by Kinney Scott
Events pieced together in his mind. Multiple shots of whiskey, trying to pick a fight with a big-ass tourist who was hitting on Chelsea, followed by grinding to a slow dance in front of half the town with his ex-wife. The last thing he remembered was being drug out of The Northside by Kent and Wade, and dumped here to sleep it off. I feel like a pile of steaming shit. How could I this to Natalie? I need to talk to her before she hears the embellished version from Kelsie.
Seth grabbed his phone. Of course, the battery was dead. Finding a charger at his desk, he plugged it in. Once it powered up he discovered that sleeping until eleven gave half the town plenty of time to blast his phone with messages. Shit… Shit…Shit.
Natalie had left two text messages, one last night and one this morning. She wanted to share some news. There was also a missed call from Natalie, but no voicemail. Maybe she hadn’t heard anything. Please God let me have one free pass. Two calls from his mother. She definitely had the scoop and wanted to make him suffer. One cryptic text from Chelsea, peppered with strange symbols. He didn’t have the first damn clue what those emoji symbols meant, and honestly did not care. Last, a single text from Kent, Kelsey is out of town, don’t know how much time you have to fix this. Good luck asshole.
Seth staggered to the bathroom attached to his office, brushed his teeth, splashed water on his face and tossed on a baseball cap. He heard his office door open and shut, and returned to find his mother sitting in his chair behind his desk, waiting.
“Mom, I’m barely awake, can I call you later when I can think clearly.”
“No, that should be perfect, because you can just shut up and listen.”
“Fair enough,” He mumbled.
“What happened last night at The Northside will blow over, just like all gossip in this town. But it is time for you to take your life off the shelf and start actually living. Natalie and I went to lunch last week, and I like her. I like her for you.”
That got his attention, “Natalie didn’t say anything to me about having lunch with you.”
“Does she have to run every detail of her life by you son?”
“No, point taken. So you had lunch.”
“Yes we did. Natalie likes Ashwood and feels a connection to the people and to this town. Her eyes light up when she talks about you, I’m convinced she is falling in love with you. If your unusual behavior is any indication, you love her too, and that might just terrify you.”
“I’m not terrified Mom.”
“You do love her Seth?”
“Yes”
“Have you told her?”
“No”
“There’s your first mistake. How do you expect her to make decisions about her future when she doesn’t have any idea how you feel?”
“Mom, she plans to leave at the end of summer.”
“Son, she doesn’t want to wander the earth selling coffee out of a camper.”
“I don’t build campers.”
“Can you really see that little girl living like a nomad? Do you intend to let her drive off all alone pulling that house on wheels behind that giant pickup truck?”
The only place Seth could picture her making coffee was in the kitchen of his house, wearing one of his cotton T-shirts, her hair tossed on her head in a messy bun.
“Seth, I love you, I want the best for you. You deserve another chance at love. Build a future with Natalie. She respects you, she understands you.”
He looked up, and nodded, attempting to convince them both, “I got this Mom.” He hoped he did.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Elsa opened her door to find Natalie standing in front of her with an apologetic smile on her face. “It’s too early, right? I’m sorry. If you want I can come back later.” The warm smell of cinnamon and sugar drifted from Elsa’s kitchen. No wonder Pete loved her so much. Her cooking alone would snare most men.
“Sweetheart, I was just having some coffee cake, I’d love to share some with you. Come in, and help yourself to some coffee too. It looks like you have something on your mind. Why don’t we get comfortable, then we can talk.”
“Thank you Elsa, I’ve missed being able to talk with you.” Natalie cut herself a slice of warm coffee cake, added cream to her mug of coffee and sat down on Elsa’s rose pattern floral chair, sinking into the comfortable cushions. “Oh, Elsa this is so delicious,” she moaned, savoring another bite.
“Thank you; I’ll give you the recipe. Well, dear, what is on your mind, how can I help?”
“Last night I was going through Pete’s office, sorting papers, and I found something unexpected. It appears that grandpa had property on the lake in Ashwood. Did you ever know anything about that?”
“My goodness, yes, I knew he bought property up there several years ago. In fact, he camped up there several times, and used it as a base to go fishing. I thought he had talked to a realtor about selling it. That would have been about the time you started college out here. I guess he must have changed his mind about selling the land.”
“Have you ever visited there? I couldn’t really tell what part of the lake it’s on.”
“It’s been a long while, but we did spend some time on that property several years ago. If you are standing on the property, and if you are facing the lake you might just be able to see the Fisher place to your right.”
“Just a second, let me find a map.” Natalie logged onto Elsa’s old laptop, and pulled up a satellite photo of Osprey Lake. Taking a moment to locate the collection of buildings that made up the Fisher property, she pointed them out to Elsa.
“Let me see, if this is the Fisher’s land, then this dock tucked in the alcove belongs to the Ridley’s, very nice people. The details we can see in these photos I find just astounding. Well yes this section of taller timber that must be the property, because the owners next door thinned their trees to open up the view. Their house is set back a bit. I think your grandpa’s land makes a somewhat narrow rectangle that extends back towards this steep hill.”
