“No, but thanks, I appreciate it. Love you, Ava. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Love you, too.”
Carly hung up the phone and let out a long, deep breath while looking at the unending piles of boxes. “Focus,” she whispered to herself. “You can do this.” Walking to the far corner of the room toward the set of windows that overlooked her expansive gardens, she began to carve out a space she could potentially be comfortable in … temporarily at least. She slid furniture and other large pieces out of the way, as she imagined the placement of her easel and other painting supplies that would eventually wind up there. For the moment, those items were tucked away amongst all of her boxes and other random items. She hadn’t been the most organized in her packing efforts.
Smiling, Carly looked forward to the day when she’d finally have a real art studio. She could have chosen to use the spare bedroom on the second floor of her home, but wanted use of a larger space and instead chose the unfinished attic that made up the third floor. That way, she could have more control over the direction of the incoming light. That must be it. She had a vague recollection of labeling all of the boxes that held items for her studio “third floor.” The movers probably put everything in the attic. As she began to climb the stairs, she heard a knock.
“Crap,” she muttered, turning back around. I really don’t have time to play meet the neighbors right now. “Who is it?”
“Anthony Conly. Here to give you an estimate. You did say two o’clock, didn’t you?”
“Right,” she lied and made her way over to the door, swinging it open. She’d completely forgotten he was coming by today, but he was the one person she actually did have time for. “Yes, hello, come in.” An older man, with thinning hair and weathered skin who reminded her of her father, stood in her doorway. “I’m Carly Cater. Thanks for stopping by. The room I want to renovate is on the third floor. Follow me.” She started up the stairs for the second time with Anthony behind her.
An hour later, after taking measurements and discussing specs, Anthony presented her with an estimate, which appeared to be reasonable. Not that she would know the difference, but it was within the amount of cash she had on hand to get the job done. He also helped her move several boxes she found with her painting supplies down to the first floor. All in all, it was turning out to be a productive afternoon.
“I’d like to get started right away,” Carly said as she walked him out to his van. “What kind of time frame are we looking at?”
“Well, I’ll need to make a few phone calls to set up a crew, and we’ll need permits for some of the work, but at the very least, we should be able to do some basic framing starting next week, if you want.”
A wide smile crossed her face. “Yes, I want.”
“Great. I’ll need to get a deposit from you for materials and to pay my guys. If that’s agreeable, then I’ll see you next Monday at seven a.m.”
“That’s no problem. Thank you so much, Anthony,” she said, holding out her hand for a shake. “It’s been a pleasure meeting you.”
###
OTHER BOOKS BY KAREN POKRAS
Whispered Wishes Series:
Book 1: Ava’s Wishes
Book 2: Holly’s Wishes
Book 3: Tessa’s Wishes
Merry Wishes: A Whispered Wishes Novella
Chasing Invisible (Karen Pokras Toz)
Books for Children 7-12 (Karen Pokras Toz)
The Nate Rocks Series:
Nate Rocks the World
Nate Rocks the Boat
Nate Rocks the School
Nate Rocks the City
Millicent Marie Is Not My Name
Pie and Other Brilliant Ideas
ABOUT KAREN POKRAS
Karen Pokras writes adult contemporary and middle grade fiction under the names Karen Pokras and Karen Pokras Toz. Her books have won several awards including two Readers’ Favorite Book Awards, the Grand Prize in the Purple Dragonfly Book Awards, as well as placing first for two Global E-Book Awards for Pre-Teen Literature. For more information and to sign up for Karen’s newsletter, please visit www.karenpokras.com.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Tessa
Chapter 2 - Ava
Chapter 3 - Holly
Chapter 4 - Tessa
Chapter 5 - Holly
Chapter 7 – Ava
Chapter 8 - Ava
Chapter 9 – Tessa
Chapter 10 – Holly
Chapter 11 – Ava
Chapter 12 – Tessa
Chapter 13 - Ava
Chapter 14 - Holly
Chapter 15 – Tessa
Chapter 16 – Ava
Chapter 17 – Tessa
Chapter 18 - Holly
Chapter 19 - Tessa
Chapter 20 - Ava
Chapter 21 - Tessa
Chapter 22 - Holly
Chapter 23 - Ava
Chapter 24 – Holly
Chapter 26 – Holly
Chapter 27 - Ava
Chapter 28 - Tessa
Chapter 29 - Holly
Chapter 30 - Ava
Chapter 31 - Tessa
Chapter 32 - Ava
Chapter 33 - Tessa
Chapter 34 – Holly
Chapter 35 – Tessa
Chapter 36 - Tessa
Chapter 37 - Holly
Chapter 38 - Ava