“So is that everything?” He reached for the notebook but she slapped her hand down on it.
She hesitated just a moment then said, “Well, there’s just one more thing, I haven’t even gotten it in here yet, but I was wondering about adding fireplaces to some of the bedrooms.”
“Gas fireplaces I hope?”
“I was thinking the real thing. I know it would be a lot of work and they’re messy, but they’re so romantic.”
She watched as Riley closed his eyes in what seemed to her to be an especially long blink, before beginning. “First, you have some very good ideas.” She brightened and sat a little higher in the booth. “But, there are some things I really think you should forget about. Just wait,” he cautioned when she started to speak. “Next, we need to discuss your planned opening date. If you’re sticking with the time frame we talked about when you first approached me with all this, you’re going to have to forget about most of your new ideas. Otherwise, you’ll have to push that date back.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Susan snuck in before Riley could continue.
“And I need to ask, when did you do all this?” He sounded totally perplexed and was shaking his head.
“I don’t sleep much.”
“Apparently not. You know, Susan, this is a long process. I understand the excitement that comes with undertaking a project like this and I understand how it can be tempting to try to make everything perfect, but you need to realize that scaling back on, or at least postponing, some of these ideas is going to be necessary. If you try to do all of this,” he waved a hand toward the notebook, “you’re going to have to wait a long time until you’ll feel like it’s done.”
“Okay.”
“Now, some of your ideas, if you really want to go through with them, should be done at the outset. The attic rooms, for example, would be difficult to do later. Not that it can’t be done, but it would be an inconvenience having construction going on in the house when you have guests.”
Susan nodded in agreement and Riley continued. “Personally, I think the event center could wait. It’s away from the house, construction there wouldn’t be such a problem sometime down the road. But, if you’re set on having it ready for Sam and Jake’s wedding then I’ll figure out a way to get it done.”
Susan felt happier by the moment and silently toasted herself with her glass of beer. Things were going better than she had expected. Riley hadn’t ripped the notebook to shreds and he was actually complimenting her on some of her ideas.
“By the way, do Sam and Jake know they’re having their wedding reception there? I meant to ask you why you avoided the subject of the event center with Sam the other day.”
“Um, not exactly. Or, just no, I guess. I haven’t brought it up with Sam yet. She’s got some things she still needs to work through. We’re going back to Chicago soon and after she puts some of her past behind her once and for all, I’ll ease her into it.”
Riley’s attitude changed at the mention of Sam’s past and he looked concerned as he asked, “Is she okay? I thought things were going well for her. Once that nut job was caught last summer and after she and Jake got engaged, she seemed to be a different person. When I first met her she had so much sadness inside her and was so closed off to everyone around her, but that seems to have all changed.”
“You’re pretty perceptive, McCabe.” Susan gave Riley an approving nod. “She is so much better. If you had known her a year ago, you wouldn’t believe it’s the same person. Losing Danny and then Granddad and dealing with everything that came about after his death was almost more than she could bear. But, I think that now, with the wedding plans facing her and realizing that she really is moving on, things have been a little difficult. I’m confident going back to Chicago is what she needs and that she’ll come back here ready to tackle the wedding planning. That’s when I’ll tell her my plans.” Susan grinned smugly.
“Well, you have to know, I guess. Now, moving on. About the addition. I think that needs to wait. Hear me out,” he said as she jumped to interrupt. “I’m not saying you should never do it. I think having a separate space for yourself is a very good idea. Maybe a sanity-saving idea. But an addition like you’re talking about will be a big expense and will take a lot of time and manpower. Hold off a year and see how business is going, then make your decision. Building off the kitchen won’t be too disruptive, work won’t even be visible from the front of the house.”
Susan was quiet, her mind working as she chewed on her lip and frowned. “I suppose you’re right. I know I need to watch my budget, I sometimes forget about that part. But if everything goes well business-wise, maybe I can do it down the road.” She forced a smile.