Just above her property, sitting atop that steep incline, Natalie saw the green metal roof of Seth’s home reflecting sunlight in the satellite photo. Why hadn’t he called, or sent a text? She desperately wanted to share this news with him.
“Isn’t that something? I was almost certain Pete had sold that land. If you have questions about the value, I have a friend in Ashwood that would be happy to help. Not that you should sell it. You shouldn’t make any hasty decisions at this point.”
“I don’t know what I should do, and who knows, maybe grandpa left it to someone else? Oh, yes, one more thing. Inside his desk were letters that I’d like to return to you, but I don’t have them with me.”
Elsa’s cheeks turned pink, and she pressed her hands to her face, “he kept those?”
“Don’t worry, I didn’t read them, those thoughts are just for the two of you. Why don’t you come by later today, and I can return the letters. Elsa, I would love for you to choose a memento from grandpa’s belongings. If there is something you would like to have, that reminds you of him, let me know.”
“Thank you Natalie. I will stop by today. There is a carving of a killer whale that we picked out together on a trip to the San Juan’s. We had a wonderful time on that trip.”
“I’d love for you to have the carving, if anything else comes to mind just ask, and it’s yours. I better get going. I have an appointment with the lawyer to go over some documents. I should be back after two, if you’d like to come by.” Nate picked up her dishes and rinsed them in the kitchen. She gave Elsa a long hug before leaving to catch a bus downtown, watching Seattle roll by through the large filmy windows.
***
Seth paced the vast gravel lot attempting to clear the alcohol induced haze from his mind. The tract of land now housed a shrunken but profitable version of the lumber mill, some empty structures, and his business.
Taking another long gulp from his sports drink, to battle dehydration, he pulled his phone from his pocket. He worked up the n
erve to call Natalie, before she heard a more lurid version of last night’s events from one of her friends.
The phone rang three times before she picked up, “Hi Seth, I’m sorry I’m on the bus, and can’t really talk right now, can I call you back?”
“No problem, whenever you have a minute.”
The rumble of the bus made her words difficult to understand, “I’ve got some news, I guess it’s good. I’ll call as soon as I can. Need to go.”
“Bye, miss you,” he added as her phone beeped off in his ear. Nausea pushed its way to the back of his throat. Most of it brought on by his behavior, not the lasting effects of the alcohol.
The smell of street vendor food and exhaust mingled with salt air as she left the bus. She walked about a block and up wide stairs to the door of the lawyer’s office. The small brick building was not too far from Pikes Place Market.
Once she entered, the assistant looked up, “Go right on in, Ms. Evert is expecting you.” Then she stood and brought Natalie a bottled water, and shut the door behind as she left.
“Hello Natalie, I’ve got the paperwork here for the sale of the boat, this shouldn’t take too long. After we get that squared away we do have another matter to discuss.”
“Thank you for your help. I have a question as well.” Natalie signed where the small sticky arrows indicated, and Ms. Evert closed the file. “Why don’t we begin with your question?”
“Well, I wasn’t aware that Grandpa Peter had land near Ashwood. I found some documents in his office last night.”
“Let me see, I’ll pull up his file on my computer. Yes here it is. The land on Osprey Lake is listed as one of the assets you inherited. When we met a few months ago, we did not go over that specifically. I am sorry; I should not have assumed you had visited there in the past. Do you have any questions about the land?”
“No, when I found the paperwork, I wondered if grandpa had sold it.” Natalie sat back, taking in her new reality. “At least this is property that I can keep if I’d like to.
“Yes, the Condo needs to go on the market within a year of Peter’s passing, under the by-laws of that community. You have plenty of time, and remember it does not need to sell within a year, just go on the market. Of course, it should sell very quickly. Do you plan to build something at the lake?”
Contemplating this new information for a moment Natalie paused, “It’s too soon to decide. My tiny house could be parked at the lake, if I chose to. I already have a spot reserved at a community on the Oregon coast. Now, I have two different options.”
She smiled, almost ready to leave, she wanted to return the call to Seth. “If you could send me an email with the contact information for the realtor in Seattle that would be helpful. I’m not sure I still have that number. Well, I suppose that clears up my concern. Ms. Evert shat did you need to discuss with me?”
“I will have my assistant send over the realtor information today, but again.” Danielle’s smile faded, “Now for the other matter. First, I don’t want you to be alarmed, but a letter concerning your Grandfather’s estate was received by our office.”
Natalie leaned forward, a frown of worry clouding her expression. “The correspondence was from your father. Apparently he was exploring the possibility of contesting the will, in an attempt to secure some of the proceeds from the estate for your brother.”
“Is this something I should worry about? Honestly I felt like Mom should have received a larger portion, but apparently she had talked to Grandpa Pete and they set up his will together.”
“Yes, she is financially secure in her second marriage, but because you will not inherit from her second husband she wanted you to be the sole beneficiary from her father. As far as your brother is concerned, those matters were discussed during the divorce proceedings. Honestly, your father does not have any legal recourse. Still this is information you are entitled to have. Do you have any questions?”
