Hope Harbor

by Jill Sanders

  “What is all this bullshit?” Roger approached her, taking her arm in his hand and pulling her towards the back hallway.

  She arched her eyebrows and glanced slowly down at his hand. “I think that I made myself perfectly clear,” she said slowly. “Now, if you need me to spell it out more clearly, you can set up a time to meet me… in my office,” she made a point to add. With that, she jerked her arm free and strolled out of the room.

  Step one of her plan was now in full motion.

  5

  You never know

  It had never occurred to Dylan that working and living on a small island with a population of less than five thousand could have so many benefits.

  After starting his business, word of mouth had kept him busy and, so far, he had never printed a flyer or had a box of business cards made up.

  It was nice—every time his phone rang, he knew a job waited for him, something new and exciting, even if it was pulling off old wall paneling or fixing a hole in drywall or replacing electrical. No matter how big or small the job was, he found joy in working on the island and getting to know the locals. It had been almost five years since he’d moved to Orcas Island and, at this point, everyone viewed him as a local instead of an outsider.

  Dylan was putting the last board on his new pergola when his cell phone buzzed in his back pocket. Palmer was sitting at the table drawing as he answered the call.

  “This is Dylan.” He hadn’t had a chance to see the name on the screen because his hands were full holding the last piece of wood in place and preparing to swing the hammer and send the nail home.

  “Hi, Dylan, this is Eve Candlewood.” The sexy voice on the line had him shifting to hold the phone between his ear and shoulder. His phone and the piece of wood started slipping at the same time.

  Before he could get a better hold on either of them, his phone dropped and hit the deck with a splat. He was instantly thankful for the expensive cover he’d splurged on when he’d bought the damn thing last year. However, the two-by-four he’d been holding up slipped out of his hands when he reached for the falling phone. The heavy thing just missed his groin and hit his knee before slamming into his foot and knocking the ladder out from under his feet.

  Hitting the soft grass with a groan, he closed his eyes for a moment, trying to catch his breath.

  When he opened his eyes, his daughter stood over him, his phone held up to her ear. That’s when his hearing came back to him.

  “My daddy fell off the ladder and looks very upset,” Palmer was saying. “No, I think he’s okay.” His daughter tilted her head and ran her eyes over him. “There’s no blood. Daddy always kisses my hurts,” she said before bending over and placing a kiss on his lips. “There, now he looks happier.” She smiled down at him. Damn the kid was cute.

  He laughed and realized that she had made all his hurts go away with a kiss. It had easily melted them away. He reached for his phone.

  “Thanks, sweetie,” he said as he gathered her and the phone up. “Sorry,” he said into the phone. “My phone slipped.”

  “Are you okay?” Eve asked, worry filling her voice.

  “Yes, just bruised my pride.” And his ass, he thought as he moved to sit down. “What can I help you with?” he asked easily.

  “Well, I was hoping you knew something about electricity. I’ve heard that you’re the local handyman.”

  “I am,” he agreed. “And I do. Let me finish up here first. I can be up there in”—he glanced down and thought about dropping Palmer off at his dad’s place— “an hour?”

  “Wonderful,” Eve said cheerfully. “I’ve taken over my grandfather’s office. I can have someone show you—”

  “I know where it is. I’ll find you so you can show me what needs done.”

  “Thank you,” she replied. “See you soon.”

  He hung up the phone, a smile on his lips and his heart skipping at the thought of seeing Eve again. Eve, he’d noticed, not Evelyn. He liked the shorter version of her name. Somehow it suited her better.

  “Are you hurt again, Daddy?” Palmer asked.

  “No, sweetie.” He glanced over at the last board. “What do you say to heading over to Grandpa’s after this? Daddy has a job.”

  “With the pretty girl from pizza?” Palmer asked.

  He chuckled. “Yes, up at the inn.” He nodded in the direction of the massive place.

  “Okay,” Palmer said and turned back to her drawing. “I’ll color this for Papa.”

  His father’s place was less than a mile away. The entire island, which had a twisted shape, was only fifteen miles from one end to the other.

  His father’s house was a newer build he’d had Dylan design himself when he’d been working at the firm in Seattle. Kendra had worked on the interior decorating and each time he stepped inside the house, he thought about how talented she’d been and how lonely he was.

  Driving up the long drive to the inn, he was reminded of the first time he’d been called up to the inn by Reggie for a busted water pipe that had frozen during the wintry night.

  It had taken Dylan two days to repair the mess. The older man had rolled up his sleeves and helped him out the entire time. He’d gotten to know the man well over the past few years and planned on attending his services to pay his respects.

  The rest of his family, however, Dylan had never really had to deal with. He’d bumped into a few of them in town on occasion. Eve’s cousin, Liv, who was a few years younger than him, made a point to openly flirt with Dylan.

  Not that Liv wasn’t pretty. It was just so hard to be attracted to someone he’d caught chewing out a clerk at the small grocery store on more than one occasion about not having something in stock.

