Fall Flip Read online

  FALL FLIP BY DENISE WEIMER

  Published by Candlelight Fiction

  an imprint of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas

  2333 Barton Oaks Dr., Raleigh, NC 27614

  ISBN: 978-1-64526-188-9

  Copyright © 2019 by Denise Weimer

  Cover design by Elaina Lee

  Interior design by AtriTeX Technologies P Ltd.

  Available in print from your local bookstore, online, or from the publisher at: ShopLPC.com

  For more information on this book and the author, visit:

  https://deniseweimerbooks.webs.com/

  All rights reserved. Non-commercial interests may reproduce portions of this book without the express written permission of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, provided the text does not exceed 500 words. When reproducing text from this book, include the following credit line: “Fall Flip by Denise Weimer published by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. Used by permission.”

  Commercial interests: No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by the United States of America copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are all products of the author’s imagination or are used for fictional purposes. Any mentioned brand names, places, and trademarks remain the property of their respective owners, bear no association with the author or the publisher, and are used for fictional purposes only.

  Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

  Brought to you by the creative team at Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas (ShopLPC.com):

  Eddie Jones, Shonda Savage, Jessica Nelson, Nancy J. Farrier.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Weimer, Denise.

  Fall Flip / Denise Weimer 1st ed.

  Printed in the United States of America

  PRAISE FOR FALL FLIP

  With amazing, realistic dialogue, vivid word pictures, and brilliant storytelling ability, Denise Weimer has the ability to captivate readers and not let go until the end. After I read Fall Flip, this author is now on my must-read list.

  ~Debby Mayne

  author of High Cotton, Fit to Be Tied, and Out of Pocket

  Denise Weimer’s latest will have readers “flipping” pages faster than ever! Fall Flip brings a unique blend of romance and mystery as a former Home Network TV star helps remodel a home, and in the process, gets a few unexpected renovations to her heart. Fall Flip is the perfect novel to cozy up with for a satisfying Autumn read.

  ~Betsy St. Amant Haddox

  author of All’s Fair in Love and Cupcakes, Love Arrives in Pieces, and To Have and To Hold

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Any story begins as a seed of an idea in the author’s mind. I’m thankful to God the Creator for that idea and its development into a story that strives to communicate love and truth.

  The sacrifices of our families enable us authors to transfer that idea into a manuscript. I’m thankful to my parents, husband, and two daughters for their ongoing support.

  That manuscript is then beta read by members of an author’s launch team. I’m thankful to the behind-the-scenes ladies who volunteer their time as readers and social media influencers.

  The author’s agent shops the manuscript to publishing houses. I’m thankful to Linda S. Glaz of Hartline Literary for all she has taught me and accomplished on my behalf.

  Finally, the right managing editor offers the manuscript a publishing home. Thank you, Jessica Nelson, for inviting Fall Flip to join Candlelight.

  A general editor then labors alongside the author to polish the story for publication. Nancy Farrier, thank you for applying your amazing editorial expertise. And to all the proofreaders, interior design team, and cover artist. The staff of Lighthouse Publishing couldn’t be more inspirational and professional.

  Reader, thank you for investing your time in this story. All reviews are deeply appreciated, and I would love to connect with you on social media. I hope you enjoy Fall Flip.

  CONTENTS

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  A Gift for You

  Thank you for investing in this book. As a thank you, LPC Books would love to offer you advance review Kindle copies of our forthcoming books. These Kindle ebooks will be delivered to your Kindle reader. We release around 40 books a year. You pick which ones you wish to receive. Visit the link below to sign up for our FREE Kindle ebook subscriber list:

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  Chapter One

  The moment Scott Matthews strolled into the overgrown back yard of the Wentworth bungalow, life changed. If only he’d whistled a tune, or if the rusted metal gate creaked, he might not have startled the blonde woman sitting with her knees drawn to her chest on the stucco stoop. Her head snapped up. She shot to her feet, fumbling in a large, expensive-looking purse, and pulled out—

  “Whoa!” Scott held up a hand, bracing for pepper spray.

  Shelby Dodson clutched a cell phone. “Who—who are you?”

  Everyone recognized the local queen of television’s Home Network, but—big surprise—she didn’t remember him. “Nobody dangerous, I promise.” As Shelby’s index finger jabbed toward the screen, Scott added, “Please don’t dial 911.”

  Judging from the rapid shouldering of her purse as she backed away, she remained unconvinced. “Why are you here?”

  Scott hooked a thumb over his leather satchel in a purposeful, nonchalant gesture. “I’m looking over the house for my clients.”

  “There are no sale signs. The house is off the market.”

  She thought he was a real estate agent? Well, appearances could be deceiving. He eyed her bright, sleeveless shirt, shorts, and flat sandals. If he didn’t know the woman before him to be a respected interior designer, he’d think her a sorority girl. “Right. My clients are the couple who bought it.”

  “I’m not sure I believe you, seeing as how I’m involved in plans to renovate this place. I’m Shelby Dodson.”

