“It’s proper English. Perfectly fine.” She sipped her water, shifted again to Adrienne. “I understand Adam’s working out at Carriage Hill and living up at Echo Lake. Did he tell you I’m flying back to London with Heather and Brody when they come home for Thanksgiving and Greg and Charlotte’s wedding?”
“I didn’t,” Adam said.
“You mean my name didn’t come up?” Her blue eyes twinkled as she kept them focused on Adrienne. “It’ll be my first trip to England. I’m making plans.”
“Gran, you don’t leave until late November,” Justin said.
“Half the fun of taking a trip is the planning. I’ve been reading biographies of Henry the Eighth’s wives. He had two of them executed. Two! I’ve known that since I was in the sixth grade but it never fails to shock me.”
“Henry the Eighth is dead, Gran,” Justin said. “You won’t be having dinner with him.”
She leveled her gaze on him. “Don’t get smart with me, Justin Sloan. You’re getting as bad as your brother Eric.” Clearly it wasn’t a problem, but she turned to Adam with an approving smile. “I’m glad I have one nice grandson.”
“Ha,” Justin said. “You have to watch out for the quiet ones.”
Adam rolled his eyes, good-humored, and shifted to Adrienne. “Samantha’s helping Gran with her research for her trip. You’ve been to London, haven’t you?”
“A few times.”
His grandmother set her glass down after the tiniest of sips. “Henry the Eighth was a bastard but he was responsible for quite the building boom. He oversaw the construction of incredible, iconic places. St. James’s Palace, Whitehall Palace, Sandsfoot Castle—there are more but I won’t bore you. I got a stack of books out of the library and I’m perusing various websites on my iPad.”
“You’re going to be in England for a week,” Justin said. “You won’t have time to see everything.”
“I’m winnowing down the list and getting a sense of the possibilities, the history, the ambience. I’m studying maps, too. Gardens, parks, squares. Didn’t you do that when you and Samantha decided on Scotland for your honeymoon?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“Curmudgeon.”
“Heather will take you wherever you want to go,” Adam said. “What do you recommend, Adrienne?”
“I’m not an expert on London—”
“I’d love to hear your ideas,” Evelyn said.
“Keep it simple. Don’t try to do everything. I’d leave time for rest and serendipity. That said, I love walking through the parks, and I was blown away by Churchill’s War Rooms.”
“They’re across from St. James’s Park, not far from Westminster Abbey,” Evelyn said knowledgeably. “They’re both on my list. I remember Churchill. This is my one chance to visit England. I want to see as much as possible but I don’t want to come back in an urn.”
Even Justin was shocked at her bluntness. “Gran.”
“What? Okay. I’ll allow for rest and—what was it?”
“Serendipity,” Adrienne said. “Give yourself time and permission to duck into a cute shop that catches your eye or a pub that’s not on a strict itinerary, or to walk down a pretty street that catches your fancy.”
“I’m bringing my cane, although my knee’s much better.”
Justin smiled at her. “Imagine that.”
According to Vic, a chronic knee ailment had kept Evelyn Sloan from attending Justin and Samantha’s wedding in England that summer, but her grandchildren believed she’d used it as an excuse not to make the trip—and regretted it later. “Serendipity sounds like a great idea,” Evelyn said, ignoring Justin’s remark.
“Plan on staying with Heather or Brody the whole time you’re there,” Justin said. “Don’t go off on your own. We don’t need a call from Scotland Yard about you going missing.”
“Brody is an FBI agent. He won’t allow it.”
“DSS agent, Gran.”
Her mischievous look suggested that subject was part of the ongoing banter between her and her grandsons.
Adam smiled at Adrienne. “Want to see this place? Come on.”
“Sure,” Justin said. “Go off with the pretty innkeeper and leave me with the old lady.” He winked again at his grandmother. “I’m a lucky guy.”
“You both are,” Evelyn said. “Neither of you is Henry the Eighth.”
