The House on Main Street by Shirlee McCoy

Author:Shirlee McCoy [McCoy, Shirlee]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781420132366
Publisher: Zebra
Published: 2013-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Alarm system. Done.

Wallpaper. Ordered.

Paint . . .

Yeah. Paint.

Tess glared at five gallons of eggshell white that sat in the foyer. Sunday morning, and Gertrude and Alex were sleeping in. This was as good a time as any to get some work done inside, but she wasn’t feeling motivated. She was feeling tired, the remnants of the first migraine she’d suffered in years pulsing behind her left eye.

Stress. That’s what the doctor at urgent care had said before he’d shot Tess full of drugs and sent her home with Gertrude. Twelve hours later, and she was feeling almost normal again.

Her cell phone rang, and she dragged it from the back pocket of her oldest pair of jeans. Splotched with paint and scribbled measurements, they were so faded and worn, she was pretty sure they’d give up the ghost soon.

“Hello?” She answered without looking at the caller ID. She knew who it was. She’d sent in her resignation in the wee hours of the morning, right around the time she’d come out of her drug-induced sleep.

“What in the hell are you thinking?” James Winthrop said in his you-really-pissed-me-off voice. She couldn’t blame him for using it. He’d hired her right out of college, helped her hone her skills and artistry. Like her, he was passionate about restoration of antiques, and they’d been a good team for seven years; first mentor and student, then peers, sharing ideas about projects and working together on several of James’s larger accounts.

It physically hurt to think of breaking away from that.

“I’m thinking that I can’t make my nephew leave the only home he’s ever had.” She sat on a paint can, rubbing a knot from the back of her neck, willing the dull throb in her eye to not worsen. “You know I hate to do this—”

“Then don’t.” He sighed. “We discussed all this when you left for the funeral. We decided you were going to move your nephew and aunt here. I was even going to talk to my kids’ school about finding a spot for Alex.”

“I can’t do that to him, James. He’s already been through too much. Tearing him away from his home is just going to make things worse.”

“Would telling you that I’ve been planning to make a special announcement during the company’s annual Christmas party convince you to change your mind?” he asked. “I want to make you a partner. You’ve worked hard for it, proven yourself. It’s time. And not just because I don’t want to lose you. I’ve been planning this for months.”

Partnership in one of the East Coast’s premier interior design companies? She’d take it. A million times over, she’d take it.

“You’re quiet. That must mean you’re tempted.”

Tempted? She was ready to pack her bags and get on the next plane to Maryland.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t,” she said, glancing up the stairs.

“Then, come back.”

“Is that what you would do if you were in my position?” she asked, because James was a father, his children the absolute loves of his life.

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