“What I can do is turn that weird extra room off the kitchen into a bathroom. I know you were planning on storage there but once I get the cellar waterproofed, I think you’ll be fine using that for most of your storage. Then, with the bathroom and assuming you take the main floor bedroom for yourself, you’ll still have some privacy.”
“Oh, that’s perfect! I hadn’t thought of that. See, I knew there was a reason I hired you.”
Riley chuckled. She was like no other woman he had ever known. She wore her emotions very close to the surface. Whether she was angry, frustrated, or pleased about something was never in question. He sensed someone would never be on the receiving end of the silent treatment from her. He had known plenty of women, some he was related to, who would get upset or angry but never give a clue as to why. As if he was supposed to read their minds? With Susan, he figured, there would be some spirited discussion, some yelling, then it would be over and they would make up and move on.
Riley drew in a quick breath and blinked hard. How had his thoughts moved so seamlessly to picturing he and Susan arguing and making up? He stared at her trying to figure out what she had done to put such ridiculous thoughts in his head. It had to be her fault, he reasoned. She said something, did something, that had him imagining a life with her. His eyes bored into her searching for some way to place blame until she cleared her throat.
“Hey, McCabe, are you listening to me?”
“Huh?” It seemed to be all he could manage.
“I said, are you listening to me? I asked you what other plans of mine you’re going to nix.”
“Oh, um…” He struggled to remember what he had been telling her. Fireplaces, that was it. They were going to have a fireplace in their bedroom. No! Damn, he needed to get away. “I’ll be right back,” he mumbled and dashed from the booth to the men’s room.
Susan stared after him wondering what had just happened. Before she had a chance to think too hard on it, Shauna sat down in Riley’s just-vacated spot.
“What’s with my brother? He almost sprinted across the room. I hope he’s not already so impossible to work with that you slipped him something in his beer.”
Laughing, Susan answered, “No, I did not do that. Although, it’s a good idea. I’ll hang on to that one in case I need it later. I don’t really know what got into him. We were talking about plans for the inn and all of a sudden he just kind of spaced out. Weird, really.”
“Well, my brothers can be weird.”
Changing tracks, Susan said, “I’m glad you stopped by, I want to ask you something.”
“Shoot.”
“Riley tells me you’re into antiques, that you know what’s what, and whether something may be valuable.”
“I love antiques. I can’t claim to know everything, but I’ve studied up on some things. Why?”
“Quite a bit of furniture, some knick-knacks, some other things were left behind at the farmhouse. I wouldn’t know an antique table from one in Ikea’s clearance bin. I was wondering if you’d be willing to come take a look, see if you think any of it is worth holding on to.”
Shauna’s face lit up. “I’d love to! Tomorrow?”
“Wow, really? You could come that soon?”
“Sure, I can’t wait to see what you have.”
<
br /> “I can’t promise there’s anything of value but, like I said, I really don’t know so you’d be doing me a big favor. I’m curious about the history of the house and about how far back some of the things might date. Oh, and I found a journal today from someone who lived there, I assume, and graduated from high school in 1949. It made me even more curious. I was telling Riley I wish I’d have some pictures of what it used to look like.”
“You should talk to Frank. He did some research a few years back for Misty Lake’s anniversary celebration. He found some old photos. I don’t know if he has any of your place, but it’d be worth asking him.”
“I’ll do that,” Susan answered as Riley reappeared. He seemed himself again and chatted for a few minutes with Shauna before she left with her friends.
Once they were alone again he picked up as if nothing had happened. “The last big thing I wanted to discuss with you is your idea for fireplaces. I know wood-burning sounds cozy and romantic and everything, but I really hope you’ll listen to me when I tell you you’re far better off with gas.”
