Sierra helped three-year-old Morgan reel in her line. It was easy to tell which line in the crisscrossing fishing strings was Morgan’s. Hers had the Snoopy in the inner-tube bobber. As the plastic bobber left the water, Sierra saw what the problem was with the line. The hook was attached to a small stick with some gross-looking algae hanging from it. The worm was nowhere in sight.
“Not a fishie.” Morgan poked her finger at the stick in disgust. The little girl had been hopping up and down hoping that she had caught a big fish.
She quickly caught the little girl’s hand before the hook got her. “Don’t touch, Morgan. Remember, the hook will stick you.”
Morgan made a face and sat down on the pebble shore. Disgusted with the whole fishing experience, she began to play with the small stones.
Sierra tried not to laugh. Morgan was definitely Tyler’s sister. The two were identical in their expressions.
Hunter, seeing that his cousin had already abandoned the game, handed Matt his little blue pole. “I’m done.” Hunter joined Morgan on the ground, which was part dirt, part sand, and was covered with a lot of stones.
Ten minutes of fishing was obviously a three-year-old’s limit. Now she understood why Kay had handed her a cardboard box filled with plastic shovels and pails to take along on their adventure. It was bad enough that they had to borrow Jill’s SUV, which could hold four car seats and two adults, but it also held boxes of toys, half a dozen fishing poles and tackle boxes, a cooler filled with drinks, and a basket filled with lunch. There had also been Sunblock, a change of clothes for each child, and two blankets shoved into the mess.
She had traveled cross country with Austin and Rosemary packing less.
“Matt, I’m going to run up to the car and get the box of toys.” She gestured to the two three-year-olds fighting over a greenish rock. “Can you keep an eye on these two for a second?”
Matt looked up from where he was busy trying to untangle Austin’s line from Tyler’s. “I’ll get it for you.”
“You have your hands full.” She would rather climb the slight slope up to the car than listen to the boys argue about whose line tangled up with whose first. “Austin, behave, please.”
“Oh, Mom,” Austin groused.
Tyler’s chuckle earned him a stern look from his uncle. “I really don’t need to say anything, do I?” questioned Matt.
“Naw.” Tyler looked at Austin and grinned. “Sorry.”
“Sorry,” Austin said back with a smile.
Matt rolled his eyes as Sierra turned to climb the slope. She had never seen Austin happier than he had been these past two weeks. It wasn’t all because he was spending time with her, and they were on vacation, and she wasn’t constantly being pulled away with work. Tyler and the other Porter children were the main reasons. Her son had made friends.
It was going to devastate Austin when they had to leave. She should be registering her son in a preschool next month. Instead she had no idea where she’d be staying come the end of September. One thing she did know, she’d be wherever her father felt her expertise was needed.
She opened up the back hatch of the SUV and pulled out the cardboard box and a heavy blanket. She was thirty-one, and her father still ran her life. The hatch slammed shut with a little more force than necessary. By running her life, her father was now running Austin’s too.
It had been okay in the beginning. Austin was such a joy to take with her everywhere she went. He had been an expert traveler by the time he could walk, and besides, she had Rosemary to take care of him while she worked and handled business. Austin now needed a home—a real home, not a string of hotels where he was spoiled by every staff member in every Randall Hotel. Austin was, after all, Lucas Randall’s only grandchild.
She carried the box down to the shoreline and saw the laughter and joy on Austin’s face as Matt squatted next to him giving him tips and advice on how to catch the big one. Austin didn’t get a lot of male attention. His father, Jake, was a workaholic. She had married and then had a child with a man just like her own father.
Although her own father loved her and would get her anything her heart desired, he never gave her what she had wanted the most: time, and acceptance for who she was and what she could do. Her father treated her like some fragile, emotional woman who would fall apart under the least bit of strain and pressure. She understood his reasons because her mother had been one of those physically delicate and emotional women.
