“Not at all,” she lied, gently extracting her arm from his grasp. “It just surprised me.” What else was living behind the old crates and concrete blocks in this building? There was no sign of people having used it as a place to sleep or squat. No cigarette wrappers or beer bottles. Nothing like that. Whatever was giving her the chills in the warehouse, it wasn’t human.

“I’ll have Benny, the custodian from my office, come sweep this out for you,” Mayor Sykes said. He was standing very close to her. Although they weren’t touching, she could feel the nearness of him, the heat of his body. She took a step away as if examining the grimy windows.

“Perhaps I can wash the windows,” she offered, “if I can get a ladder.”

“Oh, Benny’ll take care of that.”

“That would be wonderful,” she said. She couldn’t look this gift horse in the mouth. She knew the space could be made workable, as long as she could get over her discomfort about it. “Please have him—Benny—leave the tables and chairs,” she said. “And I’ll also need a stepladder. Where can I buy one?”

“Benny’ll have to bring one for washing the windows,” Mayor Sykes said, “and I’ll just tell him to leave it.”

They walked to the far end of the warehouse where they discovered a toilet and small sink tucked into an alcove. The mayor turned the squeaky faucet and brown water sputtered, then streamed into the sink and gradually turned clear. “Well, what do you know?” he said. “Water hasn’t been turned off. You’re in luck. Now we just need to get your electric back on and you’re in business.”

“Wonderful,” she said, forcing the word past the unease in her throat. She was beginning to see the good points in the space. The shorter wall nearest the entrance was a blank slate. No door. No window. She ran her hand over the wall; it was smooth and made of wood. “This will be the perfect place to hang the stretched canvas,” she said, more to herself than to Mr. Sykes.

“I would think so,” he agreed.

She looked over at him. “You’re very kind, thank you.” She smiled at him, but found she couldn’t hold his gaze for long. “I’m going to need some help,” she said, turning toward the blank wall again. “Perhaps I could hire some high school students to work with me after school?”

“Want me to speak to the art teacher at Edenton High for you?”

“That would be wonderful.” She was beginning to feel better about this man. He was so accommodating and generous. “Thank you for being so helpful,” she said.