Page 4 of Keeping My Wife
Looked like I wasn’t leaving Indigo Valley any time soon.
Chapter 1
Cam
I was dusty and exhausted.
It had been a six-day work week and my back was freaking killing me. I’d been point on one of the major house remodels we just buttoned up. November was supposed to be the start of our slow season at Murdock Brothers, but the word slow didn’t seem to be in our vocabularies.
Sully, my big brother, was thrilled. Me, not so much. The holidays through February were my time to work on specialty projects. I was more than happy to work in the family business. Truthfully, ever since I came home, I realized how much I missed and loved it.
The challenge of it kept me interested in ways I would never have imagined.
However, the winter usually afforded me some time to do the furniture remodels I rarely had time for lately. I’d always had an affinity for repurposing things that people threw away. Or, in my case, hand me downs from my brothers.
Being one of six meant there wasn’t a whole lot of money to go around when we were kids. Being the second youngest meant things were in pretty bad shape by the time they were mine. Likethe old kitchen table with a rickety leg that had become my desk in 8th grade.
My first official project.
My father had been patient showing me how to fix the warped wood of the tabletop and how to use the lathe to spin a new leg to match the rest. I’d been hooked.
More than fifteen years later, I was a master carpenter. If there was a built-in to do for a renovation, it usually fell to me. Some days I felt like the carpenters in those home renovation shows. My brothers came up with impossible situations and I was just supposed to figure it out.
Which was why I stayed so interested.
I loved a puzzle.
But my first love was refurbishing old pieces I found at estate sales, garage sales, and flea markets. Sometimes the hidden gem was actually little more than IKEA in disguise. It had its charm too. Slapping some paint on it and some new hardware made it last a few more years instead of being dumped in a landfill. But the moments where I found rare wood and antiques hidden under layers of paint—those were the days I lived for. When the long nights of restoration were worth it.
Antiques—especially ones in disrepair—were my weakness.
Lucinda Delacroix, the matriarch of the Delacroix dynasty, had suddenly passed away. She and her line were the definition of old money in Indigo Valley. The fact that they were selling off her antiques surprised the hell out of me.
Then again, it was a lot of house for Marcella—Lucinda’s daughter. As far as I knew she was the last Delacroix in Haven. Maxine, the granddaughter, had moved away long ago. Maybe Marcella was going to sell the old mansion.
I turned onto Alpine Road and whistled. Dang there were a lot of cars in the driveway.
I would be lucky if there was anything left to look at.
Sighing, I parked at the bottom of the drive. Hell, there was even a discrete tag on the mailbox. I climbed the steep drive.
This house looked over most of the valley. From Hope Street you could actually see this house from nearly every vantage point. I imagine that was on purpose.
Lucinda had been a bit of a handful according to my mother. Wealthier than sin and she didn’t have a problem letting everyone know it. Benevolent donations always came with strings.
As I got closer to the house, I frowned.
There were some distinct signs of wear. Oh, it was well tended and swept, but the bench by the door had a lot of dents and chips in it. And the planter had a ring of rust stains along the base.
I stepped through the front door and my fingers literally itched to touch the walnut console table in the foyer. The scent of beeswax and pine tickled my nose. I trailed my fingers over the edge of the table. Distinct care had been made with the furniture which made me excited to take a look around.
Even if there were only a few small pieces left, I would probably make out.
I passed the stairs, which were blocked off, and the foyer opened up to a massive family room. The mantel of the fireplace literally made me drool. It was a massive piece with intricate carvings. A secretary desk sat in front of the window with the drop-front writing surface pulled down. I crouched to check the support rails.
They were in rough shape, but it would only need a little bit of rehab. The drawers slid open smoothly with little warping. It needed a refinish. From what I could tell there was a bit of smoke damage, but overall, a great piece.
I snapped a photo of the desk and the tag to see if it was still for sale.
