Changing Dreams (Bear Lake Dreamers Book 1)

by Kirsten Osbourne

  Amanda frowned at him. “What about the bedrooms?”

  He sighed. “I’ve worked four weeks without a single day off. How about letting me spend a day with the most beautiful woman I know?”

  Taylor nodded. “You deserve a day off. Sorry we’ve worked you so hard.” She glanced at her phone. “Tomorrow’s Friday. Take off until Monday, and then start on the bedrooms. If they’re not all done by the first, life will go on.”

  “I’m not going to do that. I know how important this is to you ladies. I think I can do my part in a bed and bath in about three days. We want as many of them fully functional as we can make happen.”

  “That’s true,” Taylor said with a nod. “And since we’re all here . . . we got our first reservation today!”

  Lauren squealed, hugging Taylor. “Wow! Two things to celebrate. Well, three if we include the entryway being done. It’s like everything is falling into place.”

  Amanda nodded. “I’m thrilled. And I may go with you two to see that office. Maybe we could divide one in half, and I could work out of it, too.”

  Alyssa shrugged. “That’s fine with me if Nick doesn’t mind.”

  “Oh, sure. I don’t care. I was going to take you out for a nice lunch, but I guess we can all go.” He didn’t sound terribly thrilled about taking Amanda along, and she understood, because she wanted to be alone with him, too. But it made sense for the two sisters to see it together.

  “Sounds good to me.” Alyssa grinned. “I can’t wait to start working again. I feel like I’ve been sitting around way too much lately.”

  “We all have,” Taylor said. “I’m ready for this place to be up and running.” She looked at Nick. “How much of the time you have allotted for doing the rooms and bedrooms will be devoted to cleaning up when you’re done?”

  He shrugged. “Couple of hours each, probably.”

  Lauren clapped her hands. “I can do that! It’ll give me something to do other than practice making breakfasts!”

  “Well, that’ll help, then.” Nick grinned. “We’re going to be ready on time. I promise you that, ladies.” He wrapped his arm around Alyssa’s shoulders. “But I want a fifteen-minute walk on the beach with this sweet girl before I finish the entryway. Anyone care?”

  Amanda shook her head. “You two go and have fun. Take twenty minutes if you want.”

  Alyssa laughed. “You’re so generous.” She walked to the fridge and got two bottles of water, handing Nick one. “We’ll be back soon.”

  They both had to put on winter coats to go outside, despite the fact that it was mid-May. Finally, he opened the door and led her outside. “I love the smell of new-fallen snow.”

  “Me too. I love that you can smell the snow here and not just the pollution.” Hand-in-hand, they walked toward the water. There was no standing snow, even though it was falling from the sky. “I hope it’s not cold enough for the snow to accumulate. I’m kind of done with it.”

  He laughed. “You can be done all you want, but I’m not sure it’s over yet.” He pulled her closer to him, wrapping an arm around her waist as they walked. “I’m really proud of you for doing so well on your test.”

  She rested her head against his shoulder for a minute. Tim would have found something she should have done differently. Probably complained that she took time from him by studying so hard when a seventy would have been good enough. She was so glad Nick was different. “Thank you. I’m really excited about starting a business here.”

  “You should be.” He kissed the top of her head. “And if anyone needs a contractor . . .”

  She laughed. “Yes, I will recommend you. But I would have anyway.”

  “I know that.”

  They reached the edge of the lake, and turned to walk along it. “Is the office you saw in Garden City?”

  He nodded. “There are actually two in that same building, and from what I understand, both are kind of small. You and Amanda may want to each get one.”

  “We probably will. I’m not one to spend much time in the office, but we’ll see. I do need space for files and all that good stuff.”

  “So now that you’re done studying, do you have any big plans?”

  She shrugged. “I need to go to Utah on Monday. I have a client who thinks she found the house she wants, but I need to show it to her. I’ll probably spend the night with Kayla.”

