got that kind of money?’ he replied in surprise eyeing her target jeans and plain sneakers.
‘I’ve got more than enough; my inheritance will cover it.’
‘You could easily blow through it and then some,’ he shook his head. ‘Don’t get me wrong I’m dying to get my hands on this house. A re-build like this rarely comes along but I don’t want you to commit to this and end up blowing through all your savings.’
‘I’ve lived without money before,’ she shrugged, ‘I can do it again.’
His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he stared at her.
‘You’re serious about this aren’t you?’
‘Yes, I am,’ she replied quietly. ‘I don’t know what it is,’ she glanced back up at the house. ‘I feel… I feel like the house has been waiting for me. I guess that sounds pretty dumb huh?’
‘Not at all,’ he shook his head.
‘Okay,’ she blew out a breath and pushed herself away from the wall, holding out her hand, ‘let’s do this then.’
‘You sure?’ Killian’s eyes twinkled with boyish excitement and he reached for her outstretched palm.
‘I’m sure,’ Ava nodded.
Their hands clapped together, and they shook firmly. The front door of the house slammed shut so loudly and abruptly part of the wood frame splintered away making them both turn their heads to stare.
‘Man,’ Killian grinned, ‘Hope is gonna freak out.’
Ava rolled her eyes and shook her head.
‘So, what’s first?’
‘There’s so much to do,’ Killian trotted down the steps heading for his pick-up where he retrieved a tatty notepad with curling edges and a stubby pencil. ‘I’m not letting anyone else get their hands on this project, I’ll personally oversee every step myself. Fortunately, all the other work we’ve got on at the moment is fairly straight forward so I’ve got good guys I can put in charge. That’ll free me up. I’ll hire in extra crews from the mainland. We need to get the exterior done and the whole place weatherproof before the weather turns. It seems like we’ve got plenty of time now but when you factor in that I still need to hire crews, draw up plans, order in materials and equipment, we’re going to need to hit the ground running.’
‘Wow.’
‘Yeah,’ he nodded as he leaned against the hood of the truck and began to scribble notes. ‘A lot of the interior work can be carried out during the colder months, so we really want to nail down the basics first. I know a great architect over on the mainland. I’ll see if he can track down the original blueprints to the house and come out and meet with you. You’ll want to keep the exterior as true to the original as possible but inside you’ll be able to modernize, kitchen, bathrooms etc.’
‘I feel like my head’s spinning,’ Ava frowned.
‘That’s what I’m here for,’ he told her reassuringly. ‘I’ll get straight on this and come back to you with a plan and some numbers. Once you’re satisfied, we’ll get the contracts drawn up. You’ve already got a lawyer; you going to continue to use Dennis?’
‘I guess so.’
‘I’ll give him a heads up,’ Killian noticed the broken photo frame in her hand. ‘What’s that?’
‘Oh,’ Ava lifted it and stared at it thoughtfully now that she could see it in the bright daylight. ‘I found it in the library. I couldn’t help but notice that in the other room there was a load of old-fashioned desks and upstairs there seemed to be a lot of children’s beds.’
‘Well,’ Killian scratched his chin slowly, ‘the house used to be used as a school back at the turn of the century.’
‘Did it?’ Ava replied curiously.
Killian eyed the old black and white photo in her hand.
‘If you want to know about the history of the house you’ll want to talk to Bunty.’
‘Bunty?’ Ava’s brows rose.
‘Bunty McCarthy,’ Killian answered. ‘She runs a little tourist shop almost directly opposite the ferry, Bunty’s Boutique. She also happens to be the chairwoman of the island’s historical society. If you want to know anything about the history of the island Bunty’s your woman.’
‘Thanks,’ Ava murmured thoughtfully, ‘I might just do that.’
‘Okay well, I’m going to get going,’ Killian smiled. ‘I’ll have to break the news to Hope and then I have a lot of groundwork to do before we can get started. Where are you staying?’
‘Here,’ she glanced around as if it should be obvious, ‘it’s my land after all.’
‘Here?’ his eyes widened in surprise, ‘you can’t stay here? The house is in no way livable.’
‘Not in the house,’ she