"Vanessa?" Nate raised his hand, caressing my cheek with his callused thumb.
I brushed his arm, reaching for the back of his head, and pushed up on my tiptoes to meet his lips...
"Ahem." The cough from the kitchen doorway broke us apart. We both separated and looked at the woman waiting politely in the entrance, her eyebrows raised.
"Danielle!" I plastered a smile on my face to hide the blush that arose.
"Am I interrupting anything?" she asked. I saw the cold look she flashed at Nate and I gulped.
"No, not at all," said Nate, stepping back. He ran a hand over his hair and took a deep breath before pulling the ball cap from his back pocket and putting it on his head.
"Good. There's a glazing van outside. I tried knocking but no one answered so I walked in. I hope that's okay?"
"I'm going to get back to work on the window," said Nate. He turned and walked out of the kitchen abruptly, ignoring Danielle.
"I hope Nate wasn't slacking off! You're paying him good money for the repairs," said Danielle.
"No, we were just talking. I didn't realize you were coming over but I'm glad you're here," I told her, changing the topic. The last person I wanted to talk about Nate with was Danielle. Mallory and Jill would be thrilled to hear all about him, and probably Tia and Melissa too, but the conversation I had with Danielle made me uncomfortable. Danielle implied something happened between them; but Nate swore nothing did. Yet Danielle was so icy cold to him that he couldn't wait to get away from her. The idea that one of them wasn't being completely honest worried me.
"Oh? Why is that? Good news, I hope?"
"Very good news. My friends from Chicago are coming to visit and plan to stay at the house for the weekend. I thought we could have a small party here tonight. I invited Tia and Melissa too."
"Sounds great!" Danielle perked up as she crossed the room and caught my hands, swaying and encouraging me to do a happy dance with her. "Girl's night? Should I bring champagne? We can toast to the sale of the house too."
I frowned. "It hasn't sold yet."
"But it will," said Danielle. "I just know it will."
"Actually, I did get an offer already," I confided, "but I've decided to turn it down."
"An offer before you even put it on the market? Why didn't you snap their hands off? Was the offer too low?"
"No, actually, it was a decent offer, but they wanted the sale to happen too quickly. I've decided I'm going to stay here for a while. I want to reconnect with my family and friends." I squeezed Danielle's hand as she beamed.
"What about your big, amazing career?"
"I'm going to try freelancing. I already have a couple of leads and there’s plenty of space here."
"Well, sure," agreed Danielle, "but won't you feel lonely rattling around here? Especially after everything that's happened?"
I hesitated to tell Danielle about the dead cat. It was bad enough I had to think about it; I didn't want my friends feeling too scared to come into the house. "Nate got the house security system working last night so I feel much safer here. You know, I think you've just given me an idea too. Aunt Edie ran this house as an inn. There's no reason why I can't do it too. That way, the house can provide me with some income while I start my freelancing career." As I said it, all kinds of ideas began to flood my mind. I could design a great logo and website for the Inn, one which could double as an advertisement for my graphic design business. I even had an intimate contact who knew a lot about hotel management! My sister, Tammy! Her career was in that field before she had her kids and I knew she was itching to get back to work. What if she and I worked on the Inn together? Now that I thought about it, I should probably invite her to the party too. I was sure she’d be thrilled and it might help us reconnect faster.
"I see those cogs turning," laughed Danielle. "You've got an idea."
"So many ideas!" I admitted. "Anyway, you didn't tell me what brought you here today."
"I'm here to help you again, and I do have some exciting news," Danielle said. "I had a little downtime yesterday and I was browsing in the town museum when I noticed they totally lacked any art. I spoke to the manager about curating a gallery of local artwork and Edie's name came up, since she hosted all those art classes and retreats. The manager wants to see all the paintings!"
"Really? That's amazing!"
