“Yes, I did.” He leaned over and glanced at the kids, then outside, where the dogs were waiting patiently. “Cute kid. And dog.”
“Thanks. I like them. Welcome to Butterfly Harbor.” Paige offered her hand and then grabbed a menu out of the holder. “How about I give you the seat with the best view?” She led the way to the center booth by the large windows. “You can never get too much of the ocean.”
“If you say so,” Xander said in a way that rankled Calliope’s nerves. The niggling suspicion that he was not the right man for the job kicked up a notch.
“I’m meeting the mayor here in a bit.” He set down his things before he took a seat. “But as I’m staving off jet lag I’d love to start with some coffee.”
“You got it,” Paige said.
“Meeting with the mayor already?” Calliope couldn’t stop herself from asking the question as Paige headed behind the counter. “That’s pretty quick work.”
“I don’t like to waste time.” He shifted in his seat to face her. “So far everyone’s been accommodating to my early arrival. Besides, the sooner I get done with this part of things, the sooner I can get home.”
“This part of things?”
“The face-to-face meetings. Getting a feel for the town, for the area where the education center and sanctuary is going to be. Get our plans approved.”
“Is that something that’s normally done so...quickly?” She heard the disbelief-tinged irritation in her own voice and pulled back. Stella was right. She didn’t sound particularly nice. “Forgive me as I know next to nothing about architecture. Or architects.”
“Every project is different. We’ve been known to take months coming up with design ideas.” He smiled as Paige set down his coffee. “Something like this is leaps-and-bounds easier.”
“Oh?” Something about the way he spoke ignited her impatience. “Why is that?”
“Well, it’s not as big as most projects I’ve worked on. Not much to it, really. A couple of buildings, a classroom or two. Throw it all together, one, two, three.” He reached behind him and patted the cardboard tube. “I’ve already got a sketch I think the mayor will be more than happy with.”
“Throw it all together.” Calliope’s insides burned. She swallowed hard, hoping to rid herself of the bitterness—and offense—coursing through her. “You’ve done all that work already without looking at the land itself? Without taking anything into consideration, like the migratory patterns of the butterflies or plans we townsfolk might have for the use of the structures?”
Xander frowned. “As I said, it should all be straightforward. There’s nothing particularly, well, special about it.”
“Nothing special about it,” Calliope muttered more to herself than to him.
The sound of clanking dishes and raised voices in the kitchen startled her and put a brake on the tirade building behind her lips. How could he come up with a design without having looked at the property? The land would have to be cleared, trees cut down and roads built. Even worse, he didn’t think the sanctuary needed to be anything “special”?
Xander sipped his coffee and arched a challenging eyebrow at her. “You’re not going to say our ideas are damaging to the land, are you? At least not without seeing our plan first.”
“Of course not. I like to have all the information in front of me before I make any kind of judgment. If you’ll excuse me, I believe I’m needed in the kitchen.”
Calliope managed a weak smile before she turned toward the kitchen’s swinging door, grateful for the excuse to escape.
And she walked into something she could only describe as a silent standoff. She stopped just inside, the door bopping her in the back as she found Ursula, spatula in hand, advancing on a pale-looking Holly, who wielded her own weapon—her grandmother’s ancient rolling pin.
It wasn’t hostility Calliope felt vibrating on the air, but frustration. And more than a little concern.
“I hope I’m interrupting.” She kept her voice gentle but was purposely loud enough to stop whatever words were about to come flying out of Ursula’s mouth.