stuffed his shirt back into his jeans and left. Downstairs the lady who’d registered him as a guest looked up from the paperback book she was reading and smiled. She hadn’t been at her desk when he’d returned half an hour ago.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Reece. Did you have lunch? I can warm you up a plate. Our guests are welcome to all meals prepared.”
“Thanks, but I’m on my way out.” He flashed her a halfhearted smile.
“I hear you’re going to buy the Reid house.”
The small-town grapevine was obviously alive and well. “I’m considering it.” He continued toward the door. Adding to the rumor mill wasn’t on his agenda. Slowing for additional conversation would lead to questions he didn’t want to answer.
“Mia will make that place look like the day it was built.” Her face gleamed with pride. “She’s just amazing.”
Linc changed course and headed for the desk where the chatty lady sat. Either she was guessing or Mia had already discussed taking the job with someone on the gossip loop. “Are her prices reasonable?” Seemed like a safe lead-in.
“Never heard nobody complain.” She pursed her lips and lifted her chin triumphantly.
“Mrs. Crist, you sound like a big fan of Miss Grant’s. I’m not sure you’re objective.” Mrs. Crist, the owner of the bed-and-breakfast, was seventy if she was a day, but her eyes were as keen as a seventeen-year-old’s.
“I’m a fan rightly enough,” she confessed. “But the girl’s got a magic touch with plaster. That’s the God’s truth.”
“Do she and her husband work together?”
Mrs. Crist puckered her face with a combination of humor and confusion. “Where in the world did you hear she had a husband?” Her gaze narrowed. “You been talking to that Teddy Stewart down at the Gas and Go? That young fella is just trying to ward off any suitors. Mia’s not married. She doesn’t even have a boyfriend. She’s too busy for such.” She raised her eyebrows at Linc. “Or so she says.”
Linc chuckled. “If we come to an agreeable price, I plan to keep her busy for a while.”
Crist grinned. “I see she’s already turned your head.”
His tone as he’d made the statement reverberated in his ears, then kicked him square between the eyes. He’d sounded exactly like a man interested in more than a woman’s professional skills. Not a good thing. He needed time with Mia Grant, not to scare her off. He needed to be sure.
“Only for her talent with plaster.” He gave the lady a nod and headed for the door before he stuck his foot any deeper down his throat.
Outside he rounded the corner of the Victorian bed-and-breakfast and reached for his keys. He’d considered using an alias while he was here, but he wanted Mia to know his name. To hear it. To say it.
Linc wanted whoever had brought her here to know he had arrived. He was here for his wife.
His cell vibrated.
He hit the remote and unlocked the SUV as he tugged the phone from his pocket.
Unknown number with a Tennessee area code. Tension rushed through his veins, escalating his already too-fast respiration. “Reece.”
“Mr. Reece, this is Mia Grant.”
“You found time in your schedule?” He held his breath in anticipation of her answer.
“Yes.”
The air seeped from his lungs.
“I’d like to meet at the house and see what you have in mind.”
The sound of her voice made his knees rubbery. “Name the time.” Damn. They needed to include the real estate agent. He’d have to call her immediately. The sooner he could see this Mia Grant again the sooner he would find the answers he needed.
“I’ll pick up the key from Chandra and meet you there in fifteen minutes,” she said.
Even better. “I’ll be there.”
She said goodbye and ended the call.
Linc leaned against his SUV and closed his eyes. Her voice…Lori’s voice.
His wife was alive.
Chapter Four
The house looked as bad as Mia remembered. The plaster was a real mess, more the walls than the molding. The ceilings had some bad areas, but fortunately the original wood floors were in considerably better condition. The windows and doors looked salvageable. Surprisingly, the two baths and the kitchen were in better condition than any other room, which was good considering they could suck up major bucks in a renovation.
“I can work with this,” she announced.
Reece nodded. “When can you start?”
Mia laughed. “Don’t you want to know my price first?” He’d followed her from room to room for the last half hour. He hadn’t said a word since the initial hello.
Surprise flashed across his face, but he quickly schooled the expression. “Mrs. Crist tells me your prices are fair.”
“Maybe so.” Mia didn’t know this man. She wanted no miscommunications between them. “But I’d feel more comfortable if we agreed upon a price first.”
He nodded his head. “Understandable.”
Mia chewed the inside of her cheek. Perhaps the price she’d mentally calculated was too low. No, it was fair. She wouldn’t jack up her price simply because he appeared prepared to pay whatever she named. This man was from out of town and clearly money was no issue, that was true. Still, right was right. She stated her price and prepared for his reaction.
“Sounds reasonable,” Reece said without hesitation or detectable reluctance.
“It’ll take some time,” she warned. “I have a couple of days left at the Dowe house.” Day and a half maybe. Better to give herself sufficient time than to risk not meeting a stated target date. “I’ll need at least two weeks here.”
Some aspect of her answer didn’t appear to sit well with him. A frown furrowed his brow. “Is it possible to work a couple of hours here each day while you finish up there?”
A frown of her own worried her forehead. “Are you on a deadline, Mr. Reece?”
“Linc.”
“Linc,” she echoed. His stare turned so intense that she suddenly felt uncomfortable alone with him. Knock it off, Mia. She squared her shoulders against the uneasiness. “You should call me Mia.”
“Mia.”
Silence thickened in the room as her senses absorbed the sound of her name on his lips. What was it about this man that made her feel so…restless?
“You…you