"You could either make a donation or loan the collection to them, it’s entirely up to you," explained Danielle, "but she'd like to see them as soon as possible. I can take some of them in my trunk right now. It would help you too so you wouldn’t have them all lying around everywhere."
"There are a lot of them," I agreed just as Nate called me. "I better go," I said as he called my name again. "Why don't we take a look tonight before the party and you can tell me which ones the museum might be interested in?"
"They said they'd take everything and promised to return what they don’t want. I can get them now if you like," Danielle stopped as something very heavy crashed upstairs.
"I'd like to keep a couple of pieces of Aunt Edie's work in the house but I really need to go now and see what Nate is destroying up there first. Later, okay?"
"Okay," agreed Danielle, her face falling a little.
"I'm sure they'll wait," I said as I walked her to the door. "Everyone will be here by eight o’clock. Oh, and there are some more paintings in the garage too. I haven't looked at them yet but perhaps the museum would be interested in those too?"
"I'm sure they would be," agreed Danielle. "I'll come back soon." Another crash sounded and an even louder one. "Maybe I'll bring you the names of a couple more contractors too," she added with a roll of her eyes before she slipped out.
I hurried upstairs in search of Nate and found him balanced on a ladder that slipped. With one hand, he was pushing against the wall to hold himself upright, while the other gripped the wooden board he almost ripped off the broken window. Next to him a dresser was toppled over and two garish vases lay smashed. I rushed to his side, balancing the ladder so he could climb down. When he did, he blew out a relieved breath and hugged me.
"What happened?" I asked, wincing at the mess.
"I was up on the ladder removing the last nails when something went crunch. I must have put it on a weak floorboard. Next thing I knew, the ladder started to topple. I grabbed for the dresser and it went over and the vases smashed. I am so sorry."
"Don't worry about those ugly, old vases," I told him. "Even Aunt Edie didn't like them. They were a wedding gift that she hid away in here so she didn't have to see them. Now that I think about it, she'd be thrilled to know someone finally smashed them."
Nate laughed. "You're not mad?"
"No. I'm just glad you're okay. You could have been seriously hurt!"
"I think the only thing that got hurt is your house," he said as he bent on one knee to examine the floorboards. "Just as I thought, this floorboard was weak. It's probably water damaged from when the window was first broken. I'll need to replace it with a new one. Once it's stained the same color, it will look exactly like the rest."
"You make it sound so simple."
"It is. Don't worry. I'll get back to work. The window will be finished soon."
"Do you want me to wait with you? In case you fall through another floorboard?"
Nate laughed. "I'm sure I'll be fine. Plus, don’t you want to get back to Danielle?"
"She just left," I told him, then, "What is it between you two anyway? You couldn't wait to get out of the room when she arrived."
"Yeah, she's not my favorite person. Vanessa, I..." Nate broke off as he shook his head. "Forget it. Will you be working in the house today? Or are you heading out?"
"I'll be here all morning," I told him. "I need to do a few things."
"In the attic?" he asked.
"No, although I'm looking forward to getting back to that job soon. I need to call Gwendolyn Cooper and decline her client's offer. Danielle said the town museum is interested in showing
an exhibit of Aunt Edie's paintings and she said she’d help me get those wrapped up later. Isn't that exciting?"
"Very."
"Hey, Nate, I really am sorry about the house. I know you wanted to buy it. I know you're disappointed that I've decided not to sell. Not yet anyway."
Nate crossed the room in quick strides, surprising me with the smile on his face. "You're wrong. I couldn't be any happier," he said as he kissed me again.
"Well, okay then," I said when we stepped back, starry-eyed and breathless. "I'm glad you're not mad. I better get back to... um... everything I have to do." I backed away, smiling, and when I reached the door, Nate blew me a kiss and turned away, feeling like a giggly teenager.
Yes, there were a lot of pros to returning to my hometown, and Nate was high on the list of them. Although sooner or later, we had to have a very important conversation before one of us got hurt again.
