The Summer Cottage: Includes a bonus story

by Annie Rains

  “Jake also saved my life yesterday,” Petey said. “I heard you tell him so.”

  Trisha felt her heart drop at just the thought that Petey’s life had been in danger. One small ant bite had held huge repercussions. “Yes, Jake did save your life.”

  “So he’s my superhero, right?”

  Trisha nodded. “That’s right.” And that made Jake her hero because she wasn’t sure what she would have done if something more serious happened to Petey. Her son was her whole world. Everything she did centered around him. His needs. His wants. His hopes. His fears.

  She swallowed and pushed away the thought of anything bad happening to Petey. He was fine. He was sitting on his stool and making a huge mess of breakfast, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. “Go on and get dressed. We have a lot to do today.”

  Petey took one more spoonful of cereal, hopped off the stool, and hurried down the hall toward his bedroom. Trisha was already dressed. She took a moment to walk to the window and look at the lake view. When she’d interviewed for this job, it seemed like getting hired would be equivalent to winning the lottery. It came with a fresh start and a free place to live. On the water.

  She’d read everything she could on Somerset Lake before taking the job. Somerset Lake had a population of little more than five hundred. A majority of the town was age sixty-five and over. According to the town’s website, younger generations were slowly moving in, thanks to the booming neighboring town of Magnolia Falls. Businesses in Somerset Lake consisted more of mom-and-pop kind of shops, which suited her just fine.

  Trisha had researched all the recent crime stories from Somerset Lake that she could find as well. There was hardly anything to uncover. The town was wholesome, idyllic, and the perfect place for Petey to grow up. The lake stretched acres and offered all kinds of activity, including swimming, wake boarding, fishing, kayaking—anything a boy could want, minus the dad to do them with.

  “Ready, Mom!” Petey dropped to the floor beside Trisha and tugged his shoes onto his feet. Then he stood and opened the door. The lake air seemed to rush over Trisha as she followed him out onto the deck. Petey hurried down the steps, healthy and energetic as usual. No one would have known he’d spent a portion of yesterday in the emergency room.

  Bailey ran up to greet him as soon as his feet hit the ground. Trisha’s heart stopped. She looked around for Jake. Instead, she saw Vi walking toward them, her gait uneven and slow.

  “Good morning,” Vi said warmly. “As you can see, I’m babysitting my grandson’s dog this morning while he’s repairing a couple roofs on the cottages.”

  Trisha released the breath that had gotten lodged in her lungs at the prospect of seeing Jake unexpectedly. “Morning, Vi. Yes, I’m so grateful that Jake offered to help with the renovations. I’ve been looking for a reasonably priced contractor to do the roofing, but now I don’t have to.”

  “Oh, Jake is better than any contractor you could have found anyway,” Vi said, her voice full of pride. “The man seems to know how to do just about everything, just like his late grandfather.” This made Vi chuckle.

  “It’s all those how-to manuals he likes to read,” Trisha joked.

  This seemed to grab Vi’s interest. Her blue eyes lit up. “Sounds like you two have been getting to know each other pretty well, hmm?”

  Trisha’s cheeks burned a little and not from the full sunshine overhead. “Well, we’ve spent some time together going over what needs to be done for the cottages. Like you asked us to. Then Jake helped out yesterday with the whole Petey emergency.”

  Vi’s expression pulled into one of concern. “I was so worried about him. He’s doing better this morning?” she asked.

  “Much better,” Trisha agreed. “Jake was so helpful. I’m really grateful that he was there and knew exactly what to do. He had an EpiPen and everything.”

  “Oh yes. Jake gave us quite a scare a time or two when he was Petey’s age. I’m glad he was there for you both as well. And that you’re getting along so well,” Vi said, her eyes a little more twinkly than usual.

  Trisha hoped Vi wasn’t getting the wrong idea about her and Jake. She was debating clearing up any misunderstanding when Petey ran over and cut into the conversation.

  “If you don’t want to babysit Bailey, I can watch her for you,” Petey offered, his arms fully wrapped around the Lab mix’s head. Bailey didn’t seem to mind. Instead, her tongue lopped out with a long string of drool pooling onto the ground below.

