“That could take forever,” Emily warned.
“Not with Sophia on the case,” Marilyn commented. “The mayor swoons when she walks into the room and sees to it that she gets whatever she wants. I’ve never known anyone who could cut through bureaucratic red tape the way she can.”
Emily regarded Sophia with admiration. “Is there anything you can’t accomplish when you set your mind to it?”
Sophia winked at her. “Not so far. And I’m counting on you to live up to my standards.”
“I’ll do my best,” Emily promised her.
But even as she spoke, she wondered how on earth she was going to pull it off and still keep her promise to get back home to Boone later in the week.
* * *
“Oh, Boone, you should see this place,” she said, when she finally spoke to him that evening. It was already past eleven in North Carolina, but it was the first chance she’d had to call after contacting all of her most reliable contractors and vendors. She’d used every persuasive power she possessed to get several of them to agree to meet her at the house tomorrow.
She described the house and all the work it was going to require. “But when it’s finished, it’s going to be so perfect,” she said. “I can practically hear the echo of happy children in those rooms.”
“It sounds like there’s going to be an incredible amount of work involved,” he said. “Are you going to have to stick around to oversee it all, especially with such a tight deadline?”
“Maybe a little more than I’d originally thought,” she admitted. “But the people I’m hiring are good. They can be left on their own. I’ll definitely make it back next week, if only for a couple of days.”
“I hope you’re talking about the end of the week,” Boone said. “I didn’t expect you so soon. Pete and I are going to Charleston at the beginning of the week to check into opening a new restaurant there.”
“Oh,” she said, taken aback. She hadn’t envisioned any sort of conflict arising because of his schedule. “I’d hoped to come earlier, then get back here before things kick into high gear. I want workmen on the job by the end of next week and I need to be here to oversee that, at least the first few days.”
“I see.” He fell silent.
“This is going to be harder than we thought, isn’t it?” she asked, not even trying to hide her disappointment. “Could you maybe reschedule, just this once?”
“Pete’s spent the whole day setting up meetings with important officials down there. We can hardly call back and ask them to change the appointments. We’re trying to get off on the right foot.”
“I know. You’re right. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“And obviously you can’t juggle what’s on your plate,” Boone said. “Not with those families counting on you.”
“Okay, look, this is the first shot we’ve taken at this,” Emily said. “We’re bound to hit a few kinks. Let’s compare notes now for the following week. That way we’ll be locked in when we’re both free.”
“Sure,” Boone said. “I’ll be back. No travel on the schedule for that week. The only thing pressing will be getting B.J. ready to go back to school.”
“Maybe we can take him shopping,” Emily suggested. “That would be fun. I can remember going with my mom to buy new school clothes every fall.”
Boone laughed. “You were a girl. Trust me, B.J. does not get excited about clothes shopping or picking out notebooks and pencils and a lunch box. He prefers to complain about whatever I bring home.”
“Which is why he should be along when you shop,” she argued, then hesitated. “Is this really about me coming along? Is that crossing that line we talked about?”
Boone’s hesitation was answer enough.
“Okay, it is,” she said briskly. “Still, I’ll be there for a few days and we’ll get to spend some time together, just you and me.”
“And you’ll see B.J.,” Boone promised. “Just not when he’ll get any ideas about the two of us.”
“Okay, then,” she said, managing to hide her disappointment. “I should let you get some sleep. It’s late there, and I still have work to do tonight.”
“Em?” Boone said when she was about to hang up.
“What?”
“I miss you already.”
“I miss you, too. And we are going to make this work, Boone. It’s too important for us to screw it up.”
“We’ll give it our best shot, that’s for sure,” he promised.
“Talk to you tomorrow?”
“Absolutely. I’ll catch up with you on your cell, since it sounds as if you’re going to be on the go from morning till night.”
“Good night, then.”
“Wish you were here,” he said. “You have no idea how much.”
“Oh, I have some idea,” she said with feeling.
Being back in his bed even once had left her wanting more. A whole lifetime, in fact.
But today had complicated the likelihood of smooth sailing for the two of them. While her work had always been satisfying and challenging, today, for the very first time, she’d felt she was doing something important. She liked the way that felt. It added an element of fulfillment she’d never anticipated.
But to do work like this shelter, she would have to accept even more paying jobs, which would lead to being busier than ever. How would the addition of a relationship work, especially with Boone on the opposite coast?
She sighed and pushed that worry out of her head. It wasn’t a problem she could solve, not tonight and not alone, but there were plenty of other things she could tackle. Better to concentrate on those, at least for now.
15
“What’s with her?” Emily asked, gesturing in the direction Gabi had taken. She’d fled the room right after Emily walked into her
