“I totally agree.” Laying down her nail gun she took off her gloves before walking over. “And I have an idea.”
“Shoot.”
Scrubbing her fingers through her short hair, she turned toward the bay window. “Two things. How about extending the window seat so it’s flush with the bookshelves and then adding a step so the little ones can climb up.”
“You read my mind. The small panes and metal frame guarantees they can’t fall out. When I was a toddler, I used to drag a stool over to?—”
“Hey up there!” Tracy’s voice rose from the first floor. “Do I need a hard hat or can I just come up?”
“Just come up!” Adam hollered back. The sound of her voice jacked up his pulse. “It’s Tracy.” He glanced at the three people in the room. “An old friend. Her folks bought the property next to Laughing Creek Ranch when we were in grade school.”
“She’s come back for a visit?” Angie was eyeing him with interest.
“No, she still lives here, but she’s moved into town. She’s a lawyer.” Damn, he shouldn’t have said anything about his mom longing for grandkids, which had led to Angie’s question. She’d just picked up on his change of mood.
“You’re working on the children’s section!” Tracy entered the room and he was in damage control. Angie would be watching.
He tried his best not to act like a besotted fool. But God, she was beautiful, her cheeks glowing from the cold, the climb to thesecond floor, and maybe even because she was as affected by him as he was by her.
“Adam and I talked about it when he first came up with the bookstore idea.”
“Then you were in on the original planning phase?” Kendall looked curious, too.
“Yes, but I… work’s been crazy.” She held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Tracy. Are you Angie?”
“Kendall.” She shook Tracy’s hand. “That’s Angie and this obviously is Kieran.”
“I’m so glad to meet all of you.” Tracy shook hands with the other two. “Adam’s raved about your work and last night I finally got over to see some of it, mostly the fiction room. The arched shelving is gorgeous.”
“Thanks.” Angie’s glance kept switching from Tracy to him, clearly finding clues galore. “It’s good to meet you, too. Adam says you’re old friends.”
“Yeah, met in third grade.” She gave him a sunny smile. “This house was a favorite destination when I was a kid. I tagged along on trips into town to see his great-grandma Lucy. Ilovedthis room. Loved her, too. She kept her old clothes from the twenties in that closet.” She pointed to the far side of the room. “Mila, Claudette and I were allowed to play dress-up with them.”
“Cool.” Kendall nudged him. “How about you, Adam? Did you play dress-up?”
“No, ma’am, I did not.”
“We tried to make him put on his great-grandpa’s stuff, but he and Luis were either sliding down the banister, playing King of the Mountain on the stairs, or having shoot-outs in the hallway.”
Kieran grinned. “Sliding down that banister sounds grand to me, mate. I would’ve done the same. I’d try the banister now except I might break it, me, or both.”
“Some of us gave it a try ten years ago when we were helping move great-grandma Lucy to the ranch,” Tracy said. “Greta sailed down like a pro, but she was only twelve. Rio wasn’t bad, either. But the rest of us wiped out.”
“Speak for yourself. I landed on my feet.” He’d raced over to catch her before her butt hit the floor. Hadn’t thought of it in years, but he could still feel the sensation of tucking her warm body close to his.
“Okay, you landed on your feet but then you staggered and almost fell. In other words, you didn’t stick the landing.”
“It’s green with envy, I am,” Kieran said. “Never got inside one of the old Victorians back home. I’m in heaven workin’ on this one.”
“Well, you’re all doing a spectacular job.” Tracy gestured toward the bookshelves. “I love the idea of one on either side of the turret bay window. Are you going to enlarge the window seat?”
“We were just talking about it,” Kendall said. “Adam and I had that same idea, and then we’ll put in a step so the smaller kids can climb up.”
“Brilliant.” Tracy gazed at the antique window. “I always thought it would be great if the window seat had curtains in front of it so you could hide in there.”
Angie turned to study the opening. “Now that we have the bookcases on either side, we could put up a cornice between them and hang lightweight curtains the kids could open and close.”
“I would have loved something like that when I was a kid,” Kendall said. “They could even put on little plays.”
