Newport Harbor House

by Cindy Caldwell

  “Oh, I suppose not,” Faith said as she reached for a muffin and slathered butter on it. She groaned with pleasure, her eyes closed.

  “Man, your grandmother’s muffin recipe is memorable. I’m going to have to walk ten times more if you’re going to make these all the time.”

  “Uh-huh,” Jen said, distracted by the stack of postcards.

  “So, where do we start?” Faith asked.

  Jen plopped on the sofa, giving Daisy a pat on the head when she ran in the door and rested her head on Jen’s knee.

  “I guess I have to actually talk to my dad or Greg. I don’t have that kind of money to spare.”

  Faith poured another cup of coffee and handed it to Jen, then leaned against the sofa.

  “Haven’t you guys been sharing expenses? You and your dad and Greg?”

  Jen nodded. “Yeah, but these are kind of in a different category. It’s one thing to make new curtains for a bedroom or fix a leaky faucet. This list is pretty long, and I’ll need everybody to agree.”

  Faith filled up Daisy’s water bowl and got a wildly wagging tail as thanks. She patted Daisy before sitting down beside Jen.

  “You can’t avoid them forever,” she said, scooting Jen’s phone toward her. “Just ask. Get it over with. Promise me you’ll do it today while I’m back home setting up my classroom. Consider it a deadline.”

  Jen nodded. “Oh, that’s right, you have to work today. I’ll miss you, but the deadline probably is a good idea since I’ve been avoiding it for all this time. I guess we’ll just see what they have to say.” She glanced at her phone on the counter, and knew she couldn’t put off calling her father much longer.

  Chapter Nine

  Faith put the finishing touches on the bulletin board in her classroom, carefully placing the students’ names down the left side in colorful construction paper. She cleaned up the little pieces that had fallen to the floor and placed the scissors carefully back where they belonged. She looked around the classroom—the one she’d been in for the past ten years—and sighed.

  Leaving behind the familiar scents of paste, finger paint and the basil plant her first grade class had lovingly grown from seeds—after a little extra water until she returned—she turned toward the door. She was ready, but also ready to get back to the beach.

  She slipped the keys to her classroom into her pocket and closed the door behind her. Faith had spent the day getting ready for the student teacher she’d be training—making duplicate lesson plans, getting all the supplies she needed from the workroom. After over twenty years of teaching, she knew the routine.

  A tingle flitted through her as she became more excited about this assignment, although she’d hesitated to take it. Her last summer’s intern had been a little challenging, and by the end of summer school Faith had felt like she’d been put through a wringer. Student teachers, in her experience, were full of enthusiasm and new ideas, and wanted to try out everything they’d learned from books in the classroom setting. And Faith did her best to accommodate them—but she had decades of trial and error under her belt, and she knew what kinds of things worked and definitely knew what wouldn’t.

  Her job for the summer, though, was to sit back, give her student teacher as much room to roam as she could and be there to right the ship when things didn’t work out. That was why she was so excited about this assignment her principal, Amy, had offered her this summer. This particular teacher was assigned to summer school after her first full year, and their principal had asked Faith to supervise her a couple of days a week rather than a full week all summer long. Faith had been thrilled. That meant she could earn some extra money, which she sorely needed—her not-so-friendly divorce had left her on her own—but spend the bulk of each week down at the beach house with Jen and Carrie. It couldn’t have worked out better.

  She peeked into her classroom one last time and nodded, knowing she’d be ready for the first day of class. She had a week off before that started, though, and she intended to make the most of it, with her toes in the sand and a wine glass in her hand, watching the sunset.

  Glancing at her watch, she realized how late she was. Jen was likely pacing the driveway by now. She turned on her heel and bumped right into her principal.

  “Oh, Amy, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you were there.”

  Her principal smiled and nodded toward the classroom.

  “No problem. Everything in order in there, as always?”

  Faith smiled and nodded. “You bet. Ready for summer, Captain.”

  Amy laughed. “Thanks, Faith. I always know I can count on you, and I really appreciate that. Charity is lucky to have you, and I know you can—well, help her.”