* * *
Adam’s first stop with Adrienne was the inn’s library, complete with a large fieldstone fireplace, floor-to-ceiling bookcases and a cozy, old-fashioned atmosphere. She noticed board games tucked onto shelves. Clue, Monopoly, Risk, Scrabble. From the library, they headed upstairs to a long hall with guest rooms on either side. Adam explained they’d be doing some restructuring when they renovated but wouldn’t lose any rooms in the process. “The building is sound. That helps,” he said. “Heather is helping with the interior design plans from London. She likes to remind us it’s not the same as interior decorating.”
“You prefer rocks and finances?”
“I have the patience to work with them but none when it comes to traffic flows and deciding on things like bathroom fixtures.”
“Do renovation plans involve new or existing stonework?”
“Some of the stonework out back has a few problems. All the stonework inside is in great shape. Here. I’ll show you.”
He stood close to her and pointed out the window to a patio and firepit that required his attention.
“I saw your photographs at Carriage Hill,” she said.
“Photography’s a hobby.” He stood back from the window. “I’ve been working on a series of photographs of old stone bridges and stone walls in the area. I’m in no rush.” A small smile. “The bridges and walls aren’t going anywhere.”
“Vic noticed the photographs at Carriage Hill, too. They’re a nice touch.”
“I appreciate that.”
They went downstairs, back to the kitchen. Justin had left to walk Evelyn Sloan back to her house, and Samantha had catalogs for bathroom fixtures open on the table.
Adam led Adrienne through the kitchen door to the backyard with its mature flower beds and expansive, if weed-prone, lawn. “You’re still parked at Smith’s?” he asked her.
She nodded. “I have a few errands to do in town. The back door’s unlocked if you need to get into the house.”
“I have a key. You don’t need to leave it open on my account.”
“I’m used to locking up everywhere else.”
“Vic says you’ve never lived anywhere six months.”
“And a lot of places not that long. I house-sat, dog-sat, did short-term rentals and all sorts of things while I was learning about wine and traveling the world. Well, some of the world. Lots of places I’ve never been. Have you traveled much?”
“When I was in the military.”
“Right. Thank you for your service.”
“It was a privilege,” he said, pulling open the driver’s door to his stonemason’s van. “See you later.”
She thanked him for the tour and headed out to the sidewalk. He waved as he passed her in his van. She continued past her car up to Main Street, arriving at the country store as Maggie was leaving. She carried two bags and flinched when she said hello. “My head’s pounding. I think I overdid. This damn thing is taking longer to heal than I thought it would.”
“Here, let me help,” Adrienne said.
“I walked over here from the house. I can manage to get myself home.” Maggie took a shallow breath, obviously in more pain than she wanted to admit. “You don’t need to take the time to go back with me.”
“I don’t mind. It’s a beautiful day. I’d love to walk with you.”
Adrienne took the heavier of the two bags. She’d have taken both but Maggie hugged the smaller one tight to her chest, as if it was he
lping her to stay upright. Adrienne offered to get her car, but Maggie insisted she could walk home. They crossed the street to the common. She seemed better when they reached South Main and crossed it. It was a short distance to the side street where Maggie’s house was located.
The boys were in school, and the house was quiet as they set the bags on the kitchen counter. Adrienne unloaded the cold goods and put them in the refrigerator and freezer. Maggie sank onto a chair at the table.
Adrienne found a glass, filled it with water and handed it to her. “Do you want me to call Brandon?”
“No, I’ll rally. All set for the weekend?”
“Felicity and I have everything in hand.”
“Olivia will help. I will, too. The food—”
“We can go with our backup plan for food, Maggie.”
“No need. I pushed it this morning. I felt okay over the weekend. I just came down with this headache. I thought walking would help. Actually, I think it is—it’s not as bad as it was at the store. I’m not worried. The cut and my bruises are healing well. I’m lucky I didn’t get a concussion.”
“Are you picking up the boys from school?” Adrienne asked.
“Clare will walk them back here.”
Owen’s mother. “Good.”