  Scott’s pride rankled at the entitled way she announced her name. “I know.” The answer popped out in a tone much more sarcastic than he intended.

  “Then who are your clients?” Raising her chin, she took a swipe at one wide blue eye, smearing mascara, and Scott’s heart stuttered.

  She’d been crying? All the bravado left him.

  The Wentworths told him they’d found this 1920s bungalow—paint faded to a horrible mauve-burgundy with peeling white trim—in Augusta’s Summerville district because of Chet and Shelby Dodson. Had tragedy not altered the plan, the house would have been the next featured flip on “Dodson’s Do-Overs.” At first, he’d feared the older couple lured Shelby back onto the job. But simple nostalgia probably drew her here, and he’d barged in at a sensitive moment.

  Shelby tapped her toe. “What? Cat got your tongue?”

  How could he tell
her he kept silent because he felt sorry for her, not because he wanted to somehow trick her?

  At that second, the phone in her hand rang. Her eyebrows flew up. “Aha! Your client is calling me back. We’ll get this straightened out right now.” A look of satisfaction settled over her flawless features. As Shelby swiped a long layer of golden hair back with a manicured hand, she answered with Southern charm. “Mrs. Wentworth—Ruby. Yes, hello! Thank you for calling me back so fast. … Right, as I said in the message, I could never get you and your husband off my mind. … Yes, I’m still here at the house, but a man showed up saying he’s checking out the property for a client. I did hear correctly that you and Lester closed escrow, didn’t I?”

  Scott slacked a hip. Through the phone, he could hear Ruby Wentworth provide some information, then ask for a description. Shelby’s impersonal gaze scanned him head to toe, making him feel like a scrawny ninth grader again. “Um, blond-brown hair, needs a shave …”

  Scott frowned and rubbed his chin. He thought the slightly scruffy look worked.

  “Green eyes. Medium build and height. About my age, mid-twenties, maybe?”

  “Oh yes, that’s Scott!” Ruby’s perky affirmation carried from Shelby’s cell phone. “Our new general contractor.”

  “Your new … contractor?”

  Scott raised his eyebrows at the dismay in Shelby’s voice.

  After a moment of Ruby talking, Shelby looked at him again. “She wants me to put her on speakerphone.” Shelby gestured to the stoop behind them. He edged closer, and they sank onto the steps. She laid the cell phone between them and pressed a button.

  “Hi, Scott,” Ruby said.

  “Hello, Mrs. Wentworth.”

  “Ruby. It’s Ruby, dear. Listen, I knew you were going over there today, so when I missed Shelby’s call, I phoned her back as fast as I could. You know, some people would call this serendipity, but I call it God. It’s positively providential that you both ended up at the bungalow. Shelby, when I got your message that you wanted to renew your offer to act as our designer, I did a happy dance.”

  Scott stiffened. No. Oh no. He absolutely couldn’t work with Shelby Dodson.

  Ruby’s sing-song voice floated from the phone. “Lester and I hired Scott to oversee the physical renovations, but I have to admit, I wasn’t looking forward to trying to design and decorate the place myself. Frankly, I could never have your special touch, my dear.”

  “Thank you.”

  So sweet … now.

  “I’ve talked to Lester, and we don’t see why you two can’t work together.”

  Scott looked into the blue eyes that had looked right through him a decade before. He swallowed.

  Shelby voiced what he could not. “Who would act as project manager?” “Well, I understand that was your role, to make sure everything conforms to the overall design plan. We showed Scott your original renovation plan. We’re proceeding with most of it, although there have been a few changes. And there will also be changes to the budget now, but how about if both of you come to our final walk-through tomorrow and discuss it then?”

  Everything had just rocketed from simple to massively complicated. If Ruby Wentworth could witness the trepidation he and Shelby eyed each other with, her voice wouldn’t sound so cheerily confident. In the beat of silence, their gazes asked questions, measured, assessed. Scott had already promised his crew this job right up to the Christmas season. Unlike him, they had families to feed.

  “No film crews, right?” Scott asked Shelby.

  She shook her head. “The crews are gone. Home Network didn’t want to continue the show after … after we lost Chet. It was his big personality that drew the audience.”

  “I see.” Scott looked away, partly to diffuse the sensitive moment, but partly to avoid revealing the very thing audiences liked had been the main reason he’d never watched “Dodson’s Do-Overs.”

  A sparkle of moisture appeared in Shelby’s eyes. “This is a private investment I want to make in Lester’s fiftieth wedding anniversary present for Ruby.”

  Scott nodded. He respected the reason for Shelby’s commitment because he respected the Wentworths. “Okay.”

  At the gesture of conciliation, Shelby said into the phone, “What time, Ruby?”

  “Nine a.m.”

  “Thank you, Ruby, for this second chance.”

  It was the thickness in Shelby’s voice that made Scott remain silent as she hung up. That and the fact that an adolescent awkwardness swamped him.

