Windswept Way (Hope Harbor #9)(20)
Author: Irene Hannon

 

First, however, a quick response to the email that had done more to dazzle her than the distant fireworks she’d watched from her tiny balcony last night.

 

 

Yes!!!!! I absolutely want to reconsider. Let me talk to the attorney you recommended in Hope Harbor and I’ll get back with you ASAP. I can’t thank you enough for your willingness to find a creative solution to the problem.

 

Once she sent that reply off, she fished Eric’s business card out of her Edgecliff file folder and tapped in his number.

 

Fortunately, he was in the office and available.

 

“I wondered what was happening with your project. BJ spent the weekend checking her phone messages and email every five minutes.”

 

“The holiday slowed the process down. She and Jon Gray are next on my call list. The bids were out of my ballpark, but there’s been a new development.”

 

He listened as she explained the compromise solution Rose had proposed, waiting until she finished to comment.

 

“This deal keeps getting sweeter and sweeter for you. I can’t say I’ve ever heard of a negotiation quite like this one.”

 

“My mother thinks it’s too good to be true.”

 

“Not necessarily. Rose keeps a low profile, but from what I understand, she’s been quietly philanthropic in the town. I know she’s stepped in on occasion to donate to one of the Helping Hands programs or write a check if either of the churches in town has a special need. She was also a major contributor to a festival the town had last year. All very low-key, with no fanfare. In light of her generosity, it doesn’t surprise me she’d be willing to spend extra dollars for a project that means a great deal to her.”

 

“Can you think of any reason I shouldn’t sign the agreement?”

 

“I’ll be happy to review the amended sections, but if the language is as straightforward as the original, I see no downsides—assuming you haven’t gotten cold feet about jumping into such a huge undertaking.”

 

“No cold feet. I’ll email you the new version as soon as I hang up, and I’ll give BJ a call.”

 

“She’ll be over the moon. I’ll have to pick up a celebration treat at Sweet Dreams after work. Expect to hear back from me within the hour.”

 

After a final thank-you, Ashley ended the call and tapped in BJ’s number.

 

The call rolled to voicemail, so she left a message asking the woman to get in touch at her earliest convenience.

 

She struck out with Jon too. When that call also rolled to voicemail, she left a similar message.

 

What a bummer that neither had been available to hear her wonderful news.

 

But in light of how interested both were in the project, they’d call the instant they got her message.

 

Until then, she had plenty to do. Unless Eric found an unanticipated glitch in the revised agreement, all it would take to get her new life rolling was a signed agreement with Rose and their signatures on the bids. Both could happen before this day ended.

 

Meaning she should put together a to-do list pronto.

 

And right at the top?

 

Hire a moving company ASAP.

 

Not that this would be a big job for them. Her tiny one-bedroom apartment wouldn’t take long to pack up. She could be out of here fast—and with no regrets.

 

For as much as she’d enjoyed working in a Tennessee antebellum mansion, she was more than ready to launch a new chapter in her life as part owner of a historic clifftop estate on the Oregon coast.

 

 

 

This was it.

 

As the Tennessee area code registered in his log of missed calls, Jon’s pulse stuttered.

 

Funny.

 

While the seven days since he’d sent Ashley his bid had dragged by like molasses, all at once he was in no hurry to get the verdict.

 

But delaying the inevitable wouldn’t change the outcome.

 

Taking a deep breath, he played the message back and moved behind his truck, out of sight of the rest of the crew. They could handle cleanup alone for once.

 

The message was short. Just a request for a return call. But did he detect an undercurrent of excitement in her inflection?

 

Or was that wishful thinking?

 

Only one way to find out.

 

He placed the call.

 

She answered on the first ring. “Jon! You got my message.”

 

“Yeah. Sorry for the delay. We were into heavy-duty digging, and I didn’t want to get mud all over—”

 

“It’s a go!”

 

His heart lurched. “You mean we got the job?”

 

“Yes! Well, not officially yet. I have to have my attorney give me the final green light and finish the paperwork with Rose, but I think all of that is more of a formality. I should be able to sign your bid today. How soon can you dive in?”

 

He tried to think past the euphoria that was muddling his brain. “Um . . . I can get everything rolling within a week, I think. How many of the itemized projects are we doing?”

 

“All of them eventually, but some have higher priorities than others. Like the front walk, circle drive, and gazebo area. You’ll have to coordinate with BJ on the gazebo. That’s the first project I want her to work on. Depending on her schedule, you may be able to get to it fast.”

 

As Ashley continued to enthuse about the plans, her words tumbling over each other, Jon listened with one ear while he tried to wrap his mind around the fact that a once-in-a-lifetime job had dropped into his lap like manna from above.

 

He frowned.

 

No. Scratch the Bible analogy. God’s hand wasn’t in this. It was serendipity. Nothing more than sheer luck. Like the subscription to the Herald that had led Ashley to Edgecliff.

 

Still, however it had come about, landscaping the grounds of Edgecliff would be a stellar addition to the Greenscape portfolio.

 

“. . . in touch by phone.”

 

He tuned back in to Ashley. “Sorry. I missed that last comment. Cell phone service here can cut in and out.”

 

“I said I don’t want to delay the work until I’m on-site. We can stay in touch by email and phone.”

 

“That’s how I often communicate, even with clients who are in town.” His choice, for the most part. But he left that unsaid. “When are you moving out?”