  “Oh. I didn’t realize you’d still be working with people in Utah.”

  “Not often. This one is special. I sold her the house she owns now, and she’s ready to upgrade. She doesn’t want to work with anyone else, so it’s got to be me, apparently.”

  “That actually makes a lot of sense,” he said. “I would probably feel the same.”

  “Have you ever thought about buying a house and fixing it up to be an Airbnb or even flipping? I could see you doing really well at that.”

  He shrugged. “I’ve thought of it. I don’t want to have to deal with the Airbnb, though. Sounds like it would be a pain in my butt.”

  She laughed softly. “Well, maybe it would.” She stopped walking and looked at him. “Do you realize I don’t even know where you live?”

  He chuckled. “A cabin in the woods between here and Fish Haven. I built it myself between jobs. It’s pretty special to me.”

  “Well, I’d love to see it someday.”

  He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. “I guess we can make that happen. You just let me know when you’re free.”

  She pursed her lips. “Maybe I could cook you supper there tomorrow, since you’re off work.”

  “I think that would be amazing. We’ll dump your sister after lunch, and I’ll take you back to my place. I love the idea of just sitting around with you and spending time together. Or we could catch a movie if you’d prefer.”

  “Why don’t we rent a movie from Amazon, so we can be alone?” They had never truly been alone. Their walks on the beach didn’t count, because she never knew if she had a sister or three watching from one of the windows.

  “That sounds like the perfect solution to me!”

  As they headed back toward the house, she tried to decide what to cook the following night. Whatever it was, she needed to wow him. She wanted him to keep her around.

  Twenty-Four

  When Nick went to pick up the two sisters the following morning, Alyssa insisted they take her SUV because it would be easier for them all to fit than in his pickup, and he held his hand out for the keys.

  She frowned at him. “Are you kidding me? You don’t trust me to drive?”

  “Sure, I do. I just know where we’re going, and it’ll be easier than trying to give you directions.” He preferred to be in control when it came to vehicles, and he always had. He didn’t want to tell her that, though. It would probably be best if she didn’t figure it out until they’d been married ten or twenty years.

  She sighed, putting her keys in his hand. “Fine.” She got into the passenger side while Amanda got into the back. “What are we doing for lunch?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t really know. I just figured we’d go somewhere.”

  Amanda leaned forward. “That’s what I like. A man with a plan.”

  “We’ll eat. I’m hoping my favorite burger place is open for the season, but if not, there’s a great little place in Garden City where we can go.” Nick looked at Amanda in the rearview mirror for a fraction of a second as he spoke.

  “Do you have any idea when the crepe place opens?” Alyssa asked. “I remember going there every summer, and I might start going there every day once I start working out of the office.” He could hear the excitement in her voice as she talked about them.

  He laughed. “I think they open the weekend of Memorial Day like everything else, but I’m not sure.”

  When they reached the building the offices were in, Nick took Alyssa’s hand. “I hope you like this place. I think it’s just perfect.”

  There was a commercial real estate agent waiting for them at t
he door. “Who’s the office for?” she asked.

  “My sister and I are both looking for offices. I’m a real estate agent, and she’s an interior designer.”

  “I see. Well, let me show you what I have available. I’m Margo, by the way.”

  “I’m Alyssa, and my sister is Amanda.”

  They followed Margo into the building, and down a hallway.

  “I have two offices, and either would work.” Margo opened a door to the first one. It was extremely small, but it was all Alyssa would need. She walked in, smelling deeply of the room. She’d learned that she couldn’t deal with musty smells very well, but the office smelled clean.

  “This would probably work for me.” Alyssa opened a door and found a bathroom. “Does this connect to the other available office?” she asked.

  “Yes, it does. Let’s just go through here.” Opening the door, Margo showed them a second office that was just a touch bigger.

  Amanda walked in and spun around. “This one would work better for me, but I’m not sure we could share like we talked about.” She went to the window and looked out. “These are small.”

