Page 18 of Summer Love

"I'm glad we ran into you. It seems like we have a problem."

My heart stutter-stepped. "What kind of a problem?"

"Grams—" Elena began, but her grandmother kept talking.

"I need my porch redone. I used to sit out on it with my husband, but he passed a few years ago. It holds a lot of memories, but Elena thinks it's unsafe."

I glanced at Elena, who looked uncomfortable. "We can't have that. Can I take a look at it real quick?"

"Elena, can you show it to him? I'm going to look for shells." Grams moved away from us.

"Are you sure you're okay on the beach by yourself?" Elena asked her.

"You know, I managed just fine until you came home."

"Okay. Come on then." When I fell into step next to Elena, she said, "Sorry about this. I told Grams I'd ask you about this tomorrow. I know you do bigger projects than a porch, and your wait list is long."

"I can still take a look at it and see what we can do. I can't have your Grams missing out on her porch. It obviously makes her happy."

"You don't need to go out of your way—" Elena stopped in front of a screened-in porch that had seen better days.

"If I can help, I will." I frowned up at the sagging porch. "Who originally added it?"

"My grandfather. They spent a lot of time out here, sitting on the rocking chairs. It holds a lot of memories for her, and she hates not being out here."

I moved around, checking the roof, the supports, then testing my weight on the boards. "You're right. It's not sturdy."

"I know you don't do smaller projects like this, and it can take a while to find someone who will come out to the island. Do you have any recommendations for someone who could do it sooner? I want her to have her space back."

"I want that for her too. I can work on it at night and on the weekends."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, I couldn't ask you to do that."

"You didn't. I offered."

Her brow furrowed. "I don't want you to work overtime."

"It's for a good cause." I stepped outside the screen door to admire the cottage. "I'll send you the estimate, and you can decide if you want to move forward."

"Are you sure you don't mind working double time?" Elena asked as I headed down the narrow path to the beach.

"We both know this would make your grandmother very happy. So let's do this for her and forget about all the other concerns." I paused on the path to face her. "Can you do that? Preferably before we talk to her? She'll want to know that you're okay with this."

Elena cleared her throat. "I can do that."

"Good."

We approached Grams, who was staring at a cluster of shells.

"Find anything good, Mrs. Perkins?"

"Call me Grams. I'm still looking." She drew up in front of us. "What did you think about my porch? Can you fix it?"

"I can if you don't mind me working evenings and weekends. I promise I won't stay late."

"I have to see the estimate, but if it's within our budget, I don't see why we shouldn't go with you. The Kingstons do good work."

Hudson held up his palms. "You don't have to decide right now. I'll send the estimate over, and you can get back to me. If you want to go ahead, I'll come back out and take more measurements and order materials."

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