Blue Heaven (Blue Lake) Read Free Page B

full of eager hope and so clearly showing his vulnerability, made her ache for him even without knowing the whole story of his past. It was kind of him to pretend she hadn’t been about to make a huge mistake by tearing the roof off her bungalow before she had a livable cottage to stay in.
    “Why are you so set on adding a second story to this house?”
    “It was my dad’s dream.” She turned away, looked again at the water. “Jane told me your great-grandfather designed and built this place. I think my great-grandpa helped him. Those are the family stories, anyhow, that he worked alongside the builder.”
    “I didn’t know that.” Daniel was quiet for a minute, the expression on his face going from thoughtful to cheery. “So if they worked together, we can too.”
    Eva had no idea what he was talking about, but before she could frame a question, he said, “I’d be happy to offer you the benefit of my experience renovating Bryman properties.”
    “Listen, Daniel, thanks for the offer. Really. It’s very generous of you. Except the problem remains. You don’t want me to build my second story.”
    “Why would you even want to? It was your dad’s dream. Is it your dream, too?”
    Not exactly, but it was a good Plan B. “Guests can gather for a glass of wine or to play a board game in front of a cozy fire on rainy days or cool evenings.”
    “Really? On vacation? People do that?”
    Her eyes turned from the water. He had taken off his glasses and was polishing them on his T-shirt.
    “In my family, aunts, uncles, cousins, we’d each choose a cottage, but everyone would congregate in the bungalow for meals and games, movies and reading.”
    “No brothers or sisters?” He put his glasses back on.
    “Only child.” She almost said “What about you?” but then let it go. They both turned toward the stairs leading up the bluff. After a few steps along the beach, Daniel stopped.
    “I admit I don’t like the idea of adding to an existing structure,” Daniel said. “But I’m also being practical. You need to make your first loan payment in two months. I didn’t like the terms of that contract. You could easily lose everything if you aren’t careful. I believe you’ll find that the money may not stretch as far as you think.”
    She was walking a bit ahead of him, so turned back to face him. “I appreciate your honesty. I have to admit you make some good points.” She dropped her gaze to the sand, dug the toe of her sneaker into it. “I know you’ve done lots of renovations in town, but have you ever tried to build an addition? Have you ever given modernizing and expanding an original design a shot?”
    “I built a second story once,” he said. “An airplane bungalow on Sugar Street. Completely gutted by fire. We knocked the burned out shell down and rebuilt it stick by stick.”
    She looked up at him. His face came alive when he talked about building. So different from that brick wall of an expression he wore at the bank. “But that house was designed as a two story. There’s a certain integrity to keeping to the original design.”
    “That’s what they call it? An airplane?”
    “Yeah. Or sometimes story and a half.”
    “Well, there you go. I only need a half on top. One big room.”
    She wanted to win him over. For some reason she didn’t understand, it seemed important that their visions align.
    He shook his head, not even glancing at the bungalow. “It’s your house. You do what you want with it. But be careful. Everything, electrical, plumbing, heat, it all costs twice what you think.”
    “How did you know I need all that work done?”
    He shrugged. “I’ve been doing this a long time.”
    She wondered if he had a girlfriend. Apparently he and Jane were just business associates.
    “I know an electrician.” He took her arm when she tried to walk ahead again. His touch was gentle, her skin warmed under this soft request to stop and talk a minute more.
    “It’s a small town.”