Everybody Knows (Sunnyside #1) (13 page)

Harper couldn’t see him, but she heard Zach’s
sigh. “I wouldn’t do anything to sabotage her chances here, that’s for sure.
And I wouldn’t sell her short if I were you. I think she’ll manage to win
everyone over, and I plan to do whatever I can to help her.”

“But why, Zach? She doesn’t fit in, and we don’t
need her here.”

“I think we do, and I like her. I’ll admit I
didn’t expect to, but she’s growing on me. I think she’ll be good for the
town.” Harper held her breath until he continued. “It’s good to have an
outsider come in and mix things up every once in a while.”

“I don’t see why,” Kate muttered.

“A kind of xenophobia sets in when you see the
same people over and over. And Harper’s smart and interesting and pretty
accommodating considering the way things have gone against her so far.”

“You’ll never get the town to believe it.”

“She’s moving into my uncle’s house today after
she works at the library this morning. I’ve been helping her with both since no
one else has stepped up. You’re welcome to at any time.”

“I’ll pass,” Kate muttered, “but you know people
will think you’re interested in her.”

“I’ll make sure they know that I’m not,” he said.
 
“As much as they like to stick their noses in
my business, I don’t think they can imagine me being with anyone who isn’t a
Sunnyside fixture.”

“That’s true.”

Harper had heard enough, maybe too much.
 
She tucked away the conversation to think
about later. She stepped around the corner and started down the stairs.

“Morning, Kate,” she sang out, summoning up the
excellent mood she’d been in after eating a fresh peach, taking a dip in Zach’s
pheromone pool, and indulging in a couple of pastries. “You just get here?”

Zach carried Harper’s suitcase and the leftover
pastries as they cut through the backyard. She loved the view of her house from
the back. The tidy garage. The darling screened porch. The profusion of
flowers.

Hers. All hers.

As she headed toward the rear entrance, Zach
stopped her. “This is the grand opening of your house. Don’t you want to enter
through the front door?”

“Absolutely.” She made a beeline in that
direction. The front view was pretty adorable, too. She twisted the knob on the
handle, but it didn’t open. She jiggled it to see if it was stuck. “It’s
locked?”

“After what happened to the library, I’ve been
locking the house up when I leave it. No reason to take any chances now that
the work here is complete. The key’s in my front pocket.”

What? Did he expect her to go diving in after it?
No way, Jose
.

Besides, he wasn’t attracted to her. What was it
he’d said? “Smart and competent and accommodating”? Just the impression every
woman wanted to make on the first attractive guy she’d met since she’d had her
teeth kicked in by love.

“Take the pastries so I can get to it, will you?”

She took the box from him. Of course she blushed
but hoped he couldn’t tell in the shadows of the porch.

After unlocking the door, he pushed it open and
stood back for her to go first.

“You’re sure it’s okay for me to walk on the
floors now?” Now that the time had come, she felt a little overwhelmed.

“Unless you’re waiting for someone to carry you
over the threshold.”

“I can manage on my own.” She set her hand against
the barrage of butterflies in her stomach.

Almost too much for her to take in at once. The
hardwood was more gorgeous than she’d imagined. Blue and white porcelain tile
surrounded the fireplace. Authentic stained glass was framed in square
stationary windows.

Before she started mentally arranging her
furniture, Zach grasped her hand and steered her through the dining room. He led
her past the small powder room under the stairs to the kitchen that had a
butler’s pantry, dark wood cabinets with brushed nickel pulls, and all new
stainless appliances. After pointing out the laundry room, he showed her the
master bedroom and bath that contained a fabulous claw-foot tub and separate
shower. She caught her breath over each room, on the verge of tears at the
perfection of it all.

Upstairs there were two more bedrooms and a
standard bath. Even though he was trying to show her all the practical details
she’d need to know, Harper couldn’t concentrate on any of that, exclaiming
about every architectural and aesthetic detail that caught her eye.

“Look at the trim! Is this the original molding!
What year was the house built? These paint colors are fantastic! I’ve never
seen a light fixture like this! The tile work is amazing!”

She soon had Zach laughing at her enthusiasm.

“It’s just a house, Chicago. An ordinary house
without enough closet space. Not an architectural marvel or a work of art.”

“It is to me.” She caught herself before spinning
in a circle like a kindergartener.

“Right, well, do you understand how all this
works?”

“All what works? You mean, like, plumbing and
electricity and all that? I have had those before, you know.”

He chuckled. “Not the technical aspects. The legal
ones about how the loan of the house will work in accordance with the grant.”

“Oh. Yes, I do.”

“Just so there’s no misunderstanding, let me
explain the town’s position. This house used to be my uncle’s and is now owned
by my father. Even if he wanted to, he can’t sell it in the current real estate
market, but it might be just the thing for Josh and Susannah if they get
married in a couple of years, so he’d like to hang on to it until then.”

“Understandable.”

“Meanwhile, the taxes and insurance are eating him
up. The terms of Berkman’s grant provide a budget for housing the librarian.
Dad suggested to the town council that they use part of your living expenses to
split renovation costs with him and then the grant will pay his taxes and
insurance for the next two years. So that’s what they agreed to do. It’s turned
out to be a good deal for everyone, provided you’re agreeable.”

“I’m more than agreeable,” she answered promptly.
“I’m thrilled.”