  “You two like each other, huh?” Vi asked. “A boy and his dog. I remember Jake was always like that at your age. There’s something about a dog that heals the soul of a little boy.”

  Trisha felt a pain deep in her chest. She didn’t want her little boy to need soul-healing. And what did it mean that Vi seemed to understand that’s what they needed? Trisha hadn’t told Vi anything of her past. She hadn’t told anyone here.

  “I would love for you to care for Bailey today,” Vi said. “Jake would appreciate that as well, I’m sure.”

  “Jake is my superhero. He saved my life,” Petey told her.

  Vi smiled. “So I’ve heard. Maybe you want to do something else for him this morning.”

  “Like what?” Petey asked.

  “Well, I was planning on bringing Jake this snack and drink while he’s working on the roofs. I don’t want him to get dehydrated up there in the hot sun.” Vi held up a small brown paper bag. “Maybe you can bring it to him for me.”

  “Sure!” Petey said. “We’re going down the lake anyway. Right, Mom?”

  Trisha hadn’t planned on stopping in and seeing Jake—she needed a little distance from him before they got together tonight—but she didn’t want Vi to have to walk all the way down the shore in the heat. “We’d be happy to take it to him.”

  “Oh, thank you. It would be a lot of help.” Vi gestured at Petey, who was back to playing with Bailey. “Bailey wanders a bit. But don’t worry if she does. She takes care of herself.”

  “And she comes back?” Trisha asked.

  “Oh yes,” Vi said. “Always. She knows where home is.”

  Something ached deep in Trisha’s chest again. The dog in front of her knew that better than her.

  * * *

  Jake didn’t mind hard labor. He actually enjoyed it. It didn’t require too much thought. Planning, yes, but when he was in the moment, his mind was free to roam just like it did when he was flying.

  Today his mind was roaming to Trisha. He adjusted his position on the roof and nailed another shingle into place. He’d already replaced some of the wood framing, which had deteriorated from weather exposure. He should’ve gotten down here sooner. He’d been busy in DC though. His client load had grown exponentially over the last year, which was good, he guessed. But it didn’t feel good. It left very little time for actual living. Hopefully in Florida, things would be different.

  “Jake! Jake!” a small voice called down below.

  Jake peered over the roof’s edge to see Petey and Bailey running toward Magnolia Cottage. He pulled his ball cap over his head to shade his face and looked a little farther down the shore where Trisha was following behind. Since it looked like they were coming to talk to him, he put his hammer down, crawled across the roof, and climbed down the ladder on the side of the cottage. He met Trisha as she was approaching.

  Naturally, Bailey stormed the space between them first. He gave her a gentle pat and continued walking toward Trisha.

  “Hey, neighbor,” he said. “Couldn’t wait until tonight to see me?” he teased, loving the way her cheeks grew a dark shade of pink.

  She held out a brown paper bag. “We have a delivery for you.”

  “Wow.” He took the bag and shook his head. “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “I didn’t. Vi did.” Trisha grinned. “But I’ll take the credit of walking it down the beach to hand it to you. Can’t have you getting too hot or hungry. You might not come back to help me with the second roof or the other stuff t
hat needs repairing.”

  Jake pulled the water bottle out of the bag and twisted off the cap. “You don’t have to worry about that. I’m a man of my word. And I want to help.” He tipped the bottle back and took a long drink of water. When he lowered the bottle, his gaze went to Trisha just in time to catch her staring at his bare chest. He’d stripped his sweat-drenched shirt off over an hour ago.

  Trisha snapped her gaze away when she realized he’d seen her. And if he wasn’t mistaken, her cheeks grew an even darker shade of pink. “So how’s the roof coming along?” she asked.

  “Good. It’s an easy patch. I replaced some of the beams up there, added new insulation, and now I’m just nailing down the shingles. No more blue tarp.”

  Trisha laughed. “Vi will be very happy about that.”

  “I might not get to the second roof today. If not, I’ll do it early next week. I checked the weather forecast over the next seven days. No rain so we should be all right. Though an unexpected shower in the summer is pretty normal.”

