Page 2 of H & G Restorations

Chapter

Two

“ W ell, you didn’t run away so I’m going to consider that a win.”

Magnus greeted them with a broad smile that just might have made her heart skip a beat. Gretel watched him signal the waitress that his party was here and marveled at his manners.

She’d done some research on Magnus on their way over, reading tidbits out loud to Hans as he drove.

The commanding man didn’t come from old money but had done a stint in the military’s special forces before leaving to start his own tech support company.

He’d carved out a niche for himself in the corporate world and appeared to be well-liked.

The pictures she’d found of him at charity events were intriguing.

His companions had featured beautiful females and males of no observable type.

She didn’t know if he was gay, straight, or bisexual.

Claiming a spot between them, Magnus ushered both her and Hans forward into the cozy tearoom with a guiding hand on their lower backs.

The heat of his touch radiated through her clothing, and she had to steel herself to not react.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured to her, lifting his hand when he felt her stiffen. “Forgive my clumsy attempt to be chivalrous. I think sometimes I was born in the wrong century.”

“Oh, no. No apologies needed,” she rushed to assure him, seeing Hans look at her in concern. “I was here with my grandmother when I was eight. She was a very big proponent of standing up straight. I almost heard her voice as we stepped into the parlor.”

“Ah, grandmothers. They teach us so much. This place does make you feel like you should be on your best manners,” Magnus agreed and pulled a chair out for Gretel before surprisingly repeating the action for Hans. Only then did he take his own seat.

The waitress flirted with the two men as she explained how high tea would be served. To Gretel’s delight, Magnus was polite and nothing else. When the server departed to gather their drinks, sandwiches, and cakes, he leaned forward to ask, “So, what did you think?”

“There’s a lot of work there, sir,” Hans shared, pulling out his tablet to show Magnus some of their concerns.

“Call me Magnus for now, please. Talk me through it and then we’ll look at pictures.”

Gretel ruminated on the strange wording. What else would they call him? Forcing herself to concentrate, she added, “There are also treasures that are amazing finds. The stove in the kitchen, the large walnut stairway, and the perfectly preserved stained-glass window in the master bathroom.”

“The plumbing and wiring need to be replaced completely. That would allow you to use all the latest technology advances you may wish,” Hans pointed out.

“We would recommend you pull up the flooring to prevent crashing through again. The subfloor looks good, but we always warn people that we won’t know what we’ll find as we start the restoration process. ”

“This will be my first and only home restoration but I’m going into it having been warned by the realtor, my friends, and a cackle of delight from my worst enemy,” Magnus shared with a laugh as the server returned with a beautiful display of treats and steaming hot tea.

When she departed, Gretel asked, “Is this house special to you in some way?”

“This is going to sound crazy, but I decided to take myself on an Australian walkabout in my car while not even in that beautiful country. I ended up here and drove past that house. Ignoring the no trespassing signs, I hopped the fence and looked around.” Magnus paused to pour himself a cup of tea after carefully serving his guests.

After enjoying a few sips, he continued, “Did you know there is a creek that runs behind the house with a deep enough section to cool off on a hot day?”

“How did you know it was deep enough?” Hans asked with a perplexed expression.

“I jumped in. There was a rather large trout in there that wasn’t pleased,” Magnus confessed. “I promised him I’d make it up to him. So I bought the house.”

“You promised a fish and bought a house?” Gretel repeated.

“I did. But only because I fell in love with it. The house, that is. Not the fish,” he rushed to assure them before laughing at his own words.

She found herself unable to resist his charm. Laughing, she met Hans’s gaze and knew he felt the same. Thank goodness Magnus had passed through.

“What were the weirdest things you found?” Magnus asked.

“Other than super gigantic spiders, most of the rooms were as expected. Small rooms designed to be easier to warm in the winter. This made us both rather curious. Let me show you this one,” Hans insisted, swiping through the photos on his tablet.

“Here,” he said, handing the device to Magnus.

The large man stared and widened the view to see a bit better. “That looks like a cage.”

“Exactly. We’re guessing for the family pet? It’s a neat, old structure and fairly large. It would be fun to equip with a something unique like a wine rack.”

“Like my own private stash. That’s fun. There might be some other uses for that. Let’s not trash that for now.”

“You got it,” Hans assured him, noting that Magnus was already talking like they had the job. A nudge from Gretel’s foot told him she had perceived the same idea.

