Read Online Rumor Has It by Tami Hoag - Free Book Online Page A

The floor had to be sanded and re-finished. He didn't even want to think what needed to be done to make the back room into a functional kitchen. Upstairs there were dropped ceilings to be removed, walls to be knocked out.
    Forty- five hundred bucks. He groaned. He'd already borrowed all he could. He would have to fork over the money for the curb and gutter now so he could get the permit, and then make themoney back some way so he could afford to do the necessary remodeling.
    There was one sure way he could make enough money in a relatively short amount of time. All he had to do was pick up the phone and say yes to Jack Clark's standing offer. They would have to haggle a little over scheduling, and Nick would have to negotiate for a percentage of the gate, but it was the best solution. It was the only solution.
    “Looks as if I'll be doing some dancing after all, Katie,” he said, wondering what proper Katie would have to say when he told her he was going to solve his financial problems by going back to his old job as the Highwayman—the hottest male erotic dancer on the East Coast.

FOUR
    K ATIE HAD COMMITTED her Saturday morning and afternoon to working on the town project. Saturday night was going to be devoted to recuperating from working on the town project. She decided the best thing she could do was work so hard, she would have little energy left over to devote to wondering if Nick had found someone else to go dancing with him.
    The town project was known as the Drewes mansion. Myra Mason- Drewes had willed the estate to the city. It had been badly in need of repair and, even though Myra's wish had been that theestate be restored, the town council nearly had decided to tear it down. Katie and a group of other citizens concerned about historic preservation had talked them out of it.
    Professionals had been called in for the nuts and bolts restoration work, but costs had been kept low by having townspeople devote their time and talents to the simpler tasks. By late summer the Drewes mansion would be added to the walking tour of Briarwood that included a number of other historic buildings. The tourism committee was planning a gala party to celebrate the opening and raise funds to help cover some of the costs.
    The sounds of hammers pounding and power saws whining above the country music coming from a portable radio in the kitchen brought a smile to Katie's lips as she dipped her paintbrush into the bucket again. By the end of the day all the noise would probably give her a headache, but she wouldn't think about that now. She was going to enjoy the feeling of camaraderie that came from working beside people she had known all her life. It was one of the joys of living in a small community. She also thoroughly enjoyed the actual work of fixing up the house. Preserving apiece of the past was a labor of love, as far as Katie was concerned. She threw a happy smile at Maggie, working nearby on painting window trim.
    “Katie, the walls in the dining room are ready to paint. Should we go on ahead and start?”
    “Sure, John. Just make certain all the drop cloths are in place,” she called back without taking her eyes off the window frame she was painting. The woodwork in the parlor had been stripped of nineteen coats of paint, including layers of hot pink and lime green. Her brush spread a layer of rich cream over the wood. Eventually all the rooms in the colonial home would be returned to their original color schemes.
    “I hope y'all appreciate just how much I hate painting trim,” Maggie said to no one in particular. She stuck her tongue between her teeth as she ran a narrow brush along the wood between two panes in the twelve- over- twelve- pane window. She glanced over her shoulder to the next wall where Katie was working. “However, I don't mind being the lookout. Guess who's coming up the front walk, Kathryn.”
    “Tom Selleck.”
    “Close, but no mustache. It's none other than the mysterious Mr. Leone, heartthrob