The Coast Road Home

by Vickie McKeehan

  “Another week should do it. For now, Logan’s waiting for us. We’d better get going.”

  He led the way to a late model SUV, a Buick Enclave, parked in the driveway. After opening the passenger door for Marley, he went around to the driver’s side.

  “We could’ve just walked,” Marley pointed out.

  “We could have if you wanted to see one or two houses. But a serious person would want to put a dent in getting to know the market. To do that, you don’t want to wear yourself out within the first hour on a hike around town.”

  “Spoken like a trooper who recently bought a house. How many did you look at before you picked the old pub house?”

  “Five. That’s when Logan took me aside and pointed me in that direction. He went through all the renovations with me, and I was hooked, especially on the idea of living in an old building with an awesome view. And everything clicked when it’s so close to the hospital. The place was perfect for me.”

  “If only I could get that lucky and find exactly what I’m after. But I’ve bought houses before, and you never get exactly what you want. You always have to settle. It’s an impossible goal.”

  Gideon parked in front of a storefront on Tradewinds. Logan’s office was a barebones loft-like commercial property with a reception area decorated in mid-century modern castoffs. Despite a 1950s feel, the place gave off an industrial vibe. Lots of metalwork. High ceilings. Large plate-glass windows. Concrete floors.

  Marley loved the feel of the urban interior.

  A tall, lanky man greeted them with a warm smile and eyes as green as summer grass. He wore his thick mass of chocolate brown hair past his ears.

  Marley would’ve been the first one to say that Logan Donnelly had a pretty face with a dimple on his chin that made him look like a young Viggo Mortensen.

  “So tell me, Marley Lennox, what are you looking for in a house?”

  His question didn’t take her off guard as much as it forced her to think of her requirements. “It has to have a long front porch.”

  “Big enough for a swing,” Gideon added.

  “And it has to be near the ocean.”

  “Most houses here are within a five- or ten-minute walk to the beach,” Logan said. “Will that do?”

  “Sure. As long as I have a view, I’ll be happy.”

  Logan frowned. “What kind of a price range are you looking at?”

  Marley tossed out a figure that would stay within her budget. “What will that get me? Remember, it’s just me, so I don’t need anything huge.”

  “That should get you a nice house. How much do you want to put down?”

  “Oh, I wasn’t planning to take out a mortgage. Besides, I don’t even have a job to qualify for a loan.”

  Gideon traded glances with Logan. It was Logan who asked the inevitable question. “You have that kind of cash on hand?”

  “Well, I did sell an entire farm back in New Glarus that had over five hundred acres attached to it. And I have the cash from the sale of my own house. I think I’ll be fine unless the houses around here are way out of my price range.”

  “Nope. You’ll be fine,” Logan assured her as he got to his feet. “Okay, I’ve got a property that has been vacant for a couple of years. It’s already been renovated or at least modernized a bit. It still has the original hardwood floors. It was one of the first houses I took on right after I decided to start fixing up the old homes in the area. But I didn’t know the town well enough to get a bead on it. And this house showed how much I still had to learn.”

  “So that’s why it’s been vacant for so long?” Marley asked, clearly skeptical of a piece of property that had lingered on the market for that length of time. “What’s wrong with it?”

  “For one thing, it’s the location. It sits two doors down from the Fanning Marine Rescue Center. I’ve been told the resident harbor seals make quite a lot of noise, day and night. They never shut up. And more recently, the house sits right nextdoor to what we use as the high school as well as the town library.”

  “So, a lot of traffic milling about,” Marley concluded, angling toward Gideon. “But the same could be said about your location. You’re right across the street from shopping and the pier where people gather all the time.”

  “Yep. The noise definitely picks up during the summer months. But I lived around a very high traffic, artsy district in Chicago. This is nothing compared to the gridlock near Lakeshore Drive on the weekends.”

  “Hmm. Anything else I should know?”

