Beautiful Ruin (Nolan Brothers #1)

by Amy Olle

  “Welcome home,” he said and ambled down the front stairs and climbed into his truck.

  The vehicle awakened with a growl. Beneath its tires, gravel crunched and popped as Sam rolled down the long drive for the last time.

  Alone with her nearly seven thousand square feet, Mina released a deep, drawn-out breath.

  Home?

  She listened and waited.

  Nothing, except the solitude of a cavernous estate. In the distance, the soft sway of the lake.

  And an empty hole next to her heart. Because he wasn’t there.

  Mina reached for the door to shut it when a blue sedan pulled into the drive. She didn’t recognize the vehicle and stepped out onto the front porch as it maneuvered the winding driveway and pulled to a stop at the bottom of the porch stairs.

  Mina’s heart thrummed as her mind raced with the possibilities of who might be dropping in on her unexpectedly.

  Emily stepped from the sedan. “Surprise.”

  Mina’s shoulders sagged. “Oh, no. Did I forget you were coming again?”

  Emily shook her head and climbed the stairs. “I decided to make the trip last minute.”

  “How come?”

  Emily shoved both hands into the back pockets of her blue jeans. “I was bored, and I like it here,” she said, joining Mina at the front door.

  Mina saw some emotion disturbing the calm depths of Emily’s brown eyes. A pinch of affection struck Mina in the rib cage.

  “I was m-my m-mom’s full-time caretaker for nine years.” Emily’s voice filled with watery sorrow. “I don’t have anything to do now. I don’t have anywhere to be.”

  Mina’s heart squeezed. “I’m glad you’re here.” She slipped an arm around Emily’s shoulders and led her inside. “You can be my first guest.”

  “Oh, wow,” Emily breathed, her gaze traveling around the foyer. “This is amazing.”

  Pride bloomed in Mina’s chest.

  Emily turned toffee-colored eyes on Mina. “It’s done?”

  “It’s done.”

  “So what’s the plan?”

  With a jolt, Mina realized she didn’t have a plan.

  Mired in the darkness and despair of her past all those long months, she’d struggled even to remember to eat and to get out of bed each morning. The renovation had pressed on, but only because a crew of five to fifteen men had showed up at the house every day.

  The time to fill the house with summer tourists was upon her, and she lacked a viable business plan for operating a bed-and-breakfast.

  Her heart gave a little wrench. At the goal line, she’d stubbed her toe and tripped, a yard shy of the finish.

  “I tried to start a website a few months ago, but it crashed, and I can’t figure out how to fix it.”

  Light from the chandelier caught the flicker of alarm that stole over Emily’s face.

  Mina poked the toe of one sneaker at an imaginary speck on the floor. “I posted a free ad online,” she mumbled.

  Emily worried her bottom lip. “We could hang some curtains?”

  Mina suppressed a groan. “I’m kind of out of money right now, but maybe in a few weeks—”

  Emily lit up. “Let’s go shopping. It’ll be my housewarming gift to you.”

  “Buy me a plant or something. That’s way too much money.”

  “I’m rich.” Emily’s declaration burst into the air between them.

  Mina blinked at her.

  “And I hate it.” Emily’s mouth pulled down into a fierce scowl. “It was my m-m-mom’s money, and now it’s m-mine b-because she’s dead. I’d give it all away if it meant I could spend one more day with her. But I can’t. So I just want to get rid of it.”

  Mina’s heart wrenched. “Oh, Em.”

  “Help me spend the money.” Her dark eyes glistened. “I don’t— I don’t want it.”

  Mina wanted to protest, but she wanted to help her cousin, too. “I don’t know. We’ll see. Why don’t you come pick out a bedroom?”

  Mina turned toward the stairs.

  “You know the first thing we should buy?”

  “What’s that?”

  “Some furniture.”

  Mina tripped on the bottom stair but quickly recovered. “I have furniture. Lots of furniture.”

  Mina and Emily pulled into Vivian’s driveway around noon the next day to retrieve Mina’s dumpster-rescued treasure trove of furniture. The house appeared closed, and Mina hoped Jake and Vivian were still at their Florida home, awaiting the last vestiges of winter.

