Page 30 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

He’d already shown her what the place would look like with the changes she’d asked for, and she’d been happy with that plan. New countertops, new appliances, refinished flooring, fresh paint. It would be fine.

But this was…

“It’s wonderful.” She turned his way as she said it. He’d inched closer and was so near that she caught the scent of mint on his breath.

He cleared his throat and leaned back. “Thanks. I’ve been putting these plans together for weeks, ever since Christiansen…” His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he scooted his chair away. “Obviously, the budget’s much bigger on the second option. But I talked to a friend in real estate last week, and she seems to think you’ll get back twice what you put into it, if you’re willing to spend the money and spend it well. She was throwing out numbers in the seven-hundred range. I know it’s not Hawaii prices, but?—”

“But aside from what I spend to do the work, it’ll be all profit.”

“Exactly.”

“Did you show her these plans?”

He nodded. “Some of the ideas were hers—to level out the yard, for instance. She said it would improve curb appeal, which will add a lot to the value of the house without spending much money.”

“I can see that.” Aspen looked around, surprised to see the dingy space after looking at what it could be. She’d love to see that transformation. And she wouldn’t mind the return, either.

“How long will it take?”

He scooted his chair a little farther away, blowing out a breath as he did. “That’s the issue, of course. If we were to gowith your plan, it’d take a month, maybe six weeks, depending on how quickly we can get the supplies. My plan will take twice that long, at least.”

“So, three months?”

“Maybe longer. I’m not one of those contractors who’ll tell you four weeks when I know it’ll be closer to eight. I’m trying to be as honest as I can here. Truth is, everything’s in short supply these days. And if it’s coming from overseas?—”

“I get it.”

“I hope it takes less than that but”—his shoulders lifted and fell—“it might take four months, worst case scenario, six. There are things out of my control. I can tell you that I’ll do everything in my power to get it done as quickly as possible. And once we get going, if we’re organized and have all the decisions made up front, you don’t have to be here. You can do what you have to do and then go on to Florida.”

“Where strangers don’t glare at me? And stalk me?”

“Not that I’m in a hurry to get rid of you, but yeah.”

She scrolled the rest of the images to see updated bathrooms, clean and bright bedrooms, pretty light fixtures, new windows everywhere.

It was gorgeous. If he could make this place look like that, she might want to stay.

Well, if the town didn’t hate her, that was. And it weren’t so cold.

She shivered at the thought and pushed the laptop back to him.

“The furnace guy is coming tomorrow, by the way.”

“Thank God.”

He laughed and closed the lid. “I’ll let you think about it. Meanwhile”—he stood and pushed in his chair—“we should get going so we’re not late to meet the phone installer. What do you need to do today?”

What she wanted to do was curl up in bed and spend some time with God. But she doubted Garrett would be willing to hang around while she did that, and he’d already said he wasn’t leaving her alone at the house until he knew she was safe. Which was sort of overbearing and sort of sweet. Considering she didn’t exactly want to be there alone—even in the light of this sunny day—she wasn’t going to argue.

“I need to hit a Target or Walmart or something, a place where there’s food and other household goods. And I need furniture.”

“Okay. We should be able to get everything in Plymouth. If not, we can pop down to Tilton, but it’s another half hour, so we should get going.”

“I can go by myself. My errands will take a lot longer than yours. We can just meet back here later.”

His smile was disarming. Maybe he knew that. Maybe that was why he’d donned it. “You tired of me already?”

“You must have better things to do.”

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