Sylvia wondered if Jen would take Margo to Boston but suspected that would be impractical. The city would be hard on the old dog. Margo would miss Jen. They all would.
For an old dog, she still had spirit and stumbled down the stairs when Frank called. Sylvia heard him click on the dog’s leash, then call upstairs again. “Jen? Want to take a little walk? I’m bringing Margo out.”
Sylvia stood very still, listening. “Okay. I guess I have time,” Jen called back.
Sylvia’s heart sank. She knew what that meant. They would talk things over, and Jennifer would convince her father she just couldn’t have a happy wedding day if she didn’t get married at the inn. It wouldn’t take much. He already seemed more than halfway there.
Well, what can I do? I tried my best. Sylvia sighed and started in on the potatoes, resignation setting in.
They can’t say I didn’t warn them.
Chapter Five
ON Saturday morning, Liza decided to tackle the garden. Sylvia could have been more diplomatic, but her critique had struck a nerve. Liza knew the woman was right; the entire back of the property needed attention, especially now that the warm weather had come on so suddenly. It seemed as if the plants—and the weeds and clinging vines—had sprung up overnight.
Since there were no guests staying over, Claire was taking the weekend off. Liza didn’t really know what the housekeeper and cook did with her time away from the inn. Maybe she visited friends or attended her church in town, where it seemed she was involved in a lot of committees and activities. She never mentioned any family, though.
Of course Claire had her own life, apart from the inn. But for some reason, it was hard for Liza to picture it. Claire seemed so much in her element under this roof.
Liza had made herself some coffee and now stood on the brick patio near the back door, surveying the daunting job. Getting rid of the weeds and the overgrowth was the first thing to do. Then she could figure out how to fix up the flower beds.
She didn’t know much about gardening, though she had helped her aunt from time to time. Elizabeth used to say that the garden was like a canvas. It was a big blank space with infinite possibilities. It was up to the gardener to fill in the colors and shapes with flowers and make a masterpiece.
Liza headed into the shed and rolled out the red wheelbarrow that held garden tools and gloves. She pulled on the heavy gloves and knelt down at the nearest bed. Her aunt was an artist, and the garden had been a masterpiece when she lived here and had her health. Liza knew that with some work, it could look lovely again—well, with a lot of work and an outlay of funds for the new plants.
But it would be worth it. Not just for the wedding—that might not even happen now—or even for the guests who would visit this summer. But because the inn deserved to have a lush, bountiful garden, the way a beautiful woman looks even lovelier in a special dress.
Liza worked a few hours. The sun rose higher in the sky and brought the heat of the day. She grabbed a big water bottle and put on a baseball cap and some sunblock and she kept working. She got the Weed Wacker going and swiped it along the overgrown edges of the beds, careful not to mow down everything in her path. It made an awful sound but got fast results.
She was concentrating hard on steering the machine to avoid obliterating good plants along with the weeds when she heard a voice at the gate. Liza took her finger off the controls and looked up to find a large group of people, peering at her over the gate.
She quickly recognized Sylvia and Jennifer. There was also an older man, who stood with his hand on Sylvia’s shoulder—obviously Jennifer’s father. And a young handsome man about Jen’s age, who stood right beside Jennifer, obviously Kyle, the groom.
“Hi, Liza. Sorry to bother you. We called but there wasn’t any answer,” Jen explained as they opened the gate and walked through.
“Oh, sorry. I started out here early. I must have missed the message when I went inside before.”
“This is my dad, Frank,” Jennifer said.
Frank shook her hand and smiled. “It’s a warm day for gardening.”
“Yes, it is, but I have to get started sometime.”
“—and this is Kyle,” Jennifer added, an unmistakable note of pride in her voice.
“Hi, Kyle.” Liza stretched out her hand, then realized it was covered in dirt. “Sorry,” she said. “But it’s good to meet you.”
“It’s great to meet you, Liza,” he said sincerely. “I was so sorry to hear that your aunt passed away,” he added. “She was such a great lady.”