  “As long as the tarp is there, it’ll be okay,” Trisha said.

  Jake set his water bottle down and peeked inside the brown bag. “Let’s see what else Vi packed me. A sandwich. Perfect!”

  “You like sandwiches?” Trisha asked a bit awkwardly. There was a nervous edge to her voice.

  “Doesn’t everyone? Bologna and cheese is my favorite.”

  She made a face, which he found slightly adorable. “Peanut butter and jelly for me.”

  “And me!” Petey called, reminding Jake that he was ever watching and listening.

  “Well, thank you for saving my grandmother a trip down the shore. It would be a long walk for her. Although I suspect she saw you coming and planned it this way. She’s sneaky like that.”

  Trisha looked surprised. “You think she was waiting for Petey and me to leave the cottage so she could happen to run into us?”

  “There’s a good chance.” Jake pulled the sandwich from the bag and opened the Ziploc. “We still on for tonight?” he asked before biting into his bologna and cheese.

  “Unless you want to cancel,” Trisha said.

  Jake took another bite, chewed, and swallowed before answering. “I don’t. I’m looking forward to it. Do you want to cancel?”

  She hesitated, her eyes strictly above his shoulders now. “No. It’ll be fun. We’ll have fun. Petey will have fun.” She was talking quickly, which made him further suspect that she was nervous.

  He was used to seeing her irritated or standoffish. But nervous was new. He wondered if it had anything to do with his lack of shirt and maybe a little bit of attraction she might be feeling. Or maybe that was just on his end.

  He took another bite of his sandwich.

  Trisha cleared her throat. “Well, we’ll let you get back to work on the roof. Petey and I are going to do a bit of deep cleaning in Jasmine Cottage this morning.”

  “And Bailey is coming with us,” Petey offered up. “Vi said that I could take care of your dog for you today,” he told Jake.

  “Thanks, Copilot. She’ll enjoy your company a lot more than mine, seeing as I’ll be on the roof trying not to fall.”

  Trisha sucked in a sharp breath, and her eyes rounded a touch.

  Jake winked. “Just joking. I don’t plan on falling today.” At least not off the roof.

  * * *

  Time had ticked by too fast today. Trisha and Petey had cleaned Jasmine Cottage until it was spotless, and Trisha made a list of next steps to get the rest in prime renting condition. She’d wanted the day to stretch out longer because of her plans with Jake looming ahead.

  She’d considered canceling at least once every hour. Seeing Jake without a shirt on, up close and personal, was her undoing. The attraction she felt for him was off the charts, and if she wanted to keep things platonic, then maybe she needed to limit social outings.

  She hadn’t canceled though. This wasn’t a date. It was just Jake being nice and showing her and Petey more of the town, which was something she needed. And she could ignore her attraction to Jake. As long as he kept his shirt on.

  “Why are you walking so slow?” Petey asked, looking up at her as they made their way back to Juniper Cottage.

  Trisha glanced over. “I’m just tired, I guess.” Which was true. They’d swept and mopped. Windexed windows. Scrubbed and polished until her nails were chipped.

  Trisha nibbled her lower lip. Was she going to have time to file and paint those nails before Jake picked her and Petey up?

  “We’re still going out tonight, right?” Petey asked.

  “We are,” Trisha confirmed. Because she was not canceling their plans.

  “I can’t wait. Maybe Jake will take us there in his plane.”

  “Nooo,” Trisha said.

  Petey’s excitement didn’t falter. “Maybe Bailey can come with us,” he said, patting Bailey’s head.

  “Probably not.” Trisha picked up her pace. No more dragging her feet. Tonight was happening, and she needed to get ready.

  How did one dress for a nondate to downtown? She was just as nervous about being out with Jake as she was coming in contact with new people. In her old job, she dealt with people all day. Women who needed help were her specialty. Somehow along the way, however, she’d become one of those women. No, Peter never physically hurt her, but the emotional harm was done.

  She climbed the steps to her cottage with Petey close behind. Once they were inside, she turned to him. “Go put on clean clothes.”