Riley hoped he sounded normal, he thought he did, but after what happened a few minutes ago, he wasn’t sure of anything. He’d had to splash cold water on his face and give himself a serious talking to about his crazy fantasy, or whatever it had been, before he’d dared come back to the table. He had even considered he may be drunk, but then realized he’d only had one glass of beer so couldn’t blame the alcohol. In the end, he’d decided with he and Susan spending so much time together, talking house, even coming across the old journal and imagining what life must have been like, it was only natural his mind had wandered a little. No big deal. It wouldn’t happen again.
“Are you saying it wouldn’t be possible to build wood-burning fireplaces or that you just don’t want to?”
“Of course it would be possible, almost anything is possible, and it’s not that I don’t want to, but it’s just a bad idea. Think about it. You’ve got the mess to deal with, you’ve got to be hauling wood in all winter long and, worst of all, you’ve got people who may have never used a fireplace trying to start a fire in their room. You’re going to have embers burning holes in the rugs, smoke filling the house when someone doesn’t do things correctly, and, who knows? You get a couple drinking a bottle of wine or two and deciding they want a little ambiance. Next thing you know the whole place is on fire.”
“That’s a little dramatic, don’t you think?”
“Not entirely. Do you know how many house fires are the result of fireplaces? A lot. Just let them flip a switch and get almost the same effect.”
“Okay, I’ll go with gas. I’m letting you win most of the arguments tonight, in case you haven’t noticed.”
“You’re not letting me win, my side is just the right side. But, thank you. Thank you for not putting up too big a fight. It makes me think we might be able to see this thing through. I was starting to have my doubts.”
“Not me, I knew we’d make a good team.” Riley coughed over the alarm that bubbled up in his throat, but Susan continued. “Now, you said ‘the last big thing.’ Are there more little things?”
Riley eyed her carefully, trying to be certain she was just talking about them as a business team and not something more, but couldn’t decipher her expression. He was becoming paranoid, he decided. “Just a few. I think we already agreed the chicken coop is a no-go, right?” When she gave a half-hearted nod, he continued. “Some of the little details I’ll leave to you. I’m not going to help you choose linens and china.”
“Fair enough. Anything else?”
“I’m curious about something.” He pulled out his notepad and glanced at it. “The sketches you did for the event center were…interesting. What exactly do you have in mind out there?” They had already discussed some of the basics of the construction, but her sketches had grabbed his interest.
“I just thought it should have a little of the same feel as the main building. I don’t think it would work to keep a lot of the original feel to the inn and then have some ultra-modern design in the event center, so I was playing around with ideas. I was thinking a bar top of reclaimed wood. I probably didn’t do a very good job of sketching it.”
“Reclaimed wood. Huh.”
“Do you think it’s a bad idea? I know granite is popular and I could go that route, but I just was thinking I could sort of design everything around the bar. I’m thinking old, or at least old-looking, brick on some of the walls with some of the original wood exposed, a reclaimed wood floor.”
Riley was mystified as he responded. “I think it’s a good idea. Strange, though, as I’ve been toying around with the idea of building a bar top from reclaimed wood. I haven’t been able to talk a client into it yet so haven’t been able to try it, but I’ve been itching to.”
“Seeeee,” Susan deliberately drew out the word while waving her finger back and forth between the two of them. “We’ve got a connection, McCabe.”
He was afraid she was right. And it scared the hell out of him.
7
All Saturday, while Susan worked with Shauna sorting and sifting, she struggled to keep her mind from wandering. If she wasn’t thinking about her evening with Riley, she was peeking out the window hoping to catch a glimpse of the lonely looking puppy she’d spotted nosing around the dumpster.
Shauna was in heaven and kept Susan hopping. She quickly got down to business and established three rigid categories: garbage (get rid of it now), potentially useful but not valuable (I’ll leave it up to you to decide what to do with it), and treasure (don’t you dare get rid of it). She ruthlessly assigned every item to one of the categories and surprised Susan more than once when an item Susan had been sure would be headed for the garbage pile elicited oohs and ahhs and was deemed treasure. Thank goodness for Shauna.
