Felicity Brown applied her lipstick in the slick bathroom of Prescott's Pizza. She smacked her lips and made a pout in the looking glass on top of the fancy new sink. Just a few days shy of thirty, she really didn't look so bad. Blue eyes, blond hair and big boobs was a winning combination from Texas to Timbuktoo. Many girls her age had married and settled down with little ones and she hardly saw them anymore. Many had moved on to bigger towns and kept in touch by sending postcards showcasing their happy families. 

She wouldn't mind having one of those herself. But the problem was, all the guys she had met so far were grade A assholes. They only had wanted one thing from her and then had scrammed lickety-spit. All the good guys were either married or taken. She sighed at her reflection in the mirror. Getting close to thirty with no marriageable prospects was getting her down. Also, Andy, bless her heart coz she loved the girl like a sister, had a rather dark view about the whole relationships thing. Andy planned to never marry. 

The problem was, Felicity did want to get married. But she always struck-out in her relationships. Her family consisted of an elderly father and three brothers, two of them married and settled in Prescott. Only Drew wasn't married. What that meant was she knew most of the people in Prescott and there wasn't a single person who she would hold as a matrimonial prospect.

Drew had informed her that Leo Knight was in town. Leo was probably the last eligible man left, but Felicity and Leo practically grew up together and she had never managed to think of him in that way.

Oh well, desperate times called for desperate measures. She had to do something to get Leo's attention. She wished she had some willpower to stay away from the pizzas and pastas and she did wish that she still had the figure that she had in college. She was going to work with what she had.

She stepped out into the restaurant. Leo was huddled in a corner table, genially laughing and smiling. With Drew, the leery-eyed Ben and the quiet and nice Tim, Leo had always made a popular quartet. They were nice boys, if a little rambunctious. Nice-guy Tim was married with a child on the way. Ben was plain ugly, so he wasn't on the list. Drew was her brother, so that literally only left Leo.

Felicity sashayed over. "What can I get you boys?"

"Hey Felicity, wow, are you a sight for sore eyes!" Leo bounced out of his seat and hugged her. It was a friendly hug and Felicity felt sorry that it ended so soon.

"So, how you been? Busy making babies?" Leo grinned but his words hit her heart like a gunshot. Thirty was old, even according to her. Thirty in Prescott was ancient.

Drew cleared his throat. "Felicity ain't married, Leo."

Leo's eyes widened as he realized his gaffe. But he recovered quickly enough. "Wow, the guys in this town must be mad if they let you remain single. It's a good thing then that I am back, eh?"

Leo winked at her and hope soared in Felicity's chest. She giggled, flashed him bits of her bosom and sashayed back behind the counter to pick up their orders. Even Cook's grumpy mood wouldn't affect her now. 

***

After meeting Emily, Andy arrived at the restaurant late. She shot Mr. Stern an apologetic smile, but he just smiled at her. Breathing a sigh of relief, she hurried to the back to tie her apron. She glanced at the customers and thankfully there were only a few tables occupied. She noticed Leo was at one of the table, his back to the sun. His hair, which had golden streaks reflecting the light, stood out and that was the only reason she gave him a second look.

Andy turned away. She had to speak to Leo today. She hadn't seen him around for a few days and suddenly he was the answer to her prayer of getting out of this godforsaken town.

When she turned around, he saw that his eyes had lit up and he gave her a boyish smile and a jaunty wave. She found herself smiling and waving back. His enthusiasm was contagious.

Before he left, he came over to talk to her, inquiring how she was getting along in her house. Andy excused herself and stepped out to talk to him.

"So, I was in your brother's office today. I met Emily." Andy said, as they stepped out in the parking lot. Leo's friends left them to talk, except Ben who stayed and leered, but Andy ignored him as Felicity was wont to do.

Leo's face broke out into a grin. "Did you meet Zack too? Cute kid, right?"

He was certainly that. "Yeah, didn't complain one bit when Emily made me hold him."

"Yeah, takes after his uncle. He doesn't mind pretty young things taking care of him."

Andy huffed and crossed her arms on her less than impressive chest. "I'm sure he does. But, I need you-"

"Sure honey, I won't let a pretty thing like you down." Leo stepped closer to Andy and she took a deep breath, preparing for a sensual onslaught. He smelled really good. Very manly. Her appreciation must have shown in her face because he smiled a slow, practiced smile. Too practiced.

Andy snorted and stepped back. "Really, does that work on anyone?"

"Usually, but I must be losing my touch." Leo rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "What's up, Red?"