She wasn’t her mother, unless she looked into the mirror—then her mother’s face stared back at her. Sierra had inherited her mother’s looks, and her father’s brains for business. For thirty-one years she had been determined to make her father see the difference between his daughter and his beloved deceased wife. No matter what she did, he still treated her with kid gloves.
Sierra placed the box on the ground. “Hunter and Morgan, there’s all kinds of beach toys in here.” She was happy to see that whoever packed the box had done a great job. There were enough toys to go around.
Morgan snatched up a pink bucket. “That’s mine.”
Hunter grabbed the biggest plastic shovel and the red sieve.
She found a dry spot to sit, spread the blanket, and enjoyed the family squabbling. This was what being a family was all about. This was what she never had being a child with no siblings or even cousins. She had never had anyone to fight with.
Matt joined her on the blanket. “This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I invited you and Austin fishing.”
She glanced over to where Austin and Tyler were standing about six feet apart so their lines wouldn’t tangle again. Both were staring intently at their bobbers. Hunter and Morgan were busy emptying every toy out of the box and getting dirty.
Matt, on the other hand, looked clean, handsome, and totally irresistible dressed in cargo shorts, a T-shirt, and sandals. She had missed him yesterday while she and Austin had explored parts of Mount Desert Island. Long into the night she had laid in bed thinking about what Matt had said to her Wednesday night: that he thought he was falling in love with her. Logic told her to back away from him. She was leaving in a couple weeks.
Logic had nothing to do with the wonder she had felt at those words.
“I really don’t mind having Hunter and Morgan along.” When they had shown up at Matt’s parents’ house to pick up Tyler, the entire family had been there working on the yards. They would need both the Porters’ backyard and Joanna’s cottage backyard to hold the number of people coming to the wedding. “This gives their parents a chance to get some more work done on the yards and gardens. It’s looking wonderful, by the way. You guys must have been at it pretty late last night.”
“When it became dark, Kay and Jill took the kids home, but Paul and John stayed. We rigged up some lights to see by. I guess we worked till about eleven.”
She had been impressed with the amount of work they had managed to do in one evening. “With the hedges ripped out and sod put down, the two yards combined will be plenty of room for the wedding.”
“My mom’s thrilled that her yard is getting a garden or two put in.” Matt leaned back onto his elbows and stretched his legs out in front of him. “Joanna and Karl shopped for two full days to buy all those plants that now have to be planted, and the mulch is being delivered sometime today.”
Sierra stretched out her legs. They weren’t nearly as long as Matt’s. The sun felt wonderful, while not being too hot and oppressive. “So, honestly, what would you rather be doing, digging gardens or fishing here?” The two bigger poles that Matt had brought for them to use were still in the SUV.
“Here”—Matt looked at her—“with you, of course.”
She felt a tug of desire at his words. “So why were you fighting with Paul earlier?” She had seen the brothers exchanging words, but she couldn’t tell if they had been teasing each other or not.
“We weren’t fighting. He said that you and I were getting the easier part of the deal. I called his bluff �
��—Matt smirked—“and said fine, that he and Jill should take all the kids fishing and you and I would play in the dirt.”
She chuckled. “I wouldn’t have minded.” As long as someone gave her detailed directions on how to do what needed to be done. The only time she had ever planted anything was during the summer she had been about eight. She had followed the gardener around everywhere, and once in a while, probably to shut her up, he had allowed her to help.
“You’re supposed to be on vacation, Sierra.” Matt shook his head. “You’ve done enough with the wedding. Norah and Ned were singing your praises all last night.”
“About?” She hoped Matt’s sunglasses prevented him from seeing the blush sweeping up her cheeks. She didn’t want kudos for enjoying herself. Besides, all the running around she was doing for the wedding was allowing her to see the surrounding area and towns, something she was supposed to be doing anyway.
“Everything. I hear you solved the catering problem.”
“The idea fell into my lap. I can’t take credit for it.” She shook her head. “Your mom and sisters-in-law did a lot of the bargaining, and Joanna did the rest.”