  Mina unlocked the front door, and she and Emily slipped inside to the sound of the TV playing from the other room.

  “Hello,” Mina called. “Mom?”

  No response. Mina frowned and crept toward the living room.

  The theme music of a daytime soap opera blared from the flat-screen TV hanging above the fireplace. Had they left the TV on for the cat again?

  Vivian’s head popped up from the sofa.

  Mina gasped. Not with the surprise of seeing her mom but with the shock of Vivian’s appearance. She wore no makeup, and her dark hair was streaked gray at the temples and crown. The sun streamed in through the large windows and cruelly bared the lines of age on her face and neck.

  “I didn’t know you were home,” Mina said while Vivian dug out from under a pile of blankets.

  A throng of faded Polaroid pictures littered the coffee table.

  Vivian pushed up from the couch and tugged on her twisted-up nightgown. “I’m moving a little slow this morning.” She ran a hand through her uncombed hair.

  Then her gaze landed on Emily. Vivian’s mouth fell open.

  “Emily and I are here to get that stuff from your garage,” Mina said.

  Vivian blinked. “Oh, very good. Take anything you need.” She sank back down on the couch.

  Mina hesitated, uncertain. “Where’s Jake?”

  Vivian ran a hand over her disheveled hair. “Oh, he’s still in Florida. I think he’ll be home in a few days.”

  “Have you been in Michigan all winter?”

  Vivian nodded. “A lot of it. I got tired of the sunshine. It’s obnoxious.”

  “Mom, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” Vivian’s attention riveted to the TV, where the soap had resumed after a commercial. “You girls have fun.”

  Mina led Emily through the kitchen and into the garage. It took them more than an hour to load Mina’s truck and figure out a way to tie everything down securely. Mina estimated it’d take at least two more trips to collect all the items she’d stashed in her mom’s garage.

  On the ride back to Thief Island, Emily stared out the passenger window. “I cannot believe how b-beautiful it is here. It’s like the exact opposite of the desert.”

  “You live in Phoenix?”

  “Tucson.” After a beat of silence, she laughed and added, “Unless I decide to stay here forever.”

  Mina laughed. “I’ll put a permanent hold on your bedroom, just in case.”

  A dimple formed high in Emily’s right cheek when she smiled.

  For the next several miles, Mina gazed with fresh eyes at the stunning views of rolling hills and sweeping sand dunes. Sunlight glinted across the lake.

  “What do you think about having a party?” Emily said.

  At their exit, Mina switched on her turn signal and eased onto the off-ramp. “What kind of party?”

  “I think you should have a grand opening.”

  Mina frowned. “Do you think anyone would come?”

  “People will come,” Emily said. “They’re curious.”

  “They are?”

  “Okay, it’s possible they’re just nosy, but if we can get them to come to the grand opening and tour the house, I think they’ll get excited. Maybe they’ll want to become guests themselves. At the very least, they might recommend you to their visiting family and in-laws. Either way, it can only help you fill those empty guest rooms.”

  Mina considered that. “But how do we get th
em to come to the grand opening?”

  Emily shrugged. “Free food and alcohol.” Her smile turned mischievous. “W-works like a charm.”

  Mina and Emily spent the next few weeks in a constant state of feverish activity in preparation for the Winslow House Inn grand opening.

  They mailed invitations, contacted vendors, and under Emily’s tutelage, launched a full-blown marketing campaign to lure guests to Thief Island and the inn.

  Then they shopped. They bought rugs and window treatments, cookware and place settings. They kept on shopping, until the mere sight of the department store parking lot brought tears to Mina’s eyes.

  One afternoon, they returned with bedding for each of the seven guest bedrooms and set about outfitting the second floor. Her arms full of white linens and a queen-sized patchwork quilt, Mina headed for the bedroom at the end of hall. When she stepped into the room, a fragrant perfume wafted on the air.

  With a bone-jarring jolt, a kaleidoscope of emotion crashed into her.

  She tripped to a stop while memories assailed her. Of the day she’d arrived at the house, having been sent to live here with her grandmother. Of the bone-deep relief she’d felt at knowing she wouldn’t see Jeremy that afternoon when she returned home from school, before any adults arrived home from work.