  Shelby extended her hand. “Looks like we’ll be working together. I’m sorry, I thought you were an agent.”

  He gave a faint smile. “Yeah.”

  Shelby’s brows drew together. “I guess this does save me interviewing a bunch of contractors. You are licensed and insured, right?”

  Scott nodded. “My liability and worker’s comp are up to date. Would you like to see a copy?” He attempted to infuse a teasing note into the question. Didn’t she realize she came across as condescending?

  She sat up straighter and draped a hand across her folded legs. Long, tan legs. “Actually, yes. And could you bring a copy of the contract you signed with the Wentworths tomorrow for my file?”

  Scott rose, then offered Shelby a hand. His mama taught him to treat women like ladies even when they didn’t deserve it, but he couldn’t quite avoid a deadpan tone when he said, “Sure. See you tomorrow.” He started to turn away.

  She let out a little gust of air. “Uh—wait. Aren’t you going into the house?”

  “No.”

  “Then what were you here for?”

  Scott nodded across the knee-high grass to a white-washed storage shed squatting among thick-leaved hydrangea bushes. “Going to see if that’s salvageable.”

  “Salvageable for what?”

  “An outdoor dining spot.”

  Shelby raised her chin. “My plan calls for a pergola beside the stoop here with access from French doors off the master bedroom. And the white blooms of these paniculata hydrangeas would be better appreciated in the front.”

  “We’ll see what Ruby thinks.”

  “She loved the pergola idea.”

  Scott furrowed his brow, preferring to avoid a full-blown argument before they even met with the Wentworths. Scott had seen Shelby on her show once or twice, probably at his parents’ house since they liked to watch it. While the episodes framed Chet as being in charge, Scott began to suspect Chet had given Shelby free rein in her design sphere. She clearly wasn’t accustomed to being challenged. “Well, a lot can change in a year.”

  Shelby’s mouth thinned. “Yeah. It can.”

  Realization that the prior year had decimated Shelby’s life hit Scott with instant regret. “I’m sorry, Shelby.” He tried to touch her arm, but she jerked away, swatting at a mosquito.

  “Never mind.” She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. “We should exchange numbers before I go.”

  Scott wasn’t sure that would last past tomorrow, but after his blunder, he wasn’t about to offend her again. He grunted in agreement.

  Shelby caught his gaze. “What did you say your last name was?”

  “I didn’t. It’s Matthews.” He turned to look at her so he could witness the exact moment that Shelby Dodson reverted to Shelby Holloway … and recalled his identity. Yep. There it was. The mouth falling open.

  “Wait. Scott Matthews, from Richmond County High?”

  “The same.”

  Yes. The same guy who cowered behind her in high school algebra, too afraid to speak to the perfect girl who balanced running track, cheerleading, and As in AP classes. And now he got to fill the shoes of Shelby’s brawny, outgoing, TV-star husband on her next house flip.

  Chapter Two

  Shelby didn’t know why she felt like she should apologize again for not remembering Scott. They’d hardly known each other in school. He’d been so quiet she’d probably not have recalled her sandy-haired, scrawny classmate at all except for his frequent tardiness in
algebra, as it possessed the unfortunate distinction of following shop class. She could still hear the other boys goading Scott—“Forgot to blow off the sawdust, shop boy.” She remembered glaring at them, but back then, coupling the As her dad had expected with the athletics that guaranteed social acceptance had absorbed all her energy.

  Shelby spoke over her shoulder as Scott followed her to the side of the house. “Wow. What are the chances we’d meet up again? Can’t say I’m surprised that you became a contractor.”

  “Yep.”

  “And you live close by?”

  “Near downtown.”

  “Your family doesn’t mind urban living?”

  He glanced at her. “I’m not married.”

  “Oh, okay.” As Scott held the gate for her, Shelby studied the man. “You’re still not a big talker, are you?” Granted, she had to admit quiet masculinity hung on his lanky frame a lot better than adolescent insecurity.

  Hazel eyes, flecked gold in the sun, met hers a moment before something made her step through quickly. “My dad taught me you only talk if you’ve got something important to say.”

  Shelby widened her eyes. “Duly noted.” As he smiled and latched the gate, she entered the rest of his number in her phone. “I’m sending you a text.”

  “Thanks.” After checking his cell, he shoved it in his pocket. “What about you? Live close by?”

  “Yes, in the four-square over on Meigs. Right after I moved in, Chet renovated the house as his first televised project. That was how we met. After we got married, it was our home. We wanted to move out to West Lake, but we stayed so busy that being in town was more convenient.”

  Scott nodded. “You can’t top a house on ‘The Hill’ as an investment. And it’s probably best now …”

  Now that she was all alone? “Yeah.”

  Scott cleared his throat. “What about your parents? They still on Carpenter Street?”

  Shelby tugged oversized sunglasses out of her purse and slid them on. She’d never quite gotten used to strangers feeling like they knew her from a TV show, but now she wished Scott knew a little more so she wouldn’t have to answer his politely intended but painful questions.