  “I agree,” Alyssa said. “How much?”

  The agent named a price that Alyssa was surprised by. “That’s extremely reasonable. I want the smaller office, I think.”

  Amanda smiled. “And I’ll take the bigger one.”

  “Well, you two are easy to get along with, aren’t you?” Margo pulled a folder from under her arm and opened it. “I brought the paperwork. A twelve-month lease is required, and the owner does want a deposit.” Margo went on to explain all the details, and the sisters grinned at each other.

  “I’m glad we’re going to be work neighbors.” Alyssa said. “It’ll be really nice when we’re not living together anymore.”

  “Yeah. I agree. Not sure how much longer I’m going to survive with a communal kitchen.”

  Alyssa laughed softly. “We’re only a month into this thing . . .”

  “I know. Whatever. I’m getting a dorm fridge for my office, I think. And a microwave. Is there a shared kitchen here, too?” Amanda asked Margo.

  “No, there’s not. Most people have a microwave and fridge. Now, I do need you to know that hot plates aren’t allowed.”

  “That makes sense to me.” Alyssa signed her name on the line indicated by Margo.

  Thirty minutes later, they left the building.

  “Now, food!” Amanda said. “I’m hungry.”

  “My burger place isn’t open yet, but I’ll take you to that place I like near here.” Nick got into the car and waited for the sisters to do the same. “What are you making me for supper tonight?”

  Alyssa smiled. “I’m making fajitas. How does that sound?”

  “Good to me,” Nick said. “I can’t believe I haven’t even shown you my house yet. I’m awfully proud of it, and I usually show it off pretty darn quick.”

  “Well, you have been at my house every day and working ridiculously long hours. It makes sense.”

  “Yeah, it does.” He watched her for a moment, smiling. “I’m excited to show it off to you tonight.”

  Amanda sighed. “I’ll just sit back here and pretend someone is talking to me.”

  “Play on your phone!” Alyssa said.

  Nick grinned. “We’ll try to include you. Sorry for that.”

  “No big deal. I have a phone.”

  Twenty-Five

  After lunch, Nick dropped Amanda off at the house, and then he and Alyssa went to the grocery store. He insisted on buying the ingredients for the meal.

  “Is this the grocery store where Hannah worked?” she asked.

  “Yup. She worked here for years. I’m surprised you didn’t come see her while she worked here.”

  Alyssa sighed. “After high school, I did the college thing, majoring in marketing. I was so busy every weekend that I never made it back with my parents. I did summer school every year and just threw myself into being a perfectionist like I’d always been.”

  “You’ve always worked this hard?” he asked, a little surprised.

  “Our parents instilled a strong work ethic in all of us. I was valedictorian of my high school class and graduated summa cum laude from my college. And I immediately started my real estate classes when I was done. I never took the time to come back to the lake, because I was too busy adulting. I regret that now.”

  “So even after you started selling real estate you never took a weekend off?” Nick had thought he was a hard worker until he’d met Alyssa.

  “Very rarely. There were always people who needed to see houses on the weekends. Saturdays have always been my biggest sales day.” She shrugged. “And I started seeing someone, and he took up a lot of my time, too.” It was the first time she’d mentioned Tim to him, and she wasn’t sure how much she wanted to tell him, but he had to know he wasn’t the first man she’d dated.

  “Oh?”

  She nodded, putting grated cheese into her cart. “Yup. I just got out of a seven-year relationship in March. Best thing I’ve ever done for myself.”

  He didn’t ask anything else, and she didn’t volunteer more. They checked out, and then he drove the short distance to the cabin.

  Heading up the long driveway, he grinned. “So, I usually start planting around the first of June. I like to have flower beds along each side of the driveway.”

  “Are you going to have time for that this year?” she asked.

  “I have no idea. I sure hope so. I might have to hire someone to do the lawn and maybe do some planting.”

