He wandered off as Lisa put the dishes in the dishwasher and added more of the Josh Cabernet to their glasses.
“Strange about that woman’s husband, isn’t it?” Paige said as she lifted her glass to take a sip.
“It is. I thought it was odd when he didn’t show up the first night, but the entire weekend is even stranger. I hope wherever he is, that he’s okay.”
“Maybe he never even made it to Nantucket? I haven’t heard anything in the news. It’s been a quiet weekend here.”
“Speaking of quiet, how’s your new neighbor?” The one woman on Nantucket that neither of them could stand, Violet Jones had moved into the house right next to Paige. Violet was…interesting. She fancied herself irresistible or something as she was always dressed to the nines in outfits designed for men to look twice—a bit too tight or too low cut, but not quite over the line to trashy. She was attractive, but there was a bitchiness about Violet at times that was hard to swallow.
She seemed to like men much more than women and regarded all women as competition. She’d been a nuisance when Lisa was trying to get her bed-and-breakfast approved by the town selectman. Violet had been one of several that had protested and managed to have the inn’s approval delayed. So, Lisa didn’t have any warm feelings toward the woman. Especially when after all the protesting, she moved out of Lisa’s neighborhood and into Paige’s. Paige had been horrified when she saw Violet walking into the house next door.
“She’s a menace,” Paige growled. “She plays her music so loud that I can sometimes hear it with my door closed, and she keeps the oddest hours.”
“What do you mean?”
“She must be a night owl. She’s up until all hours of the night and people often come to visit her at ten or eleven or even later. It’s really the strangest thing.”
“Hmmm, that is odd.”
“Well, yeah. Especially as it’s always men. Men visiting late night is odd.”
“She doesn’t seem to have many women friends,” Lisa observed.
Paige laughed. “Well, she has plenty of men friends. If I didn’t know better…”
Lisa leaned forward, intrigued. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I’m sure it’s not what I’m thinking, but late night visits from multiple men does make you wonder.”
Lisa’s jaw dropped. “You’re not suggesting….”
Paige nodded. “I know it seems far-fetched, but if you saw the daily stream of men, you’d wonder too.”
“Is it always different people?”
“I’m not sure. I haven’t watched that closely to be honest. I have noticed that some of the cars parked in her yard look familiar though as in I’ve seen them there more than once.”
“Maybe she’s just dating around? Keeping her options open,” Lisa wondered.
“Hmmm, maybe. It probably is something like that.”
“So, how are you doing? Are you over John?”
Paige laughed. “I am so over John. He was fun, but I think I knew it wasn’t going to be anything long term. At my age, I’m fine with that. Especially now that I’m going through menopause. It’s the strangest thing.”
Lisa agreed fully. She took a sip of wine and set her glass down. “I’m still getting hot flashes, but they’re not as bad as they were six months ago. Are they bad for you?”
“Not too bad. For me it’s been more mental, the realization that a part of my life is over and that having kids is no longer an option. It feels like a loss, even though I’d sort of made peace with that years ago. It just never happened for me.”
“I thought you didn’t want kids?” Lisa asked gently. Paige had always been so independent and seemed to love her freedom.
“I don’t want them now, but growing up, I assumed I’d have them. I had this vision of being married with four kids by age thirty-five.” She took a sip of wine and smiled wryly. “I was way off on that. It’s fine though. My brother and sister both had kids and being an aunt is pretty amazing. You get to spoil them rotten, get your kid fix and then go home.”
“That’s very true,” Lisa agreed. But she felt for Paige. Lisa loved having her four children and when her husband had died, her kids had been there to support her. And they were all good people, whose company she enjoyed very much. She couldn’t imagine not having them around. And it was why she’d decided to turn her house into a bed-and-breakfast—so she could afford to stay on Nantucket and be near her children and closest friends.
“Speaking of children, Kate and Kristen saw Chase at that charity event the other night.”
Paige raised her eyebrows. “Chase? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him dressed up. That doesn’t seem like his kind of thing.”
Lisa laughed. “It’s not. But the rumor seems to be true. He is dating Lauren Snyder.”
“Really? I see her for sale signs all over the place. For someone so young, she seems to be doing well.”
“Hmmm. She does seem to be focused. Though I have to confess, it makes me a little uneasy that she’s turned her attention to Chase. She’s not his type.”
“And you don’t want to see him hurt.”
Lisa nodded. “I know there’s not a thing I can do about it, but I just don’t have a good feeling about it. Hopefully I’m wrong.”
Beth Anderson was humming along to the radio as she sat at her desk typing on the computer. Chase smiled at the sight of her. She looked cute with her light red hair in a ponytail and a sprinkling of freckles across her upturned nose. He knew she hated being called cute—though at barely five feet tall, Beth was resigned to it. She looked up and smiled when Chase stepped into the office. He’d been out on a job all day and had about an hour of paperwork to do, new bids mostly, before he could call it quits for the day.
