mainly because I knew I was in the wrong. I should have asked before I set foot on his land and hadn’t. But then he’d been rude when it wasn’t necessary.
In my mind, I was standing eyeball to eyeball with that Neanderthal, which would be impossible, as he probably stood a good six to eight inches above my five-foot-four frame. What I wouldn’t do to give him a piece of my mind.
“I’m going to take a shower,” I said, hoping that standing under a spray of cold water would cool my temper.
Jo Marie followed me out of the kitchen. “When you finish, I’d like to ask you something.”
That took me by surprise. I thought everything was going along well and hoped I hadn’t done anything that might have caused problems. The current guests checked out after breakfast. If there had been anyone within the reach of my voice, I wouldn’t have ranted and gone on the way I had. “Everything all right?” I had to ask.
Jo Marie nodded. “Of course. It’s just that I need a favor.”
“Okay.” I raced up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time, venting my anger.
After my shower I did feel better, less eager to confront Mr. Dickhead and tell him exactly what I thought of him. Not that I was likely to get the opportunity.
I found Jo Marie in her office, sitting at her desk. She turned when she heard me approach and gestured toward an empty chair. Her smile reassured me this wasn’t anything serious.
“Feel better?” she asked.
I nodded. “I’m disappointed; and the truth is I shouldn’t have gone on his property without asking him first. Still, he didn’t need to be so mean about it.” I’d hoped to meet him one morning and ask his intentions regarding the house. Well, so much for that.
The thing was I’d fallen in love with that house, and the property was everything I’d hoped to find. Against my better judgment, I’d started to fantasize what it would be like to own it. From the first moment I’d seen the house, rundown as it was, I felt like it would be perfect for me and my plans for the future.
For the last week I’d spent the majority of my free time looking at houses with Dana, the real estate agent Jo Marie had recommended. Up to this point, I hadn’t had any success.
“Not all is lost,” Jo Marie assured me.
“How do you mean?”
Her smile was reassuring. “While you were in the shower, Dana called and she said she has some information for you about the house.”
No matter what Dana had managed to learn, it went without saying I would never be able to deal with Mr. Dickhead, if he was the one who actually owned the property. My look must have conveyed my feelings.
“There are ways around getting that house without having to deal with the owner.”
I straightened, interested now. “How?”
“You could have Dana approach him on your behalf. It wouldn’t be necessary for you to see him or for him to even know it was you.”
That was a thought, if she could get him to answer the door! Having Dana approach him was actually a great idea, seeing that he’d taken an instant dislike to me.
“Dana wanted to stop by this afternoon, if that works for you.”
“Sure, that would be great.”
“Good. I’ll text her and let her know. She’ll tell you what she found out then.” Jo Marie leaned slightly forward. “I have another question for you. Now that you’ve been at the inn for a while, what do you think?”
I wasn’t entirely sure what she meant. “Well, running an inn is a lot more work than I realized. You’re constantly on the go, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the property. Do you ever get a break, take a few days off?”
Her answering smile took up the majority of her face. “You took the words right out of my mouth.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, first,” Jo Marie said, “I should ask if you have plans for the Fourth of July?”
“Not really.” There’d been a few offhand invitations. One from my brother who was having a barbecue at his
In my mind, I was standing eyeball to eyeball with that Neanderthal, which would be impossible, as he probably stood a good six to eight inches above my five-foot-four frame. What I wouldn’t do to give him a piece of my mind.
“I’m going to take a shower,” I said, hoping that standing under a spray of cold water would cool my temper.
Jo Marie followed me out of the kitchen. “When you finish, I’d like to ask you something.”
That took me by surprise. I thought everything was going along well and hoped I hadn’t done anything that might have caused problems. The current guests checked out after breakfast. If there had been anyone within the reach of my voice, I wouldn’t have ranted and gone on the way I had. “Everything all right?” I had to ask.
Jo Marie nodded. “Of course. It’s just that I need a favor.”
“Okay.” I raced up the stairs, taking the steps two at a time, venting my anger.
After my shower I did feel better, less eager to confront Mr. Dickhead and tell him exactly what I thought of him. Not that I was likely to get the opportunity.
I found Jo Marie in her office, sitting at her desk. She turned when she heard me approach and gestured toward an empty chair. Her smile reassured me this wasn’t anything serious.
“Feel better?” she asked.
I nodded. “I’m disappointed; and the truth is I shouldn’t have gone on his property without asking him first. Still, he didn’t need to be so mean about it.” I’d hoped to meet him one morning and ask his intentions regarding the house. Well, so much for that.
The thing was I’d fallen in love with that house, and the property was everything I’d hoped to find. Against my better judgment, I’d started to fantasize what it would be like to own it. From the first moment I’d seen the house, rundown as it was, I felt like it would be perfect for me and my plans for the future.
For the last week I’d spent the majority of my free time looking at houses with Dana, the real estate agent Jo Marie had recommended. Up to this point, I hadn’t had any success.
“Not all is lost,” Jo Marie assured me.
“How do you mean?”
Her smile was reassuring. “While you were in the shower, Dana called and she said she has some information for you about the house.”
No matter what Dana had managed to learn, it went without saying I would never be able to deal with Mr. Dickhead, if he was the one who actually owned the property. My look must have conveyed my feelings.
“There are ways around getting that house without having to deal with the owner.”
I straightened, interested now. “How?”
“You could have Dana approach him on your behalf. It wouldn’t be necessary for you to see him or for him to even know it was you.”
That was a thought, if she could get him to answer the door! Having Dana approach him was actually a great idea, seeing that he’d taken an instant dislike to me.
“Dana wanted to stop by this afternoon, if that works for you.”
“Sure, that would be great.”
“Good. I’ll text her and let her know. She’ll tell you what she found out then.” Jo Marie leaned slightly forward. “I have another question for you. Now that you’ve been at the inn for a while, what do you think?”
I wasn’t entirely sure what she meant. “Well, running an inn is a lot more work than I realized. You’re constantly on the go, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the property. Do you ever get a break, take a few days off?”
Her answering smile took up the majority of her face. “You took the words right out of my mouth.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, first,” Jo Marie said, “I should ask if you have plans for the Fourth of July?”
“Not really.” There’d been a few offhand invitations. One from my brother who was having a barbecue at his
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