by Kay Correll
She nodded. “Okay, that’s a deal. And meals are on us, too. Here at the dining room.”
“I won’t say no to that. I’m not much of a cook.”
“It’s settled then?”
“It is. I’m just going to continue looking at these building codes. Had a few things I questioned over there. Then I’ll move into the house and take an inventory of supplies there and what’s needed. Then I’ll be able to give you an estimate on how long until I can finish the job.”
“Perfect. You can use the inn’s van to pick up supplies, and we have an account at the hardware store in town.”
“That will work.”
“Sounds great.” She held out her hand. “Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Jones.”
“Gary.” His smile warmed his dark brown eyes as he shook her hand.
“Gary.” She smiled back. She hoped she was doing the right thing with the sudden decision to hire a stranger. But sometimes the universe gave a person what they needed when they needed it. And she sure needed a builder right now.
Gary dropped his bag on the floor of the old house next door to the inn. The bones of the house were in good shape. It still had the original wood floors and woodwork, well worn now, but that just added to the charm of the house.
Sun streamed in the windows and made the dust dance in the light. He could see the potential in the house. He could also pick out the half-way done work of Lillian’s previous builder. He frowned. He’d have to repair the ceiling where the prior worker had replaced a ceiling light. He’d check the wiring while he was at it. He’d noticed some torn screens, and the whole screen door on the front of the house needed replacing.
He should start a list. He looked around the kitchen searching for something to write on.
This day hadn’t quite gone like he’d thought it would. He figured he’d just eat and mope around on this trip. Maybe do some beach walking.
Now look at him. He had a job to do. A purpose. He loved working with his hands and had missed the hands-on aspect of the actual building. His father had years ago insisted that he learn everything about the family business, and that included everything about day-to-day construction. He’d worked quite a few years on all types of construction jobs before moving on. And he missed those days. Really creating something with his hands.
This might be just what he needed.
At the very least it would keep him busy.
He almost felt guilty taking Lillian’s money though. He certainly didn’t need it. She could probably use it more than he. But he knew it would look strange if he said he’d do all this for free. And people might start asking questions. And that’s the last thing he wanted.
He rummaged through the paperwork on a large table in the kitchen and found a yellow legal pad and pen. Perfect. He’d take a quick inventory and poke around. Then he’d go borrow that van and get supplies. Might as well get started right away.
A tiny bit of the gray fog that surrounded his days now started to split. Just a tiny bit, but he’d take whatever he could get.
Chapter 4
Noah paced back and forth in his cottage. He looked at his dog, Cooper. “What do you say? Do you think I have everything ready? Does it look nice?”
Cooper wagged his tail in answer.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He looked around the room. Fresh flowers adorned the table, and he’d stretched his cooking skills to the best of his ability and made a fancy chicken dish for dinner. With any luck, it tasted as good as it smelled. He’d made veggies and a salad and picked up a couple of slices of fresh peach pie from Julie at The Sweet Shoppe. Julie was great at baking. He wasn’t even going to attempt baking a pie.
“Shoot, the candles.” He hurried over to a cabinet and rooted around until he found two matching candles. That was a feat in and of itself. He usually only used candles if the electricity went out and then didn’t care at all if they matched. He finally found two candlestick holders and placed them on the table. Then moved them around a little bit and messed with the flowers in the vase.
He stood back and surveyed his handiwork. Then moved the candles once more.
His glance darted around the room. Did it look okay? Would Sara wonder why he’d done things up so fancy tonight? He hoped not.
Because he wanted to surprise her.
He wanted the night to be perfect.
“Hey, you.” Sara stood in the screened doorway.
“Come in.” He crossed over to her, and she stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek.
She looked around the room. “Wow, this is nice. Flowers and candles. And it smells delicious. What’s the occasion?”
“No occasion. I just wanted to…” He searched for words. “Um, let you know how special you are to me and how glad I am we found each other again.”
She smiled at him. That warm, endearing smile of hers. The one that made the world fade away and he’d swear it was just the two of them.
She bent down to pet Cooper.
Okay, just the three of them.
“How about we have a glass of wine while dinner finishes?”
She nodded. He poured their drinks and led her to the couch. He almost knocked over his glass setting it on the coffee table.
“You okay?”
“Just a clumsy day, I guess.” He’d better pull himself together. Dumping wine all over her would not be part of his well thought out plans. And he’d been planning this night for weeks.
“So I met with Delbert today. He likes my plans for the promotion of The Cabot Hotel.” She stretched out her long, tanned legs.
“Of course he did. Your ideas are always brilliant.”
She laughed. “You and Aunt Lil could become the public relations firm for my company.”
“Does a PR firm need another PR firm for themselves?” He grinned.
The timer in the kitchen went off and he rose. “Stay and sip your wine. I’ll go dish up the meal.”
He hurried to the kitchen and served up dinner, trying his best to make it look presentable. He plated their food instead of his usual routine of just putting the cooking pots on the table. After finding the matches, he lit the candles. “Okay, it’s ready.”