“Yes, she was,” Liza agreed. “Thank you.”
“It’s wonderful the way you’ve taken over this place. Preserved it, I mean,” Kyle said.
“I’m sure you had some good offers from builders for the property,” Jen’s father added.
“Yes, we did, my brother and I. We own it together. He lives in Arizona,” Liza explained. “But we decided that I would give a try at keeping up the family tradition.”
“Lucky for us,” Jen said, ignoring the look her mother was giving her.
“I was afraid that Jen was going to tell me that the inn had been knocked down and all she found was a big modern house or some condos,” Kyle added. “The place looks terrific, just the way I remember it.”
He looked over the building with a warm expression, as if seeing an old friend he’d lost touch with over time.
Kyle was very much the way Liza had pictured him. Tall and fair, his good looks a match for Jennifer’s natural beauty. He seemed smart and mature, if a bit more serious than Jennifer. “Could we look around a bit?” Jennifer asked. “We can find our way without your help, if that would be all right.”
Liza didn’t mind that idea at all. She felt dirty, sweaty, and self-conscious and figured that the family probably wanted to talk privately.
“Of course, go right in. Take your time. Go upstairs if you like,” she added.
“Thanks. We won’t be long,” Frank said. The group let Jennifer lead the way. Liza could tell she was excited to show the inn to her father and Kyle. She wondered what they would think of it, particularly Frank Bennet.
Surprisingly, Sylvia remained outside. She hadn’t really said hello, Liza realized, and now stood with her arms folded, looking over the lawn—the piles of clippings scattered every where—and the partially weeded flower beds.
She wore a turquoise blue linen shift and large sunglasses that hid most of her face. Liza couldn’t really see her expression, but it didn’t take a mind reader to guess her thoughts.
Liza glanced at her, not sure if she should start up the trimmer again. “Would you like a cold drink?”
“Thank you, I’m fine. You realize that you’re not supposed to cut back a hydrangea this late in the spring, right? They won’t bloom.”
“Yes, I know that. I’m just going to take off the deadwood.”
“With care,” Sylvia suggested. “They probably brighten up the yard a lot when they’re in flower. What color are they?”
“Blue and lavender.”
Sylvia didn’t answer. She gave the garden one more sweeping glance, then walked toward the house and let herself in the back door. Liza put on her gloves again and cleaned the gunk from the bottom of the trimmer. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but Sylvia’s concern for the hydrangeas seemed a good sign.
Liza had made some real progress, reaching halfway around the yard with her edging, when Sylvia and Jennifer finally came out the back door.
Jennifer waved, looking happy. Liza felt her own heartbeat quicken. She turned off the machine and yanked off her gloves. Then she remembered the baseball cap and pulled that off, too. She wished she had time to clean up, but there was no help for it.
“We’ve decided,” Jennifer said brightly. “We’re going to have the wedding here, Sunday, June nineteenth. Do you think that would be possible?”
Liza was stunned. She hadn’t expected them to show up today, and she hadn’t expected a “yes” either.
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br /> “June nineteenth?” She did a rapid mental calculation. That was just over five weeks away. It seemed ridiculously soon, but she wasn’t about to back out now. “I guess I could do that. It also depends on your decisions, with the food and flowers and all that.” She remembered the lines Molly had given her. “There are some requests I can’t fulfill on such a tight time line.”
“I understand,” Jennifer said.
“I don’t understand any of this, but go ahead. Don’t worry about me,” Sylvia cut in.
Liza wasn’t sure what to say. “Where’s Mr. Bennet and Kyle? Are they still inside?”
“We took two cars. My husband and Kyle have a tee time at a golf course in Ipswich. They left ten minutes ago,” Sylvia explained. “Do you have a letter of agreement or some sort of contract we can sign? I’ll give you a deposit.” She sighed and glanced at Jennifer, her expression softening. “If this is what Jen and Kyle really want, well . . . what can I say? When I saw the way Kyle was swooning over the place, too, I knew I was beat,” she said with an indulgent little laugh. “I’m happy if they’re happy. So here we go. The countdown has begun.”
