A Change of Pace by JM Cartwright Page A

soon as he finished this section of his desk project. His customer wasn’t going to wait forever, and Rae could be just as demanding when there were problems at the inn.
    God, he was tired. Some days he just wanted to go back to bed.
    Instead, he heard a scratching at the shop door, and he turned his head toward the sound. Trudging over, he looked through the glass, shaking his head and snorting slightly. Henry stood there, staring up forlornly. The dog uttered a low whine.
    Ridge pulled open the door and Henry wandered inside. “You are a piece of work. Where’s your girlfriend, huh, buddy? Did she leave you all alone?” He crouched down to rub the shepherd’s silky head, scratching behind the big ears. “You’re not the only one, my friend.” He was rewarded with a doggie groan, Henry leaning into his hand for more.
    He’d been trying to concentrate on his woodworking this evening. In addition to the desk he was building, he had a custom bar cabinet to finish, and that was due in a couple days. That piece was going to end up in the man-cave Ridge had built for Tommy Braden, a friend of Tony Lopez. He’d gotten several referrals from Tony, and they were definitely helping the cash flow of his woodworking business.
    He worked on his projects when he wasn’t working for Tony, and he got a lot of things done in the evenings and on the weekends. But, he’d lost work time over the last couple of days because of his wild night with Drew and then the cruel dismissal at lunchtime. He’d spent last night drinking beer, sitting on his stairs, and talking to himself. Now, he needed to get back on course and concentrate on his work commitments. “That’s what pays the bills.” He grunted again, standing up.
    What the hell was Drew’s problem? Why had Drew acted like that yesterday? It was just a kiss -- and they’d been hidden in the tack room, for crying out loud. Who was that guy to make Drew react like that?
    Hissing to himself in disgust, he put his goggles and mask back on and bent his head over the worktable, determined to finish. He needed to see Drew again to get to the bottom of things. And he would find him, sooner or later.
    ***
    Drew assured himself that he wasn’t a fifteen-year-old with more hormones than brains. Or, uh, that he usually wasn’t a moonstruck teenager consumed with infatuation.
    He honestly didn’t know himself when he was around Ridge. He could stay cool and calm in the most trying of circumstances, and certainly had, especially the last few years working in the mayor’s office. With all the backstabbing jerk-offs around him and his father, he’d had to be on his toes every moment. Now, though? Now was a different story.
    Maybe I’m just making up for lost time .
    Drew smiled grimly to himself. That has to be it. And the clusterfuck with Danny had put him off guys for quite some time.
    Well, it had to stop. Right now. He was going to meet with Tony Lopez and get started on his new job. He’d just pick one of the damned houses he’d seen and buy it. What difference did it make anyhow?
    Yesterday, when he’d gotten back to the inn, he’d sent Henry home to Ridge. He hadn’t wanted -- or needed -- any reminders of his hot young lover. Uh-uh. He needed to control this... this obsession. He needed to remind himself why he was in North Carolina and quit thinking with his dick.
    The meeting with Tony Lopez went surprising well. Drew had been prepared to be taken on sufferance and tolerated, but, after spending an hour with the man, he was pleasantly surprised to find that he liked Tony.
    “I’m amazed at what you have going on here. The fact that you’ve been able to create a marketable product and continue to sell it is something to be proud of.” Tony’s company had been successfully building and selling lower-cost homes in and around western North Carolina for two decades, and the entrepreneur now wanted to develop mid-size rental and condo projects.
    Tony was quite candid with