“Have you talked to my brother?”
“No, and I did not discuss anything directly with your father. All correspondence was handled with his attorney. I’m sure his attorney advised him to leave the matter as is. Your Grandfather was in perfect health and made sound decisions.”
“I haven’t talked to my brother in over two years, I hope this doesn’t destroy any possible chance to meet with him in the future.” Natalie sat back in her chair, and took a long drink from her bottled water. “Is there anything you need me to do? Would you advise that I reach out and talk about this with my father or brother?”
“Actually I would advise against that. If he contacts you directly, let me know. Peter’s wishes were followed as he directed. His greatest concern was your welfare and an easy transition of his assets if anything happened to him.”
“That does sound like grandpa. He wanted me to be happy, and never attached strings to his love.”
Ms. Evert just smiled as Natalie picked up her backpack. “Thank you so much Ms. Evert. I know you are busy, I’ll be in touch when I’m ready to move forward on the sale of the condo.”
“Thank you Natalie, please call anytime.”
Conflicted thoughts swirled in Nate’s mind. Guilt and anger mixed equally. Should she give some of the inheritance to her brother Ben? Her father had all but abandoned her. Even a call on her birthday had become a rare event.
She remembered when Ben would visit during summer vacation. When he was about thirteen excuses for sports camps and vacations pushed her mother’s requests aside. After Mom remarried, she only saw her brother a handful of times. Grandpa Pete loved and missed his grandson, but knew that Ben was the sole recipient of all of his father’s attention. That included his healthy bank account.
Headphones on, listening to her music while planted on the hard plastic seat of the city bus, Natalie tried to sort through her choices. Seattle was no longer home. Ashwood, with the slow pace and tightly bound community filled her need to belong.
Could she live in the same small town with Seth, when their fling was over and he decided to move on? How would she feel if she ran into him with a different woman on his arm?
Just imagining Seth with someone else brought the threat of tears to her eyes. This recent rollercoaster of good and bad news was probably just making her crazy. Increasing the volume on her headphones, she sunk down on her seat, gazed out the window of the bus and waited for her stop.
***
Seth attempted to answer emails and accomplish something. Why hasn’t she called? He could tell his crew was avoiding him. Not one had dropped into the office or taken a lengthy break. His crew could function without direction. “To hell with this waiting,” he mumbled to himself. Seth grabbed his jacket, and locked up his office.
He leaned his head into the home where Carlos was on a ladder, installing trim, “Hey, Carlos, I’m leaving for a few days, give me a call on my cell if anything comes up.”
“Got it, Seth, and good luck.” Carlos added with a quick nod.
With a full tank of gas and some thick coffee from the gas station, he left for Seattle, to find Natalie.
Finding the time to call Seth back proved impossible. Elsa met her at her door with a lasagna ready to go right into the oven. Getting right to work, they sorted documents, cleaned out the entire office, and relived memories, sharing laughter and tears.
Once the lasagna came bubbling from the oven, red wine, hot French bread, and salad rounded out a delicious meal. After cleaning up, Elsa and Natalie sat at the dining room table, sorting pictures into piles. In a small sturdy wooden box, the women discovered pictures of Pete, just before he joined the Navy. “He couldn’t have been more than eighteen. He looks so much like Ben! Do you think this is grandma in the picture with him?” Natalie asked.
Handing the faded black and white photo to Elsa, her friend smiled, reliving a memory. “Actually dear, I am the girl in this photo, but I’m not surprised you don’t recognize me. That was such a very long time ago.” She smiled, her face blushing as she recalled the s
ummer when she met Pete. “Did you find any other photos with this Natalie?”
“Let me see, yes, there are a few that look like they were taken about the same time.” She set the stack of pictures between them, and together they studied each photo.
“Right here, this is your grandmother, she is standing with me and my sister, Kelsey’s grandma. We had so many good times together.” Natalie studied the photo. Three laughing teen-age girls, dressed in skirts and sweaters, standing in front of a muscle car with sleek sweptback fins.
“Your grandpa was so proud of that car, not many boys back then owned one that glamorous. Around Ashwood, like now, most boys just drove an old pick-up.” Natalie had just about worked up the nerve to ask Elsa if she had dated Pete when they were young, but was interrupted by a loud knock at the door.
“That’s strange. No one knows I’m here. I hope something hasn’t happened to the twins.” Natalie said heading to the entry.
Opening the door, Seth’s broad shoulders filled up the entire space. Not saying a word, he snagged Natalie around the waist, pulled her to him, lowered his lips to hers and plundered her mouth with a thorough kiss. Finally coming up for air, Natalie stepped back slightly.
“Well hello Seth,” came a cheerful, teasing greeting from Elsa, who was gathering her sweater to leave. “Natalie, I think we have accomplished plenty this evening. Give me a call tomorrow dear.” Seth stepped to Natalie’s side, never releasing her waist. “Good to see you Elsa, it’s been a long time.” Elsa slipped by them, laughing as she pulled the door closed behind her.
After stealing another kiss, she led him out of the entry toward the living room. “What are you doing here, Seth? I would have been home in a few days.”