“I do have a letter of agreement. Come inside,” Liza said, feeling almost sorry for Sylvia. It was clear that she was baffled by the couple’s choice, but for her daughter’s sake was going along with their wishes. “I’ll print out the form, and we can look it over.”
Molly had e-mailed a form letter that she thought would come in handy. Liza was happy now that she had it on hand. She was eager to get this deal settled, too.
Liza led the Bennets into the sitting room, then printed out the letter of agreement and handed it to Sylvia. “Why don’t you look this over for a minute and see if you have any questions? I’ll be right back.”
While Sylvia read the letter Liza took a moment to clean up in the powder room off the foyer. She could partly overhear a hushed conversation. The tone and the few words she was able to catch told Liza that Sylvia was making one last desperate pitch to Jennifer. But this time, Liza felt confident that Jennifer would hold fast. Claire had been right about her; she was as tenacious as a little sand crab.
Liza felt so confident that she took a few extra minutes to fix a tray with iced tea and a plate of Claire’s homemade chocolate chip cookies.
When she returned to the sitting room, the mother and daughter were not talking anymore. In fact they weren’t even looking at each other. Jennifer was paging through one of the many bridal magazines Liza had picked up to study. She looked quite calm and content. Sylvia, who was staring glumly out the window, sat up with a start when Liza set the tray on the table. “I brought you some iced tea and chocolate chip cookies.”
“Thank you. Just the tea for me,” Sylvia said as she watched Liza pour a glass. Liza handed it to her, noticing she didn’t add any sugar, only lemon. Sylvia obviously watched her figure and was very trim and fit.
Jennifer took both a glass of tea and a cookie, biting in with relish. “Um . . . these are great. Can we work them into the cocktail hour somehow?”
“Jennifer, really?” Her mother looked helplessly horrified.
Jennifer laughed at her reaction. “That was a joke, Mom.”
“Thank goodness. I can hardly tell the difference lately.”
Liza glanced at both of them, deciding it was best to get on with business. “Any questions about the letter of agreement?”
“It seems fine to me,” Sylvia replied, “though we may need to add a few more guests to this estimate,” she added.
“A few more shouldn’t be a problem,” Liza said. She noticed Jen looked a bit distressed by that idea but didn’t argue with her mother. She had won her big battle today and probably didn’t want to push her luck.
Sylvia picked up a pen. “What do you want me to do here? Fill in our names and the date of the wedding, I assume?”
“That’s right,” Liza said. “I’ve marked an estimate for the cost of the wedding there,” she added, pointing at the bottom of the page. “And this is what I’ll need as a deposit. Then we’ll have to meet to finalize all the details, and I’ll give you a longer contract, with a precise cost.”
“Yes, I understand.” Sylvia’s tone sounded bleak and resigned. But she signed the document, then took her check holder from a neat leather purse and wrote Liza a check for the deposit.
“Thanks. I’ll just make a copy of this for you, and then I guess we’re all done for today,” Liza said happily.
She walked over to her desk and hit the Copy button.
“Thanks, Mom. I know it wasn’t your first choice.” Jennifer leaned over and gave her mother a big, impulsive hug.
Liza glanced up to see Sylvia’s reaction. She seemed surprised, her reading glasses knocked sideways by Jennifer’s embrace. But Liza could see her tension quickly melt away and her entire expression transformed with deep love and affection as she hugged her daughter back.
“No, not my first choice,” she agreed in an amused tone. “But, what can I say? It’s your wedding day.”
Jennifer lifted her head and grinned. “Yes, it is. Or it will be.” She stood up and practically spun around. “I’m so happy. I can’t wait to tell Kyle it’s all settled!”
“Except for the other ten thousand things we have to figure out now,” Sylvia muttered. But Jennifer’s happiness was contagious, and her mother’s mood seemed lighter now, too. Liza handed her the copy of the letter and the check, and Sylvia dropped it into her purse.
