Her Surprise Family

Shelby knew she was making a mistake. “Like I said on the phone, Mr. Norton, I can’t afford to do much right now.”

He nodded and gave her a wicked grin. “That’s right, sweetheart. You said you wanted to work something out.”

Shelby cringed. Asking for a bid from this man had been a mistake.

“Well, hey there, Rafe,” Gus said. “I hear you’re doing these facade renovations. It’s a shame you had to get out of new construction because of what happened to your daddy.”

“I’m doing exactly what I want to be doing, Norton,” Rafe said coldly.

Shelby could only stand back and watch the sparks fly between the two men. Then Charlie leaped into the fray. “Since when did they allow you inside the city limits, Norton?”

Gus just grinned. “Hey, Charlie. You ever want to work in real construction again, give me a call.”

Charlie started to say something, but he glanced at Shelby and seemed to think better of it. He walked away.

Shelby quickly ushered Gus into the house and sent him off to his task. In the kitchen she made a pot of coffee. She needed the caffeine to get her going this morning.

She’d spent most of the previous evening at the computer, trying to hammer out the ideas that were due tomorrow. She’d been behind with her work since she’d come to Haven Springs.

With her business doing so well, it had been a bad time to do the move from Louisville, but she couldn’t wait to get into her new home. Now she was paying for it. If she didn’t finish the story she’d been working on in time, she wouldn’t get paid—and she desperately needed the money for the restoration of her new home.

Home. The word seemed strange to her. In her almost twenty-nine years she’d never been able to call anyplace home.

“I can’t believe you actually went ahead and called that guy for a bid.”

Shelby turned around to find Rafe Covelli standing in the doorway.

“I told you, Mr. Covelli, that I needed to get some things done on this house. The rains don’t stop just because I can’t afford to fix the roof.”

“I’ll fix the roof. You already have enough materials in the attic for a decent patch job. I could have it done in a few days. Then you can take your time on some of the other repairs. Just don’t hire that jerk upstairs. Believe me, he doesn’t know a router from a chisel.”

Shelby was tempted to smile but didn’t. She was curious to know why Rafe Covelli was coming to her rescue. Or maybe she shouldn’t ask why and just accept it. “I won’t take charity. I’m going to pay you.”

“You can pay me by getting that jerk who calls himself a contractor out of this house. Stewart Manor deserves the best. That’s me.” Rafe entered the kitchen and stopped, eyeing the oak cabinets.

Shelby smiled. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they? But I don’t think they’re part of the original house.”

Rafe ran his hand over the fine wood grain. “No, they weren’t. They were put in about twenty years ago.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because my dad did the work.” He said this with such pride that she envied him his childhood and the obvious love and respect he had for his father.

“The cabinets are my favorite thing in this kitchen,” she said.

He turned to her. “And if you love this house as much as I think you do, get rid of Norton.”

“Stop giving me orders, Mr. Covelli.”

“It’s Rafe.”

Shelby swallowed as she looked into his intense dark eyes.

“What do you say, Shelby? Do we have a deal? I’ll do the repairs on the roof if you tell Gus to get lost.”

“I told you I won’t take your charity. Maybe we can trade something.”

A twinkle appeared in his eyes and she rushed on to suggest, “How about I teach you about computers?”

He blinked. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Take it or leave it,” Shelby said.

Rafe couldn’t believe this was happening. He was bargaining to get the privilege to repair her roof. When had he lost the upper hand here? But it was worth it when Shelby went upstairs to find Gus Norton and told him the bad news.

Just as she returned to the kitchen, a teenage boy came rushing to the back door. “Miss Harris. Miss Harris.”

Shelby dashed outside, Rafe following. “What is it, Josh?”

“It’s my grandfather. I think he fell.” The boy pointed to the yard.

Shelby hurried across the lawn. Rafe was right behind her. When they reached the rose garden, they found Ely Cullen lying on the ground.

“Don’t move him,” Rafe said. He knelt down beside the man. “Ely, can you hear me?”

“Of course I can hear you.” The old man tried to get up. “I just lost my balance. Bum knee gave out.” He sat up with help from Rafe.

“Wait. Let me check to see if anything is broken.”

“Ain’t nothin’ broken—just my pride.”

“Maybe I should take you to the doctor just in case,” Rate suggested as he pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at the scratch on Ely’s head. “Does anything hurt?”

“Son, at my age something always hurts.”

“Grandpa, maybe you should go. You have scratches on your face and arm.” The blond teenager looked concerned.

“Josh, I fell on the grass. I’m fine. Like I said, my knee gave out. Just need a little help getting up.”

Rate eased the man to his feet. The old man did seem steady enough. “Ely, what are you doing out here at seven in the morning?”

“I’m working for Miss Shelby. We’re going to get the lawn and garden in shape by the end of the summer.”

Rafe had had just about enough. Shelby Harris had hired the area’s worst contractor, and then a seventy-seven-year-old man to help with the yard work. He assisted Ely into a lawn chair.

“I’ll get you a glass of water,” Shelby said.

Rafe stopped her. “I think, to be on the safe side, we should run Ely to the clinic.”