4
HAILEY
Hailey stood on the front porch of the farmhouse later that afternoon with her heart in her mouth.
Ransom had messaged her earlier to say he was going to stop by with some local guys to take a look at the place, so she had hurried up here from the cottage, wishing she’d made it to the store so she could at least offer them a cup of coffee or something.
A black pickup truck came down the drive first, crunching over the snowy gravel.
When Ransom got out and waved to her she felt better right away.
“Hey,” he called to her as he headed up the walk. “Am I the first one here?”
“Yes,” she said. “Thank goodness.”
“You’re nervous?” he asked.
“You know how I get,” she said, smiling.
“I’ve never understood that,” he said, shaking his head. “You perform in front of so many people.”
“That’s acting,” she told him. “It’s different when I’m being myself. And the meeting with Dominic this morning was so awful…”
“Well, I think you’ll like these guys,” Ransom said. “They’re going to do what you want, not the other way around.”
She nodded, not wanting to tell him about all the other things that were worrying her—like her budget, her timeline, and the weird way some people reacted to you when you’d been on TV, even if you weren’t a movie star or anything.
Another truck pulled up. Hailey took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Oh, this is Tanner,” Ransom said. “He’s an electrician, so you can show him where you want the new fixtures. He knows the house already since he did the rewiring for Radcliffe.”
“He did?” Hailey asked.
“Hey there,” the man said, hopping out of his truck and jogging up to the porch. “I know you.”
“Tanner Williams?” Hailey asked, amazed.
“Guilty as charged,” he chuckled. “It’s great to see you again, and I’m glad you’re investing in your hometown.”
That was kind of a weird way to say he was glad she was moving home, but she figured maybe it was contractor talk.
“Thank you so much for coming,” she said. “Ransom mentioned that you worked on this house already?”
“I did,” Tanner said. “Radcliffe wanted the old knob and tube wiring out of all his properties, so my crew did a whole bunch of homes for him, this one included.”
“That’s great news,” she said, feeling relieved.
“Sure is,” he said. “I’ll stand behind my work, so you know we really got all the old stuff out.”
“Is it bad to not get all of it?” she asked.
“Only if you don’t want your house to catch on fire,” he said, shrugging.
“Oh,” she said, stunned. She hadn’t really considered that the wiring in the old home might be an issue, but she was glad it had all been sorted out already.
“So, what did you have in mind?” he asked.
She looked to Ransom, who nodded and opened the front door for her to lead Tanner through.
