Page 26 of Meet Me in Ivy Falls

I went straight for the tender part of her heart because it’d become clear after my accident today that without her help I was totally screwed.

Chapter Twelve

TORRAN

Am I Boring You?

There was a chasm of ten years between us and in that time he’d changed more than I’d imagined. The Beck I’d known as a kid had confidence. A swagger to his walk. When he’d appear, everyone in the room would notice. Even when he was troubled he’d managed to hide it, but I saw it in the way his voice trembled. The crease that popped up between his brows. Something was off now. Like he’d put up a wall between the world and his feelings.

Why was this house such a big deal? What did it mean to him and Piper?

Every warning signal in my head screamed I should walk away right now. Refuse to help him. Let the past go like Tessa advised. But a small part of my heart still remembered the warmth of his touch. How his goofy, lopsided grin always calmed my frantic heart. How no other man had ever been able to see inside my head the way he had.

I also wanted answers. Needed to know why after all this time he was back here. Why he’d so carelessly thrown away what we had.

But I held back because I knew deep down that if I opened that door, he’d expect me to share things about my life too and I couldn’t go there. It was true that I wanted the house fixed properly. That it would help fulfill my promise to Mom, but agreeing to work with him meant casting aside all my pain. Years of beating myself up, wondering what I’d done to push him away.

Rather than look at his determined gaze, my eyes went to the quiet square outside. The way the morning sun made all the maple trees lining Main Street shimmer. How the brick-paved sidewalks welcomed you to our quaint little town with hidden treasures waiting for customers behind every shop door. How in the summer the baskets hanging from light poles were covered in blooming pink and red flowers. The way the town became a cozy autumn hideaway when the leaves turned copper and gold. How the scent of wood-burning fires and freshly made hot chocolate coated the air.

The sad truth was I knew all of that history and charm would be lost if I let developers, and people who had no clue about historical renovation, come in and ruin Ivy Falls. If I let Beck work with another contractor, I’d have to drive by Huckleberry Lane every day and live with whatever he’d decided to do. I knew I wasn’t strong enough to handle it if the project turned into a total mess.

‘If Manny and I agree, we’ll require fifty percent of our fee upfront.’ I tried to keep my voice level and all business. There was no way I could let Beck think this was a done deal. That he’d swayed me so easily.

‘I knew you’d help…’ he started to gush.

‘Quiet,’ I said like a stern schoolteacher. ‘Once we start the project, you have to listen to what we say. You can have input on the design, but when it comes to the bones of the house, its structure, plumbing, electrical, you have to defer to our knowledge even if it means spending more money. I’ve seen way too many shitty renovations in this town, and I won’t put my name on it unless it’s done right.’

‘Okay. Anything you want, Tor.’

I hated the way my body heated at the sound of my name on his lips. How every inch of me wanted to reach out and swipe back that loose sandy-brown hair that hung over his forehead.

‘I’m not done,’ I ground out.

His shoulders went tense as he squirmed in his chair. I reached for my satchel sitting at my feet and pulled out a small leather-bound notebook. The pages flew through my fingers until I stopped on a specific well-worn page.

‘By my estimation it’s going to cost close to two hundred thousand to fix all the problems. That’s not firm until Manny does a full inspection. If he says something must be repaired or replaced, there’s no argument. And I’ll warn you now, even if we estimate a cost, there’s always contingencies.’

‘Contingencies?’ he echoed.

‘Yes. Rats in the walls eating through wiring. Termites. The house most likely has old pipes which could be corroded in places, and we don’t know how much damage was done when those idiots poured that damn cement into the drains.’

His phone pinged once and then twice more. He typed out a quick text and set it down.

‘These are things we won’t know until we can get in there and see what’s going on,’ I told him. ‘Our fee on top of that is twenty percent of the final overall budget. Are you ready for that kind of expense?’

His phone dinged twice more. He glanced at the screen and then picked it up and typed again.

‘Am I boring you?’

His face paled. ‘No. Of course not. I don’t mean to be distracted. It’s just when Piper texts I need to answer.’

I more than anyone else understood the need to keep tabs on a sibling. After Tessa’s husband left, I cranked up the volume on my phone so I would never miss a call from her.

‘Do you need a minute?’ I said, softening my voice.

‘No. I’ll answer and then put my phone away.’

He typed out another message. When he was finished, he slid his phone into his pocket with a shaky hand. What was it about his sister that made him so off-kilter?