She was slightly taken aback but gave him an easy grin. Rules were rules. She wasn’t necessarily a stickler for them, but she got it. “I’ve got one coming, but I didn’t have time to wait for it. I have painters starting work in the morning.”
“Licensed and insured?”
“I’m not sure about that.” Heat was starting to creep up her neck. She didn’t know what the point of his questions was, but it wasn’t against the law to hire unlicensed painters. “I hired them on the recommendation of the local hardware store, but I’ll be sure to ask them when they arrive. It’s a big project. They will have incentive to do a decent job because if they do, they’ll have all the work they want for a while.”
He glanced at the power company workers who were packing up, then back at her, a speculative look on his face. Surely he wouldn’t have something to say about her having the power turned on.
“I have the proper permits to do the renovation on this property, Chief Willis. I had the attorney who handled the inheritance for my sister and me make sure of that.”
He smiled, and instead of being reassuring, it increased her prickly feeling of unease. Whatever his motivations were in dropping by, she wouldn’t be able to do anything if she didn’t know. “Is there something in particular I can help you with?”
“Some people in town got the impression by the way you were asking around that you might be hiring day laborers. They were rightly concerned that you might be encouraging a...certain element...to hang around our town.”
Claire wasn’t even sure what to say about that. Some people in town were worried about it? People like him, for example? Her fingers clenched into a fist and she really just wanted to punch him in the face.
She wouldn’t, of course. She had enough sense to know he was baiting her. He might be using his power to harass her—and that was exactly what she would call it—but she wouldn’t give him the pleasure of hauling her in for assaulting the police chief, acting or not.
He leaned back on his car and crossed his legs, glancing at the cabin, where Joe and Amelia were going to be living. “We’re a real friendly town, Ms. Conley, but it’s my job to make sure that our town stays safe from riffraff.”
She really hoped that the electrician working in her house was not overhearing this conversation. For his sake and the sake of the other workers, she tried to keep her voice down. “I don’t think that giving hard-working people a job is contributing to the ‘riffraff’ in this town.”
“You would think, wouldn’t you?” He smiled again, a smug, indulgent smile that said bless your heart. “Well, Ms. Conley, we have standards around here and we take those standards pretty seriously.”
He looked again toward the cabin, where Amelia and Joe had disappeared through the front door. And suddenly she was smacked with the truth. This judgmental jerk wasn’t talking about riffraff in general, he was talking about Joe!
Claire took a deep breath. Joe, Amelia and Bertie had welcomed her to town before she’d barely crossed into the city limits. There was no way she was letting this guy get away with spreading malicious lies. If he thought she would, he better think again. She didn’t care if he was the police chief, he was going to have to get off her property.
* * *
“No, no, get under it, Amelia, it’s gonna fall!”
Amelia squealed as her feet slipped out from under her on the dusty floor and the aging mattress landed on top of her.
Joe ran around the bed, jerked it off and dropped to his knees beside her. Her skinny arms were over her face and he could see her shaking. He reached out to touch her and pulled his hand back. A few days ago she wasn’t even talking to him. He wasn’t sure she would welcome his touch.
The fickle fall Alabama weather had turned cool again and she was wearing denim shorts and a sweatshirt with some furry boots that all the kids were wearing this year. She was covered in dirt. And he had no idea what to do with her. Call 911? “Amelia? You okay? Is there anything I can do?”
She threw her arms away from her face and he saw her big smile, small white teeth in an even row. The laugh spilled out as she grabbed the hand he held out to her as he tried to hide his sigh of relief that she was okay.
“Trying to get rid of me already?” She brushed the dust off her shirt, long dark hair sliding forward to cover her face.
It was a joke, but one that sent pain spearing through him. She’d been allowed to think he didn’t care for far too long. He said quietly, “I don’t want to get rid of you.”
She glanced up at him, stared into his ugly, scarred face and patted his cheek. “Thanks. I don’t want to get rid of you, either.”
He wasn’t sure if she believed him, but he was going to keep saying it until she did. “Wanna go again?”
“Yeah, but I want to keep the bed part and paint it, okay? So don’t break it.”
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