That seemed to be her luck though. She’d met Ben—her first serious boyfriend—just after they’d learned that Mom’s cancer was terminal. And she’d met Luke shortly before Maria died.
But really, at her age, was there any man in the world who wasn’t distracted by the busyness of life? She wasn’t a carefree college student anymore either, and life was more than fun and games and romantic searches for Mr. Right. Maybe she just needed to get over herself and realize that there were bound to be complications no matter who she ended up with.
Why did she expect it to be easy? It certainly hadn’t been for Quinn and Phylicia. They’d fallen in love while Phee was still grieving over Mom and worse, when Phee had discovered the secrets their parents were hiding about her birth father. But they’d overcome that. And now, they couldn’t be happier.
The day dragged on and when she finally turned off of Poplar Brook Road and drove up the lane to the cottage, spotting Phee’s car parked near the cabin across the lane pulled her out of her funk.
She hurried in to change clothes and walked over to Near Cottage. Her sisters flanked the large window in the front room, balancing a curtain rod across the span of windows.
“Jo! Just in time!” Britt spoke through a small collection of mounting screws she held between her teeth. “Tell us if that’s straight, would you?”
Jo walked to the opposite wall and squinted at the rod. “Up a little on your side, Phee.”
“There?”
“Right there. Looks straight to me.” Her voice echoed in the empty room.
They chattered while they worked, Phee bubbling on about the amazing time she and Quinn had in Hawaii. By the time it got dark, they had all the blinds and curtains in the little cabin hung and had even arranged a grouping of decorative items on a white-painted wall across from the tiny front entry. Nothing expensive or fancy—a 1950s starburst clock, empty frames, and other rustic elements. But the effect was a pleasing cross between mid-century modern and cozy cottage.
With their tools gathered and waiting by the door, the three of them stood on the freshly refinished hardwood floors in the middle of the living room admiring their handiwork.
“It’s looking good, ladies!” Phee clapped with glee.
“Now we need to get serious about finding some furniture for this place,” Jo said. “Anybody up for shopping some secondhand stores tomorrow?” They’d already furnished one of the bedrooms so Dad would have a place to stay while he was back for the wedding. They’d brought over a couple of chairs and a side table from the cottage for him to use, but Jo had moved those back to the cottage once Dad returned to Florida, so now the dining room and living room were completely empty.
“Do you think the stores will be open on the Fourth?” Britt asked.
“Oh.” Jo deflated. “I didn’t think about that. You don’t have to work, do you, Phee?”
“No. The flower shop will be open, but Mary gave me an extra day so I don’t have to go back until Wednesday. I would think most stores will be open.”
“Let’s at least try. Most people don’t start their celebrations until later in the evening anyway.”
“I’m in!” Britt and Phee said at the same time.
Phee twirled in the middle of the room, taking it all in. “I can’t believe how much bigger this place looks with everything painted white.”
“It does, doesn’t it?”
“Hey, I have an idea.” Britt’s eyes lit. “Since Jo and I are going to stay over here whenever we have guests, what if we get both of the bedrooms set up over here? I can move most of my things into this cabin, and Jo and I can each have our own place. Well, except when we have guests. You don’t care if I take this cabin, do you? And then tomorrow we can shop for whatever we need to replace at the cottage?”
“Britt … Are you sure?” Jo was beyond thrilled at the idea of having the cottage to herself, but since Mom’s death, Britt had been genuinely scared to stay by herself at night—in their parents’ house in town, and out here at the property too.
“I’m sure. You’ll be right across the lane.” She looked sheepish. “I think my desire to have a bathroom to myself outweighs my fear of being alone at night.”
Jo cheered. “Let’s do it.”
Laughing, Phee slipped her phone from her pocket and pressed a key. “Let me call Quinn and let him know what we’re doing.”
“Hey …” Jo grinned. “If he should just happen to volunteer to come help us move, say, that mattress, we wouldn’t argue with him.”
