Page 179 of The Seven Rings
They made good progress before the lunch break, where Cleo’s cold fried chicken and Creole potato salad got Chef Bree’s seal of approval.
“I could work this into the summer menu next year.” Considering, Bree took another bite of potato salad. “The smoked pepper makes it.”
“It’s my grand-mère’s recipe. I’ll give it to you.”
“Then it wouldn’t be mine. On the other hand…” Lips pursed, she tipped her head side to side. “Grand-mère’s Creole Potato Salad says something. I’m going to play with it, think about it.”
Clover chimed in with Katy Perry and Migos to say “Bon Appétit.”
Even as Bree gave the kitchen tablet the side-eye, Manny grinned, said, “Cool. See, you’re talking about cooking, and it—she?—whatever plays a song about cooking.”
“I got it, Manny.” Now Bree gave him the side-eye before she shifted to Sonya. “Doesn’t it ever just creep you out?”
“Not even a little. Thanks to Clover, my playlist has expanded by leaps and bounds since I moved to the manor.”
“That’d happen sometimes when I came in to do any inside work for Collin.” Shrugging, John Dee polished off a drumstick. “Didn’t feel creepy so much as, well, just Lost Bride Manor stuff.”
“Did anything feel creepy?” Sonya asked him. “Trust me, I won’t be offended.”
“Well, you got used to doors opening and closing and like that. And now and then maybe you’d hit what you’d call a cold spot. Butthere was a time, just last year, when I was delivering a load of firewood, and Collin mentioned the faucet was leaking and dripping in one of the bathrooms on the third floor, the one down past his studio?”
He smiled at Cleo. “You’re using it now. Anyhow, I said I’d take a look, took my tools on up. Needed a new washer and some tightening up, so it didn’t take long. But it gave me a bad feeling, kind of a sick feeling to be in there. Like there was someone who didn’t want me to be.”
He flushed a little. “I could’ve sworn there was somebody moving around in that room across the hall. A sneaky sound to it.”
“We’re working on that,” Sonya told him.
“I guess I’ve been all over this house doing a little this or that for Collin, unless Trey or Owen took care of it first. But that day, down that way? It didn’t feel right.”
But Dobbs stayed quiet through the afternoon as the space in the ballroom spread, and the space in the attic narrowed.
She talked Bree and Manny into taking an Art Deco table as a housewarming gift, sealing that deal by assuring Bree the table wasn’t haunted.
Then she brought out her graph paper.
Trey studied it, noted each piece had been drawn to scale and place. And she’d added a list on the side identifying each one.
“Did we say organized?”
“Yes, with the caveat this is where that ten percent applies.”
Owen studied the graph. “Nah. This is how it’s done. You’ve got it, so let’s just get going on it.”
Though she did second-guess herself, a few times, as they placed love seats, tables, chairs, Sonya saw what she’d built in her head becoming. And leaned toward Owen’s take.
They had it.
No neutrals here, but bold colors and patterns, gleaming wood, varying shapes that to her eye worked together. Probably not the formalelegance the room had once held, but touches of both mixed, she thought, with comfort and welcome.
“Needs art.” Sonya swiped the back of her hand over her forehead. “I wanted to see it set up before I got into that. And some tall plants. And maybe…”
“Forget that ten percent.”
She shrugged at Trey. “It’s down to five, and I think that disappears with the art and plants. I think. There’s just so much open space.”
“That’s what this is for.”
Trey grabbed her, spun her into a waltz.