Gretel picked up the conversation to assure Magnus, “We’ll find more unique treasures. These old houses are always full of secrets. Did you know there was a hidden room off the master bedroom? Hans found it when he moved several exposed wires from the lights. A wall opened.”

“A concealed space?” Magnus asked, leaning forward. “What was inside?”

“The passage was jammed. We’ll have to work on the mechanism to get it to work. There was something inside that looked like a large crib. It might have just been the angle that made it look bigger than an average crib,” Gretel warned, trying to keep her voice even.

“Maybe,” Magnus looked intrigued. “It appears that this house called to me for a reason. Let’s enjoy this feast in front of us. I didn’t know high tea featured such an array of treats.”

He picked up the tongs and passed them to Gretel. “Ladies first. Would you clue Hans and me in on what these are?”

“Remember, I was a kid when I did this last. I’d suggest everyone take one of everything and then go back for seconds.

” She quickly followed her own advice before offering the tongs to her host. When Magnus waved them to Hans, her partner quickly helped himself, following her pattern as Gretel poured more tea for everyone.

The table was quiet for a few seconds as everyone tasted the goodies. Magnus popped a cucumber sandwich into his mouth and groaned his delight. “How can they make something as unexciting as a cucumber into this treat?”

“I remember thinking that as a kid. Who came up with this idea? I’ll admit I’ve tried to make them and my cucumber sandwiches never taste like this,” Gretel shared.

“It’s probably the complete experience all together—the pretty silver trays, the tea, the special touches. It all combines to make everything taste incredible,” Hans suggested.

“And the company,” Magnus added, toasting them with his delicate teacup.

It should have looked ridiculous in his hand, but instead, it made Gretel smile. She’d always wanted to have a tea party as an adult with Hans. Having Magnus there made it even more special. She crossed her fingers under the table, hoping with every fiber of her being that they’d get this bid.

The conversation flowed easily around the table. By the time the dessert tray appeared, Gretel felt like they were all comfortable with each other. Clearing her throat, she asked, “Where are you going to stay while your house is being renovated?”

“I’d hoped you could give me some suggestions. I can work anywhere as long as I have high-speed internet. Are there houses to rent around town?”

“I’m sure there are. I can give you the name of a local contact who might have some locations to share,” Hans answered.

Magnus smiled and nodded. “I’ll take you up on that. For the time being, I’m here at the Kingston. How long do you expect it to take for you to create an estimate?”

“We’ll get it to you this week. I’ll give you a hopeful estimate and a dire consequences estimate.

It will probably be somewhere in the middle.

The subfloor might be bad upstairs or the gingerbread decorations on the gables might be totally rotted.

There are a lot of unknowns when renovating an older house.

I will give you our promise that we’ll discuss any overages with you as we go so there aren’t any unpleasant surprises at the end.

We will need a deposit to reserve our time and partial payments at various times during the build.

I’ll detail all that for you,” Hans stated.

“Sounds good. Build into your estimate that you check with me if the cost is more than a thousand dollars over the estimate. I don’t need to know that you’re ten dollars over on light switches,” Magnus instructed.

Gretel kept herself from wiggling happily in her chair. He was going to be reasonable. Some jobs were a constant struggle to get approval for overages for even the smallest items. Waiting a week to spend three bucks more for screws could slow everything down to a crawl.

“That would be great. We’ll give you an update on any overages on a monthly basis so you’ll have that as we work. If at any time you wish to discuss the accounting, we’ll set up an appointment to go over all the numbers,” Hans promised.

“I’ll just ask you this bluntly. I want someone to take on this project because they love the house and want to see it shine once again. Is this just a job for you two or is this your passion?” Magnus asked, deliberately meeting both Hans and Gretel’s gazes.

“We love this house. It’s an honor to be selected to restore it,” Gretel answered enthusiastically. Hans echoed her sentiments.

“Then, it’s done. Get me a reasonable estimate that gives me the house I want and gives you a profit that allows your business to continue. I want this to be a win-win situation,” Magnus warned them with a grave look.

“Thank you, sir. We appreciate you thinking of us as well. That’s a novelty in today’s business,” Hans answered.

“I’ll give you a copy of the floor plans I found online when I bought the house and the ideas for renovations I had created from them by an architect friend of mine. That will help you in the estimate process, I would think?” Magnus proposed.

“Definitely. The original plans were first on my list for tomorrow,” Gretel shared.

“Great minds and all that,” Magnus said with a smile that made her toes curl up in delight. “Now, let’s put all that business behind us. Let’s finish our goodies and tea as you tell me about yourselves.”