Sara came into the kitchen. “It looks wonderful.”
He held out a chair for her and she slipped into her seat. He wondered how he was going to eat and push the food past the lump in his throat.
Thankfully Sara chatted on about the details of her meeting with Delbert and all about Cabot Hotel, so he didn’t have to do much to keep up his side of the conversation.
They finally got to dessert, and he heated the pie slices and put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on each piece. He glanced at his watch as he served up the dessert. He couldn’t believe dinner had only taken thirty minutes. Felt like two hours. Maybe three. The night was crawling. He wanted to get dinner over and then—
“You okay?” Sara asked. “You seem kind of out of it tonight.”
“I’m fine.” He forced a smile and hoped it wasn’t an awkward, nervous smile.
They finished their desserts—finally—and he cleared the table and poured them another glass of wine. He led her outside to the deck where the moon was streaming its light down and stars danced above them.
A perfect island night.
They settled on the glider and he turned to her. “Sara, these last few months have been… so… great. I mean, they’ve been wonderful. I’m so grateful I found you again.”
She squeezed his hand. “I feel the same way. I’m happy we found each other again, too.”
He cleared his throat. “I… I—”
“Noah?”
He rolled his eyes. This wasn’t going quite according to plan. He took a deep breath to settle his nerves and slid down on one knee on the deck. “I love you, Sara Wren. I want nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you.” He took out the ring box that had been burning a hole in his pocket all evening and opened it. “Will you marry me?”
Sara’s eyes flew open wide, then tears began to stream down her cheeks. She jumped up and tugged him to his feet and threw her arms around him. “Oh, yes, Noah McNeil. I’ll marry you. I’d like nothing more than to spend the rest of my life with you, too.”
He kissed her then, gently but thoroughly. He pulled away slightly and wiped the remains of her tears from her face. “We’re going to have a wonderful life together.”
“We are,” she whispered back.
He was right. It was a perfect island night.
Lil settled into her recliner and picked up her knitting. She’d just get a few more rows in on the cabled pillow she was making to brighten up the couch here at The Nest. She’d picked a shade of teal that went with the old worn woven teal throw that rested on the back on the couch.
No secret to anyone that teal was her favorite color. Always had been. Always would be.
She looked up as Sara entered the room. “Hello, dear. Did you have a nice evening?”
“Oh good, you’re still up.”
“I wasn’t tired yet and thought I’d get in some knitting.” She paused, looking at Sara’s rosy cheeks and bright eyes. She set down her knitting. “Sara? What’s up?”
“Oh, Aunt Lil…” Sara dropped to the floor beside the recliner and held out her hand. “Noah proposed.”
“He did? That’s wonderful.” She let out a gasp of delight at the sight of the glittering ring and hugged her niece. “I’m so happy. For both of you.” She tried to fight off tears of happiness but gave up and one or two rolled down her cheek. She wanted nothing more than her niece to find a love like she had with Noah. And find her happily-ever-after.
Sara jumped up and twirled around. “I know. I’m so happy. I love him so much.”
“And he loves you. That’s evident to anyone who sees the way he looks at you. Come show me the ring again.”
Sara came over and Lil looked at the sparkling diamond set in a simple setting. It was so Sara. “It’s lovely.”
“I know. It’s perfect, isn’t it? He knows me so well.” Sara jumped back up.
“Did you make any plans? Talk about when you want the wedding?”
“No, not tonight. He said he hopes I don’t want a really long engagement because he wants to be married to me as soon as we can make it happen.”
“Perfect. We’ll work out whatever you two decide.”
Sara twirled around again and Lil couldn’t help but grin. Sara stopped and sank onto the couch, her cheeks flushed. “I can’t wait to tell Robin and Charlotte. I was going to call them, but then I decided it would be more fun to tell them in person. Luckily, I’m meeting them for dinner at Magic Cafe tomorrow.”
“That will be fun to tell them in person.”
“So don’t tell anyone until I get a chance to talk to them, okay?”
“Okay, I won’t spoil your surprise. You know how news spreads like hurricane winds on Belle Island.” Lil smiled. Today had turned out to be a pretty perfect day all in all.
Chapter 5
The next morning Lil woke up early, smiling as soon as she remembered Sara’s news of last night. A momentary flash of sadness swept through her. Her sister, Leah, would have loved to see Sara marry, and she was sure Sara would miss her mother’s presence at her wedding. But Lil would be there for her as she always had been.
When Sara was ready to start her wedding plans, she had a surprise gift for her. She’d been planning the surprise for years. Ever since Leah had died, years ago, and Lil had taken on the horrible job of cleaning out her sister’s home.
She hoped Sara would be pleased with the gift.
She sighed, slid out of bed, and walked to the window, opening the blinds to let the light in. She’d slept later than usual after staying up late talking to Sara. Time to get a move on.
After getting dressed she went into the kitchen and found a note from Sara saying she’d left early and would see her later. Lil decided to grab coffee at the inn instead of brewing a pot and headed out, ready to start her day.