When I returned to the kitchen, I finished drying the shelves and replacing them in the refrigerator. I was annoyed that I had to throw all the perishables away and I desperately needed to restock. I wondered if Detective Logan managed to make any headway on finding out who would do such an awful thing. I was sure if he learned something, he would either call me or drop by.
I called Gwendolyn Cooper but got her answering machine. Before I left her a message declining her offer, I asked her to call me back with some more information. I really needed to know who was behind her offer and I couldn't find that out by telling her there wasn’t any sale.
While I waited for her to call me back, I grabbed my drawing pad and pencils and sat at the kitchen table. Then, after a glance at the refrigerator, I picked my things up and moved to the rear sitting room. The kittens were awake and happily gamboling around so I scratched their ears and refreshed their water and kitty litter. When they were contented again, I found a cozy corner in the sunroom and fooled around with some doodles. I was looking for a potential logo for the Inn, and working off the one Aunt Edie used for years.
The more I thought about my spontaneous idea, the more I knew it would work. Accommodations were always in high demand, from the winter skiers who sought a more central location to the summer hikers and weekend tourists looking for romantic trysts and antiques. The Inn was conveniently located within walking distance of Main Street's bars, restaurants, and shops, an added bonus. The Inn had everything it needed to start up again but a fresh coat of paint; and some new signs would imbue it with a whole new vibe. It wouldn't take too much to get it running again.
I grabbed my cellphone and called Tammy.
"Hey," she said, sounding low when she answered.
"Hey, you," I replied. "What's up?"
"I just dropped Joseph off at daycare and he called me a dumb-dumb head and then I dropped Amelia off at kindergarten and she asked me where her book project was. We didn't even do it! I hate my life."
"Do you want to come to a party later?"
Tammy hesitated. "A party?"
"You know, laughing, music, pizza, wine? I have some friends visiting from out-of-state and I thought we could have some fun."
"And you want me there too?"
"Yes, dumb-dumb head," I teased. "You could even stay over. There's plenty of room."
"And sleep in the next morning?" asked Tammy breathlessly.
"I will even make you breakfast in bed."
"Tell me the time and what to bring and yes! I will be there. Grant can do daddy duty, breakfast duty, soccer practice and all the other things I can't even remember! I'm so thrilled to go out with real adults. I don't even care if someone was killed at the Inn. I just need to be with grown-ups once in a while."
I hung up, smiling. I didn't want to tell Tammy about my plan for reopening the Inn until I knew if it were feasible, but it already sounded like I made her a lot happier by simply inviting her over.
The next hour was spent happily drawing, while gradually narrowing down my ideas and decisions. Aunt Edie might have been the real artist in the family but I was pleased with the four logos I whipped up to print on the potential new signs for The Blackberry Inn. My notepad recorded my brainstorms of boutique hotels, quirky linens, antique furniture, and retreats for artistic types just like Aunt Edie would have liked. By the time the doorbell rang, once then twice, I was lost in my daydream of everything I could possibly achieve. I even drew up the plans for converting the garage into a self-contained studio. Perhaps I could have my studio and freelance business there, or rent it to special guests who wanted extra privacy. No one could chase me away from Aunt Edie’s house now!
The doorbell rang again. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" I called as I scrambled to my feet, picking my way around the kittens. They were sunbathing in pools of sunlight and heading towards the door, almost colliding with Nate at the foot of the stairs.
"Window's finished," he said.
"Hurrah!" I laughed, jubilant with fresh ideas as I threw open the door.
"I told you she'd be thrilled to see us," yelled Mallory. She and Jill stood in the doorway, their roller suitcases at their feet. They both craned their heads around to me and I glanced back to see what they were looking at.
Nate.
"So," said Mallory as she arched her eyebrows suggestively. "Are we here to rescue you or to say goodbye?"
