Forever Summer - Melody Grace Page 0,11
“That’s nice,” she replied, confused. “But it’s good for me … how?”
“Since you’ll be needing a new roof,” the contractor explained. “And new patching—and new drywall. With a house like this, there’ll probably be fractures in the foundation, so we might need to jack the place up and pour a new one …”
He took her from room to room, rattling off an endless laundry list of repairs that made Evie’s head spin. She’d known the place needed some fixing up, but there was a big difference between a few manageable projects and what sounded like a major construction project.
She hit her limit when Louie started going on about damp rot. “Is there anything that doesn’t need fixing?” she asked.
Louie paused, thinking hard for a moment. “The view can’t be beat.”
Evie had to laugh. He was right about that. But the stunning views alone wouldn’t be enough to attract guests to the inn. They would be needing running water and a dry bed for the night, too.
But before she could plunge any further into despair, someone cleared their throat: It was Noah, loitering in the doorway. “A word?” he asked.
Evie tensed. “I thought you guys left already.”
“It won’t take a minute.” He didn’t move, just leaned there, watching her, and Evie couldn’t focus on anything Louie was saying, not with her skin prickling hot under Noah’s gaze.
“Excuse me,” she told the contractor. “I’ll be right back.”
“Sure thing,” he said, nodding. “I’ll check the support beams—I didn’t like the look of them. One big gust, the whole place could come down.”
“Oh. Great!”
Evie followed Noah a short distance away and then whirled around, hands on her hips. “What is it?”
“Someone’s testy,” he said, still smiling. “Having second thoughts about this place already?”
She took a deep breath. She wasn’t going to let him get under her skin. “Everything’s fine,” she insisted, plastering on a smile. “What do you need?”
“I just thought I’d offer some friendly advice,” Noah replied. “You might want to take what Louie says with a grain of salt.”
“What do you mean?” Evie asked.
Noah gave her a confidential smile. “He has a habit of exaggerating his quotes. Somehow, a simple drywall fix turns into a full restoration of the Sistine Chapel—with the bills to match. Especially where the ladies are concerned,” he added.
Evie’s jaw dropped. “He’s playing me?”
“Don’t take it personally,” Noah said, still looking amused. “He tries it on every out-of-towner, the rest of us know to steer well clear.”
Evie groaned. She’d barely been in Sweetbriar Cove a day, and already she’d almost signed over her life savings to a huckster! “Thank you,” she told Noah reluctantly. “I can’t believe I bought his story.”
“You couldn’t have known,” he replied.
“Still, I appreciate it,” Evie said. Especially since she’d been so prickly towards him. “When this place is up and running, you can stay for free, anytime,” she offered. “Tea and scones on the house.”
Noah smiled. “I might just take you up on that. I always did like it here,” he said, looking around. “I’m glad Debra sold it to someone who cares enough to fix it up, not some developer who’ll raze it to the ground.”
“That depends,” Evie answered wryly. “Razing might be cheaper.”
She turned back to Louie, narrowing her eyes. She’d dealt with her share of shifty tradesmen and car mechanics over the years, but all she’d had to do was drag Glen along, and magically, the salesmen stopped sweet-talking her and started talking straight with him. Never mind that Glen was more at home in a biology lab than a garage. Just having him around made life easier.
He’d made everything easy.
But Glen was gone, which meant she would just have to deal with the hucksters of the world herself. Evie swallowed back the familiar pang of grief and strolled over to Louie.
“How’s it looking?” she asked brightly.
She was met with another stern, worried frown. “I don’t like the look of these walls,” he said, giving one of them a knock. “Hear that?”
Evie leaned closer. “Sounds fine to me.”
“Dry rot,” he proclaimed. “Termites. You’ll need to tent the place. Don’t worry, I know a guy.”
“I’m sure you do,” Evie said, amused. “But you know what, I think I’ll wait until my husband gets here before I sign off on anything.”
“Your husband?” Louie echoed, looking startled. “I thought you were here alone.”
“Oh no, I just came along ahead to get things started,” Evie lied. “He’s finishing up some meetings in the city,” she added, smiling. “He’s a lawyer.”
Louie gulped. “Uh huh?”
Evie nodded.