“I saw it,” Gabe reminded him. “When we were looking for her daughter.”
“Of course,” Mitch said. “I doubt you had much of a chance to take a look around that day. She’s brought me a list of a few things she wants to have done.”
Gabe caught sight of the pages of notes and sketches and chuckled. “From the looks of that list, you sure you wouldn’t be better off tearing it down and starting over? It might be cheaper.”
“But then it wouldn’t have any character,” she protested defensively. “I love the house. It just has a few age-related flaws, the same as most people.” She studied him with narrowed eyes. “Or are you one of those who thinks anything past a certain age should be tossed away?”
Gabe held up both hands. “Hey, that was a comment based on financial considerations, not age.”
His glance skimmed over her, deliberately lingering until she flushed. “Some things improve with age,” he commented appreciatively.
Adelia wished she could grab her coffee and run, but she knew that would be far too revealing. She concluded the really courageous thing to do would be to stay put. She took a sip of coffee, instead, to steady her nerves.
“Let me see,” Gabe said, taking her list from his cousin. He got to page two and frowned. “Didn’t you have the roof inspected?”
“Of course I did,” she said impatiently.
“And you knew it was leaking?”
“Yes, and I got a very nice credit for that, thank you very much. Now, though, I need to get it repaired. I’ve run out of pots and pans to put under the leaks.” She turned to Mitch. “That probably should be at the top of the list.”
“No doubt about it,” Mitch agreed, then unexpectedly stood up. “Gabe, you can handle this, right? I want to check on those reinforcing beams going in down the block.”
Adelia stared at him. “But I thought you’d be doing this,” she said, then winced. “Sorry, Gabe. No offense.”
He grinned, clearly aware of exactly why she looked so rattled. “None taken.”
Mitch gave her shoulder a squeeze. “You’re in good hands. Gabe has plenty of experience, some of it in historic renovations, as a matter of fact. He knows what he’s doing, probably even better than I do. If you have any questions after he gives you an estimate, we’ll talk about them. How’s that?”
“Fine,” she said, though she couldn’t seem to hide her reluctance.
After Mitch had gone, she glanced warily toward Gabe. He was leaning back in his seat, the chair on two legs. His own denim-clad legs were stretched out in front of him. While the posture was relaxed, she sensed a coiled tension just beneath the surface.
“If you’re not okay with this, just say the word,” he said quietly.
“Of course I’m okay with it,” she said irritably. “Mitch says you’re more than qualified and I trust his judgment.”
A wicked gleam sparked in his eyes. “Then it’s me personally you’re not so sure about. I promise you I’m harmless.”
Adelia didn’t believe that for a single second, not with her heart pounding like a jackhammer. But maybe that was her problem, not his. It wasn’t as if he’d made a blatant pass at her. And despite her impression that he was single, maybe she’d been wrong about that. Maybe he was happily married. Married would be good.
“Are you married, Gabe?”
As if he’d followed her train of thought, he laughed. “Nope. Free as a bird. You?”
“Divorced,” she admitted. “Recently divorced.”
“As in not interested in taking another chance on love anytime soon,” he concluded. “Duly warned.”
Though his tone was solemn, the wicked spark in his eyes was anything but reassuring. He was going to be trouble, she concluded with a sigh. No question about it.
* * *
“How’d things go with Adelia this morning?” Mitch asked Gabe at the end of the day.
“I make her nervous,” Gabe admitted.
Mitch frowned at that. “How so?”
“She’s a beautiful woman. I can’t seem to stop myself from a little harmless flirting. I get the impression she’s not used to that.”
“She’s just getting out of a bad marriage,” Mitch told him.
“So I’ve heard. The guy was a cheater. I imagine that left her with some issues.”
“The cheating was certainly bad enough,” Mitch confirmed. “But he paraded his mistresses openly around town. The last one lived right in his neighborhood. Even his daughter knew about her. I think that’s what nobody in town will ever be able to excuse, the way he disrespected Adelia so openly in front of one of his kids.”
Gabe frowned at that. “You’ve got to be kidding me. What kind of lowlife does something like that?”
“Ernesto apparently thought his marriage vows only extended to providing well for his family, not to fidelity. The way I hear it, he thought he was entitled to play around, that it was part of the deal in exchange for the nice house and lots of spending money.”
“That explains why she’s now living in a house with a leaking roof,” Gabe guessed.
“More than likely. She’s a smart woman. She’s just discovering that she can make it on her own. Independence is real important to her right now.” His expression turned thoughtful. “She reminds me of Lynn in that way. I wanted to rush in about a million times to make things easier for her while she was divorcing Ed Morrow, but she needed to figure things out for herself, to prove that she was strong enough to do right by her kids. Much as it killed me to sit idly by while she struggled, letting her get back on her feet on her own was the right thing to do. She didn’t need a knight in shining armor. She needed a partner, someone who’d treat her like a woman with a lot to offer.”
“I suppose you think that’s the strategy for winning Adelia, too,” Gabe said.
Mitch leveled a long look at him. “Do you need a strategy?”
Gabe thought about the question. It was fraught with all sorts of implications. “No way,” he said candidly. “I only came here with the intention of getting back on my feet, maybe making amends.”
Mitch frowned. “You did nothing wrong, Gabe. You don’t owe anybody in this town a thing.”
“But my mother was a piece of work. In my zeal to defend her, I made my share of mistakes.”
“Okay, let’s say you make amends. Then what?”
Gabe hesitated, pondering the question, then shrugged. “I’ll probably move on. I can’t see myself putting down roots, here or any place else.”
“Then a word of advice. Be careful with Adelia, my friend. We all recognize how strong she is, but she doesn’t see it just yet. Give her time to get there and don’t do anything that might lead her to believe you’re staying. And if you think that word of warning is coming just from me, think again. You ever heard of the Sweet Magnolias?”
Gabe shook his head. “Who are they?”
“It’s not an official organization or anything, but a lot of the women in town have formed this deep bond. They look out for each other, and heaven help anyone who messes with them. You probably remember Maddie Maddox?”
“Doesn’t sound familiar.”
“She would have been Maddie Vreeland in school. Then she married and became a Townsend. When that ended in divorce, she married the high school baseball coach. Anyway, she,