Cheyenne had asked Kylie for a complete overhaul, including stealing some of the space from one of the extra bedrooms to make a walk-in closet. Due to the age of the house, that was the only major issue she saw … not nearly enough storage space.
Luckily, Kylie had tons of ideas and Cheyenne was grateful for her recommendations because renovations weren’t her specialty. Not to mention Cheyenne was incredibly pleased with the outcome thus far.
“Can I get you somethin’ to drink?” Cheyenne asked Kylie.
“That’d be great. I just stopped by to let you know that Bill and his crew would be by today to finish painting. They’ll be workin’ on the floors on Wednesday, so you may want to be out of the house that day.”
“Or I could just work out there,” Cheyenne nodded her head in the direction of the yard.
“True.” Kylie made her way inside as Cheyenne held the screen door open for her.
Now that the outside of the house had been painted a brilliant white that completely covered the obscene blue the exterior had once been, Cheyenne was more than ready to get started with the landscaping. In order to keep herself busy, she’d opted not to hire anyone to do the majority of the work. She knew how to ride a lawn mower and to use a Weed eater. As for how green her thumb was, that was something she’d have to figure out when she got started. Since she had plenty of time to kill, she figured it would be good for her.
After retrieving the pitcher of fresh lemonade she’d made earlier, Cheyenne grabbed two glasses from the cabinet as she urged Kylie to have a seat at the kitchen table. Once she filled the glasses, she added ice and then joined her friend.
“You still like this room?” Kylie asked as her gaze roamed the recently updated kitchen.
“It’s by far my favorite,” Cheyenne teased. It was actually the only room in the house that was completely finished.
“That’s good to hear,” Kylie replied with a chuckle. “I think it turned out great.”
Cheyenne turned her head and peered at the kitchen. “I do, too. It’s perfect.”
Kylie took a sip of her lemonade. “I’m so happy to hear that. How’s your grandmother?
Cheyenne smiled, remembering the call she’d had with Grams just a little while earlier. “She’s doin’ good. I talk to her every day and the more I do, the more I miss her. I’ve told her about this place, too. Shared with her all the work that’s bein’ done.”
“I can’t wait to meet her. I can’t wait to see her expression when she gets a good look at her new home.”
Cheyenne couldn’t wait, either. It was so hard being away from Grams, not being able to go see her every day, but she was trying to be patient. For now, that was her only option.
“Have you seen Brendon?” Cheyenne asked, launching right into the question that was burning on the tip of her tongue and hoping she sounded casual.
“Not since Saturday night. Why? Everything okay?”
“Oh, yeah,” she answered, waving her hand, “Just curious.”
Everything was perfectly fine. Especially if Brendon had respected her request and hadn’t decided to talk to Travis about what she’d told him. As much as Cheyenne feared her lunatic stalker returning, she honestly believed she was safe in Coyote Ridge. And she’d seen firsthand just how overprotective the Walkers were. She figured if Travis got wind of the problem, he’d have someone camped out on her sofa, and that was the last thing she needed or wanted.
“I heard he stayed the night,” Kylie said, her words spoken with caution as she took another sip of her lemonade.
“He did. He was a true gentleman,” Cheyenne assured her. “He held my hair while I puked my guts up and then he tucked me back into bed. He left shortly after I woke up.”
Kylie nodded as though she understood what Cheyenne was telling her, but Cheyenne could see the questions in Kylie’s cornflower blue eyes.
“What’re you thinkin’?” Cheyenne asked, grinning.
“Nothin’.”
“Right. Well, I can promise that nothin’ happened. That man does his absolute best to stay far away from me.”
“Not because he wants to,” Kylie said with an answering smirk.