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“If she didn’t get you the good stuff, I’ll make a store run. Because I damn well want all the details.”

I wiped my face and laughed.

“Deal.”

Chapter Eight

“Ford, I don’t have time for this shit.” I struggled to roll up the blueprints without spilling my coffee while listening to Ford giving me shit over the phone.

“Apparently you do have time for this shit. Rumor has it that you spent quite the evening over at Zoe Avery’s house the other night. You even brought James with you. The way I remember things, is that you never wanted James to meet any woman you were dating.”

“I’m not dating Zoe.”

There, the blueprints were in the tube, and my coffee was safe. I could now head out of the office and hopefully make it to my meeting on time.

“That’s not the way I heard it. I heard that you had even arranged for our local actress, the brunette, to act as a babysitter.”

I paused as I was locking my door. “Just how small is Jasper Creek?”

“Pretty small,” Ford laughed.

“No, seriously Ford, how could you possibly know that I’m going to call Angelica to babysit James?”

“My fiancée is the manager of the local coffee shop. She knows everything that goes on. She’s almost as plugged in as Little Grandma at the Down Home Diner. Almost. Not quite.”

I locked my door and ran down the steps to my truck parked on the street. That was another thing that I wasn’t thrilled about with this house—no garage. The house was built in 1924, and it had been lovingly restored, but a couple of modern conveniences would be really nice.

“Are you listening to me?”

“Yeah, Ford. I am. Ruby is the manager of the local coffee shop, and she knows everything that goes on in Jasper Creek. Gotcha.”

“So, when is your next date?”

I got in the truck and started the engine, blasting the heater. At least there wasn’t any frost on the window.

“I haven’t figured that out. First I have to ensure that the Kraft family is satisfied with my drawings for their house in Brentwood. This is the third try. But finally Mrs. Kraft is meeting with me instead of just sending her husband as intermediary.”

“That should speed things along,” Ford agreed. “What else you got cooking?”

“I’ve met with a realtor. I’m putting the house on the market.”

Ford whistled. “You’re finally doing it, huh?”

“Yep. It’s time.”

“Adam, I’m really glad to hear it. I know that house was yours and Marie’s dream, but I think it’s time for something new.”

“Yeah. That’s what I think too.”

“Have I talked you into Jasper Creek, yet?”

“You’ve talked me into renting in Jasper Creek. I’m not ready to buy. I want to make sure that the next house James and I purchase is where we’re going to stay until he graduates high school. I moved around too much as a kid to do that to him.”

“Why not Jasper Creek?”

“Because this development is only an eighteen-month project.”

“Adam, there’s going to be more things after that. Probably not as big, but Jasper Creek is close enough to Knoxville that the commute would be easy, and Knoxville is growing.”