“Let’s wrap up for today, guys.” Quinn patted Ahbed, her electrician, on the shoulder. “The fixtures look great. Tidy job.”
The master bath in the five-bedroom house was the last room to be renovated, and her team had worked nonstop over the afternoon to get the slate floor down. There was some tiling work left in the walk-in shower, and the new sink had to be installed, but they were on track to finish the job on time. The house looked beautiful, and Quinn was proud of her team. Her company was one of the few in the area that offered a full package of carpenters and roofers as well as plumbers and electricians, and that enabled her to be time efficient.
Danny, her carpenter, turned to her and stretched his back. “I never thought I’d say this, but I actually wouldn’t mind continuing for a bit longer. If I go home now, my wife will want me to go to that town meeting with her.” He sighed and shook his head. “They bore me to tears, those meetings. They’re like sitting through a three-hour Christmas mass.”
“Same here,” Ahbed said. “I’ll do anything to avoid them.”
Quinn burst out in laughter. She’d had similar thoughts herself and loved using work as an excuse to get out of the long presentations followed by hours of bickering about entirely unimportant matters, such as the location of a swing in a new kids’ playground or the exact time of a summer concert. “Then how about a beer in the sun?” She pointed through the window to the backyard on the riverside. “I have some in the cooler in my truck. They should still be cold.”
“Sure, I’m in.” Danny put his tools away.
Ahbed nodded. “Sounds great, boss. If you get the beers, we’ll clear up.”
Quinn headed for her truck and grabbed the cooler. Although she rarely drank on weekdays, she always carried a few beers with her, along with plenty of cold water. It was the perfect evening for a beer, with the sun hanging low and spring flowers in full bloom along the riverbank. She sat in the grass and leaned back on her elbows facing Mystic River with Aster House on the other side. The shutters were all open now, and she imagined Riley inside, tearing off the wallpaper Quinn’s grandmother had chosen. Yes, it was dated, but that didn’t make it any less painful to see it go.
Danny and Ahbed helped themselves to a beer and joined her.
“I heard some lady from New York moved here last week,” Ahbed said. “Apparently, she bought that place.” He pointed to Aster House. “Have you seen her?”
“Yeah, I met her,” Quinn said. “She was trying to fit a trade-sized ladder into her Mercedes yesterday.” She chuckled. “I was worried she might cause an accident, so I took it back for her.”
“What’s she doing with a ladder?”
“She’s planning on doing a lot of the work on the house herself.” Quinn shrugged. “From what I’ve seen, she has no idea what she’s doing.”
“You gave her your card, didn’t you?” Danny asked. “She’s going to need help, for sure.”
“I told her she could call me,” Quinn lied. She didn’t want the men to know she’d declined a job. “But we’re pretty fully booked for the coming months, so I doubt we’d even have time.”
“I can always make time for more work,” Danny said. “I’ve heard she’s a stunner.” He glanced at Quinn and arched a brow. “Is she?”
“Yes, she’s attractive.” Quinn gave him a nudge when he grinned. “Don’t you get any ideas. She’s straight.”
“That’s what they all say until they meet you,” Ahbed joked. “Why do you think I’ve never introduced you to my wife?”
“Not funny.” Quin rolled her eyes. “That literally only happened one time and it was years ago. I don’t see why it needs to be a running joke.” The men were referring to Rebecca, the local baker’s wife. She and Quinn had had a brief affair and Quinn regretted ever getting involved with her because it had broken up Rebecca’s marriage. They were caught, and their affair eventually fizzled out, but Rebecca had no intention of ever going back to men. She divorced her husband, met a woman online, and moved to New Orleans to be with her, leaving Martin, the baker, with a broken heart and Quinn without fresh bread for the rest of her life. Although she’d apologized to him many times and they were on polite terms again, she still avoided his shop, as neither of them liked to be reminded of what had happened.
“I’m afraid it will be a running joke until we find something else to joke about.” Danny took a long gulp of his beer. “So, what’s her husband like?”
“She’s single, I think,” Quinn said. “She lives there by herself, and she didn’t mention a partner.”
“Oh? That’s unusual, don’t you think?” Ahbed frowned. “Why would someone want to live there all by themselves?”
“Why not? It’s a beautiful house.” Even though she knew Ahbed had a point, Quinn always got defensive when it came to Aster House. “Don’t tell me you believe those haunted stories.”
“No. It just seems too big for one person, that’s all.”
“I believe them. I wouldn’t sleep there alone,” Danny chipped in. “No way.” He narrowed his eyes at Quinn. “Didn’t your grandparents live there?”
“Yes.” That was the problem with living in a small community. Everyone knew everything about each other. “But that was a long time ago.” Quinn didn’t want to elaborate on how her family had lost it; it wasn’t something she liked talking about. “I doubt the New Yorker will stay there very long. No one does.”
11
RILEY
“You came,” Lindsey said, joining Riley in the back of the town hall when they finally broke for coffee.
“Of course.” Riley smiled. “That was an in-depth presentation.” It was the best she could think of to say about it, because the two-hour slideshow had almost sent her to sleep twice, and her back was stiff from the uncomfortable folding chair.