Chapter Twenty
"This house is drop dead gorgeous," groaned Jill for the third time. I just finished giving her what she called "the grand tour." Nate left a few minutes after I introduced them to each other, claiming he had to pick up the exterior paint. He said it would take him a while to drive to the supplier and back. I suspected he really wanted to get out from under the scrutiny of my friends, and also to give me time to reconnect with them. I kept hushing their questions while they laughed at me for blushing. Jill continued, "I knew you said it was big, but you didn't say it was a mansion. All three of us could fit our apartments inside with a heap of space left over!"
"I don't have an apartment anymore," I reminded her.
Jill swept her hand around the living room. "And you're complaining?"
I smiled and held back a laugh. Jill had a point. Even though I didn't want my comment to sound like a complaint, I could see how she interpreted it. I wasn't planning to go back to the city now and at that thought, I gulped. Mallory and Jill would be so disappointed after I told them. I supposed I could soften the blow by reminding them they were more than welcome to stay anytime, especially since restoring the house as an inn was becoming more and more attractive by the minute.
"Jill's right. Your old apartment is nothing compared to this," agreed Mallory. "I'm sure I've never even stepped inside a house as grand and elegant as this before."
"I have," said Jill. "This is almost as big as Granddaddy's old place."
"Here we go with the Louisiana sugar plantation stories again," whispered Mallory, nudging me. Then she pretended to fan herself while batting her eyelashes theatrically.
"Fine, I'll stop," said Jill. "But this house is even prettier than his. Or it will be once the front yard is landscaped and all the painting is finished. Failing to find a segue for asking you this, I'm just going to come right out with it: where is Nate? Is the dead man really your long-lost cousin? And who could be trying to scare you out of the house? Mallory and I have talked about nothing else and we’re both dying to know all the latest updates."
I directed them to sit on the couch and launched into everything I knew about the murder while they gaped and gasped. When I exhausted that subject, I told them about Nate and how wonderful he'd been. I also told my friends about our kiss, and they were more thrilled than kids at an all-you-can-eat candy buffet. Finally, I told them the news I'd been trying to delay for as long as I could. There was no more putting it off. "I'm not going back to Chicago," I said. "I've decided to stay. For now, anyway."
"But someone is trying to scare you out of here!" Mallory looked at Jill for support and Jill nodded enthusiastically.
"All the more reason for me n
ot to run away," I replied. "I'm not going to let anyone scare me out of my own house."
"That's my girl," said Mallory. "Maybe we can help you solve the mystery and the murder."
"Yeah," snorted Jill. "We're superb crime solvers."
"Before we do that, I want you to meet my oldest friends and my sister. Maybe if we all put our heads together, we can come up with something brilliant. They know the town and the people, but you two bring in a fresh perspective. Between all of us, we might just solve the identity of the murderer and also discover who could be trying to scare me away."
The doorbell sounded and I almost jumped. Despite having my friends there, and trusting Nate's new security system, I was still on edge at any loud or sudden noise. As I went over to answer the door, I wondered if Detective Logan was making any headway in finding out who told the realtor to make the mysterious offer on my house. I doubted that he found anymore clues that might help solve the case, seeing as he hadn't contacted me again.
"Hi," said Tammy, holding up two grocery bags. "I brought two packs of margarita mix because there can't be a party inside this house without plenty of margaritas."
"What a terrific idea!" I wrinkled my nose as I remembered Aunt Edie’s margaritas with unmasked fondness. "Leonard borrowed the big pitcher Aunt Edie always used though, and I don't think we have another one that’s large enough. I'll call him up and ask him to return it." I made the call quickly, and Leonard promised to drop by with it just as soon as he got home.
"I'll put the ice in the freezer." Tammy waved to Mallory and Jill as she rushed into the kitchen, hurrying back just as fast.
"You look so much like Vanessa," cooed Mallory as they hugged after I introduced them. "I can't believe it."
Alibi in April (Calendar Mysteries Book 4) Page 19