Maggie smiled, looking wan but somewhat better. “I prefer to do the worrying than to be worried about.”
“Maybe seize the moment with the boys at school and rest. Why don’t I pick them up when they get out and take them to the inn? They can hang out there until Brandon gets off work. That’ll give you the afternoon to rest.”
“If you don’t mind...”
“Not at all.”
Reassured Maggie was okay, Adrienne left her stretched out on the sofa in the living room and walked back across the common. She bought her pesto ingredients at the country store and collected her car by the restaurant.
When she arrived back at the inn, Adam was deep into his work on the wall. She didn’t disturb him. A few minutes later, Maggie texted her: Adam will pick up the boys and bring them to the inn. Is that okay?
Why not? She wanted to help. She typed her response: Of course.
Adam disappeared for lunch. Adrienne huddled in the small office to work, but she was in the kitchen when he arrived with the boys and about five thousand dinosaurs they’d gathered on a quick stop at home. She suggested the boys set up on the terrace while he finished work. They liked that idea. “Uncle Adam’s going to take us to the lake after he gets done with his work,” Tyler said. “You’ll come, too?”
“If I can,” she said vaguely.
“Adam said it’s okay. Didn’t you, Adam?”
He set their backpacks by the mudroom door. “I did.”
“I meant if I finish my work here,” Adrienne said, pushing back an image of him in a swimming suit, herself in her tankini...
“Oh,” Tyler said. “I hope you finish.”
“We won’t run away even if we see a moose,” Aidan said. “Promise.”
She smiled at them. “Good plan. I’ll be in the kitchen. Shout if you need anything.”
Violet stayed on the terrace with them while Adam returned to his work on the wall. Forty-five minutes later, he entered the kitchen, not too dusty and sweaty, all considered. “I’m all set. We’ll head out. It’s warm today. A last swim of the season sounds good. See you at the lake?”
Adrienne hesitated. “I think so.”
“Think—”
“Yes.” She smiled past her uncertainty. “Yes, I’ll see you at the lake.”
She followed him outside. Dinosaurs were spread out on the stonework, table, chairs and a bench and perched in the catmint. The boys were stalking them from the garden, but they didn’t balk at picking up and getting out to the lake.
After they left, Adrienne slipped into her swimsuit. She didn’t want to have to change at the lake. She pulled shorts and a T-shirt on over her suit and stuffed underwear and an extra change of clothes into a canvas tote.
“Prepared for everything,” she said to herself, taking a deep breath as she headed to her car.
* * *
Sloan uncle and nephews had changed into swim trunks by the time Adrienne made her way down to the lake. She’d already noticed Vic wasn’t home. He’d mentioned he wanted to bring Rohan to Elly O’Dunn’s farm and help her pick the last of the season’s tomatoes.
Adam had on a T-shirt and his swim trunks. Adrienne tried not to stare at his bare legs and feet. He nodded toward the lake. “Swim?”
“Not sure. I mean, I can swim, but I’m not sure I want to. I’m sure the water’s nice, but the air—it’s not as warm out as it was. I don’t want to freeze getting out of the water.”
“That’s half the fun of swimming this time of year.”
“Any time of year in New England,” she said. “And you would look at it that way.”
“You want to do it. Go on. Don’t talk yourself out of it.” He leaned closer to her, a spark of humor in his eyes. “I’m encouraging you, not goading you.”
The boys, already in the water, called to her. “Come on, Adrienne! It’s not that cold.”
That cold. She nodded to Adam. “I notice you haven’t gotten in the water yet.”
“Waiting for you.”
She had no idea if he was serious.
“You already went to the trouble of getting into a swimsuit,” he added.
“Yes, but getting into the water, getting out dripping wet—goose bumps, chattering teeth, purple lips. Scrambling for a towel and jumping back into my clothes before I freeze—” She sighed. “You think that’s what I want?”
“Put it that way, yeah, that’s what I think.”
She grinned. “I will if you will.”
“You’re on.”
