One Bossy Offer (13)

“Oh, yeah. I tried to get her to start with some little things inside that I thought were safety concerns—not just for her guests, but for her own well-being. She stayed on the third floor since she loved that ocean view so much. Honestly, I didn’t think it was safe for a woman that age to be walking those stairs every day. But you know Lottie. If she didn’t like being told, she wouldn’t listen.”

I laugh, despite my heart pulling down.

“That was Gram, all right.”

Ace smiles. “She said the cottage still brought in the most rent with the summer crowd and she wanted it up and running by now. Plus, she was still pushing her morning crew aside and doing most of the cooking and serving herself. Right till the end.”

I’m in a losing battle against stinging tears.

It’s too soon for this.

But I dislodge the knot in my throat and keep walking with him.

By the time we’ve roamed through the cottage and the first floor of the main house, me listening to his long list of recommended fixes, I’ve stopped thinking that this is the start of my happily ever after.

More like a horror movie.

We’re over fifty thousand dollars of renovation in and that doesn’t even touch the crumbling deck and balcony. A lot of that’s just basic repairs to make the three guest bathrooms fully functional.

Good God.

I’m already overwhelmed, and there are still two floors to go.

That business account Gram left me is going to run dry in no time at this rate, and so will my own savings from my old job at Winthrope.

Our next stop is the second floor bathroom. Ace turns the faucet on the porcelain sink.

I gasp at the rusty red liquid oozing out.

So much for a cozy Christmas romance. I’m pretty sure this happened in The Haunting or one of those paranormal movies.

Ace throws me a gentle smile. “It’s just rust. The pipes are old and temperamental. The whole place needs new piping, I’m afraid. I told her, but—”

“She always had her own order to things,” I finish for him.

“Yep. That sink looked like this for a while, and I guess folks never complained in the warmer months when there were other bathrooms and that neat little outdoor shower. I tried to get her to replace the pipes then, but she didn’t want to. I put a temporary fix in, but I’m not sure how long it will hold.”

More great news.

I don’t say anything. Still, my face must show what I’m thinking because he says, “It’s an old building. I know it’s a lot to take on. I do this for a living and the amount of work this place needs is a lot to think about, even for me. You considered selling?”

I tense.

“Dracula didn’t put you up to this, did he?” I ask. Probably a longshot, but who knows how much of the town he’s bribed with his bottomless pockets.

“Dracula?”

I wave a hand. “Never mind. But no, I’m not selling this place. I’m going to take a stab at making this work. I don’t know what to do about all the work just yet, but I’m glad you’re available.”

He shrugs. “We can take it one piece at a time. Start with whatever makes it safer, and we can go from there.”

“Umm—is it bad that the master bedroom balcony is rotting off?”

He gives me a pained look. “Yeah, that’s probably not safe. Could be termites or dry rot. No cure for old boards like that short of replacement.”

I let the wall hold me up, leaning into it. A blow to the face would’ve been less painful, even if I knew it was coming.

“What if I just don’t go out there?”

“I guess if you don’t use it, it’s okay to wait another year or two. But you’ll have to block it off and make sure nobody else walks out there either.”

“That’s easy enough. I’m the only one here.” But it’s my favorite place in the house and it kills me. It would suck to never be able to use it again. “Maybe we should start there, though. It’s a good place to work while the weather’s warm, right?”

He nods.

“Before we go any further, are there any other bloody nightmare faucets I should brace myself for?”

“If you haven’t noticed that red color anywhere else, we’re good. Back in the winter, I did quick fixes on the kitchen, main floor bathroom, and third floor bathroom. A few more of the guest sinks look like this. We could try letting ’em run for a few minutes and see if the water clears up. If so, it’s probably okay. If not, I wouldn’t use them.”

I take a deep breath. “How much does it cost to replace the pipes?”

“For a place this size? You might be able to get it done for thirty thousand if it’s mainly the bathrooms, but I’m not sure. Major piping isn’t something I can do. You’ll need a real plumber for that. I just cleaned up as much as I could and then tightened it, hoping to get rid of the rust.”

I hate to admit it, but maybe it wasn’t pure ego and threats when the vampire next door warned me about keeping this place up.

Thirty thousand dollars? Just for pipes?

On top of everything else?

Oh my God.

This place is going to send me home to my parents with my tail forever tucked between my legs.

It also hurts knowing Gram spent her last days like this.