Page 30 of The Sound of Harmony

“Me too,” Emma managed to choke out.

“Since we’ve only been introduced by email, I wanted to stop by and meet you, to see if you needed anything.”

“Thanks.”

Mitch blinked at her for a moment, but when he realized she wasn’t going to say anything more, he took himself on a little tour of the living room, touching the furniture, glancing at her notes on the coffee table, looking into the back hall. Emma could breathe a little easier now that his attention was elsewhere.

He looked out the window at her truck, where her sign with its awful pink letters was once again hanging crookedly in its frame. “Your references were a little thin, but they all checked out. And I thought you deserved a chance to prove yourself.”

Emma knew she needed to say more, to express gratitude to Mitch for getting her this job, but her breathing had just now gone back to normal and her nerves were barely at baseline. She was still very much in her head, trying to self-regulate, so words were a bit of a problem. If he could slow down a little bit, maybe she could catch up and say something useful.

Mitch tilted his head to one side. “You look awfully familiar. Have we met before?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Huh.” Mitch continued to squint at her. He was a country music fan, or at least enough of one to sing the words to Jonah’s songs. Did he keep up with the musicians too? Had he seen her picture in a magazine? He probably wouldn’t recognize her without the black eye. This too shall pass.

“I used to work at the library,” she finally said.

“Ah, that must be it.” Mitch threw his arms out to encompass the house. “And now you’re helping my cousin get his life in order, fixing up this house he got for a steal, the little thief.”

“I thought he inherited it?” Emma asked.

“That’s what I said.” Mitch looked at her with raised eyebrows. “Oh come on, I’m kidding. That’s a realtor joke. Besides, if I can’t pick on my own cousin, who can I pick on?”

Emma continued to hold the back of the chair. Dust had settled into the fabric, making its once nubby surface smooth. Was Mitch upset that his cousin inherited a house and he did not? What was the story there?

“You know what? Ignore me.” Mitch put up both hands, palms out, as if to push away his own bad behavior. He backed off several steps. “I’m obviously in your way.”

“You’re not in my way,” Emma said.

“Please, keep doing whatever you were doing when I interrupted. What were you doing, anyway?”

“I have some ideas to improve storage in the kitchen. I was trying a few things out.”

Mitch picked up her legal pad from the coffee table and squinted at the notes there. “Looks like hieroglyphics.”

“Numbers,” she said. “Measurements.” She’d tried to use every bit of the paper, so columns had drifted into the margins. She didn’t want to turn the page until this one was full.

“You’re going to want to add those up,” he said.

“Eventually.”

“I can help with that. Hang on, I’ll be back.” He charged out the door, leaving it open behind him. He rummaged for something in the back seat of his car.

Emma kept an eye on him, bracing herself for his return. She tried to keep an open mind. Kendrick trusted him, so Mitch must be trustworthy. It wasn’t fair to dislike him simply because of the song that was playing when he’d arrived. Mitch wasn’t responsible for that. Her feelings were her own problem to sort out.

Mitch returned with a red calculator the size of her palm. “Realtors are always prepared with a tape measure and a calculator. It’s all about size and money.”

“That’s very kind,” she said. “But I don’t need—”

Mitch flipped it over. The back side said Bell Real Estate in a font that matched his polo shirt. “This is a promo piece my company uses. We give away pens too, but this is better. I’d like you to keep it.”

Emma set it on the table next to her clipboard. “Thank you.”

“Anything to spread the Bell name. You’re in business for yourself, so you know. We’re always hustling, right?”

Emma didn’t hustle. She had a website and people liked her Instagram and Pinterest, but that was all the marketing she did. Clients mostly came to her through word of mouth.