“Imagine wearing this thing.” Andie wiped sweat from her forehead with her arm and then held the dress up.
“I’m practically fainting thinking about it.” Emily pulled an old quilt out of the dome-top trunk she’d opened. “There are a lot of quilts here. They look homemade.”
Andie could tell by the small, tight stitches that they were. She’d seen thousands of quilts over her career, but they usually followed one of a dozen or so patterns. There was something unusual about these.
“These are quite old.” The material practically disintegrated in her fingers. Moths had eaten a few spots. Andie could tell they had at least a hundred years on them, but the condition wasn’t too bad for the age.
One of the benefits of being a top appraiser for decades was that she had a lot of contacts, so she snapped a few pictures of the quilts and sent them off to Susan Walker, an antique textile expert she’d worked with before.
Hammering noises had been drifting up into the attic for several minutes now, signaling that Sally had arrived. “I think Sally is working on the steps now, and I’m ready for a break.”
Emily straightened from bending over a box of glassware. Her face was red and shiny with perspiration. Her silver-streaked brown hair stuck out in various directions from where she’d clipped it back. “Good idea. I’ll make some lemonade.”
They struggled down the narrow stairs with the boxes of items they’d picked for the sale. Andie ran back up for another box while Emily made lemonade.
Andie poured a glass for Sally and one for herself and put them on a tray. Using her hip to open the screen door, she backed out onto the porch.
“Hey, Sal, I brought you some—”
She turned around and almost dropped the tray. She’d expected to see Sally crouching down repairing the steps. Instead she found herself staring down at Shane.
Sothatwas why Sally had asked him to take this job, Shane thought as he helped Andie steady the tray. He was relieved because he’d been worried when Sally had said she wasn’t feeling up to it. He knew from experience that there wasn’t anything that Sally wasn’t up to doing. Even a little matchmaking. He had a sneaking suspicion his aunt Mary had something to do with this. Not that he minded an excuse to run into Andie.
She looked confused, maybe a little vulnerable. Like the girl heusedto know. Not the adult Andie, who seemed somewhat stiff and aloof.
Her navy-blue T-shirt was covered in dust. Her silky dark hair cascaded from a clip atop her head. Her face was flushed, and the angle of the sun turned her hazel eyes golden, bringing up long-buried memories of lazy days on the beach in their teenage years. Those were happy memories, even if they were tinged with the pain of how abruptly she’d raced out of town right after turning down his proposal.
Was that old Andie in there still? He hoped so. The years tended to change people though, and he wondered if Andie had changed enough to really want to stay in Lobster Bay or if she’d bolt again like she had last time.
“Is something wrong with Sally?” Andie’s eyes brimmed with concern.
“She said her bursitis was acting up.” Shane sipped the lemonade. It was cool and sweet.
“She has bursitis? I didn’t think there was an ailment that would dare mess with her.”
Shane laughed. “No kidding. I’m sure she’ll show it who is boss.” He gestured to the stairs, where he was replacing several rotted boards with new wood. “I figure these three need replacing, and then it looks like the railing might need some work too.”
Andie bent over to look, and a whiff of her vanilla-scented shampoo brought on more memories. “It’s all rotted at the bottom. Maybe we should replace the entire thing.”
“That’s what I would recommend.” Ice cubes clinked, and the side of the glass was slick with condensation as Shane took another sip.
“I’ll talk to the owner.”
Shane expected Andie to go back inside, but instead she came down the steps to stand next to him. She looked back up at the porch. “Is there anything else? We’re going to set some of the items up on the porch for the preview, and I don’t want any trouble with the inspector.”
“Inspector?”
“Yeah, they’re coming at one thirty, so if there’s anything else…” Andie looked up at him, and her trust in his judgement made his heart swell.
“The rest of it looks safe. Needs paint, but that’s not unsafe. I’ll try to get these steps done quickly.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary, as long as we show that we are doing it. It’s not like a regular building inspection, just for the event occupancy permit for the auction.”
Shane picked up his hammer. He really should get back to work, but he wanted to stand here talking to Andie. “It must be full of antiques in there.” He nodded toward the house.
“Crammed. I don’t think they ever threw anything out.”
“Did you find any secret passageways? I’ve heard rumors.”