  With the memories, the old fear twisted and coiled through her. She dropped the quilt onto the bed and pressed a fist to her abdomen, as if she might hold back the nausea.

  She remembered watching as her mom drove away, and Rose had disappeared into the kitchen to fix them a snack. Mina had set off to search the house, seeking out the most isolated, secret spot she could find.

  A hiding place.

  There’d been nowhere to hide in her uncle’s home, and she’d prayed this house offered her that much, at least.

  That day, she’d discovered the widow’s walk, and it’d become her hiding place ever after.

  Mina blinked back the memories.

  Slowly, she became aware of the white pitcher perched atop the dresser, stuffed with a bouquet of tulips and daffodils. When she was alive, Rose had loved to fill the house with flowers from the garden. Emily must have gathered them from Rose’s garden and placed them in the room.

  She squeezed her eyes shut and focused on her breathing. Chloe had talked to her about faith. Faith in the process and in herself. An entire session had been devoted to that one thing. Mina sank down onto the edge of the bed and waited.

  The recovered memories had a way of sneaking up on her at unexpected times. She didn’t fight the dread and terror that spiraled through her. She didn’t cry or cry out but only waited as the tumult whipped through her with the wrath of a raging storm.

  Moisture clung to her forehead, and she wiped a trembling hand across her clammy skin. In time, the grip of the past would release her. She knew now that it would.

  She needed only to wait it out.

  Through the dark tunnel of grief and chaos, a memory of another time touched her.

  Of Jeremy as a young boy, not more than seven or eight years old. He’d run to his dad, overjoyed with the wonder of finding a toad in the backyard.

  But Jeremy had found this miracle moments before Senator Winslow was about to give a press conference. Heartbroken by his dad’s cool admonishment, Jeremy had let the door bang shut when he left to return the toad outside.

  Later that night, Uncle Preston had taken a leather belt to Jeremy for his disobedience.

  Mina had cried when she heard the sound of the leather strap cracking against the bare flesh on Jeremy’s back. She recalled the agonized cry of a child and the angry welts that had wept with blood and morphed into gruesome bruises in the days after the abuse.

  Mostly, she remembered the fear and confusion in his eyes.

  Pity for that little boy flowed through Mina then. On a broken sob, a dam of tears burst from her and streamed down her cheeks. With them, the grip of shame and fear released her.

  Her moment of grace had arrived.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  The night of the grand opening, Mina took the time to curl her hair. She pinned it atop her head, pulling a few curls loose to fall around her face with artful disarray. A face that was pale but not gaunt. Sad but no longer haunted. The shadows under her eyes had faded.

  She moved to her still-half-empty closet and retrieved her dark-wash blue jeans. She paired them with an ivory blazer, added brown ankle boots and Rose’s pearls.

  In the mirror, Emily popped into view. She wore a black blouse and black slacks, the same outfit she’d worn the day they’d buried her mom. A hint of curl touched her hair, which flowed down her back in bright waves.

  Downstairs, guests had begun to arrive through the front door, left propped open to invite them in with the warm breeze. A warm westerly wind blew across the island and banished the last traces of winter. Lush green grass blanketed the landscape, topped with a sprinkling of tulips.

  Sam smiled up at them from the bottom of the staircase.

  “What do you think?” Mina asked him.

  “You clean up nice,” he said.

  Mina smacked him on the arm. “Not me. The house.”

  His gaze swept the foyer. “The house is amazing. I think you were the only one who thought it could be.”

  Mina feigned shock. “Are you saying I was right?”

  Sam laughed. “You were right.”

  As he ambled down the hall toward Tyler and Eddie, Eddie gave her a curt nod. Then Tyler bumped his elbow and red punch sloshed onto the floor. Eddie’s face reddened, and he let loose with a torrent of speech. Though unable to hear his words, Mina imagined his salty tirade. Sam intervened before Tyler retaliated.

  The thought struck her then that she no longer feared these men but, rather, felt a kinship toward them.

  En route to the ballroom, Mina stopped to chat with Abbie and her dad, Mike, and Heather and the others from the pub.

