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Carly knew how Kelly felt. Every time she held Noah, she was thankful she got to care for him. “Should I call the chief or should you?”
“I’ll do it. Maybe I can learn more information. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
“Thanks.” After hanging up, Carly jotted down a note to pick up a gift for the baby.
She stared at her phone. Her sisters still hadn’t been notified of Gram’s decision about the house, and Carly needed to quit putting off the calls. It would need to be all-hands-on-deckif they had a chance of getting this project done. Maybe she should have her grandmother make the calls, though. The last time she’d spoken with Amelia and Emily, both of them had been cool. While they had good reason to be upset, it hadn’t been Carly’s doing, and their treatment stung.
She put her phone down on the swing beside her when the front door creaked open behind her and Gram came out.
She fanned her pink face and settled into the Adirondack chair. “Land’s sake, it’s hot today. The idea of getting air-conditioning in the old place isn’t a bad idea.”
Carly propped Noah on her chest so her grandmother could see his sweet face. “Except for the cost.”
“I don’t even want to know how much that will cost.”
“Gram, we haven’t talked about the price tag of all this. Are you sure Gramma Helen left you enough? The bill will be enormous.”
Her grandmother leaned over and cooed at Noah until he smiled, then leaned back again. “You let me worry about that, sugar.”
Carly zoned out as her mind listed all the things that needed to be redone. She realized her grandmother had spoken and was waiting for an answer. “I’m sorry?”
“I asked if you called your sisters.”
“I hoped you would.”
Gram reached for her phone. “Let’s do it together. Use my phone.”
Gram must have realized Carly was fearful that her sisters wouldn’t answer a call from her. She rang Emily first so she wouldn’t have to deal with Dillard yet.
Emily answered on the first ring. “Hi, Gram.”
“Um, it’s Carly, Em.”
“Is Gram okay?”
“She’s right here and wants to talk to you. I’m putting you on speakerphone.”
Gram leaned closer to the phone in Carly’s hand. “Emily, dear, I have some wonderful news, and I need your help to execute it.”
Carly breathed in the sweet scent of her baby’s head and listened to Gram explain her plans. Emily’s enthusiasm wasn’t a surprise. She was a home designer, and landing a project like this could open some new doors here in Beaufort and across South Carolina. Emily mentioned several color ideas, but Carly couldn’t picture what her sister had planned. Carly’s view of design was to paint everything white and put in the furniture. She didn’t have an artistic bone in her body, but Emily thrived on that kind of thing.
“I’m in,” Emily said. “When do you want me?”
“As soon as you can come, my dear. There’s a lot of work to tackle before we get to the design phase, and your sister will need help.”
“I can be there next week. What about Amelia?”
“I’m about to call her next.”
“You know Dillard will be on this like a duck on a June bug.”
“I certainly hope so, my dear.”
And within ten minutes it was all arranged. Amelia was just as enthusiastic. Carly’s sisters would be descending on the house in a week. And Carly would have to decide if she should tell them about the papers she’d found in the chest. She still had no idea what to do.
Three
After a shower and a bottle of kombucha, Lucas felt almost human. The sun still tingled on his tanned arms, but in a good way. The roof looked great, and he could spend the rest of the day doing something mindless like reading a good thriller or pulling weeds. A Saturday off was a rarity, and it wasn’t uncommon to get called in to investigate a crime on a Friday night, but last night had been unusually calm.