  “Makes sense to me,” Alyssa said. “We’ve never mentioned your parents really. Are they still in the area?”

  He shook his head. “Nah, they moved somewhere warmer a couple of years back. Got tired of the cold. I really need to go visit them in Tucson.”

  “I can understand that.” She got out and walked around to the back to help carry in the groceries. “Your house is beautiful. Did you buy one of those log cabin kits?”

  “Not at all. I bought logs and did all the work myself. It took me three years between jobs and on the weekends, but I love this place. I have three bedrooms and two baths. I would say my kitchen has all the modern conveniences, but compared to the one I put in at your house, it has nothing.”

  Alyssa laughed softly. “Well, we did go just a bit overboard on that kitchen.”

  Nick opened the door and watched her face as she stepped inside. She stood—holding the grocery bags—in the middle of his living room and spun in a small circle. “I love this! It feels so homey.” She put the bags onto the counter and wandered around opening doors.

  There was a spare bedroom with a king bed made up in it. “My parents stay there when they visit,” he said.

  “Very cozy.” There was a quilt on the bed that had obviously been lovingly pieced. “I like this quilt.”

  “My grandmother made it. Mom said if she can’t be at home, she wants to feel like she is.” Nick waited until she was finished in there. He opened the next door for her. “This is going to eventually be a bedroom, but for now I store stuff in here. I need to build a shed, but there hasn’t been time.”

  She nodded, walking into the room and looking at the closet. “I love these big walk-in closets. They’re so perfect.” She opened another door and saw that it was a bathroom, connecting the two bedrooms. “I’m sure this is convenient for guests as well.”

  He nodded. “It is. I love it.” Together they walked to the last door leading off of the main rooms. “Now, this room isn’t quite as neat.” He opened the door, and she peeked in at his bedroom.

  It showed his personality, she thought. “I like it, though.” There were wrinkles in the bed that had been hurriedly made. There was an overflowing hamper in the corner of the room. “We haven’t been giving you any time to do laundry!” Why hadn’t she thought of that before?

  He shrugged. “I don’t like laundry anyway.”

  She laughed. “Well, I don’t mind if you do it w
hile I’m here.”

  “But . . . what if you see my tighty whities?”

  Alyssa shook her head at him. “I guess I’d melt into a puddle of wanton passion if I saw such a thing.”

  “Then I’m definitely doing my laundry while you’re here.” Nick winked at her.

  Poking her head into the bathroom, she saw a huge bathtub and a shower. “I like this!” She turned to him and grinned. “You did a good job!”

  “Thank you. I designed it as well as building it. I should probably have Amanda come in and decorate it, but I like it as it is.”

  “I do, too.” She walked out of the bedroom and back into the main area of the home, looking around a little more. It had an open concept, and the living room, dining area, and kitchen were all basically one big room. “So, I don’t need to start cooking for a few hours. Why don’t we put the groceries away, and we can watch a movie?”

  He nodded. “I’d love that. And I’m putting a load of laundry in the washer, too.”

  “I didn’t see a washer dryer.” She looked around her, trying to figure out where it was hidden.

  “That’s because I didn’t show you the basement. It’s down there, and I don’t expect you to follow me down.”

  She shrugged. “Then you start the load, and I’ll put the groceries away. We’ll meet on the couch when we’re done.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  “You need a laundry chute!” she told him as he walked away.

  He laughed. “I have one. I just haven’t been down there in a while, and the pile got so high, I couldn’t put anything else through it.”

  “Wow. Okay. It really is time we gave you a day off.”

  Twenty-Six

  On Monday while Alyssa went to Salt Lake City, Nick went shopping with Amanda instead of working on the house. He’d discussed the possibility of the shopping trip with the sisters while Alyssa had been taking her real estate exam. He needed help picking out the perfect engagement ring, and he knew Amanda would know Alyssa’s taste better than anyone.