  “It comes with a detached garage and a coach house I never bothered to makeover. It’s in bad shape. I stopped renovating at the house and left the grounds as they were.”

  “It sounds interesting. Okay, I’ll take a look at it. What else do you have?”

  “If you’re looking for something smaller, Gretchen and John Dickinson are putting their little house up for sale.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Gideon noted.

  Logan held out a flyer. “Yeah, Gretchen decided she needed more room for the stuff she brought from Rhode Island. And with two grandbabies coming to visit, it seems it’s just too crowded in there when the kids come to visit.”

  Marley felt a little bump in her heart. “Is it close to the ocean?”

  Logan jotted the address down on a piece of paper and handed it off. “This is the address. Athena Circle. From the front door, I’d say the beach is a two-minute walk, maybe less. You can’t beat the view.”

  “Cute beach bungalow,” Gideon told her. “On a cul de sac at the corner of Ocean Street.”

  “What’s wrong with it?” Marley wanted to know before she got too excited.

  “It’s small, under a thousand square feet,” Logan began. “Plus, the lot is pretty small. But then it was built in 1935. Go take a look, it’s like a little dollhouse complete with Cape Cod wooden shingles. Right now, it’s painted white with blue shutters, and a bright red door. But you could always change the color scheme to match whatever style you want.”

  “That does sound cute. Do I need an appointment?”

  “Nah. We’re not that formal around here. Just go up to the door and knock. Gretchen or John should be there to let you in.”

  “Aren’t you coming with us?”

  “You don’t need me tagging along. You either like a property, or you don’t.”

  “Not a high-pressure salesman then?” Marley teased.

  “Not a salesman at all. I do have my real estate license. I do buy and sell houses. But I’m not formally a listing agent nor do I benefit much from helping neighbors find their dream homes. My interest is strictly getting people into settling here again in the town I remember as a kid. Those times when my sister and I stayed here with my grandparents were some of the best summers of my life. I want that back again for the people who choose to call this place home.”

  “That’s very different than what I expected,” Marley admitted. “Gideon made it sound like you had other houses for me to see, more than just two.”

  Logan printed off another piece of paper and handed her a ring with keys “Here’s the list of the properties in town. Some belong to me. Some don’t. Find what makes you happy.”

  After they left and got back in the car, Marley turned to Gideon. “That’s about the least pushy real estate person I’ve ever encountered. Talk about laidback.”

  “Remember when you were in the hospital, and everyone rallied to find you a place to live? Well, that pretty much sums up the people who live here. They all seem to have their own sad backstories, so they try to help out whenever they can. Take Logan for example. His sister was murdered right here in town by a serial killer when she was a teenager. He came back here to find the person responsible, didn’t intend to stay. And damned if he didn’t turn the entire case on its head.”

  Gideon started the car and backed out of the parking lot. “If you’ve been to the bank, you must’ve met Naomi. When she was a kid, some guy murdered her entire family. Arson. The house th
ey lived in burned to the ground. Naomi was the only one who escaped.”

  Marley twisted in her seat to stare at him. “Scott Phillips mentioned there were other people like me already living here.”

  “You talk to Scott?”

  She’d let that slip. “I suppose it’s too late to retract that. But Scott was there at the hospital when I woke up. In fact, he might’ve been the main reason I woke up.”

  Gideon seemed startled to hear that. “I got my first visit from Scott a couple of days after I moved in. I was in the middle of eating a sandwich when he appeared out of nowhere. At first, I kind of lost it. But then he kept popping in, and I got used to his talks. He’s the friend who showed me the bootleg room down in the cellar.”

  “Now see, that’s one more reason I feel…weird. You’re a man of science, how do you explain a dead guy popping in and out whenever he wants to have a chat?”

  “Honestly, I can’t. And I’ve tried. The point is, you have people living here who understand what you’ve been through. Ask Naomi about it sometime.”

  “I don’t think so. I’m not willing to bring up anyone else’s pain like that in a casual conversation.”