Not for the first time, he was grateful that she was there. He’d be lost without Beth. She was always in a good mood and it was contagious being around her. She was one of his younger sister, Abby’s, best friends and had worked for him for several years, when his business expanded to the point where he needed help full-time. Beth took all incoming calls, handled all invoicing and accounting for clients and basically ran his business as his office manager.
“Long day?” She asked as he picked up a stack of mail and couldn’t stifle a yawn.
“Busy. Good though.” There was no shortage of work, plenty of people looking to build new homes or renovate existing ones. “How was your day?” he asked before stepping into his office.
“Oh, it was good. It sounds like you’re going to get the Green job. Ed Green called earlier and had tons of questions. He seemed to like my answers. I told him to call you directly if he had anything else, but he said he thought he was all set and would be in touch soon with a decision.”
“That’s great!” Chase was impressed. Beth had learned so much about his business that she was able to handle almost any question that came her way. Her smile turned to a frown though as she answered the phone and turned to him to say, “Lauren’s on line one. I just put her through to your office.”
“Thanks.” Chase felt the same little thrill of excitement every time Lauren called. It was obvious that Beth wasn’t as keen on her, but Chase quickly forgot about that as he went into his office and shut the door behind him. He glanced at his cellphone, wondering why she hadn’t called it, and saw that his ringer was off and there was a missed call from her. The red light on his desk phone was blinking, and he quickly picked up the call.
“Hey, what are you up to?” He imagined that Lauren had been running around all day, showing houses and maybe even selling one. She was a real go-getter, and he was proud of her and how well she was doing.
“I’m making dinner and hoping that you haven’t eaten yet and might want to join me. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
He was intrigued, wondering what she wanted to talk to him about and also by the fact that she was making dinner. He didn’t know she could cook.
“Well, that’s an offer I can’t
refuse. What time do you want me to come by?”
“How about two hours from now?”
“Perfect, I’ve got about an hour of paperwork and then I’ll go home, jump in the shower and head over.”
He hung up and whistled to himself as he opened his email and reviewed the first of several new bids he was going to be sending out. He mostly worked by referral these days and both of these new projects were from friends of people he’d built homes for. He was just finishing up when there was a soft knock on the door. He waved at Beth to come in and she opened the door a crack.
“I just wanted to say goodnight. I’m heading out.”
He stared at her for a minute trying to figure out what was different and then he realized she’d taken her ponytail down. Her hair fell in a wild tangle of curls just past her shoulders. Her lips looked pinker than usual too.
“You look nice. Are you heading out somewhere?”
Beth’s cheeks flushed at the unexpected compliment. She nodded. “I’m meeting a few girlfriends for after-work drinks and tacos at Millie’s.”
Millie’s was one of Chase’s favorite places. It was off the beaten track out by the beach and was hugely popular with the locals. The food was California style Mexican, light and fresh and the service was really fast.
“That sounds good. I love Millie’s. Lauren is having me over for dinner, said she’s cooking something.”
Beth laughed. “You don’t sound all that enthused. I’m sure it will be great.”
“You’re right, I’m sure it will be. See you tomorrow.”
Chase headed home soon after Beth left. He lived in a small studio apartment over the garage of his best friend Jim’s house. It was the perfect situation. Jim was happily married to his high school sweetheart and Chase had his own space and the rent was cheap, for Nantucket. It was just a place to sleep, and it gave him a chance to save as much money as possible, so that he could eventually buy and build something himself.
He picked up a bottle of Lauren’s favorite chardonnay on the way to her place. She had a roommate but Tracy was in New York City for a few weeks. She did something in sales and was always flying off somewhere. Lauren said it made her the perfect roommate because she was never there but still paid half the rent. They shared a two bedroom home that Lauren bought a few years ago as part of the Covenant program on Nantucket. It was a great program that allowed year-round residents with moderate incomes to buy homes at below the current crazy market prices.
The only stipulation was that they couldn’t flip them for huge profits. When they sold, it had to be to another Covenant qualified buyer. She’d timed it well as her income when she first moved home to Nantucket was much lower. It was clear that she was doing very well now. Her business had grown quickly in the few years she’d been selling real estate on Nantucket.
As he pulled onto Lauren’s street, he felt the same rush of excitement that came whenever he was around her or sometimes even just when he thought about her. He had a history with Lauren, that had made him resist her this time, for as long as he could. But finally, curiosity and desire won, and he slowly began to allow himself to spend time with her and to fall for her, again. There was just something about Lauren that drew him and kept him coming back.
He never quite knew where he stood with her—she pulled him close, then pushed him back and pulled him close again. He’d been wary at first, because of how she’d treated him in high school. They’d gone on exactly one date and then she moved on to someone else, an older, more popular football star. It had crushed him at the time as she’d never looked his way again, until a few months ago, when he ran into her at the Chicken Box, a local bar. She’d grown even more beautiful since high school.
After college, Lauren worked in the real estate market in Boston for a few years and then came home to Nantucket and put everything she’d learned to good use. She and her brother ran one of the biggest real estate brokerages on the island. The only bigger one was the one run by Kristen’s boyfriend, Sean. When they’d run into each other, Chase had literally bumped into her in the crowded bar and she’d spilled her full drink. He’d apologized profusely, bought her another one and one for himself and they ended up talking for several hours.
