When Kim decided to remodel the loft in the old barn and make it into a private studio, she'd gotten all excited at just the idea of it. Her own private place to get away from the world, to sit back and let her mind wander and play. A reading room. An office. A haven to listen to music and drift away from everyday hassles and responsibilities. Watching the sun set in warm, brilliant hues through thrown wide loft doors. Sigh...her own private "downtime" room. But little did she know that that room was to become much more than that...have much more meaning...bring so much more pleasure and purpose to her life. She was to receive a huge shock on that account...and it would happen before the room was even completed.
After checking with several construction companies and contractors, comparing prices and availability, she finally settled on the one that seemed most willing to listen to her ideas, that sounded most happy to work with her. This was, after all, to be a special room...and it had to be just right. In retrospect, Kim had no idea just HOW special that room would become.
And so it came to be that she hired the Bolton Brothers Construction Company, a small family firm that boasted "Twenty years of reliable service throughout five counties. Ask your neighbors...we've probably done some work for them." She'd spoken to one of the titular brothers, a husky-voiced man named Alex, both in the initial phone call and in the final call where she agreed to hire them. He seemed knowledgeable and pleasant, with all the right answers and a most agreeable price. And so, her dream room had taken its first step to its long overdue birth.
Kim was excited the day construction was to begin. She paced for hours until the caravan of pickup trucks rolled into her back yard, each loaded with supplies and tools to make her dream come true. That was when she met the owner of the telephone voice. Alex was a stocky man, tanned and strong from long hours in the sun creating dreams for other people. He explained to Kim that the entire construction, barring unforeseen circumstances, should only take a few days. Kim was ecstatic! Just a few short days to her dream of dreams!
As she spoke with Alex, she noted with a little surprise that one by one all the trucks had dropped off their supplies and had begun to leave. No one was staying to do the work! She addressed this concern with Alex, and he laughed.
"Well, in all honesty, ma'am," Alex said with a smile, "this is really a small job. One man can handle this just fine. The rest of my men have to head out of town to do a huge remodeling job on a department store. They'll be working on that project for several weeks. We're committed to a time limit on that one, and I'll need as many workers there as I can get."
"But," Kim said, looking perplexedly at the back yard, now empty of all but Alex's personal pickup, and the apparently abandoned supplies, "other than you, there's no one left here. Are you going to do the work yourself?"
"Oh, no, ma'am," he replied, seeming to be amused, "the other half of Bolton Brothers will be here himself shortly. I've got to oversee the department store construction, but my brother John has been in this business as long as I have. He's one of the best construction guys there is, trust me."
"Oh, so....he'll be here soon?" she asked, her dream suddenly seeming to waft away in the breeze.
"Sure," Alex still smiled, "any minute. Trust me, everything's okay. Now, I really have to go. I've left notes and plans for John over there by the tool box. He'll know exactly what you're looking for and how to make it just right for you. Really, ma'am, he's the best."
With a friendly wave, Alex turned and headed to his truck. As he drove off, Kim stared blankly at the empty yard. Well, empty except for wood, sheet rock, saws, drills and other construction materials and tools. In comparison to the churning tires of the parade of pickup trucks and the clamor of broad-shouldered men carrying supplies quickly from truck to barn, the air seemed eerily silent all of a sudden. Kim stood there, dazed, but precariously hopeful.
Just as she was beginning to pace again, some fifteen minutes later, another pickup barreled along her driveway, bouncing and weaving over rock and grass. The truck itself seemed somehow full of energy, eager for action. It bumped and bounced, ultimately screeching to a halt in a cloud of dust. The door opened, and out popped her dream maker.
Standing at almost six feet tall, John was more trim than his brother, his muscles more sculpted and firm. His tan was as dark and complete as his brother's. He was naked above the waist, and Kim's eyes traced his tight pecs from his shoulders right down to his dark nipples. They had already begun to glisten with perspiration in the summer heat. His hair was dark and wavy, made no less dark even in contrast to his bronzed skin. His mustache, brown and neatly trimmed, somehow made Kim tingle just to look at it. But it was the eyes that did her in. Deep blue eyes that seemed to shimmer beneath his dark eyebrows and tanned forehead. Standing about thirty feet from him as he stood beside his truck, Kim could nonetheless see the cool sensuality in those incredible eyes. Looking the man up and down, she clamped her thighs together and sighed wistfully.
John leaned in to pull his personal toolbox out of the cab, where it had sat next to him on the seat. He lifted it up and placed it on the roof of the cab, then turned to give Kim a friendly wave. His smile was genuine, sensual lips curling just enough to show a tiny bit of his white teeth. After placing the toolbox on the roof, he leaned in again, taking something out of the cab that Kim didn't recognize at first. As he slung the object around his waist, her eyes began to focus on and recognize it for what it was. With an audible "whoosh" and "click," John whipped the tool belt completely around his waist and fastened the clasp, adjusting the tightness. It all happened in seconds, with the practiced ease of countless repetitions. Now the tool man had his toolbox and his tool belt. He was ready to create a miracle.
"Hi," he yelled over to Kim, smiling that winning smile and walking toward her, "I'm John. I assume you're Kim?"
Forcing her lungs to function properly, Kim replied, "Yes, that's right. I'm Kim. I was getting a little worried when I saw all this stuff delivered, but no one to put it all together."
John looked concerned. "Didn't my brother tell you I'd be along?"
"Well, yes, he did," Kim said, feeling a tiny bit foolish, "but, well, you know...I've waited so long to have this done that I got a little nervous when everyone left."
He smiled. "Don't worry, we at Bolton Brothers never leave a job unfinished. I'll have this loft renovated in no time. Just ask..."
"I know, I know," Kim said, "just ask my neighbors, right? You've probably done some work for them?"
John laughed with gusto, his head tilting back with the force of it, his open mouth showing just how white and perfect his teeth were. "Ahh, I see you've memorized our ad, huh? Catchy, isn't it?"
