He narrowed his gaze at her. “Rosie Lucas, as in Lucas Construction?”
“Yes, that’s right. And this is my daughter, Emma.”
“You need to do a hell of a lot better job meeting deadlines,” he said. “I was led to believe most of the work would be done before we moved here.”
He sounded like an ass, but he didn’t really care. Rosie Lucas hated his booksandapparently she was also responsible for the current chaos in his living situation.
The woman looked chagrined. “I’m really sorry we’re behind schedule but everything turned out to be more complicated than we expected. It’s a big job. The place has been abandoned for years. It takes a great deal of effort to bring it back to its full glory.”
“And money,” he grumbled. “Every time I turn around, the costs for things have gone up.”
“Things are tough right now in this economy. Construction material is harder to get and costs twice as much. Believe me, my subcontractors are frustrated, too, which is another big reason for the delays. But I think we’re back on track now. I’m hoping another few months and we should be done.”
Great. Another few months of trying to focus on meeting his deadline with subs coming in and out.
“And you’re living there in the midst of the work?” Emma said. “Is there anywhere for you to write?”
“Not really. Eventually I’ll have a very nice office in the turret of the house but it doesn’t have paint or carpet right now, so I’m mostly working at the kitchen table after the kids are in bed.”
“Oh dear.” Rosie looked distressed. “Maybe we can prioritize that and at least get you a decent workspace sooner rather than later. I’ll talk to Bryce, your project manager.”
He did like Bryce Kendall. In every interaction he’d had with the guy, he found him knowledgeable and hardworking, dedicated to restoring the old house to its former glory.
“I would appreciate that,” he said, holding back his sarcastic rejoinder that he was paying them to finish on time and thus far Lucas Construction had failed miserably.
To his great relief, Finn wandered over from the children’s area at that moment.
“I found the book I want, Dad.”
“That’s great.”
His son, invariably friendly, turned to the two women. “Hi. My name is Finn. What’s yours?”
Rosie smiled at him with far more warmth than she had shown him. “My name is Rosie and this is my daughter, Emma. We’re your neighbors, actually. We live down the street from Stormhaven. We’re in the house with the red door.”
“And all the flowers! My sister said it looks like a fairy garden.”
“That’s right.”
“Mr. Morgan, I have to say, I love your books!” Emma said after a moment. “My mom and I were just talking about them.”
Yes. He was aware. He glanced at Rosie and saw her cheeks suddenly matched her name. “Were you?”
“You have a huge readership here in Oregon. Since you’re our new celebrity author, we would love to have you do a signing here at The Rainy Day Bookshop once you settle in.”
His confusion must have shown on his features because Rosie cleared her throat.
“Did we forget to mention that I own the bookstore?”
“Do you?” He should have known. She obviously had poor taste in books, and the general air of neglect of the bookstore reinforced that.
“I’m what you might call a silent owner. I’ve been busy running Lucas Construction for the last few years, so my mother has taken over the bookstore.”
“Grandma had an accident a few weeks ago, so I’ve moved back from Las Vegas to help out,” Emma informed him. “We are going to be making some changes and one of those is hosting more book events. I would love to have you be the guest author for our grand reopening.”
“What changes?” Rosie did not look thrilled at the prospect. “What grand reopening?”
“Cosmetic, for the most part,” Em said. She looked nervous suddenly. “I was talking with Bryce about some things we could do to brighten things up.”