  He’d learned how to work around most of the inconveniences of living on an island where all your products were shipped via ferry or small boat within the first year. But Liv and the rest of Eve’s family acted as if the inconvenience was the fault of everyone else instead of their poor planning.

  It had been a major reason he’d steered clear of one of the only pretty women his age on the island.

  There was also just something dark about the woman he couldn’t stand. She completely ignored Palmer when he ran into her with his daughter on his hip. It was as if the woman didn’t see or acknowledge children. That was an instant turnoff. He and Palmer were a package. No matter what happened in life, they were inseparable.

  Parking next to Evelyn’s car, the one she’d almost run off the road in, he pulled out his tool bag and started up the main stairs.

  Candlewood Inn was easily the oldest building on the island that was still standing. Its massive size was a little intimidating at first. The three stories could be seen rising above the rocky shoreline for miles out on the water. He knew of the two stories buried deep within the bedrock, since that’s where he’d done most of the work before.

  He’d gotten a glimpse of the pool that hung out on the edge of a small cliff, almost as if it hovered above the water of the harbor itself. There was a wide green yard that sat between the back patio of the inn and the rocky cliff at the water’s edge. Off to the far right sat a three-story boathouse and the docks. Even further to the right was a small inlet with a private beach.

  To the left of the yard area sat the pool and a massive indoor pool for winter guests. It had been under that indoor pool where he’d spent most of his hours. The pumps were old and in desperate need of replacement. The building was insulated, but the pipes running between the two pools weren’t. Well, they hadn’t been. He’d installed insulation the last time he’d been out there.

  Stepping through the glass front doors, he took in the old wood paneling, the worn tile floors, and the long multicolored drapes that had seen better days.

  As he passed by the front desk, he waved to the concierge, Patrick. The man had moved to the island from the city and came across as snotty about it. How the guy had ended up on the island was beyond Dylan.

  Patrick glanced up and g
ave him a curt nod, then went back to his computer screen. Dylan wondered if he was playing solitaire or actually working. He made his way down the back hallway towards Reggie’s old office.

  He passed the main hall, a room that looked as if it were from another time. The pine wood panels, and the green wallpaper made the place seem older than any church he’d stepped in. It even had a large stained-glass window and a huge stainless glass chandelier light that hung over the marbled flooring.

  There was a long balcony that crossed the side of the room and a massive carved wood staircase leading down to the main floor. He could just imagine the place in its heyday—women in long dresses gliding down the intricate staircase, trailing their perfectly manicured hands down its railing as they searched the crowded ballroom for their beaus.

  Now, however, the entire place was in desperate need of an update. If he was honest, he’d been itching to put his mark on the inn from the first moment he’d seen it. He had so many ideas running through his mind and even more each time he visited.

  He knocked on the office door and stepped inside when Eve called out for him to enter.

  Seeing her sitting behind the massive wood desk, flooded with papers, he felt that familiar kick in his chest. It had happened each time he’d seen her.

  Setting his tool bag down on an empty part of the desk, he nodded. “It looks like you’ve stepped right into things.”

  She glanced up at him, her smile slipping slightly as she sighed. “Yeah.” She stood up suddenly and held out her hand. “Thank you for coming so quickly.”

  He moved closer and took her hand, noticing the instant spark he felt upon touching her soft skin.

  “I didn’t mean to drag you away from your family,” she said, moving around the desk. “But I’m concerned what I’ve found is a fire hazard.”

  “Better safe than sorry.” He glanced around. “The whole place could use a looking over,” he added.

  She winced and bit her bottom lip, a move that had his mouth watering.

  “True. Unfortunately, what the place needs and what I can afford at the moment are not in alignment.”

  “You already know that, after being here only a few days?” he asked, picking up his tool bag and following her out of the office.

  She glanced up at him. “I think I knew that long before I stepped foot back in this place.” She stopped and looked around the hallway. “Paint peeling off the walls, floors that need replacing, interior designs from the eighties…” She sighed. “Not to mention the bones of this place are falling apart. Electric, plumbing…” She tilted her head. “Actually, it’s how I found your number.”

  “Oh?” he asked, enjoying the way her hair fell around her face as she moved.

  “I’m afraid Reggie shorted your last invoice by a hundred dollars. I’ve made a point to correct his mistake.” She pulled a check from her pocket.

  He thought about declining the funds, then looked into her determined eyes and slid the check from her hand, letting their fingers touch, needing to see if the spark would happen each time that he touched her. It did.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  Her eyes scanned his, satisfied that he wasn’t going to argue with her.

  “You know, I can inspect the place.” He saw sadness creep into her eyes and added quickly, “For free. It’s a service. I’ll write up a list of items and their order of importance, so you won’t have to worry about anything… unexpected heading your way. That way, you can know everything that needs to be handled. The important stuff, at least.”