“If anything breaks or needs work, the council
will need to approve the repair expense. If you want to change something for
cosmetic purposes, that will be out of your pocket. Anything beyond paint will
need to be approved. The council has arranged for lawn service and snow removal
for the duration of your contract, which will probably end up being me or Dad
or Josh coming over as needed, but maybe not. If you want to take care of
anything like that on your own, knock yourself out, but it’s not necessary. Any
questions?”

Her head was swimming again. “Not at the moment.”

He smiled. “It’s a lot to take in at once,
especially if you’ve been living in a small apartment. If you think of anything
you want to ask, like where the fuse box is or how to unstop the garbage
disposal, call me or my dad. We’re likely to be familiar with the issue, and we
live on the block behind you.”

“Convenient.”

“Dad grew up on a farm and he’s an electrician, so
he can fix almost anything. A trait he’s passed down to me. If we can’t fix it,
we’ll know who to call to get the job done, since we’re familiar with everyone
in Sunnyside.”

The house and the setup all seemed too good to be
true. “It’s so much more than I ever imagined. In Chicago, I couldn’t have
afforded a place like this even as a fixer-upper. I can’t believe it’s already
fixed up to perfection.”

“Not to perfection! There are still projects to
complete before winter,” Zach objected, but Harper disagreed.

It was perfect for her.

At eight, Zach and Harper moved
on to the library, but she couldn’t stop chattering about the house. He went
with her just to make sure the workers showed up again today. He had to go
straight to the hospital after that.

A motley crew waited for her on the library steps.
“Good morning!” she sang out cheerily, brimming with joy and excitement.

Liam and a few other men grunted or murmured a
greeting in return. Before Zach unlocked the door, Harper turned to face the
men, nodding at the ones she recognized from yesterday.

“I know it will be a hot one today. It’s the day
before the Fireworks Festival and everybody wants to be off doing their own
thing. But I want to thank you for coming here to help. We accomplished a lot
yesterday, and hopefully, will again today, but I’ll be leaving around noon.
The rest of you will be excused then, too.”

Most of the men just looked at her blankly as if
wondering why she was blathering on. All right, then. She should have led with
the good news. Not that she intended to bribe them, but maybe this would make
them look on her and the renovation project more favorably.

“It’ll be back to work on Thursday and Friday, if
any of you are willing to return. I spoke with Andrew Berkman last night, and
he’s willing to pay an hourly wage to anyone who will commit twenty or more
hours for both this week and next week.”

The announcement brought forth appreciative
murmurings and a few smiles. “I’ll start a sign-up sheet when we get inside.”

“Just for us,” one of the carpenters asked, “or
anyone who wants to work?”

“Anyone who wants to work,” she confirmed. “Up to
fifty people if you want to spread the word.”

Pushing the door open, she stepped inside with
Zach at her back. Liam fell in behind them. The other men tried to push
forward, but Harper pulled herself up short. “Oh, no,” she gasped, and Zach bit
off a word she didn’t normally use.

She took a few tentative steps forward, and the
men behind her moved inside with audible grumbles and curses.

“What happened here?” one of the carpenters in
overalls demanded. “Damn kids.”

“This looks like more than just mischief by kids.”
Liam checked the broken remains of the railing he’d repaired yesterday.

Much of the hard work from the day before had been
reversed. The card catalog drawers were once again strewn about. Fresh graffiti
adorned the walls. Mud and dirt splattered everywhere. More water sloshed
about, despite the lack of rain.

“Why would anyone do this?” Such wanton
destruction left Harper dismayed and mystified. She appreciated the strength of
Zach’s arm around her shoulders. “Was the door locked all night?”

“It was.” Zach nodded. “We’ll post a guard
tonight. See about getting some security cameras in place. Meanwhile, we’ll
take pictures and call the sheriff again. The insurance company will cover a
lot of this.”

Harper could only shake her head. “I just can’t
believe we have to redo all that hard work.” Heading back to the circulation
desk, she set up her computer and pulled up the lists she’d made. “Let’s get
started.”

Harper tried to keep it together while she was at
the library, but it was hard not to think someone was purposely sabotaging the
library. But there was little support for that theory from anyone. Not from the
sheriff who came to take another report—like that would do any good. He spent
more time bragging about his new baby girl than he did on any kind of
investigation.

“I don’t understand how or why this would happen,
Jimbo,” she said. “But it kind of feels like revenge, doesn’t it?”

“I’ll look into it and see what we can find out.”

“Don’t you find this kind of activity suspicious?”

He studied the toes of his boots before answering.
“I sure do, but don’t you be too worried. We’ll make sure there are plenty of
officers around during the day when you’re here.”

“I’m not worried about my safety. I’m more worried
about what happens to the library when I’m not here, Sheriff. That’s when the
mischief occurs.”

“Yes, ma’am. We’ll keep a sharp eye out then,
too.”

The malicious-vandalism theory didn’t gain any
support from Zach or any of the council members who stopped by to see the
destruction. Nor from the workers on hand to help.

She got as much done as she could for the day,
made more lists and plans, and was relieved when her movers called to say they
were on the edge of town. If she could be at her house in half an hour, they’d
be there to unload.

She could definitely be there.

After the frustration of working on the library, unloading
the truck and moving her possessions into the house was a breeze. She didn’t
have a vast amount of furniture, and the room designated for each piece was
easy to determine. The boxes were clearly marked, and anything that didn’t have
its own spot went into the dining room on the first floor or the smallest
bedroom upstairs.

She’d sort it all out later. Too bad she wasn’t as
confident about the mess at the library.