She entered the dining room and went straight to the sidebar that held the coffee urn. She poured herself a cup and turned to look at the morning crowd of customers enjoying their meals. Across the room, Gary Jones sat by himself, eating breakfast. She headed over to talk to him, stopping to greet a few customers at other tables on her way. She noticed he was clean shaven today and had an intent look of concentration as he jotted notes on a pad resting beside him.
Gary looked up when she got to his table. “Well, good morning, Lillian.”
“Morning, Gary. Mind if I join you for a few moments?”
“Not at all.” He motioned to the seat across from him.
She slipped into the chair. “Can we talk business while you finish your meal?”
“Good timing. I just finished.” He pushed his empty plate to one side.
“Did you get all the supplies you needed?”
“Most of them. I did have to order in a few things that weren’t in stock. They should be here soon, though.” He flashed an impish smile at her. “I really wanted to get started working when I first got up this morning, but seeing as it was five a.m. I thought I might wait until a bit later to make noise. I did get a good schedule figured out though. What needs to be done first. Things like that.”
“I’m very thankful that you heard Jay and I talking and offered to take over the job.”
“I guess eavesdropping pays off sometimes.” He chuckled. “At least in this case, it sure did. For both of us.”
“It did.”
He looked at her for a long moment. “You look particularly happy this morning.”
“I… I am. Got some good news last night. I just can’t…” She shrugged. “I’m sworn to secrecy until after this evening.”
“I guess I’ll have to wait until after this evening to see what you’re so pleased about.”
“I’m about to burst, but a promise is a promise.”
“That it is.” He nodded then pushed back from the table. “And now I should head back to Magnolia House and get to work.”
Lillian stood. “I should get to work, too. Let me know if there’s anything you need.”
“I will.” He turned and walked out of the dining room in long, confident strides.
She had a good feeling about him, like she’d made the right decision. And she almost always trusted her instincts about a person, and her instincts were telling her he was one of the good guys.
She sincerely hoped her instincts were right this time.
Noah had been fine with not telling anyone about the engagement until today, because his niece, Zoe, was coming to town. He couldn’t wait to tell her the news in person. And he was certain that as soon as Sara had a chance to tell Charlotte and Robin, the news would spread through the island and everyone would know.
Zoe walked into his office at the community center and he jumped up to hug her. “You’re early. I thought we were meeting at home at six?”
“I got off work early and decided to head on down here and avoid the traffic.” She hugged him tightly. “I haven’t been here in a while and I’m really looking forward to spending the weekend.”
“I’m happy to see you. I miss you now that you’re up in Orlando.”
“Miss you, too.” Zoe’s eyes sparkled. “But I’m here now and we’re going to fill the weekend with fun.”
“Sounds good to me.” He walked back around the desk and closed his laptop. Time enough to finish his work after Zoe left. “Let’s head home.”
They got home and Zoe walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and turned to him. “Want a beer?”
“I do.”
She snagged them a couple of beers and leaned against the counter. “Yum, steak.”
“Come on outside while I get the grill started.”
They headed outside and he lit the grill, then turned to Zoe, suddenly nervous about telling her the news.
They sat down and Zoe took a long look at him. “So… what are
n’t you telling me?”
“What? What do you mean?”
“You have that look on your face. Like you’re trying to decide how to tell me something.”
He laughed. “You know me so well.”
“I do. So…”
“So, I asked Sara to marry me.” He grinned sheepishly. “And she said yes.”
“You did? That’s wonderful.” Zoe jumped up and hugged him. “I’m so happy. For both of you.”
“I’m kind of happy for me, too.”
“Tell me everything.”
“Not much to tell. I invited her over for dinner.”
“And you were a nervous wreck, I bet.” She grinned as she sat back down.
“I was.”
“Oh, I can’t wait to see her ring. Did she love it?”
“I think so.”
“So when do I get to see her?”
“She’s out with Charlotte and Robin tonight to tell them the news. We’ll catch up with her tomorrow.”
“Perfect.” Zoe sighed. “I really am happy for you.”
“Thanks, Zoe.” He was so glad that Zoe liked Sara and Sara liked Zoe. It made everything just that much more perfect. And right now, he felt like his life was perfect.
Or it would be as soon as he married Sara.
All day long Sara had to keep from picking up the phone and calling Robin and Charlotte. But she really wanted to see their faces when she told them the news, so she resisted the urge. She resisted again and again.
When it was finally dinnertime, she walked into Magic Cafe about five minutes later than they’d planned to meet. She couldn’t help it—she wanted to make sure they were both there, make a grand entrance, and show off her ring and tell her news.
Tally, the owner, hugged her when she entered. “There you are. Good to see you, Sara. How’s Lil doing?”
She twisted her ring around on her finger so Tally didn’t see it. Not yet. Robin and Charlotte had to be the next people she told. “She’s great. Recovered so well from her accident. You’d never even know it happened except for a very slight limp.”