  Faith paused and narrowed her eyes at Amy. She’d known Amy for many years and truth be told, Amy had been the best principal she’d ever worked for. And with that, she always knew when Amy was hedging and wasn’t afraid to say so.

  “What is it that you’re not telling me?”

  Amy cleared her throat and took a quick glance at her shoes before she looked up, smiling.

  “Nothing yet. Nothing at all. I’m meeting with her principal next week for lunch and I’ll call you. How’s that? I’m kind of doing this as a favor—you know, taking her on for the summer. I’ll let you know how big a favor it is as soon as I find out, okay? Have a great weekend, and I’ll talk to you soon.”

  Amy waved and flashed her a way-too-bright smile. Faith was confident that Amy would tell her the truth, let her know what she was in for, but with just what she’d heard so far, her tingle of excitement had turned into a sinking feeling in her stomach.

  Her last stint with a student teacher had been an adventure, yes, but the one before that had been even more challenging. By the end of the summer, she’d felt as if all of her ideas were outdated, and that her years of experience really weren’t appreciated. It had been a tough summer, and she’d vowed never to do it again. Reason enough to be thrilled about this summer’s part-time assignment.

  Nearing retirement, though, every penny counted, and she was hoping that if she worked enough summers, even part time, she might be able to retire early. Keeping that in mind, she vowed to just wait and see what Amy had to say next week, and in the meantime, she had a date to keep that involved wine, the ocean and a sunset.

  Chapter Ten

  “Daisy, wait!”

  Jen knew Daisy was anxious to go for her evening walk, but she’d wanted to get dinner ready beforehand. She wanted to do something special since it was Friday, and she settled on barbecued chicken marinated in garlic, olive oil and rosemary with seasoned rice and barbecued zucchini. She’d sprinkled feta cheese over everything when it was done, and it was one of her favorite summer meals.

  She knew Faith and Carrie were happy to help barbecue, so she pulled out the rice steamer, got the rice cooking and the chicken marinating after chopping garlic for the marinade that she knew everybody loved, and was ready to go.

  By that time, Daisy was extra anxious to get down to the water. Without thinking, Jen opened the gate before she’d clipped on the leash and the next thing she knew, she was chasing a speeding border collie down to the water.

  Daisy had fallen in love with splashing in the waves, and there was nothing Jen could do but try to catch up, the leash flying behind her as Faith followed close behind.

  Jen, Faith and Carrie were meeting on the beach for a sunset walk and heading back up to the house afterward for a sunset happy hour on the deck and dinner.

  They finally got a stroke of luck when Daisy spotted Boris, who was pulling Joe along behind him, trying to get to Daisy. When they met, Daisy finally stayed in one place long enough for Jen to clip the leash on her.

  “Whew. Thanks,” Jen said, flashing a grateful smile at Joe. “I don’t think I ever would have caught her. She’d outlast me, for sure.”

  “Sure, no problem.” Joe smiled at the two dogs romping in the water. “We should take them to the dog beach sometime. They could run off the
ir leashes and we could rest and not chase them for a while.”

  Jen laughed and nodded. “That’d be a great idea. She could use the chance to get out some of this energy. She’s killing me.”

  “And me too,” Faith said as she caught up to them. She gulped air as she tried to catch her breath, but smiled at Joe. “Hi, Joe. Nice to see you.”

  Joe nodded with a little bow. “You, too, Faith. How is everything with you?”

  “Great! Off for the summer—well, sort of. Teaching for part of it, but the rest of the time I get to stay here.” She spun in a circle, her arms waving toward the beach.

  “That’s great. You seem as excited as Daisy.”

  “I think I am,” Faith said, waving her arms at Carrie as she came toward them down the beach.

  “Still can’t miss her from a mile away, can you?” Joe asked.

  Jen cocked her head at her friend’s bright yellow shirt and tennis skirt with bright flowers, topped off by her orange visor. “No, you sure can’t,” she replied.

  “Hey, you guys.” Carrie bent down to pet each dog with a broad smile. “It’s nice to be out of the clinic. I could sure use a walk.”