Phee laughed. “I bet I can talk him into it.”
“So what’s the game plan?” Head tilted, Britt eyed the living room.
Jo knew she was already arranging furniture in her mind. They all were, and Mom would have been right in there with them. “Let’s go back to the cottage and see what’s there that would work here.”
“Good idea,” Phee said over her phone. “Guys, Quinn’s on speaker phone.”
“Hey, ladies.” Quinn’s voice filled the room. “Quinn is happy to come and help move furniture, but he would appreciate it if you knew what you were doing by the time he got there.”
“Oh, baby,” Phee quipped. “As if we ever know what we’re doing at any given time.”
That started them cackling again. Laughing together somehow made Mom feel closer.
“And ladies … are you still there?”
Phee held up the phone where Quinn’s smiling face appeared. “We’re listening, babe …”
“I just want to say that I discovered muscles I didn’t even know I had in Hawaii. I’d just as soon not get introduced to any additional new ones.”
“Snorkeling,” Phee mouthed, forming goggles over her eyes with her fingers.
“We promise we’ll go easy on you, bro. No swimming involved.” Laughing, Jo herded her sisters back to the cottage. With pen and notepad in hand, she made a list of which furniture and paintings would go to Near Cottage, and on a separate page, what they would now need to shop for to replace the cottage furnishings.
“We need to find a table and chairs and something to fill that wall before this weekend.” Britt—since she was still unemployed—had become the keeper of the reservation book and monitor of the website. “We have guests coming. And more mid-week. Wednesday and Thursday, I think.”
“Then we’ll need a bed?” Jo asked. “Maybe we shouldn’t risk moving one.”
“No, we’re fine. If we find one, we’ll get it. But the reservations are each for only one couple. So there’s no rush if we don’t find something.”
“What is the budget looking like these days?” Jo was afraid to ask.
“It could be worse,” Britt said.
“It could be better,” Phee corrected.
“Can I get some solid numbers? So we can get some estimates for what we can afford to spend on each item.”
“I assume the checkbook is still in the desk?” Phee started into the room that had been hers here before she married Quinn. She stopped, a strange look on her face.
“What’s wrong?” Britt’s brow knit.
“It feels strange getting into desks and drawers without asking, now that I don’t actually live here.”
“Oh, good grief. You don’t need permission. Besides, we’ve been calling your room the library now. So it’s a public room.”
Phee put a hand over her heart, grinning. “Thank goodness. I feel so much better now.”
“Please say you’ll still keep our checkbook for us, Phee. I’d hate to guess how much Britt and I could mess things up.”
“Don’t worry. I’m still all in with this business venture. But Britt, seriously, it might be good if you learned how to manage the checkbook since you’re the one who’s here most of the time.”
Britt frowned.
Phee didn’t give her time to argue and changed the subject. “I can hardly wait until our house is finished and I’m living back on the property again.”
“Me neither,” Jo said, affection f
or her big sister welling in her. “So … what’s the damage?”
“Well, don’t forget that we’ll be able to start bringing in a little more income now that the one cabin is done.” Phee opened the top drawer and slid out a savings passbook. “Okay, after paying for new roofs and the improvements to Near Cottage, our balance is”—she ran a finger down the column—“$2,282.67.”
“Ouch! Having to replace those roofs killed us.” A frisson of worry crawled up Jo’s spine. They’d managed to build the fund to more than eleven thousand dollars before paying these latest bills.
“Yes, but it needed doing. And that still leaves quite a bit of money to do the same painting and floors in Far Cottage as we did in the other one. Assuming they keep their price the same.”
“Well, you should have some influence over that, Phee.” Jo raised her eyebrows. Quinn and a crew from Langhorne Construction had done the work for them.
Phee winked. “I think I can probably swing a deal.”
A horn sounded in the lane.