With every trip to the dumpster, Susan kept her eyes peeled for the puppy. She filled a small bowl with dog food and set it where she and Riley had seen him. On her fourth trip outside she caught sight of him greedily devouring the food. Susan stopped in her tracks and quietly waited. After eating every bit of food and then licking the bowl until it flipped over at which point no amount of batting with his little paw was going to right it, he began sniffing around the dumpster, his tail wagging furiously. Slowly, Susan lowered herself to the ground and sat, leaving about fifteen yards between herself and the pup.
She watched for a few minutes, her heart melting, as he entertained himself with a small section of PVC pipe, rolling it, chasing it, barking at it, and, when it disappeared under the dumpster, plopping down on his backside and cocking his head as if wondering why the game had to end. Determined not to scare him off this time, Susan further lowered herself until she was lying on the ground, head resting on her folded arms, and making just the smallest amount of noise so as to get the puppy’s attention. She watched out of the corner of her eye as he studied her, inching slowly closer.
Susan took a couple of pieces of paper from the box she’d been carrying and gently crushed one into a ball. Tossing it lightly into the air, she caught it and watched as the puppy quivered with excitement. She tossed it again, this time forward a bit, before crawling and scooping it up. After a few more tosses she was closer to the dog who was now unable to contain himself and was jumping up and down in place, yipping enthusiastically. Ever so gently, she rolled the paper ball to him. He pounced on it, clenched it in his mouth with all his might, and swung his head back and forth prepared to do whatever it might take to vanquish that particular enemy.
“Oh, so ferocious,” Susan crooned, as he happily shredded the paper. She crumpled another piece and immediately had the puppy’s attention. Unable to control himself, he charged at Susan and launched himself into her lap. He licked her face and bit at her hair while she laughed and hugged him tight.
That’s how Riley found her, rolling around on the ground and giggling while the dog jumped on her and over her. He couldn’t tell who was having more fun. Susan looked so c
arefree, the stress and worry that went along with the remodel forgotten for the moment, and it pulled at Riley’s heart. He wanted to fight it, even tried to tell himself it was more about the puppy than about her, but he couldn’t. When she spotted him and her face lit up even more, he knew he’d do whatever he could to keep her looking just that way.
“Look, he came back!”
“I see that,” Riley said, taking a seat beside her and getting a dose of puppy love for himself.
“Why are you here on a Saturday? You’re always accusing me of working too much.”
“I don’t know, a little bored, I guess.” And, he realized, he had wanted to see her. “Frank’s working so the house was quiet. I thought I’d see how you and Shauna are doing then maybe put in a couple of hours.”
“Hmmm.” Turning her attention back to the puppy she asked, “How old do you think he is?”
“He doesn’t look very old, I’d say a few months. It looks like he still has his puppy teeth,” Riley added as the pup chomped playfully on his finger.
“Do you think he’s lost? Abandoned?” Susan asked hugging him protectively.
“From the looks of him, it seems like he’s been on his own for a while. He’s thin, dirty, and apparently starving.” They watched as he tried to eat the cardboard box Susan had been hauling outside. “If someone was trying to find him you’d think they would have. It doesn’t seem like he’s roaming too far.”
“I suppose we should check?”
Riley guessed she wanted to hear that it wasn’t necessary, but he knew it was. “We can check with Doc Fischer. If someone is missing him, they probably contacted the vet. We can ask Jake, too. Sometimes people will call the sheriff’s office to try to find out if a stray has been picked up.”
“Okay,” Susan answered half-heartedly. “Well, I’m not going to think about it right now.” She scooped up the puppy and stood. “I’m going to take him inside until I’m done here. I don’t want to take the chance he runs off again.” She nuzzled him and he buried his head under her chin. Riley found himself hoping there wasn’t a little boy somewhere crying for his lost puppy.
The Inn at Misty Lake: Book Two in the Misty Lake Series Page 5