  “Suit yourself. Where to first? What house do you want to check out first?”

  “Obviously, the one no one wants, the one next to the barking seals.”

  “Really? I'd never have guessed.”

  “According to Logan’s flyer, the price is right. And it’s such a sweet, light blue color. Beachy. Did you read the details? Get a load of the layout and the new appliances in the kitchen. The grounds are almost two full acres. And just look at that porch. I already think this might be it.”

  “Whoa. Slow down. I’ve never known anyone to base their decision on such a big purchase on whether it had room for a swing on the porch. What’s the big deal about a porch anyway?”

  “Wraparound,” Marley stated flatly. “See how the porch wraps all the way around to the side. That’s a big bonus. I want to sit outside and be able to breath sea air, night or day.”

  Gideon turned into the long driveway, and Marley got her first look at the Foursquare design with its classic pyramid shape, hipped roof, large overhang, and prominent dormer at the very top.

  For her, the main selling point was still the wide porch and the white steps leading up to it. The brick columns, the unique rafter tails, were all part of history.

  She got out of the SUV with her mouth hanging open. “I love the clapboard beachy blue. I knew I would. Logan’s photograph doesn’t do the color justice. It’s almost a whale gray.”

  Gideon stared at the bold front door painted a dark smoky green. With the contrasting blue trim on the posts, his first impression was best kept to himself. It wouldn’t do to point out the ugly, boxy shape seemed more farmhouse than a beach house.

  Exploring the outside of the property revealed an open-air shower on the side. She stepped underneath the arbor ceiling. “Nothing says beach house like an outdoor shower.”

  Gideon couldn’t argue that point once they got inside. The interior sold him on the beachy look. Gleaming, wide-planked floors in washed oak ran throughout the first floor. They gravitated to the right and into the living room. Marley loved the built-in bookcases and eyeballed how she’d arrange furniture to accommodate the fireplace at the end. After that, they moved across the hall into the dining room. The smoke-blue painted walls were actually cheery.

  But that wasn’t what bothered her. Marley wrinkled her nose. “I would’ve preferred an entryway. There’s no place to hang coats or sit down and take off your boots.”

  “You’re in California now. A lot less wearing coats and boots.”

  “Still, I like an entryway,” she said as she used the hallway to get to a large open family room and kitchen. “Wow. This is way too much room for one person.”

  But even though she felt that way, she kept walking until she had checked out a half bath. When she reached the breakfast nook and the sunroom at the back, she let out a loud gasp. “Oh, this is it. This is the place to put the swing, not on the front porch at all but toward the back that faces the water. Look at the view from here, Gideon. Look at the ocean. You can see straight across the bay from here. I bet it’s even better from upstairs.”

  Gideon stopped exploring long enough to stare out the window at the boats in the harbor. “The house sits back off the road through the trees and gives you this false impression that it’s not much to look at. But get inside, and you have this fantastic view of the ocean. I’m wondering why I never realized this property existed before today.”

  “According to this list, there are quite a few houses here with remarkable pasts. Even an old schoolhouse Logan thought about converting. The one we’re standing in was built in 1930 by the guy who built the pier. He also developed the storefronts along Main Street. We might as well take a look at the upstairs while we’re here, even though I know it’s a waste of time. This is way too big.”

  The upstairs had four bedrooms, one of which could be used as an office. “What am I doing here? This is insane. What would I do with all this space?”

  “Grow into it.” But the minute he suggested that he wanted to pull back the words. Her face turned a deathly pale. “Are you feeling okay?”

  “I’m fine. But I need to get out of here. Sorry. Is there another house we can go look at? Something smaller, like the one on Athena Circle maybe.”

  “Sure. It’s down the street. It’ll take us two minutes to get there.” As they headed for the car, it didn’t escape him that her enthusiasm had dried up.