Phee laughed. “Speak of the devil …”
It was long after dark when they finished moving furniture, but by the time Phee and Quinn drove away, Near Cottage was furnished and most of Britt’s clothes and personal belongings had been moved into the cabin, and Joanna had moved a few of her things into the cabin’s second bedroom so she’d be prepared when they had guests in the main cottage.
Britt had gone to bed early, but Jo stood in the middle of the room, admiring their handiwork. And wishing Mom could have seen how the cabin turned out. Jo thought she would have approved of the mixture of textures—woods and basket weaves, linen fabric and nubby pillows, with the subtle addition of rust and peach that read as neutrals, yet gave depth to the overall look.
It amazed her that they could take a shell of a house and in a few hours, have it looking as if they’d always lived there. They’d decided to leave the gallery wall with Mom’s paintings and her teal chairs in the cottage living room—at least until Quinn and Phee’s house was finished. Phee had expressed a desire to move those things into her new home, and Jo and Britt agreed Mom would have wanted her to have them.
Jo was excited about shopping with her sisters tomorrow and loved that there would be much more shopping together in their future as they decorated the other cabin and then helped Phee decorate her and Quinn’s new home. As hard as it was to do all this without their mother’s guidance—and the joy Mom had brought to every project—Jo whispered a prayer of thanks that at least Phee would be right here on the property.
She fluffed the cushions on the sofa and straightened a newly hung painting.
If they found a new bed for the cottage on tomorrow’s foray to the secondhand stores, they’d be able to accommodate two couples and a single—or a kid or two—in the space. And two more couples in the cabin once the other one was finished enough that they could stay there when the cottage and far cabin were booked.
She and Britt would still probably use the cottage for entertaining friends, and the larger kitchen for cooking. Guests had already expressed how much they loved that the cottage smelled like cinnamon rolls or fresh-baked scones when they arrived. But their little enterprise was growing, and they were on their way to having a viable—
Jo’s phone jarred her from her daydreaming. She hurried to the kitchen table where she’d left the phone while they decorated. Glancing at the screen, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Wouldn’t you know it.”
MO-DJ the caller ID announced.
CHAPTER 17
JOANNA?” LUKE KEPT HIS VOICE low, not wanting to wake Mateo, who was sleeping in the next room.
“Yes. This is Jo …”
“Hi … Jo.” It felt odd calling her by her nickname. “This is Luke Blaine.”
“Hi, Luke.”
He waited, expecting her to ask about Mateo—whether he was feeling better—but there was only silence on her end. Finally, he said. “Hey, um … I know this is super short notice, but I promised Mateo I’d take him to the park to watch the fireworks. I wondered if maybe you’d want to go with us?”
A moment of hesitation went on too long, but she seemed herself again when she asked, “How is Mateo? Is he feeling better?”
“He’s fine. I don’t know if it was something he ate or if he had that twenty-four-hour crud that’s going around. But he’s fine now. I promise he won’t share the crud with you.”
Her laughter seemed forced. “What time were you thinking?”
“I thought maybe we could go eat first. Fireworks won’t start until dark, so we could go as late as seven. If that’s not too late for you …”
“Yes. That would work. My sisters and I were going to do some shopping. Maybe I could meet you somewhere?”
“That’s up to you. I’d be glad to pick you up.”
“I’m just not sure what time we’ll be done. I may not have time to go back home.”
“Okay …” It sounded to him like she was creating an escape plan for herself. “Do you like Mexican food?”
“Sure.”
“Then why don’t you meet us at Muy Caliente at seven. Do you know where that is? On Independence. Not too far from the park.”
“I think I know where it is. I’ll find it.”
“Okay. We’ll see you there. Seven …”
“Sounds good. Thanks for the invitation.”