  She was back to biting her bottom lip. He wondered what it would be like to suck it into his mouth, taste it, savor it, what sounds she would make if he did so. That thought caused him to lose his entire train of thought, so what she said next made him pause.

  “That would be wonderful,” she said, her eyes darting to his lips for a moment, then back to his eyes. “The problem is down here.” She motioned towards a doorway.

  He followed her down a narrow staircase that led to the basement. He hadn’t even known the staircase existed, since he and Reggie had used the main spiral staircase to the basement levels.

  “Wow, this place is a maze,” he said under his breath when they stepped out into a narrow curved hallway.

  She glanced over her shoulder and chuckled. “I suppose you could get lost if you didn’t know where you were going.” She opened a door. “Thankfully, this was my playground.” She motioned him into the room. “It’s the main electric room for the kitchen.” She stepped in the small space behind him. “This breaker, number ten”—she motioned to the breaker box— “keeps flipping. Three times this morning and I lost count last night.”

  He moved over and looked at the box. “Yeah, it would. Someone has shoved a thirty-amp breaker where a fifty-amp is needed.” He glanced over at her. “It could have been just a mistake. They’re both double pole amps. If you warn everyone in the kitchen that they’ll be down for five minutes, I can have these switched out.”

  “I’ll go tell them now.” She quickly disappeared. When she returned, he had the fifty-amp ready and had inspected the rest of the breaker box. “They’re ready,” she informed him.

  “You’ve got two more breakers I’ll switch out. All three of them are marked for kitchen spots.” He showed her. “Next time, if any of the breakers need swapping out, give me a call.” He flipped the main off and got to work changing out the three breakers. “There,” he said when he was finished. “I’ll leave these here.” He started to set them down, but she reached for them.

  “I’ll keep them,” she said, a stressed look crossing her face.

  “How long have they been having problems in the kitchen?” he asked, shutting the panel on the breaker box.

  “Since my arrival,” she said as she glanced around the room. “Do you think…” She nodded towards the door. “Could you put a lock on the door?”

  “Think someone’s been in here?” he asked, meaning it as a joke. But seeing the worried look in her eyes, he stilled. “You think someone sabotaged it? Like I said, it’s a common mistake. If you don’t know what you’re doing—”

  “No,” she broke in. “I’m sure it was just an oversight. Still, I’d hate for guests to wander in here. As you said, it’s a maze down here, and I’d like to keep guests out of dangerous areas.”

  He nodded. “I have a few door locks in my truck. I’ll go grab one and have it installed in less than half an hour.”

  “Thank you.” She seemed to relax.

  “How many other electric panels are in this place? While I’m here, I can take a look at them, if you’d like.”

  She seemed to think for a while. “Yes, I suppose that would be wise. I’ll show you them, then you can add the locks. There are rooms like this on each floor, positioned directly above each other.”

  “Makes sense,” he said, following her down the narrow stairs. It was damn near impossible not to watch her hips sway as she walked in front of him.

  She was wearing a tight-fitting pair of black slacks with a cream-colored top. Her low heels echoed on the tile as he followed her to the next room.

  “I don’t suppose you have six locks in your truck?” she asked when they opened the second door.

  “No, but I can run into town and get them all. That way they will all have matching keys.”

  “That would be best,” she said after a moment.

  He stepped past her into an almost identical room on the bottommost basement floor and frowned.

  This electric box was a mess. Dust and cobwebs layered almost every inch, every breaker, except one, which was obviously in the wrong spot.

  “What?” she asked, moving closer.

  He motioned to the spot. “This has been changed out. I’d say in the past few hours.” He glanced around. “Have you had any problems on this floor?”

  She thought about it. “Really, only the laundry is on this level. That and a bunch of storerooms that we hardly use. The laundry is usually do
ne in the afternoon. As far as I know, last night went off without a hitch.”

  He nodded. “Can I?” He motioned to the breaker.

  “Yes, no one should be in there working yet.”

  He quickly replaced the breaker with the correct one, which had been tossed aside, then handed Eve the extra breaker he’d removed.

  “Let’s have a look at the other floors.” He was beginning to think that the breakers were being switched on purpose.

  “Would these have caused fires?” she asked as they ascended the stairs to the main level.

  He thought about it. “No, they would have been more of an annoyance than anything. Causing the breakers to flip constantly.”

  She nodded. “Then they’ve accomplished the task. Last night I had to stand in the room and flip the breaker each time it turned off during dinner.” She groaned.

  He stepped into the next room and found two more breakers out of place with signs that they had recently been replaced. One of them was even seated wrong.

  “Okay, I can definitely say you have an issue here.” He glanced over at her. “Currently, you don’t have any power to…” He leaned in and tried to read the print on the breaker box. “Room ten?” He squinted in the dark room.

  She frowned. “That…” She shook her head. “That’s my office. I was working in there…” She stopped talking and then rushed from the room.