He’d noticed her immediately when she first moved back to Nantucket, but he didn’t imagine they’d have anything to talk about, so he’d steered clear. But once they actually sat down and started chatting, there was an instant connection and they’d bonded over their love for real estate.
He’d been impressed by her knowledge of the local market and of home construction in general. And she’d seemed equally impressed by how well he was doing with his building business. At the end of the evening, when she hinted that she might like to get together sometime, he didn’t hesitate to suggest a time and place, and they’d been dating ever since.
He hadn’t mentioned her to his family yet though, because he knew they’d be concerned, given their brief history in high school. His sisters and mother were very protective. He was closest to his youngest sister, Abby, and as it turned out, she’d been at the Chicken Box that night too and had seen him talking to Lauren.
She’d called the next day and asked him about it, but at the time it was so new that he’d simply told her the truth, that he’d bought her a drink and they’d chatted a bit. He left out the plans to go out because he didn’t know if it would go anywhere. But now that Kate and Kristen had run into them at the golf club, he figured he owed Abby a call to catch her up, now that it seemed a little more serious. At least it was for him, he still wasn’t as sure about Lauren. She could be hard to read at times.
But he figured it was a good sign that she’d invited him for dinner. As he pulled into her driveway, he could see her silhouette in the window and candles flickering on the dining room table. When he reached her front door, it flew open, and she pulled him in for a hug.
“I heard your truck,” she said as he handed her the bottle of wine and stepped inside.
“Something smells delicious. What are we having?”
“Braised short ribs. My grandmother’s recipe.” There was a twinkle in her eye as she said it. It was the first time she’d mentioned even having a grandmother. Maybe she’d passed on already. Chase didn’t give it another thought as Lauren led him into the kitchen where she found an opener for the wine and poured them each a glass.
“Are you hungry?” She asked as she set out a plate of cheese and crackers on the kitchen island, which had three chairs on one side. Chase took his wine and sat in one of the chairs.
“I could eat.” He was actually starving and looking forward to trying Lauren’s cooking. He reached for a cracker, added a slice of cheese and popped it in his mouth as he watched her pull a steaming pot out of the oven. She set it on the stove and pulled a casserole dish of mashed potatoes from the oven too.
“Let’s give this a few minutes to rest and then we can dive in.” Lauren picked up her wine and joined him at the island, sliding into the chair next to him. They chatted about their days for a few minutes and then Lauren made a plate for each of them and brought their dinners to the dining room table that was set with fresh flowers and two lit candles.
“Bring the wine over, would you, we could both use a topper. And a few paper napkins.”
Chase did as instructed and added wine to both their glasses before sitting. He took a bite and was pleasantly surprised by how good it was. Lauren knew that Chase loved short ribs. If it was on the menu, he usually ordered it and there were several places on the island that did a great job. Lauren’s was as good as any he’d had and he told her so. She seemed pleased by the compliment.
“Thank you. My grandmother used to say that if you cooked meat long enough at a low temperature, it would be well worth it.”
They ate quietly for a few minutes, enjoying the food until Chase asked. “Is she still around?”
“Who?”
“Your grandmother.”
“Oh! No, she died abo
ut ten years ago, at least.”
“That’s too bad. At least she passed on her love of cooking to you.”
Lauren choked a bit on her wine and after a moment caught her breath.
“Went down the wrong way,” she said.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
She took a big sip of wine and smiled brightly. “I’m fine. I do have something I want to run by you though. Something exciting, for both of us. It’s work-related.”
“Oh? What’s that?” He was intrigued by her enthusiasm and curious about what she had in mind.
“So, you know my brother’s friend, David Wentworth?”
Chase nodded. Everyone on the island and most of the East Coast knew David Wentworth, he was into everything, hotels, casinos, office-buildings. He hadn’t built anything on Nantucket yet, but rumors were that he was sitting on a sizable lot of land, which only gained in value with each passing year.
“He wants to do a new development, out near Millie’s restaurant by the beach.”
“What kind of development?”
“He’s thinking high-end condos, multi-level, all with panoramic ocean views.”
“That could work.” It was actually a great idea. Most of Nantucket was free-standing homes. But lots of people liked the convenience of luxury townhouses. And they could charge whatever they liked and get it.
“So what they were thinking is that you could build them, under David’s direction, and Rick and I could sell them, as the exclusive listing agents. It’s a win-win for all of us!”
Chase felt a rush of excitement followed by a small twinge of warning. David Wentworth had the reputation of being difficult to work for and sometimes even stiffing his contractors. He wasn’t too worried about that as Lauren knew him and Nantucket was a small place. But, still, he’d need to meet the guy and learn more about what he was proposing. It could be an amazing thing, if it actually happened. And he was grateful that Lauren had recommended him for it.
“Thank you for suggesting me. It could be an incredible opportunity, if it happens.”
Nantucket Neighbors Page 3