He clicked off, feeling muddled. Wow. She sure didn’t sound too enthused about the whole idea. The woman wasn’t making this easy. He didn’t want to make any judgments until he was sure, but he had a feeling her reserved tone was because of Mateo. Maybe he should have asked if she minded if Mateo came along. He didn’t have a clue what the etiquette was for bringing a twelve-year-old along on one’s date. But he had promised Mateo about the fireworks and he didn’t want to—and wouldn’t—back out on that promise.
If Joanna Chandler didn’t like the fact that Mateo was part of his life, then that would be that. Because like it or not, Mateo was in his life and he’d been there first. If she didn’t like that, then she’d have a decision to make. Because they were a package deal.
Luke meant that, heart and soul. But even as the conviction came to his thoughts, it depressed him a little to think that having Mateo in his life might mean he would sacrifice a good woman who wasn’t on board with dating a guy with a kid. Not a cute toddler who spent most of the week with his mother. A surly preteen who didn’t have a mother. Who was one hundred percent dependent on Luke. That might be a deal breaker for a lot of women.
Sometimes the responsibility overwhelmed him. But he’d promised Maria. No … it was more than that. This wasn’t simply about keeping a promise. Not anymore. Now, it was about so much more. Because despite himself, he’d grown to love that crazy kid. He couldn’t imagine ever loving a son of his own flesh and blood any more than he loved Mateo. The emotion took him by surprise—and made him defensive for Mateo.
He gripped his phone. Maybe he should call Joanna back and tell her to forget it. Lay it on the line and tell her in no uncertain terms, “Like it or not, Mateo is part of my life and any woman I date will have to accept that. If you can’t be mature enough to understand why a grieving little boy needs to come first in my life for a while, then maybe you’re not ready for a relationship. Maybe you need to grow up and—”
He tossed his phone onto the coffee table with a humorless laugh. Good grief. It was a date. Not even really a second date, given how their first attempt had ended. He probably needed to chill a little and not be rehearsing lectures to the poor woman before he even knew if they would hit it off.
But that was just it. He felt like they had hit it off. Granted, maybe he was seeing things a little one-sidedly. Simply because a woman flirted with you didn’t mean she wanted to marry you. But he was a decent judge of character and he didn’t think she was faking it when she laughed at his jokes and seemed interested in his stories, and generally acted like she really liked him.
Okay. He’d give i
t a shot. He’d wait and see how things went tomorrow night. If she was still blasé about things, that would be the end of it. And—to give her the benefit of the doubt—he would speak with Mateo about his manners and make sure the kid didn’t sabotage things before they ever had a chance to test the waters.
Try as she might, Jo couldn’t make herself feel laissez-faire about meeting Luke and Mateo for dinner. She’d tried to convince herself she didn’t care whether or not things worked out. But the truth was, she did care. Too much.
She got two phone calls about an Airbnb reservation, which made her run late. She was a ball of nerves by the time she arrived at Muy Caliente. Luke and Mateo were waiting outside the restaurant. Jo had always prided herself on being fairly sure of herself, self-confident even. But she felt anything but that walking toward the restaurant from the parking lot.
Still, Luke’s disarming smile reminded her of why she liked him so much, and thankfully, Mateo seemed a little less surly than he had the night of Phee’s wedding. She was determined not to let the kid get to her.
She pasted on a smile. “Hi there. Hey, Mateo.”
“Hi.” The boy nodded politely.
“I hope you’re not starving.” Luke frowned. “There’s about a twenty-minute wait.” He pointed to Mateo, who held one of the restaurant’s pagers in one hand.
“That’s okay.”
“I should have known we wouldn’t be the only ones with this idea.”
“It’s fine, really. We should still get to the park in plenty of time, right?”
“Sure. Do you want to sit down?”
“I’m okay.”
“So … How did the shopping go?”
She looked askance at him.
“You said that you and your sisters were doing some shopping?”
“Oh … Yes.” She’d forgotten she told him that. “We found some great stuff. You should see my car. I was starting to worry I wouldn’t be able to get the trunk shut.”
Chasing Dreams Page 12
