Now she really did feel guilty. There was no judgment in his eyes. Only compassion for the family. “Sorry. I’m a bit defensive. This has put me in a bad position, but I still don’t like seeing a woman as nice as Maria going through something like this.”

“It’s a sad situation,” he said.

“Do you have any idea why her husband left?”

“I’d be the last one to try to understand what goes on between a husband and wife behind closed doors. And I’m not one for gossiping. They call that the ‘coconut wireless’ around here.” He smiled lightly. “I leave that to others who are better at it than me.”

“Oh, I wasn’t asking for gossip,” Quinn said. “I just wish there was some way I could help Maria.”

“You’re doing that now,” he replied. “Most mainlanders would’ve kicked her out the day they got here to claim their property. You’re giving her some time to figure out what to do. The whole family is talking it over, though resources are scarce for everyone.”

They let the silence fall around them for a moment.

He looked up, his expression changing. “Oh, I also wanted to tell you that Maria showed me some old hurricane shutters in the attic. She said she’d forgotten about them. I think they’ll look nice cleaned up.”

Quinn felt a rush of excitement. Hurricane shutters would really help move the house more toward the beach-cottage look she was envisioning.

“I’d like that,” she said.

“Good. Maria was hoping you’d say that. She’s wanted them back up for years. It’ll be easy. We just have to clean them, then sand them down and paint them a soft shade of white. With a little work, they’ll be good to go.”

“Thanks.” Quinn could see the list getting longer and the money adding up. She hoped he wouldn’t charge too much for adding the shutters on. She still had a healthy balance from the inheritance, but beyond what she’d allotted for remodeling issues, she considered the balance her nest egg, or her just-in-case money. Just in case of what, she wasn’t sure yet.

“No problem,” he said. “Want to talk story?”

“Talk story?”

He laughed. “Sorry, I forgot you’re new here. Talking story just means we share something about ourselves. Our family. Our life.”

She felt herself tense. That was an abrupt turn. Too abrupt, actually.

“It’s complicated.” She fidgeted with her toes against the leg of the table.

He shrugged. “I get it. You’re guarding your privacy, and that’s good. If you want to talk, though, I’m all ears.” He pulled his ears forward like a monkey, and Quinn laughed.