“Yes, I’m Hudson. I might very well be making this lovely place my temporary home for a while.”
She beamed and allowed her eyes to give me a slow once-over. I cleared my throat and glanced back at Greer, who stood there with a soft smile on her face, even though I could tell she was agitated by the stranger’s presence for some reason.
“And you are?” I asked, since Greer wasn’t making any introductions.
“I’m so sorry, the name is Jean Watts.”
I glanced back at Greer and then at Jean. “That’s right, Greer mentioned you take care of this place.”
“I do, indeed!” Jean said with a hint of pride in her voice. “If you do decide to move in for a bit, be sure and let me know. I can show you around the area. If you like hiking, I know all the best trails. “
Greer murmured something that sounded like, “I bet you do.”
“What was that, Greer?” Jean asked.
Greer snapped her head to look at us. “Oh, nothing. Nothing at all.”
“Do you need me to show you around the cabin?” Jean asked.
I drew my head back some in shock as I stared at the woman. Had she forgotten the owner’s daughter was standing right behind her?
Greer’s entire body sagged, and she stared off at the trees in the distance. Did she honestly think I would brush her aside for Jean? She was crazy if she did. Jean didn’t hold a candle to Greer’s beauty.
“Um, that’s kind of you, Jean, but Greer’s here to do that.”
Greer turned back to look at me, and Jean seemed to be shocked I would pick someone over her.
I made a quick mental note to keep Jean at a moderate distance.
“Well, of course,” Jean said. “I don’t know what I was thinking. Greer doesn’t seem to care much for the cabin, so I figured…”
Her voice trailed off, and I wanted to ask her what in the hell she meant by that. Greer herself said she would love to live here. I decided to push it all out of my head and focused back on Greer. “We really should take care of that business before it gets dark, Greer.” Looking back at Jean, I held out my hand to shake hers. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Jean.”
Jean’s eyes dropped to my hand. She laughed but shook it and then handed me her card. “It was more than a pleasure. Here’s my card, if you decide to stay and want some company.”
Greer stepped forward—more like stepped in between me and Jean. “Hudson is actually looking for privacy, peace, and quiet. He was staying at Willow Tree Inn, but this might be a better option for him to finish his book. I do hope you’ll respect his privacy, Jean.”
The corners of Jean’s mouth twitched with a smile as she nodded and looked from Greer to me. “Of course. But if you should ever need anything, be sure to give me a call.” She wiggled her fingers and said, “Toddles,” then bounded down the steps and to her truck.
Once she started down the drive, Greer turned to me and forced a smile.
“She was nice,” I said with a slight chuckle. Greer just rolled her eyes and walked into the cabin. Without commenting on Jean, she started to read from the list her father had sent her.
“First, the faucet in the kitchen needs to be replaced.”
I scoffed. “Please, that’s child’s play.”
Greer looked up at me and smiled. “The second thing is that the fireplace chimney needs to be cleaned out.” I gave her an expression that said she was not challenging my handyman skills much. Greer tried to hold back a laugh as she glanced down at the list. “And the front porch steps need to be rebuilt.”
“Will you supply me with power tools?” I asked with a hint of mischief in my voice.
Greer folded her arms across her chest. “What is it with men and power tools?”
With a wink, I replied, “I know some women who love power tools.”
Greer’s lips twitched with a hidden smile.
“Back to my question about the power tools.”
Laughing, she replied, “Yes, my father has some in the back shed. He said everything should be there, since he was planning on replacing the faucet and steps this past summer.”
“Hard manual labor. I like this plan. Is he sure he doesn’t want me to pay him anything for staying here?”
She nodded. “Positive. Honestly, just you doing these three things would take a load off of his plate. He’s been meaning to come and get them done, but just hasn’t had the time. My mother and father have tossed around the idea of renting the cabin out anyway.”
I glanced around the cabin again and shook my head. “They should. This place is perfect, Greer.”
When I faced her, her eyes were shining with delight. “Then you’ll stay here?”