Read The House on Blackberry Hill: Jewell Cove #1 (Jewel Cove) for Free Online

prickly,” he commented, backing away and putting his hands in his pockets. He withdrew a business card and held it out, waited until she took it before he spoke again. “Give it some thought. No matter what you do with this house, it needs work. I promise you I’m the best contractor for the job.”
    “And why is that, exactly?”
    “Because I’ll take the time and care to preserve the very best of it, and keep as much of the original workmanship as I can. Not everyone would, you know. And because there’s no one on the mid-coast with a better hand for finish work. Ask around.”
    Tom gave her one more long look before he nodded. “Now I’ll show myself out. I can see I’ve taken up too much of your time.”
    She heard his boots clomp back down the hall and the predictable squeak and groan as the door opened. Then another crack and a loud curse. Abby stifled a laugh in the silence that followed.
    Then he was gone and she was left alone once more with the dirt and the mice, and the house seemed strangely quiet again.
    Waiting. She just wished she knew for what.

 
    C HAPTER 4
    Tom endured dinner as best he could. His older brother, Bryce, had married four years earlier and he and Mary had an adorable baby girl who was just beginning to crawl. Their whole life was a contrast to Tom’s. Simply put, it was full of love and family, while Tom’s life centered around his cottage out past Fiddler’s Rock and his workshop. Dinners with Bryce and his perfect family always highlighted what Tom didn’t have.
    Nights like tonight, watching his brother gaze into his wife’s eyes with such affection, or seeing Mary touch baby Alice with unconscious, ever-present love, made him long for things he’d given up hope of ever having for himself.
    “Best blueberry buckle in town,” he said, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his full belly, trying to chase away the maudlin thoughts. “Thanks for dinner, Mary.”
    “Figured you needed something more than a grilled burger now and then.” She put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed while Bryce got up to get mugs for coffee.
    Mary was a natural mother, and whether she realized it or not, she tried to mother him, too. He let her because she had made his miserable brother happy and because she was the best damned cook this side of Portland. She knew him well enough to know that his dietary staple was burgers on the barbecue, chicken wings, and bacon and eggs. Occasionally he mixed it up with a box of mac and cheese or a sandwich. But he was no cook, and most of his meals came from the café in town, right here at Bryce and Mary’s table, or Sunday dinners with his parents.
    Bryce came back to the table and put the coffee in front of Tom. “So you met the new Foster woman. What’d you do to piss her off? She sounded mad as a wet hen when she called the office today.”
    Tom’s pulse gave a little thump as he remembered the way her blue eyes had widened when she’d opened the door. “She doesn’t appreciate the workmanship in that house.” He scowled into his coffee cup, looking up when Bryce laughed. “What?”
    “You’re going to tell me your foul mood has to do with workmanship?”
    He’d gone to the house on Blackberry Hill with one goal in mind and he’d left without achieving it. At times he’d nearly had the upper hand. But she’d been stubborn. Sassier than he expected. “What else would it be?” he asked innocently.
    Bryce blew on his coffee as he raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Nothing. But Tom, that house is a mess and you know it.”
    “Doesn’t mean it’s not worth fixing.”
    “I’m guessing you told her that in no uncertain terms.”
    “Hell, yes, I did. Can you think of anyone who would do a better job than me?”
    Mary was at the sink with her back to them but Tom heard the light snort and saw the movement of her shoulders. Bryce was grinning like a fool. Tom knew how cocky his words sounded just as he knew his brother was having fun