Her head practically swiveled, and her laser-beam stare honed in on Ryan, thoroughly scrutinizing him. He’d felt less violated after a TSA strip search.
“Hello,” she said, and her voice went from nails-on-the-chalkboard to 1-800-SEXPOT. “Who might you be?”
Emily filled in the answer. “Mrs. VonMeisterburger, this is Ryan. He’s just visiting for a few weeks. We’re, um, discussing some business.”
Ryan nodded but kept silent.
“Business, huh? Monkey business, I’d say. Hmm?” She threw back her head and laughed, and it was quite possibly the eeriest thing Ryan had ever seen.
“No, ma’am,” Emily answered, quelling the woman’s cackle. “Actual business. Ryan is a consultant.” She looked at him and nodded, clearly hoping he’d pick it up from there.
“Ah, a consultant.” The librarian made air quotes around the word. He wasn’t sure why. She stuffed a hand deep into the purple canvas tote bag that dangled from her arm and pulled out a pink leaflet. “Well, anyway, we’re having another meeting next Thursday. I expect to see you there, Peach. Bring your sister, and bring this fine fellow, too.” She fluttered her short, pale lashes at him. He would have thought she just had something in her eye were it not for the waggling of her eyebrows.
“I’ll certainly try, Mrs. VonMeisterburger.”
“Excellent. Carry on your business, now, and if you see any mosquitoes you know it isn’t because I haven’t done my part.”
The woman turned and ambled away, and Ryan let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Nice lady,” he said, his tone implying just the opposite.
“She’s a pest, but don’t get on her bad side. Our family dog ate a library book once, and she banned my sister from the library for three months. It was wintertime, and Brooke cried and cried, but that old coot wouldn’t give in.”
“Brooke? That’s the sister running for mayor, right?”
Emily nodded and took a sip of coffee. “She’s thinking about it, and once she latches on to an idea there is really no stopping her, so she’ll probably win.”
“So you’d be sister of the mayor. Does that come with any perks?”
She shook her head, and the ponytail went sway, sway, sway. “None whatsoever. It would probably lead to more encounters like the one we just had with the bat-shit crazy librarian. You know, people coming to me to get favors from Brooke? Although, I won’t be here, so I guess it wouldn’t matter.”
“Heading back to San Antonio, I take it? More house flipping?”
“That’s the plan.”
Something about the way she said that made her sound indefinite, and he wanted to ask her more about that, but something about the way she said it also made her sound like she didn’t want to talk about it, so instead he said, “Why did she call you Peach?”
Emily covered her face with both hands and groaned. “Please don’t ask me that. It’s not a story I like to tell.”
“Tell me anyway.” Now he simply had to know.
Her sigh was a great big huff, but a smile played at the corner of her lips. “Fine, but only because you bought me coffee. When I was a baby, I had a really round head and kind of short, fuzzy, orangey hair . . . and everyone always said my head looked like a peach, and it stuck.”
She rolled her eyes, but her smile was full now, and he couldn’t help laughing.
“Even my family calls me Peach half the time. I don’t even notice it anymore.”
More adorableness. So much so he couldn’t resist saying, “That is totally adorable.” And so was the blush that suddenly rushed across her cheeks.
“If you say so.”
Chapter 12
“I’m telling you, wearing a white suit to a work site is just asking for disaster,” Gigi said as they walked down the hill toward the cottage. It was 7:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, and Emily was about to meet her crew. She was practically nauseous about it. Back in San Antonio, she and Jewel had established a rapport with several dependable subcontractors. Most of them Emily knew from her time as a secretary at a construction company. So she knew who they could trust, who was going to underbid a job and then overbill, and who was going to show up when they promised, but Emily had none of that to fall back on here. She was flying solo. The pressure to succeed was mounting, and she hadn’t even started yet!
“I have to establish myself as the boss, Gigi,” Emily said, “or they’ll never take me seriously. Trust me. Jewel and I have worked with enough men in this business to know that you have to set the ground rules right up front. I won’t have them talking down to me like I’m some dumb girl who doesn’t know a monkey wrench from an Allen wrench.”
“Do you know the difference between a monkey wrench and an Allen wrench?” Gigi asked.
“Yes. I do. I also know what a cotter pin is, and how to use a drill, and in a pinch, I can use a table saw except they scare the hell out of me. The point is, Gigi, these guys need to believe in me, otherwise they’ll take advantage, so don’t talk to me in front of them like I’m your sweet little granddaughter. Let’s make them think I’m a real ballbuster.”
Gigi shook her head slowly. “If you want them to take you seriously, you should wear some jeans and a T-shirt. Show them you’re not afraid to roll up those sleeves and do some of the work, too.”
“I’ll do that tomorrow. Today, I’m the boss. I’m wearing this suit like a boss, too.” She smoothed down the front of her jacket. Gigi tsk, tsk, tsked, but Emily ignored her. She was nervous enough without her grandmother making it worse.
They approached the cottage from the left, and Emily nearly stumbled on the rocky driveway. Even if her suit was a good idea, maybe the heels were not. It wasn’t so much the uneven pathway that caused her wobbling footsteps, though. It was the cluster of miscreants standing on the front porch. That was her crew? Good Lord, Gigi must have found them on the Island of Misfit Toys.
“There they are!” Gigi exclaimed, waving excitedly. Then she cupped her hands to holler, “Hiya, Tiny. Looking good!”
“Feeling good, Miss O’Reilly,” bellowed back the multi-tattooed, talking mountain leaning against the front post. He raised one beefy hand in salute, revealing that some of those tattoos went all the way around his arm.
“Miss O’Reilly?” Emily whispered, trying to plaster a smile on her face when what she really wanted to do was turn around and run in the other direction.