“I have no idea. I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said, shaking her head.
Harper swiveled back to her screen. Maybe she was wearing Frank down with her boatloads of charm. Or maybe Luke told him to deal with her directly. Or maybe she was finally starting to fit in.
If she was starting to fit in there was no time to slack off. She would continue to show Frank and everyone how seriously she took this job, no matter how she had gotten it. She jumped back into job costing with energy.
A few minutes shy of noon, Charlie walked in.
“I was looking for two lovely ladies to take to lunch.” He was dressed in jeans and a Garrison polo, which meant he had just come from a meeting with potential clients on a job.
“I think I can scrounge some up for you,” Harper teased. “I just may need carried down the stairs. Beth, are you in?”
Beth was already waiting at the door holding her purse. “What?” she shrugged. “I’m starving.”
Harper snickered. “I’ll drive myself. I’m taking Aldo to PT after lunch.”
Charlie took them to the diner where the smell of grilled bread and coffee hung in a delicious cloud.
Harper slid gingerly into the booth next to Beth. “So what’s the occasion, Charlie?”
“It’s Tuesday,” he said, winking at Sandra as she arrived with his soda. “And I’m hungry for a tuna melt.”
“Looks like you’ve got two hot dates,” Sandra said. “You must be the infamous, Harper. I’ve been meaning to get over to Remo’s to check you out on a Friday. Just haven’t made it yet.”
Harper laughed. “I should have just called a town meeting to introduce myself.”
“Next time you do that. It’ll save us all the trouble of stalking you. Welcome to Benevolence. What can I get you ladies?”
They ordered and Harper wondered if she’d ever get used to small town expectations.
“You talk to Luke lately?” Charlie asked, taking the straw out of his soda.
“I talked loudly to him about neglecting to tell us about Aldo’s rescue. He said he’s going to try to call you guys this week.”
“My son, the tight-lipped hero.”
“I wonder where he gets it,” Harper wiggled her eyebrows.
“Probably Claire,” Charlie quipped. “But now that we’re talking about talking. I wanted to run something by you. I just came from an unofficial meeting with potentials. It’s a young couple with a plot of land outside of town on the edge of the woods. They’re looking for something ... unique.”
“Like missile silo unique or cookie cutter with a slightly different stone than their fifty neighbors?” Beth asked.
“In the middle. You all ever hear of tiny houses?”
Harper and Beth shared a glance. Both were obsessed with the new lineup of TV shows on the topic. “We’re familiar,” Harper said casually.
“Well they’re thinking small, not tiny. A cottage around five hundred square feet with geothermal, solar, the whole green design, plus all this built in storage. I think it would be a real interesting project to get. But I don’t want to do it if it’s some dumb looking box on wheels that they’re after.”
Harper held up a finger and reached for her phone. She opened her Teeny But Adorbs Houses Pinterest board and passed the phone over to Charlie.
“Something like this Craftsman, maybe?” She swiped the screen for him knowing he could barely work his flip phone. “Or, what about something modern like this one? Depending on the land you could position it so the whole front gets southern exposure. Nice for the heating bill in the winter.”
“Huh. Is there any way you could send those picture to me by email or something?”
Harper smiled. “Sure, no problem, Charlie.”
“So you think it’s something worth pursuing?”
Harper and Beth both nodded vigorously. “Homes like these are getting more and more popular. They’re not for everyone, but a lot of people are really looking for downsized luxury.” She made a mental note to have Claire record some of the tiny house episodes for Charlie.
He slid her phone back to Harper. “All right then. I’ll take that under advisement and see if I can put together some plans.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
“I want to learn to run,” Harper announced, bouncing on her toes. Aldo squinted up at her mid-stretch.
“What brought this on?”
“You and Luke run. I’ve seen him leave the house with his brain full of crap and come back from a run smiling. I want that. Plus, I’ve been eating a lot of pizza lately and I helped Gloria move and couldn’t walk for three days.”