“Oh, I almost forgot.” Sylvia reached back into her purse. “I made a little list for you, Liza. Some of the repair issues we talked about the first time we visited? We’d like all of this done by the wedding. You don’t have to bother noting it now in this little letter. But I’d like that list in the final version, as part of our agreement.”
Liza unfolded the sheet of paper and took a quick look.
The list was long, extremely long. She didn’t remember discussing half this stuff. She was tempted to make an excuse to leave the room and consult with Molly on her cell phone. But she remembered her client-handling skills from her former life and reminded herself to stay calm.
“I really will do whatever I can to make the wedding absolutely perfect,” Liza promised. “I’ll go over this list with the carpenter who does most of the work here and see if it’s possible to have these items completed by the middle of June.”
Sylvia didn’t seem entirely satisfied by that answer but, luckily, she didn’t argue. “All right. Well, you can get back to us about it.”
Jennifer seemed eager to leave, already standing by the door, with her big handbag hooked over her shoulder.
“Good-bye, Liza. Thanks so much. We’ll be back next week to talk about all the other stuff, okay?”
“The sooner, the better,” Sylvia added in her sharp tone.
“Monday or Tuesday sound good?”
“Either day would be fine,” Liza said brightly.
“We’ll call you.” Sylvia slipped on her sunglasses and headed out the door. “Have a nice weekend.”
“Same to you.”
Liza shut the front door, then sagged against it in relief. It was a good thing there were no guests staying over this weekend. She would need the time to rest up for her next meeting with the Bennets.
But the wedding was booked! She could hardly believe it.
She couldn’t tell if she was happy or terrified. The June wedding date didn’t leave much time, and Liza couldn’t help but remember something Molly had said—if the party was a success, it would be great publicity for the inn. But if the wedding was a flop and word got around, well . . .
Liza didn’t even want to think about it.
She wouldn’t think about it either. Just positive thoughts, Liza reminded herself. It did feel like a victory of some kind just to secure the commitment, and she was bursting to share the news. A few names came to mind—Claire, Audrey, Molly.
Daniel.
Most of all, Daniel. He was always at the top of
her list lately, and Sylvia’s list provided the perfect excuse. The long, nitpicking document did have an upside.
Liza quickly dialed Daniel’s cell. She was pretty sure he would be out on a job somewhere. The noise in the background when he picked up confirmed that.
“Hello, Liza. What’s up?”
“Wedding news . . . The Bennets, complete with the father of the bride and the groom, made a surprise visit and decided to have the wedding here. I thought for sure when they left the last time, I didn’t stand a chance.”
“Wow, that’s exciting! I knew you would reel them in. You’ll do a great job for them, too, I have no doubt.”
“Thanks. I’ll do my best. The bride’s mother is a tough customer. She handed me a laundry list of repairs she’d like done before the party. An ‘or else’ kind of list. I told her I had to speak to you about it. The wedding date is June nineteenth. There’s not very much time.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out. Listen, I’m in the middle of a roofing job and I have to get back to the crew.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to go on about it.” Liza felt self-conscious now about calling him.
“Don’t be silly. I’m glad you called. Why don’t you come over tonight, and we’ll go over this laundry list? I’ll make you dinner.”
“To your house?” Liza had never been to Daniel’s house. She didn’t even know where he lived.
“Yes, my house. That’s where I usually cook dinner.” He laughed and paused. “I know it’s short notice. You must be busy,” he backtracked.
“I’m not busy. I don’t have any guests booked this weekend. What time should I be there?”
They quickly set a time and Daniel gave her directions. His house was on the other side of the island, which was largely unpopulated, except for a cluster of cottages that was once a fishermen’s colony. She guessed that Daniel must live in one of them.
“I don’t know that side of the island very well. I always wanted to go inside one of those cottages,” she admitted.
The Wedding Promise Page 9
