Page 6 of The Christmas Lodge
Her heeled boots sank into the snow on the sidewalk and she hurried toward the shop just ahead with the name “Martinez Real Estate” stenciled in its window. Ronald Carp had given her the name of one Matthew Martinez, telling her that he was in possession of the deed and the keys to the mansion.
Lacy shivered, holding her coat against her more tightly. She had thought she was pretty used to the cold, living in the midwest, but the New Hampshire winter was something else entirely. The bitter wind sliced through her peacoat, and she breathed a sigh of relief as the warm air inside the shop greeted her.
A gust of wind slammed the door shut behind her and she jumped a little. A stocky man with sandy curls emerged from a back room, his eyebrows raised. His blue eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled and hurried toward her, his hand extended.
“You must be Lacy Preston,” he said, shaking her hand. “Ronald called and told me to expect you.”
“And you must be Matthew Martinez. Thanks for meeting with me.”
“Not at all! Glad to be of help in whatever way I can. I’m assuming this is your first time to Snowy Pine Ridge?”
Lacy nodded. “It is.”
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
“I didn’t see much,” she admitted. “I was going over emails on my phone in the taxi up here.”
“Well, then. You have a treat when you wake up tomorrow!”
Lacy smiled, charmed by his vivacious, open demeanor. “I’m sure I will.”
“Let’s sit,” Matthew said. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”
A large desk covered in rolled up floor plans and schematics for buildings, nearly hiding an aging computer, took up a good portion of the room. Matthew settled himself at the desk, gesturing for her to sit in one of the mismatched chairs across from him. He swept some of the papers aside, bracing his elbows against the desk and leaning toward her. His direct gaze bored into her eyes, disarming her a little.
“I’m so sorry for your loss, Ms. Preston. We all loved Nicholas around here.”
“Call me Lacy,” she replied automatically, choosing to ignore the reference to her grandfather. “I appreciate you keeping your office open for me so we could meet tonight.”
Matthew waved that away. “I work all hours, honestly. There are some nights I end up falling asleep at my desk when I get too wrapped up in a project.” His eyes lit up with excitement. “For instance, there’s a house I’m flipping right now, and I’ve been working up a new layout for it since I’m thinking of knocking out a few walls to create an open floor plan.” He trailed off, seeming to realize he was rambling. “Sorry, I get too excited about my work.”
“I feel the same way about my career. No need to apologize.” Lacy sat forward a little. “Iwouldlike to get down to brass tacks, though, if you wouldn’t mind.”
“Absolutely. Let me fill you in on some of the specifics.” Matthew dug through the mound on his desk and pulled out a stack of papers for her. “I’ve pulled the tax records for the house, which are public record, but you’ll have to go to city hall to get blueprints of the house and whatnot.”
“That’s fine.”
“Before you see the house, I think I should warn you—as Nicholas got older, he had a hard time taking care of the house, and it already needed repairs when he bought it. I’m not sure if he had the funds to make the repairs he always talked about.”
Lacy bit back an unladylike snort and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Of course her grandfather hadn’t maintained the mansion. That would fit in with what she knew about him. A man who made shady business deals wasn’t likely to care for a historical home the way it deserved. Besides, if the house was falling down around his ears, he deserved to live in that decay and disarray. Men who abandon their families didn’t deserve better, at least in her opinion.
“Let me guess,” Lacy said, her voice dry. “It’s a tumbling down shack.”
“No, no,” Matthew was quick to assure her. “The mansion is beautiful, and it’s full of history.” He sat back, rubbing his chin. “You’ll see what I mean when you see the architectural details on it—it’s a gem for sure. It just needs some work to make it livable. Of course, that’s assuming you want to live there.”
“I haven’t decided what I’ll be doing with it yet. That’s why I’m here.”
“Of course, of course. It has lots of potential, but it definitely needs some TLC to bring it back to full glory. I know for certain that some of the plumbing needs to be reworked—old pipes and all that, and I’m sure the furnace needs to be replaced.”
Lacy sighed. “Unsurprising.” She tapped one manicured fingernail against his desk, thinking. “Can we take a look tonight?”
“The sun has already set,” Matthew pointed out. “I think your best bet is to look tomorrow. I do have the keys and the deed for you, though.”
Lacy accepted the items from him. “Do you think you could draw me a map to his house?”
“Absolutely.”
Matthew quickly sketched out a map, pointing out landmarks for her. She studied it, nodding as he spoke.