  The eagerness wasn’t completely dead when he pulled up to the curb next to a For Sale sign. Marley let out an approving sigh as she stared at the Cape Cod. “The wooden shingles make it definitely look beachy. I like the blue shutters and the red door. The color scheme works because it’s so small. Doesn’t have much of a porch, though.”

  That all came tumbling out of her mouth in one, long breathless observation. She’d already opened the passenger door when a stylish woman appeared on the stoop dressed in gardening gear. Carrying a spade in one hand and a pair of clippers in the other, the woman looked like she’d stepped from the pages of a trendy magazine. Smiling, the sixtyish female sent up a neighborly wave.

  “Hi there, I’m Gretchen Bremmer. Oops. Dickinson now. Gretchen Dickinson. I have to get better at saying that.” She held out a hand. “I bet you’re here to look at the house.”

  Marley introduced herself. “If it’s not too much trouble.”

  “Not at all,” Gretchen said, leading the way into the house. Noticing Gideon for the first time, she motioned them into the living room. “You brought my favorite doctor with you. John has been walking on air since his bout of indigestion. It’s like he has a second lease on life. You were absolutely brilliant, Dr. Nighthawk. You knew immediately what was happening, no hesitation, no wiggle room. We’re ever so grateful.”

  “I just read the results of an ECG. That’s my job.”

  Marley put her hand on his back. “He’s very modest.”

  “So I’ve noticed. Would you like some lemonade?”

  “We don’t want to be a bother. Today we’re just in and out taking a quick look, then we’ll get out of your way,” Gideon promised.

  “Are you sure? It’s no bother.” Looping an arm through Gideon’s, Gretchen gestured to the packed room. “And this is our dilemma since moving in together. When we decided to get married last fall and live here, we had no idea how difficult it would be to accommodate my stuff. Look at it. We’re wall to wall with furniture. And yet, I have no room to put my china cabinet. I thought I could get rid of it. Turns out, it’s the one piece of furniture I just can’t part with.”

  “I’m like that,” Marley remarked, feeling like she should say something.

  “It gets worse. On top of that, I have two grandbabies now, and I can’t have them over without my two little munchkins knocking into everything. It’s not their fault that the place is so cr
amped. Lucky for me, John understands. He’s agreed to sell our little love nest and get something a bit larger. I know it’s small…” her voice trailed off.

  “It’s a darling place,” Marley said and meant it. “This would be perfect for one person. But like you, I have the same problem. I have furniture stored back home that I just wouldn’t be able to get rid of. There’s not much room for my sectional. I’m pretty sure it would never fit in here. I’m sorry.”

  Gretchen tried to hide her disappointment. “Let me show off what I’ve done outside. Over the winter, John let me add my own touches.” She pointed to a trellis down by the gate. “That archway was my idea. I planted lilacs and begonias first of March and just look at them now. If you want hardy plants, get them from The Plant Habitat. They offer a money-back guarantee on every plant they sell. If you underwater or drown it, they’ll take it back.”

  Marley elbowed Gideon. “You should keep that in mind when you get around to doing your backyard.”

  “You’re passing on the house, aren’t you?” Gretchen asked.

  Boxed in, Marley sidestepped the question. “I’ve just started my search. I haven’t ruled anything out yet.”

  Gretchen gave her a wide smile. “I can live with that answer. I hope you find exactly what you want.”

  Marley smiled back. “That’s just it, I’m still working on what I want.”

  Gretchen put a hand on Marley’s. “Take your time and get it right, honey. No one’s putting pressure on you but you.”

  Eleven

  They ended up spending the rest of the morning driving around looking at the other properties. She had to cross off the old schoolhouse because it needed too much work, and she didn’t feel like being that patient. That’s when she realized move-in ready was the only way to go.

  She found it in a beautiful Mission Revival with stone floors. But Marley eliminated that one because it was too far away from the beach and didn’t have a view. She felt the same way about a rehabbed mid-century modern that faced away from the beach. She scratched off a few more as soon as she discovered the porches were nothing more than stoops.