  “Same here.” Jen pulled Daisy back a bit and looked south, then north. “Which way do you guys want to go?”

  “Let’s go north,” Carrie said. “It’s high tide, and we can walk out on the pier, see if any of the surfers are any good. Andrea and her boyfriend are out there. Maybe they got lucky.”

  Jen hadn’t seen Carrie’s long-time assistant yet this year, so they got ready to head north. “Joe, you and Boris want to come along?”

  “What? Uh, no. I have some work I have to do tonight. You guys have a good time.”

  They waved goodbye and headed north as Joe and Boris headed south.

  “Work?” Carrie whispered. “I thought he was just around to help his mom.”

  Jen shrugged her shoulders. “He told me there were some things he had to do around the house and with the business, too. I don’t know. Maybe he just didn’t want to come.”

  “Do they still have the gondola business?” Faith asked. “I remember you said he and Allen worked there every summer through college.”

  “I think so.” Jen couldn’t remember if he’d mentioned it that night he stopped by. It was one of the biggest businesses in the harbor, and it stood to reason that if they still owned it and his dad passed away, there’d be work to do. “We can ask him next time we see him.”

  They headed up the beach, Daisy leading the way.

  “So what did you meet your deadline? What did your dad say?” Faith asked when they’d gotten into a good rhythm.

  Jen sighed and shook her head. “I did call, thanks to you. I might have avoided it even longer, but it wasn’t great. When I told him the estimate for repairs, he just didn’t say a word.”

  “Nothing?” Carrie asked. She’d met the girls for breakfast during the week and knew what Jen was looking at.

  “No. Not a word. He said he needed to talk to Greg. Asked if I wanted to call him myself, which I declined to do. Greg and I don’t do well trying to work anything out anymore.”

  Daisy picked up a stick that was almost as big as her head. The girls laughed when she decided it needed to go with them on the walk.

  Carrie walked fast but steady, her eyes glued to the high tide line. She had quite a shell collection and had specific ones she wanted to add.

  “I did get him to agree to come out for the Fourth of July. Told him we’d have a barbecue, invite all the kids.”

  “All the kids?” Faith asked. “Greg and Sylvia and the kids, you mean?”

  Jen sighed. “Yes, that’s what I told him, anyway, and he bit. Said he hadn’t been down in a while and he had been wanting to visit. So we’ve got two weeks to fix what we can for as little as possible, spruce up the house and make it look like not so big a project. I’ll call Michael and Amber and see if they can come.”

  “I don’t know. They said they were pretty busy this summer, didn’t they?” Carrie bent to pick up a shell and slipped it into the pocket of her tennis skirt.

  “Yeah, but I can try. Faith, why don’t you see if Maggy can come? She’d have fun, and since it’s a three-day weekend, maybe she can get away.” Carrie hopped over the stick that Daisy had decided she no longer wanted as she tugged at the leash, goading them all to go faster.

  Faith’s daughter Maggy worked in San Diego, and while they were close—at least most of the time—Maggy had a pretty big job and couldn’t get away too often. “Oh, right. Yes, she might be able to make it, especially since it’s a holiday. I do know she’s pretty busy at work, but I’ll ask.”

  Jen nodded. “Great. Wish we could get Max to come, too. Maybe for a weekend or something.”

  Faith sighed. “We’ve been trying to fix them up almost since the day they were born. I don’t think this summer’s going to be any different.”

  Maggy and Jen’s son Max had grown up together and spent their summers in Newport as well. Jen and Faith had always harbored a not-so-secret hope that the two would end up together, but it never had worked out.

  Faith sighed. “I guess you’re right. Hope springs eternal, though. At least we’ll all be here. I think we will, anyway.” She raised her eyebrows at Carrie.

  “You needn’t worry. I can come,” Carrie said with a laugh. “Mom asked me to help her with a fundraiser, but that’s not until Labor Day. And I still haven’t decided if I’m going to do it.”

  Faith and Jen stopped dead in their tracks, and it took Carrie a second or two to realize she was walking alone as she was staring at the sand.

  “What?”

