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The number that came up wasn't familiar, but that never stopped Deacon from answering his phone. "This is Deacon," he'd answered, tucking the phone between his jaw and shoulder as he measured out a wooden beam.

Surprise arched his brows at the voice on the other end, straightening up and actually using his hand to hold onto the phone. "Hey, Ves. I wasn't sure I was going to hear from you." His smile was small, but audible, pleased the woman had taken him up on his offer even if only on trial. "I'll have to call you back because -- " he started to say, but paused, reconsidering. "Actually, how about this: I'm about to head out to a job to discuss some details with a repeat client. They have a few of my pieces already, so, if you're not busy, I can swing by and pick you up on the way and you can see if you'd have any creative ideas without the pressure of it actually being a job. I mean, it's not easy, meshing two ideas - yours being a third - into one, but, it could give you some insight."

Insight to if she'd want to do this at all, if it wasn't more than she bargained for.

He almost offered her a way out. You don't have to was on the tip of his tongue, but he bit down on the words, letting her make that decision on her own. She was a grown woman and if she wasn't ready, a simple no would suffice. In his line of work - hell, in his life - there was no hand-holding and he wasn't about to start now, not beyond the gesture of inviting that he'd already extended.

And just like that, Deacon found himself pleasantly surprised. "I'll be there in twenty," he replied amicably. So it was done.

*

He was there in seventeen, but who was counting? The blond appeared much as he had the second visit, hair in a ponytail and wearing work-worn clothes, even though it was for a meeting with clients. Being that they were repeats, however, he didn't have to dress to impress; that, and they tended to respond better to him when he looked ready to throw down on the spot rather than all clean cut and angles.

His work truck, while massive, was clean on the inside, almost to the point of looking new. It probably had something to do with his old Army habits, but it could have just as well have been that he was hella a**l retentive about such things. He flashed her a smile as they settled into the seats, snapping his seatbelt back into place before he even started the engine. "It's good to hear from you," he said by way of greeting once they were on their way. "I honestly wasn't sure I'd ever see your number pop."

"Sometimes we surprise ourselves," he supplemented her trailing off, shrugging his broad shoulders as he pulled the vehicle onto the road. "Sometimes it just takes one leap of faith. You're a smart woman, I'm pretty sure you'll have no problem learning to fly."

The rest of the words, however, made him smile in a tight way. Not that he was being judgmental, but damn if he hadn't felt those words to be all too familiar. "Don't look at it as working, then. Look at it as being given money to indulge in a hobby." As far as Deacon was concerned, that was exactly what it was for Ves -- she got to do what she enjoyed and the money would just go into materials, food, travel expenses, so on and so forth. "Especially if you view work as a dredge, something to waste a life on. There's ways around it."

He glanced to her and his smile eased up on the rigidness. "Where there's a will, there's a way. We're just seeing how things work, right? No obligation, no finality."

"The Breesons, on Cardinal Hill." The way he said the place more than indicated its snobbery. Deacon hadn't been in Ashdown long, but he already knew the ins and outs without falter. "He's a doctor, she's a part time teacher that takes care of the kids. She's been deciding if she wants a bunk bed for the squirts or separate ones, and that's what today's housecall is for: my expert opinion." Blue eyes never left the road, his smile wry and upturned. "Because I, the guy without kids, apparently have an opinion of gold."

They took a turn off the main highway and onto a road that lead up a winding hill, the houses become a little more scarce and a lot larger in scale. "I've built their entertainment system, drew out the schema for their stairs and railing, refurbished some of their original insets and floors -- at this point I might as well have built the damn house." He made a soft sound of amusement. "But that's why I want you to see it. It's practically all new, they haven't really decorated so much as moved s**t around with indecision. Thought you might be able to poke them in the right direction."