He hit print, and while the copies were being made, he compared the way he’d described Carly in the article—“a cool, competent, petite blonde with ice-blue eyes and the sure confidence born of experience and education”—to the way he really saw her: a smoking-hot blonde with a killer body and the face of an angel. He’d been tempted to slip that in as a joke, but, well, his beta-reader was his mother and he wasn’t sure it would be wise, especially if she didn’t like this version any better than she’d liked the first.

But she did.

“Excellent.” Grace nodded her head when he delivered the finished product later that evening. “Yes, this is it exactly what I wanted.” She looked up at Ford and smiled. “Well done, son. I knew you could do it.”

“Thanks, Mom.” He was more pleased by her praise and more gratified by her smile than he would have expected.

Funny, he thought as he drove back to the Gazette’s office for the second time that day, but you never really outgrow your inner need for that pat on the back from your mom. He’d been away from his home for so long, he’d forgotten how good it felt to have your family—especially a parent—offer you praise and approval. He was whistling as he set up the file as she’d directed, and sent it off to the production department.

His first assignment, and he was a day early.

Before locking up the office and leaving for the inn, Ford printed out his mother’s notes relative to the gallery, the local artists, and the woman to whom St. Dennis was entrusting its art treasures. He’d study up for Tuesday’s interview, and by then, he’d know everything his mother knew about Carly Summit, but somehow, his instincts told him, that wouldn’t be quite enough. Whatever else he wanted to know, he’d have to discover on his own.

Carly couldn’t believe her good fortune. On Monday morning, she’d gone shopping for a bed, mattress and box spring, and one dresser, and ended up buying those pieces plus a sweet love seat that was on sale and would look great in the downstairs bedroom that she planned to use as a study, and a pair of leather club chairs to complement the living room sofa. She figured there was a good chance she could sell them to the next person who rented the house, but if not, there was always the newspaper and its classified ads.

She wondered what the Gazette charged for classified ads.

Thinking about the Gazette felt like license to think about Ford, which led her to thinking about her meeting with him on Saturday, which naturally made her think ahead to their appointment on the following morning.

She’d been so busy packing her things and driving back and forth between the two houses that she’d given little thought to what they’d talk about. She wondered if he was getting direction from Grace or if he was flying by the seat of his pants. A little of both, she suspected.

When she arrived at the carriage house on Tuesday morning, Carly found the HVAC crew already on the job. There was noise and dust and loud music playing, and several workers moving around the area where she normally worked. Ford appeared earlier than she’d anticipated, and he’d looked around at the chaos before trying to speak over the din. “We should probably go somewhere else to talk.”

She motioned for him to follow her outside.

“It is a little loud in there,” she agreed. “Sorry. I’d forgotten the heating and air-conditioning guys were going to be working here today.”

“We could go to the inn, though it’s probably not real quiet there right about now either, since it’s getting close to lunchtime and they’ve had all sorts of kiddie things going on this morning.” He paused as if considering the options. “Have you been to the new restaurant out on River Road? Blossoms? Sophie Enright’s place?”

She shook her head. “Ellie’s mentioned it, said it’s pretty terrific. She said it was named for her great-aunt Lilly, Curtis Enright’s late wife, Rose, and Violet Finneran, who worked for the Enright law firm. Blossoms, get it? Lilly, Rose, Violet?”

“Got it. Mom wrote an article when the place first opened, and she did mention that. How about we move the interview over there, kill two birds with one stone,” he suggested.

“Great. I haven’t had anything but coffee this morning since I overslept, so I’m famished. Anyplace that serves food sounds appealing. And besides, I’d like to support Sophie’s business, since she kindly arranged for me to take over her sublease.”

“You’re going to lease a place in St. Dennis?” he asked as they walked toward the driveway.

“I already did.” She stopped in front of her car. “Should I follow you?”

“Why don’t you ride with me? I have to move my car out of the drive anyway.”

“Okay. I’ll just let the guys inside know …”

She went back into the carriage house, grabbed her bag, and shouted over the whine of the power tools that she’d be back in a while. The foreman nodded and waved—message received—and Carly went back outside into the warm late morning.

“It’s almost impossible for me to work in there right now, but we really do need the climate inside the building controlled,” she told Ford as she hopped into the passenger seat of his car. “Heat and humidity are not the friends of fine art.”

“Damaging?” Ford watched in the rearview mirror for the last of three cars to pass before pulling out onto the street.

“You betcha. If we weren’t able to have this work done, there’s no way we could exhibit Carolina’s paintings in that building.”

“Good thing the town coughed up the money for it, then.”

“The town council did set some money aside for renovations, but I don’t know how much will be left when this stage has been completed.”

“It looks to me to be pretty much finished inside. What else has to be done?”

“We are going to need a top-notch security system, and that’s going to be a big ticket. So far, all of the security firms I’ve spoken with have admitted they aren’t set up to deliver a system as sophisticated as the one that’s needed here.”

“I might be able to help you with that.”

“Oh?” She turned in her seat to face him. “Are you a security expert?”

“Sort of.” A small smile played at the corner of his lips. “Actually, a friend of mine owns a security firm in Virginia. He specializes in custom work. Maybe you could give him a call.”

“I’ll do that. Thanks. I need to get an estimate quickly so I can get the shock over and done with as early as possible.”

“What shock?”

“The shock the town council is going to feel when they see what proper security is going to cost.”

“Did they give you a budget?”

“Not really. Cam worked up estimates for pretty much everything except the security, and they okayed the scope of the work, understanding that there would be additional costs to secure the building. I did try to explain to Ed that it was going to be expensive, but I guess it’s all relative. I’ve had top-notch security installed in all of my galleries, so I know it’s pricey. The cut-rate services that I’ve talked to just aren’t sufficient.”

“So what are you going to do if you get what you feel is an adequate number and the council won’t or can’t authorize the funds?”

“Then it comes out of the proceeds from the book I’m writing on Carolina Ellis. And if that isn’t going to be enough, I suppose it will come out of my pocket. Actually, I’ll probably have to front the costs and then repay myself what I can from what the book makes. I already told Ed I’d donate a portion of the sales to the art center.”

“You can take a hit that big?”

She merely nodded without elaborating on her financial situation.

The car turned onto the River Road, and Carly got her first glance of the New River as it flowed behind the houses built on its banks and toward the Chesapeake.

“It’s smaller than I’d thought it would be,” she commented. “More narrow.”

“What is?”

“The river. I guess I was expecting something bigger, more important-looking.” She turned to him and smiled. “After all, they did name a road after it.”

“Around here, they named roads after a lot of things that may or may not seem significant now.” He turned in to the parking lot next to a small stone building and parked. “The river had its place in St. Dennis history, even if it’s lost some of its muscle over the years.”

They both opened their car doors and got out at the same time.

“Now, you know you’re going to have to tell me more,” Carly said.

Ford opened the door to the restaurant and held it aside for her to enter.