He pulled off his shirt, tossed it on a blanket spread out on the sand and ran into the water. He dived without breaking stride. Adrienne breathed once he had his bare chest and legs under water, out of sight, but he popped up quickly, flipped onto his back and waved to her. She figured a chilly swim was in order given her reaction to him. She pulled off her shorts and T-shirt and tossed them onto the blanket. She would have preferred a more gingerly approach to getting into the water, but she wondered if Adam was checking her out, too.
The water was not that warm but she survived diving in.
She and the Sloan uncle and nephews splashed around for twenty minutes, but that was enough. Aidan got out first, huddling on the blanket under two towels. Tyler lasted another two minutes before he raced out of the water and joined his younger brother.
Adam eased close to Adrienne. She was crouched to keep her body in the water, but he stood up. The water was just waist-deep. He gave a small shudder. “Damn. Goose bumps. You all set?”
“I’m beelining for the towels.”
“Assuming the boys didn’t take them all.”
Then what? Her suit wasn’t as revealing as some she’d owned, but the conditions would put it to the test. “You first,” she said.
He smiled mysteriously, as if he’d read her mind. “No problem.”
“I’ll be right behind you. I promise I won’t get hypothermia.”
She watched him get out of the water. He didn’t waste any time, but he didn’t run, either. Water streamed off him, accentuating his muscular body. Really, she thought, she should have stayed at Carriage Hill and made pesto. One last dunk underwater, and she surfaced and ran to the blanket. She shuddered with the shock of the cooler air against her skin.
Adam handed her a towel. “Brandon and Maggie are raising their boys right. They saved you a towel.”
She wrapped it around her, shivering. “Well, this is...” What was the word she wanted? She smiled. “Exhilarating.”
“I’ll go with that.”
Adrienne tried to read his ton
e but found she couldn’t. He took Tyler and Aidan back to the guesthouse to get changed. She sat on the blanket, wrapped up in her towel. The lake sparkled in the late-afternoon sun, the water reflecting trees and sky. A year ago, she’d never have imagined the life she had now. But she’d moved around often enough that a big difference between one year to the next wasn’t that unusual for her. It was this place, she thought. Echo Lake. Knights Bridge. Vic. She glanced up through the trees at the guesthouse. And Adam? Was she falling for him? She shifted back to the lake. It wasn’t wise to think about her feelings about Adam when she’d just seen him in nothing but swim trunks.
She pulled on clothes over her suit. It wasn’t ideal, but it was preferable to changing behind a tree or up at the guesthouse. In a few minutes, the Sloans rejoined her and gathered up the blanket and wet towels. A couple of dinosaurs had found their way to the lakefront, too. Adam set everything at the end of the stone walk that led to the guesthouse. Adrienne noticed Brandon walking down from the main house. He didn’t linger. He thanked her for helping Maggie and said she’d recovered from her headache, and then he was off with Tyler and Aidan and their dinosaurs and backpacks.
“Violet will be mad I left her inside,” Adam said, grabbing the blanket and towels.
“I don’t blame her.”
“It would have been bedlam. Come on. I’ll get you a dry towel. I might even have a hair dryer.”
Adrienne figured she could slip into her change of clothes at the same time. She grabbed her canvas tote and walked up to the guesthouse with him. Violet, indeed, was agitated, pacing at the door. She settled down quickly, though. “I’ll pour wine while you put on dry clothes,” Adam said. “I’ve got a bottle Vic gave me the other night as a belated housewarming present. That means you picked it out?”
“Probably.”
She ducked into a full bathroom off the kitchen. There was another one in the master bedroom, presumably where Adam was staying. She dried off with a fresh towel, changed into her spare outfit and stuffed her wet clothes and suit back into the tote bag. She found a hair dryer in the cupboard and tackled her hair. She hadn’t brought a brush or comb and didn’t see any in the bathroom, but she used her fingers and did an okay job. She checked her face for smeared makeup. All good on that front. She took a deep breath, gave her reflection an encouraging smile and returned to the kitchen.
Stone Bridges Page 15
