“This is really nice, but I thought we were just doing a mural on one wall.” Last thing I needed was for her to get halfway finished, then leave town. “I’m sure you have your hands full with your grandmother, and this seems like a lot of work.”
She waved her hand. “The whole thing will probably take me about three weeks.”
Sounded like a Pollyanna-ish time estimate to me. “That’s all? Are you sure?”
“I work fast.” She looked down, her expression almost embarrassed. “Too fast to be a serious artist, I’ve been told.”
I wondered who’d told her that. “Sounds like an asset to me.”
“I can’t wait!” Sophie said.
Zoey nodded.
“Has Peggy seen this?” I asked.
Hope’s curls bobbed on her shoulders. “She came over to Gran’s and I showed her. She approved the sketch as well as the estimate. She said she’s paying.”
“Peggy isnotpaying.” Peggy had promised the girls a real princess room when we moved to Wedding Tree, but I had no intention of letting her pick up the tab.
“Well, that’s something the two of you will have to work out. Here’s the estimate.” Hope handed me a professional-looking bid form.
I looked it over. It was less than what I’d been willing to pay the artist from New Orleans, minus the travel expenses.
“Looks good. When do we start?”
“As soon as you’d like. If we use the current color as the base, I can just start sketching directly onto the walls.”
“Yes!” yelled Sophie, throwing up her arms.
“Let’s start now!” said Zoey.
“Do we need to do anything to prep the room?” I asked.
“Not just yet. Having the furniture in place will be a help while I’m sketching. Once I start actually painting, though, we’ll need to pull the furniture out of the way, cover the floor, and move the girls to another bedroom until the project’s finished.”
“No problem.”
“Can I help? I can paint!” Zoey said. “I painted some pictures at school today.”
“Me, too,” chimed in Sophie. “Wanna see?”
Hope grinned at them. “I’d love to see your artwork. And, yes—once I get it all sketched out, you can both help.”
They jumped up and down and shrieked so loudly I was tempted to cover my ears. Then they thundered downstairs to gather up their art collection.
Silence hung between us for a moment, the kind of charged silence that comes from being alone with someone you find attractive. “They’re excited.”
“I can tell.” Hope’s smile transformed her from pretty to dazzling. “They’re adorable.”
Another charged silence electrified the air. “So... did your grandmother tell you anything about the man in the photos?”
She nodded, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s a wildly romantic tale, but... well, I’m afraid of where it’s all leading.”
“Now you have me intrigued.”
“What’s intriguing?”
I started at the sound of Jillian’s voice in the hallway. I hadn’t heard her come in; she must have let herself in the back door with her key. I felt oddly guilty, as if I’d been caught doing something I wasn’t supposed to do, and the feeling rankled.
