Silence. Except for all the heavy breathing.
“Impossible woman,” he muttered, straightening his tie and picking up the picture that had brought him here in the first place.
“Impossible woman,” I mimicked in a tone I hadn’t used since third grade. I accompanied it with a face I also hadn’t made since the third grade. Honestly.
Clark started gathering his things together, stacking them neatly and replacing them into his briefcase. “I can see that reason won’t work here. Since you’re new in town I wanted to be as neighborly as I could, but now? Here’s what’s going to happen.”
He pointed his finger at me. “You can’t change a thing in this house without going through me. Go ahead and check with Mr. Montgomery, he’ll tell you the same thing. Not one thing, Vivian.”
And with that, he left.
I slammed the door with a frustrated growl. Jessica started to say something but I held up my finger, scrambling for my phone in my pocket and dialing angrily. I really missed punching actual buttons sometimes, especially when I was this pissed off. It was hard to get rid of tension when you had to dial so delicately.
“You calling Mr. Montgomery?”
“Nope, I’m calling Simon.”
“And Simon is . . . ?”
“An old friend.” He answered his phone. “Hey, Simon. Your girlfriend’s a decorator, right?”
“Shit, don’t ever call her that. She’s an interior designer. Why? What’s up?”
“I need some professional advice. You guys want to take a road trip up the coast?”
I hung up a few minutes later, my grin wide and toothy. I had backup rolling in this weekend.
chapter five
“So let me get this straight. You inherited this house, and it’s on the historical register in Mendocino County, correct?” Caroline asked.
“Correct.”
“Not surprising. Most of the town is on the historical register.”
“So I’ve been told,” I seethed through gritted teeth. I was on the phone later that night with Simon’s girlfriend, Caroline, whom I’d met at the high school reunion I’d attended last December. She seemed cool, and Simon was totally over the moon for her, something I never thought I’d see. “So is he right? I can’t make changes to it?”
“Can’t say yes or no at this point; let me do a little research. Typically, if a house is on the historical register but hasn’t received any kind of federal funding, then the owner is free and clear. But don’t quote me on that. Do you know if your aunt ever received any kind of grants or anything?”
“I have no idea. I can try to find out, though. I’m meeting with her attorney tomorrow.”
“Okay, sit tight and I’ll do a little digging on my end. Who’s the guy that’s causing so much trouble?”
“The librarian. Who knew?”
“Sounds interesting. The whole thing sounds interesting, actually. I love that area! Those old homes are fantastic; I can’t wait to see it,” she gushed.
“I’ll be glad to see you too,” I replied dryly, and she caught herself.
“I mean, we’re coming to see you, of course,” she said. “But the house, holy shit! You said it had four bedrooms, is that right?” she asked, and I could hear Simon telling her to wrap it up. I laughed, and let her gush another moment before she said good night, handing the phone back to Simon.
Apparently one of Caroline’s best friends had a vacation home in the area, so another couple was traveling up with them. Frankly I didn’t care who the hell showed up, as long as someone could get Clark off my back.
“Viv? You still there?” I heard Simon ask.
“Yep, sorry. So, Friday afternoon?”
“Yeah, we’ll try to get out of the city as early as we can, but with traffic it’ll probably be late afternoon before I get up there. You want us to come straight to the house or—”
“Sure, just come on over and then we can head into town for dinner. The place is still a mess, not exactly ready for a house party.”
“No problem, I’ll call you when we’re on the way. And, Viv?”
“Yeah?”
“It’ll be good to see you. I’m glad you called us.”
“Christ, Simon, are you an ‘us’ now?” I teased, hearing him sigh into the phone.
“Nice. I’m coming to help and you’re busting my balls?” he asked, and I heard Caroline in the background chime in with, “No busting the balls, they’re great balls!”
“Oh, for God’s sake, good night!” I said, hanging up.