“How did that idea fall into your lap?” Matt leaned closer and stole a quick kiss while the kids weren’t looking.
She grinned, even though it wasn’t nearly the kind of kiss she had been hoping for. “On the way out of town Thursday, there was a car wash being run by the cheerleaders from the local high school. The rental needed to be cleaned, so while Austin and I were standing there, I overheard them complaining about how they were never going to reach their goal. Seems their squad is good enough to go to Dallas, Texas, for the championships, but they need some major fund-raising to do it. The mothers who were supervising were tossing around some more ideas to get money for the girls when it hit me: hire the squad to act as caterers for the wedding.”
Matt laughed. “The Hancock High School cheerleaders are catering my brother’s wedding? Please tell me they’ll be in uniforms.”
She lightly punched him in the arm. “You’re horrible. They will not be wearing their uniforms. Nor will they be doing the actual cooking. Their parents and they will be serving, making sure everything is running smoothly, and handling the cleaning-up. They also will be making up cheese, vegetable, and fruit trays. Joanna got together with a bunch of the girls and parents Thursday night and worked out the details.
“Your mom, Kay, and Jill went to work on the Women’s Guild at the Methodist church. They’ll be doing the ham and roast beef, plus all the tables, chairs, and dishes are being rented from them. Ned used his pull and got the Catch of the Day to supply potatoes au gratin and hors d’oeuvres, and Norah threw herself on the mercy of a caterer in Ellsworth who has agreed to do up two kinds of salad. So, as you can see, I really didn’t do much.”
Matt looked at her in amazement. “All this came about because your rental car needed to be washed?”
She glanced at the kids, who were all too busy having fun to be paying her and Matt much attention. She leaned forward and brushed his mouth with a soft kiss that lasted longer than a peck but left her frustrated for more, just the same. “It was really dirty.”
Matt groaned and tried to reach for her.
She moved out of arm’s reach. “We have company.”
“We always have company.” Matt’s smile softened his words. “Tell me the best part of your day yesterday. Did you enjoy Bar Harbor?”
“The town was packed with tourists. I did get to take Austin out on a lobster boat and he helped haul in a couple of big ones with Captain Bob.”
“Captain Bob?” Matt smirked. “Sounds exciting.”
“Only if you’re four.” She leaned back, kicked off her sandals, and playfully skimmed her toes up his calf. “My favorite part was the popovers at Jordan’s Pond.”
“In Acadia National Park?”
“Is there another Jordan’s Pond restaurant?”
“Afraid not, there’s only one.” Matt kicked off his sandals. “So you like their popovers?”
“‘Like’ isn’t a strong enough word for my admiration of them.” She grinned. “Lunch wasn’t bad either. I definitely have to go back before I leave.”
“I’ll take you to dinner there one night.”
“It’s a date.” She didn’t want to think about leaving yet.
“Good. Speaking of dinner, I have an idea.”
“Which is?” She had lots of ideas to appease her growing appetite. None had to do with restaurants or food.
“My brother John and Kay have invited Austin to their place tonight for dinner and a kids’ movie. They feel they owe us something for all the times we’ve taken Tyler with us. I said I’d leave that up to you, since I’m not sure how you’d feel about leaving Austin with them for a couple hours.”
“What will we be doing while Austin’s there?” Her mind conjured up all kinds of possibilities.
“I know a fantastic restaurant in Winter Harbor. It’s an old mansion perched high on a cliff overlooking the ocean.” Matt’s toe trailed up her calf in retaliation for her teasing him. “Dinner is served by candlelight and there’s usually dancing on the patio.”
She didn’t know what upset her more, that he hadn’t suggested dinner in bed or that she hadn’t packed anything slinky and sexy to wear during her vacation. She wanted to knock Matt’s socks off, along with quite a few other articles of clothing. “Sounds wonderful.”
Her mind was trying to calculate how much time she would need to run into town to that cute little boutique, Claire’s, and still be ready in time. “If Austin agrees, I see no problem with him going over to Tyler’s for dinner and a movie.”
