Finders Keepers Read Online Free PDF Page A

fought a grin. “Then get over here and let me dust it before I pour your tea.” He obeyed, enjoying the sight of her slender fingers on the soft white cloth. “Why aren’t you at the auction? Or are you just interested in your bottom line?”
    “I’m more interested in why you find me so unpleasant.”
    She looked up. “You don’t care a bit about Grace.”
    “I didn’t know Grace.”
    “You’re selling off all her things.”
    “I don’t need her things. I have an apartment full of things.”
    “And you’re going to tear down her home.”
    “I’ll be lucky to get a bulldozer here before it falls down.”
    “That is bunk! Grace kept the house in the best shape she could manage.” She poured, splashing hot droplets of tea on his hand. “I know Bud Huff went over there and fixed the roof for her two or three times. He and his father, Al, were always ready to help when she had a plumbing problem. There’s no air-conditioning, but Grace grew up in a time when a lady relied on her fans. Besides, there’s a nice breeze from the river almost every day.”
    “And there are termites in the first-floor woodwork.”
    “So exterminate them.”
    “Cracked windowpanes.”
    “Replace them.”
    “A leaky basement.”
    “Seal it.”
    “Do you think I’m made of money?”
    “You will be after your little auction today.” She crossed her arms and eyed him evenly. “You said you’re an architect. Preserve the house.”
    “What for? I don’t need a drafty old house. I need new offices. I want a place to settle down and make my living. When I heard I’d been left this estate, I realized this was my answer.”
    “Sell me the house, Mr. Chalmers.”
    “What?”
    “Sell the mansion to me. I’ll fix it up.” She turned and began rearranging a display of cut glass, but he had heard the telltale tremor in her voice. “I’ll set up my shop downstairs. Nick and I can live upstairs. Name your price.”
    “You couldn’t afford it, and I’m not selling.”
    “How do you know what I can and can’t afford?” She whirled on him. “You know nothing about me. You know nothing about this town. You think you can just come in here and tear down the cornerstone of Ambleside. Well, I’ve got news for you, buster. Around here we don’t destroy the old just to make way for the new. We value our heritage.”
    “Chalmers House is my heritage.”
    “This was your heritage.” She picked up the old Bible and thrust it at him. “These pages are a record of Grace Chalmers’s life. The words meant something to her. If you’d cared at all, you could have saved this Bible. You could have read her notes and learned about who she was and how she was a part of you. Grace gave you her house. She gave you every piece of furniture, every picture, every doily she’d ever crocheted. And you put it all on the auction block. So don’t talk to me about heritage. Your heritage is heading off to antique shops and garage sales all over the United States right now. If you tear down Chalmers House, you might as well be bulldozing Grace’s whole life.”
    She slammed the Bible on the counter, grabbed a wad of tissues, and headed for the back room. Zachary stared after her. All he’d ever intended was to make his personal dreams come true—and he was grateful to this unknown aunt for making that happen. Now it appeared he was publicly destroying the very foundation of a town.
    Or maybe Elizabeth Hayes had a screw loose. She certainly was passionate about the whole thing. He set his cup on the counter—the tea untasted. So much for a little harmless flirtation. This was obviously not the time or the place.
    And Elizabeth Hayes was not the woman for him.

    “What color are my eyes, Mommy?” Nick asked as he sat with his mother on the porch swing, watching the sunset pinken the bluffs that lined the Missouri River. “Magunnery says they’re green.”
    “Montgomery is right.” Elizabeth leaned her cheek against her son’s warm