  “These are clean. I just put them on this morning.”

  Trisha made a shooing motion. “That was before rolling around on dusty floors with Bailey. Go.” She watched as Petey dutifully headed to his bedroom. Then she retreated to hers and stood in front of her closet. Her best friend Sophie in Sweetwater Springs would know exactly what to wear tonight.

  Trisha plopped down on her bed and pulled out her cell phone. It’d been a few days since she’d spoken to Sophie. Not a day went by without at least a few random texts. Trisha pulled up her contact list and tapped Sophie’s name.

  “I was just thinking about you,” Sophie said in answer a moment later.

  “Oh yeah? Why is that?” Trisha asked.

  “Chase and I were just thinking that we need to get over to Somerset Lake to visit you sometime soon.” Chase was Peter’s brother. Now he was married to Sophie. Trisha was happy for them. They’d earned their happily ever after.

  “I’d love to see you.” Even if Trisha didn’t want her past mingling with her present. Sophie and Chase knew how Trisha felt about people in Somerset Lake knowing her whole backstory. They wouldn’t tell anyone. Chase had a hard time dealing with the repercussions of his brother’s crimes as well.

  “I’m calling because I need your assistance.” Trisha continued to stare inside her closet.

  “Oh. On what?” Sophie asked.

  “I’m going out tonight.”

  “What?” Sophie squealed into the receiver. “You have a date?”

  Heat flooded Trisha’s system. “I didn’t say anything about a date.”

  She could hear Chase in the background though. He’d overheard Sophie’s exclamation, and he wanted details.

  “Tell him it’s not a date. I’m just going downtown tonight. Petey is coming,” she added to prove it wasn’t romantic in nature.

  “You and Petey are going downtown alone?” The disappointment in Sophie’s voice was evident in her tone. The high-pitched squeal was gone.

  “No. We’re going with a, um, friend.”

  “Male or female friend?” Sophie asked.

  Trisha sighed. Her friend was the best, but Sophie was also the worst person when it came to keeping secrets. Trisha never kept anything from her best friend though. They told each other everything. “It’s a guy, okay? But it’s not a date.”

  “A guy, huh?” Sophie sounded giddy again with the news.

  Trisha could still hear Chase asking more questions in the background. “I was just
calling to ask you what I should wear to a nondate downtown.”

  Sophie hummed softly into the receiver. “Let me think on what you have.”

  Most of Trisha’s nice stuff was from Sophie’s Boutique, so Sophie would know exactly what Trisha had to choose from.

  “What exactly goes on downtown?”

  Trisha shook her head. “All I know is there’s music, dancing, and lots of people.”

  “Dancing, huh? That sounds romantic to me.”

  Trisha rolled her eyes. “I shouldn’t have called you.”

  “Yes, you should have,” Sophie said. “Let’s see. You should wear your tangerine-colored skirt with your white cotton top. It’s fun, casual, and very summery. You could wear that ensemble to volunteer at a nursing home, to go on a lunch outing with friends, or”—she trailed off and Trisha knew exactly what was coming next—“to go on a first date with a handsome guy.”

  “You don’t even know who he is. I didn’t call him handsome, and he could be forty years my senior.”

  “As long as he treats you nice, I don’t care,” Sophie said.

  Trisha swallowed past the sudden lump in her throat. Her ex had treated her nice. As their marriage matured, he’d spent way more hours at work than with her though. The last year they were married, before he’d been arrested, Trisha only saw him at dinnertime. He was usually late, and he almost always retreated to his home office afterward to do more work.

  She’d thought he was working hard to provide for his family. Instead, he was working hard to steal from other families.

  “It’s not a date,” Trisha reiterated, standing up and walking to her closet. “But the tangerine skirt and white top is perfect. What shoes?”

  “Do you still have the silver strappy sandals?” Sophie asked.

  Trisha looked at her closet’s floor where one strappy sandal poked out from a pile. “Yes, I do.”

  “Those will be perfect for tonight. Have fun and call me tomorrow. I want all the details.”

  “All the boring, nonevent, nondate details?” Trisha asked, pulling the items from her closet. “You got it.”