Andy let the epithet slide. "I asked Emily to send someone over to fix up my place, she suggested your name. I believe she said that you're the literally only one available. So, I thought I would give you a heads up before you talk to her. Have you done any work like this before? And I have to warn you that I am on a tight budget here."

Leo's grin became lopsided. "So, let me rephrase. I am the only one available to fix your place AND you want my references? Plus you want me to work for free?"

"I never said free. I'll pay you, but after the house is sold."

Leo's eyebrows bunched together. "What about the cost of fixtures, materials and paint? If you are going to fix up that place, it would need a lot of stuff that you need to buy first."

Oh, so this was the problem. Since Leo always dressed smartly and drove a fancy car, she had assumed he had money. But, it was possible that he lived off of a limited inheritance, thanks to his family, or worse, off his brother's charity. She never should have assumed that he would be willing to get paid later.

"Geez, I'm so sorry, this came out all wrong. If you don't have the cash, I can always borrow from somewhere. It's not very good of me to expect you to pool your money into my project. If you want payment upfront, I'll arrange it." How, was another matter.

Leo's smile had turned tight. "I think I can hold off on payment until my work is done, Red. The question is, why should I help you?"

She could feel pride stamp a haughty look on her face and tilt her chin up. "You won't be doing my work for free. I'll pay you as soon as my house sells. What about ten percent of the price of my house?"

Leo scoffed. "Not enough, make it twenty-five and we got a deal."

Andy hesitated, working numbers in her head. "Do I have to pay you for the materials you use?"

"We'll split the material cost, ok?" Leo had crossed his arms and was shooting her an amused look.

Andy crunched some more numbers. "I can pay you back for the materials, AFTER the house sells, ok?"

Leo let out a smile. God, but he was really beautiful in the bright sunlight. His dark brown hair had natural golden tints and his twinkling brown eyes and even white smile pasted a very pleasant picture of an All-American boy.

"Seems risky, Red." He attempted a thinkers pose, but all Andy could look at was the scraping sound made by the stubble on his chin. Today, he was a bit scruffy, a grey t-shirt tucked into Levis and he wore a leather jacket. Very bad boy. Damn, he even had a chin dimple! She found herself leaning in to catch a whiff of his aftershave. Just in time, she caught herself and stepped back.

"Don't call me that." Her tone was sharper than intended, a rebuke for self to not get her head in the clouds.

"What?"

"Red. It's Andy, you know." Andy made sure her voice was a smooth drawl as she crossed her arms again.

Leo smiled and she didn't like the look on his face one bit. "I'll make you a deal, I will pitch in for your materials until the home sells and take twenty percent," Andy's heart soared, "on one condition, you should let me call you Red."

"What? That's just silly." And because Leo was so adorable when he said that, Andy found herself giggling.

"Deal, then?" Leo stuck out his arm.

Andy shook it, tentatively. She could hardly believe her good luck. "Deal!"

******

Her eyes were green.

Leo was just absurdly glad of the fact, as if he had just solved a pretty tricky puzzle. He had been so glad when Andy had chased him out of the diner, he hadn't wasted any time turning on his charm.

And it had failed on her. Yet again.

And now for some unknown reason, he had agreed to help her AND pool in for the cost of the materials. Even a small house like Holden House would need a lots of tools, new shutters, window panes, wood to repair the rickety porch and gallons of paint. Just to start off. And he hadn't even glimpsed inside the house.

But something about the house and the girl was shrouded in mystery. Or maybe the reason was something else altogether.

A death of a parent did change a person.

He had a great life for himself in LA, yet he had put it all on hold to move back home indefinitely. He had to go back for a week to get his affairs in order and delegate work to his PA. It was impossible for him to concentrate on work, for awhile at least.

He had packed bags and moved to his brother's guest house and started getting back to his roots. His father had early onset Alzheimer's, so he wasn't lucid all the time. But it felt good to reconnect to the old man. He didn't remember when was the last time they sat together and have a civilized conversation. Last time he had left home, they had exchanged heated words. Dan Knight hadn't thought his younger son would amount to much. But he was now back, and the old arguments seemed so pointless.

His whole life sometimes seemed pointless. In LA, the land of fluff, he yearned to feel the connection to another human being the way he easily found among the people of Prescott, but that had always eluded him. He had a few girlfriends, but each one was more superficial than the next, until he wondered if he was also reduced to being their sugar-daddy as the girls were arm-candy for him.

It was good to be back. And doing hard manual labor at Andy's house would keep his days busy. The work won't be easy, but it wasn't as if he had a hell lot to do.