“What are you thinking, Liddy?”
Liddy hesitated before telling Maggie about the house and her reservations about its suitability. “I haven’t mentioned it to Grace, so don’t say anything until I know if it’s workable.”
“I won’t mention it until you’ve made a decision, but it sounds like a good idea to me. Let me know what you think after you’ve gone through it.”
“If you want, you can come with me. Oh, we might as well all go. If Grace thinks she might be interested, she can come along. I’ll carve out some time.”
“That would be great, thanks.” Maggie leaned on the counter. “So Tuck was here again today, eh?”
“This morning. I had to call him about the leak upstairs.”
“And he came right over?”
Liddy nodded.
“You know, when my roof leaked, I had to wait twelve hours for someone to call me back, then almost another whole day before someone showed up.”
Liddy smiled smugly. “Hey, some have it, some wish they did.”
“Well, it sounds like Tuck thinks you do.”
“And he wouldn’t be wrong.”
Maggie laughed.
“What can I say? Aging hippie is still a look that turns ’em on,” Liddy said nonchalantly.
“So what are you going to do about it?”
“What do you mean?”
Maggie rolled her eyes. “I’m pretty sure you’re the same Lydia Bryant who was whining not too long ago about wanting to have sex again before she died.”
“I’m not ready to die yet, and I don’t whine. I was stating a fact. Not everyone has a still-hunky high school boyfriend in their back pocket, at their beck and call, ya know.”
“What about Tuck? He’s still looking good, and he’s such a nice guy. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed. And it sure sounds as if he’s interested in you. Enough, at least, to drop what he’s doing every time you call him.”
“I wouldn’t even know how to bridge the gap between old friends and bedmates. I’ve been out of the game for so long.”
“If you want some advice, start by not treating it like a game. You’re already spending time together. Switch it up. Invite him for dinner. Ask him to go with you to the opening of the new exhibit at the art center.” Maggie snapped her fingers. “I know. Bring him to the cookout at my place on Monday. It’ll be a nice, nonthreatening time to spend together that doesn’t involve work. See how you two relate on a strictly social basis.”
“I need to be here, in the shop, on Monday. You all are going to have to cook out without me.”
“Uh-uh. Wrong answer.”
“Did you not get the notice? This place opens on Tuesday. Therefore I will be putting in all the little finishing touches on Monday.”
“Nope. All those little last-minute things will be done on Sunday. I’ll help you. Grace will help, and we’ll bring Emma in.” When Liddy began to protest, Maggie said, “You’ve been working every day for weeks. You’re going to be working every day for the next forever, and you’re already exhausted. We are going to do everything that still needs to be done on Sunday, and on Monday you’re going to rest and relax.” Maggie took another sip of water. “You’re going to hit the ground running on Tuesday morning, but on Monday, you’re going to take a day off to appreciate all you’ve accomplished in such a short period of time. Maybe we’ll spend a few hours on the beach, drink a few margaritas—which I’m counting on you to make because no one does it better—eat some delicious food, and spend the day with the people who love you.” Maggie waggled her eyebrows. “And who knows, if you play your cards right, Tuck might make a move before you do.”
“But—” Liddy protested.
“Nope. No buts. That’s how it’s going to be.”
“Remind me again who put you in charge of my life.”
“Executive decision.” Maggie pointed to the back of the shop. “Now let’s unpack a few more of those boxes.”
“Good thing you got here when you did.” Tuck stood on the sidewalk in front of the shop, his hands on his hips, watching Liddy cross Front Street early on Thursday morning. “I was starting to think I was going to have to pick the lock.”
Liddy hastened across, wishing she’d worn something other than her cargo pants with the swath of paint that wouldn’t come out and a white tee that clearly had seen better days.
“When you said you’d be here early, I thought you meant seven.” She dodged a slow-moving sedan, waved to the driver, and hopped onto the curb. His crew was already set up, ladders against the exterior of the building. “They look like they mean business.”
“Time is money, girl.” Dark glasses hid his eyes. He wore a Shelby & Son T-shirt and khaki shorts. He wore them well.
“Well, then, I guess I better get moving.” She unlocked the door and swung it open, but Tuck didn’t come inside. “You coming?” she asked.
He squatted next to the door and studied the hinges, then the doorknob, then the plate surrounding the knob.
“These are old. Original, and I bet they’re solid brass.” He looked up at Liddy. “Be real pretty shined up.”
“Wouldn’t you have to take them off to polish them?” Liddy frowned. “I don’t like that there’d be no door because of the mosquitoes and those damned man-eating flies that come in from the marsh.”
“We talked about this. I have to take the door off to strip the old finish. That’s what the sawhorses over there are for. I’m going to lay the door across them while I work.”
“But then you have to put a new finish on it.” She was still thinking through the process. “Can you do all that today?”
“If I can’t, I’ll rehang the door, and I’ll take it off again in the morning.” Tuck stood. “You’re overthinking this. Just go about your business and let me go about mine.”
Liddy watched him run a hand over the fancy doorknob.
“Yeah,” he murmured, his fingers tracing the scrolling edge of the plate. “We’ll get you polished up . . .” He looked up at Liddy. “Was there something else?”
“I guess not.” Liddy went inside.
Heat hadn’t built up in the shop yet, and with the door open—soon to be missing entirely—and the back window, the temperature would be tolerable for a while. Liddy made a mental note to call Maggie and ask if she’d had time to check out the window air conditioners she’d mentioned. The aesthetic wouldn’t be quite what Liddy was going for, but it was better than sweltering. Besides, she reminded herself, cooler weather was just around the corner. She took out her list of things to do and went to work, occasionally looking out the front window to watch Tuck. Maggie was right. It might be nice to spend a few hours with Tuck away from the shop. Time to take things into her own hands—pun intended. The next time he came inside, she’d ask him to join them at Maggie’s on Monday for the cookout.
But the next time she saw him, three members of his crew in blue Shelby tees were following him.
“I’m going to get these guys set up on the third floor to replace the leaking pipe; then by tomorrow we should be able to take down the ceiling on the second floor and replace it.” He walked past her and through the shop without stopping.