  Jen and Faith both blinked slowly in her direction. “You’re actually considering saying yes?” Jen finally asked.

  Carrie tipped back her visor. “Well, I don’t know. She said it was just to be in charge of donations. I figured maybe you guys could help gathering things from people, local businesses. We pretty much know everybody anyway. And it’s for a good cause.”

  “Which one? Hospital? Yacht club? Museum?” Jen asked with a wink. Carrie’s mother had her hand in just about everything.

  “Well, this one is at the yacht club, I think. Right after Labor Day, but for the children’s wing of the hospital. You know I’m a sucker for kids.”

  “Hm,” Jen said. She did know that Carrie would do whatever she could for kids.

  “I’m in,” Faith said. “I’ll be here most of the time, so I can help on my days off.”

  “Well, maybe I’ll say yes, then. Do something to help the kids and make some points with my mom. Goodness knows I could use some.”

  “Good idea. We could all use some points in our favor about now, I think.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “Who’s that guy in the yard?”

  Jen had had her eye on Daisy as they walked up the beach to the house and hadn’t noticed the tall, blond man standing on the deck knocking on the front door. As they got closer, she noticed a clipboard in his hand and some postcards in his pocket.

  “I’ll go around back and open the door,” Faith whispered.

  Jen nodded as they all slipped in the gate. She held out her hand to the man and he smiled broadly. His eyes crinkled, and she thought he looked vaguely familiar. The slight gray around his temples was intriguing, but she wanted to keep her distance.

  “Hi. Which one of you is Jen Watson?” he asked with a nod at both Jen and Carrie.

  “I am.”

  “Oh, good to meet you. I’m Dirk, Dirk Crabtree.”

  At the same time Faith opened the door, Carrie burst into a coughing fit, holding onto the post of the awning to steady herself.

  “Are you all right?” Faith asked Carrie, who nodded slowly, her eyes wide.

  “I’m Jen, and these are my friends Faith Donovan and—”

  Carrie seemed to have suddenly caught her breath as she cut in. “Betty. Betty White. Nice to meet you.”

  Dirk cocked his head as he shook the
ir hands with a quizzical look at Carrie. “Uh, Betty White. Okay, well, nice to meet you all.”

  Jen suddenly placed him as the realtor on one of the postcards they’d looked at before.

  “So who contacted you? You’re a realtor, right?”

  “Why yes, yes I am.” He seemed flattered that she recognized him, but Jen knew he was just doing his job. “Greg—your brother, I believe—asked if I could come and take a look at the house. Run some comps. Give him—and the family—an idea of a realistic sales price for the house.”

  Jen felt all eyes on her as she sat slowly on one of the deck chairs. “Oh, okay,” was all she could eke out.

  “Great,” Dirk said, scribbling something on his clipboard. Daisy hopped up the steps after her roll on the grass and promptly shook, spraying water and sand everywhere.

  Carrie held her hand over her mouth as Dirk wiped the sand and water from his very expensive pants. When he finished, he found his smile and looked from the dog to Jen.

  “Shall we?” he asked.

  “Um, Faith, could you—”

  “Of course,” Faith responded with a compassionate glance at Jen. “Right this way, Mr. Crabtree.”

  As the screen door swung shut, Jen dropped her head in her hands. “Greg didn’t say anything about this. Nothing at all.”

  Carrie sat down beside Jen, wrapping an arm over her shoulder. “I’m sure he just wants to see. Just get an estimate. Prices are sky high around here. He probably just wants to know what he’s dealing with.”

  Jen glanced in the window behind her, where Faith was giving the realtor a tour. “I know. It just—it just feels wrong. He shouldn’t even be in there. Feels like we’re being invaded.”

  Carrie stood and peeked in the window as well. “I know. I’d feel the same. But maybe it’ll be bad news. Who knows? It could be in such bad shape that you can’t get much for it. That’ll change the game, don’t you think?”

  Jen looked next door at the curtain twitching. She reminded herself to take over some of Nana’s muffins to Mrs. Grover. Maybe that would stop the twitching. But for now, she couldn’t worry about it.