“Mom! Mom!” shouted Austin. “I got one! I got one!” Her son was holding onto his pole for dear life and screaming at the top of his lungs.
“Hold on tighter, Austin,” shouted Tyler, who then dropped his own pole to go help his friend.
Matt jumped to his feet and sprinted to her son. So much for their conversation. She couldn’t compete with a bobbing bobber and a tight fishing line.
Men.
She stood up and laughed as Morgan shrieked with glee and started to run in circles, kicking up water everywhere. Hunter made a beeline for the mighty fisherman, shouting that he wanted to see.
Everyone was shouting and Matt was leaning over Austin, trying to instruct him on reeling in the line. Birds were chirping with their displeasure from being disturbed on a beautiful, quiet Saturday morning. Somewhere close by, a dog started to howl.
She loved her son dearly and was thrilled he had caught a fish. But tonight couldn’t come soon enough.
Chapter Ten
Matt tried not to swallow his tongue as he held out the chair for Sierra. She wasn’t just beautiful this evening, she was knockout gorgeous. Forks had literally frozen in midair when she had walked into the room. Every man in the room had followed her with his gaze as she walked across the room. The amazing part was Sierra didn’t seem to notice. She was too busy checking out the architectural details of Cliffside Manor.
“This is wonderful, Matt.” Sierra took her seat and smiled at the maître d’ who had shown them to their table.
“I thought you would appreciate it.” Matt took his seat and was thankful that their table was at least semiprivate. He didn’t want strangers gawking at Sierra all through their meal. “Cliffside Manor dates back from the mid to late 1800s. The Parker’s, who were heavy into steel, had it built for their summer home.”
Sierra gave a soft whistle. “Someone had money. What happened to the Parkers?” She smiled politely at the waiter who stopped at their table and asked if they would care for a drink. “A glass of your house white wine would be fine.”
“The same,” Matt said as he handed back the wine list. “I don’t know for certain, but the story goes that there was some type of tragedy that happened to the family around the time of the Depression.”
“Lots of families lost all their wealth during that time.”
“True, but the house never went on the market. It stood empty and abandoned till the mid-seventies. I think it has changed hands about ten times since then. Each owner poured a fortune into repairs and renovations, but it never seemed to work out. The first couple owners had it as an inn, then in the early nineties it was made into a restaurant.”
Sierra glanced around the large, open room filled with fine antiques and lots of greenery that acted as a privacy screen.
He could see in her gaze the appreciation of the refined beauty. He knew what she was seeing: twelve-foot-high plastered ceilings, silk wallpaper, detailed molding, and eight-foot-tall windows with a commanding view of the ocean and the night sky beyond. The current owners had outdone themselves and had spared no expense. He should know—he had worked on the inn himself.
“Whoever did this,” Sierra said, “is amazing.”
“Thank you.” He meant it. Sierra had no idea he had done most of the work in this particular room.
“You did this?” Sierra waved her arm and nearly upset the tray their waiter was carrying to their table. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
Matt chuckled. The young waiter actually blushed as he set their wine before them. “Thank you.” Matt felt sorry for the tongue-tied waiter, but he knew that feeling. He had experienced it earlier himself when he went to pick up Sierra.
“There is no way you bought that outfit in Misty Harbor.” He had lived in the town his whole life and never once had he seen a woman remotely dressed like Sierra. The silky light blue pants and sleeveless top shimmered and reflected the candlelight. It almost looked as if it changed color when she moved. Sierra had piled her hair on top of her head in a sexy twisting style and had paired the outfit with silver—glittery silver sandals, a silver bag, and waterfalls of silver dangling from each ear.
When they had dropped off Austin at his brother’s, John and Kay had asked Sierra where she had gotten the outfit. Sierra had surprised both Kay and him by saying she had just picked it up at Claire’s in town. His brother John had stood there with his mouth hanging open catching flies, until his wife rammed her elbow into his gut.
A Misty Harbor Wedding Page 15