  In the ballroom, a swift beat of pride drummed in Mina’s chest. Two large chandeliers and numerous wall sconces cast a warm glow over the room and spilled onto the patio. People, enticed by the light and the warm night air, trickled outdoors. Torches on the patio’s perimeter kept the darkness at bay, and the low din of partygoers carried above the rhythmic sound of waves lapping toward shore.

  Her past was still her past. That hadn’t changed. But all appeared different to her now. Sharper, clearer. Full of sound and color. After a lifetime in the shadows, she’d awakened and no longer viewed the world through sleep-veiled eyes.

  The sight of a form hunched over the hors d’oeuvres table caught Mina’s attention. She squinted in the dim lighting.

  “Mom?”

  Vivian jerked around, a nacho poised at her lips.

  The surprise of seeing her mother didn’t compare to the shock of watching a nacho disappear into Vivian’s mouth. Vivian never ate anything as decadent as nachos.

  Never.

  Ever.

  “What are you doing here?” Mina asked.

  “I was invited.” Vivian sniffed. “Though I didn’t get my invitation until Thursday.”

  “Sorry. The whole thing was all kind of last-minute.” Mina started to turn, unwilling to let Vivian’s negativity affect her evening.

  “Thankfully, Drew called—”

  Mina lifted a hand. “If you’re here to tell me Drew’s single again, I heard. I’m not interested.”

  Vivian waved off her words. “Don’t be silly. You two would never suit. He called to make sure your invitation reached us. Which it hadn’t, so it’s a good thing he called.” Vivian’s shrewd gaze scanned the crowd. “Where’s that doctor of yours?”

  Mina blinked. “Noah? He, uh, he’s overseas. Working.”

  Vivian refocused on her daughter, and Mina braced herself for the exasperated sigh.

  Instead, a wicked gleam glinted in Vivian’s bright eyes. “Not for long, I’ll bet. He’ll want to be back to your side as soon as possible.”

  Mina’s m
outh slackened.

  “Trust me, darling. I know men, and that man sees only you.”

  “Mom, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine.” Vivian swiped a splotch of sour cream from the corner of her mouth with her index finger. And licked it.

  Mina gasped.

  “What?” Vivian asked.

  “I didn’t realize you liked nachos.”

  “Have you tried these?” Vivian groaned. “They’re divine.” Her gaze skittered to Emily and away before she gripped Mina’s hand and squeezed. “You’ve done a good thing here.”

  When Mina realized Vivian wasn’t talking about the nachos, the swell of emotion caused tears to prick the backs of her eyes.

  Then Vivian’s face twisted into a scowl, and she hauled Mina’s hand beneath her critical gaze. “Honestly, Wilhelmina, you need a manicure. No man wants to be touched with these sandpaper hands.”

  Mina didn’t bother to stifle the laughter that burst from her.

  Vivian’s attention fixated on someone over Mina’s shoulder, and she wiggled her fingers through an immobile smile. “There’s Lydia Russell. The last time I talked to her, she tried to tell me this little project of yours was doomed. I can’t wait to gloat.”

  Mina gaped as her mother floated away.

  Then Vivian turned abruptly. Her gaze alighted on Emily. “You have your mother’s smile. Audrey always had the prettiest smile.”

  Then she was gone.

  Two pink spots stained Emily’s cheeks when she surveyed the table. “Do you think we need more…” Her sentence trailed off, but the last word leaked out. “Ice?”

  Mina turned to see what captivated Emily. Luke stood at the ballroom entrance. He looked so like Noah that Mina’s heart stuttered and fell into a gallop.

  A roguish smile teased Luke’s lips as he leaned down to speak into the ear of the woman on his arm.

  A gorgeous woman Mina didn’t recognize. Blonde, over-styled hair framed her perfectly symmetrical face, and large, jutting breasts capped off a narrow waist and long, lithe legs. Whether the luminous glow surrounding her was the consequence of her own beauty or a reflection of Luke’s carnal smile and unbroken attention, Mina couldn’t be sure.

  Emily pasted a smile on her face. A smile that didn’t quite conceal the misery in her soft brown eyes.