Love Redefined
Page 23
Harper’s dark hair bounced in curls around her shoulders and down her back, and mirrored aviator shades covered her eyes. Her perfect little lips were painted a deep plum color.
“Oh Lord, what is that?” Adele had spotted Harper out the window. “Princess, is that your sister? She dresses like you did when you first came up here.”
“Not everyone with fashion sense is related to me,” Maddie scolded, coming back to my table to look out the window. “Oh, she’s cute,” she said admiringly. “Who is that, I wonder?”
“That’s my renter,” I said, my voice flat and low.
Maddie’s head spun and she stared at me. “Is it now?” I could hear the wheels turning in her head. “Well, she looks like a very nice girl,” she said. “With excellent fashion sense.” She added this last part loudly, looking at Adele, who turned away muttering, “she’s gonna break an ankle… no common sense…”
Maddie sat down across from me after retrieving my eggs from the kitchen. “Tell me about her.”
I stared at my eggs. “I don’t know much. Got here last night. Likes coffee.”
“She does, huh?”
“Don’t get ideas.”
“I have no ideas.”
“You always have ideas.” I swallowed a mouthful and gave my sister a focused stare. “I mean it. No ideas.”
She smiled and shrugged. “What’s she doing up here?”
“I didn’t interview her, Maddie.”
“She’s living in your house—didn’t you get any references or anything?”
“A couple. A Mr. Franklin and his friend, Mr. Franklin.”
She tilted her head and then her mouth dropped open. “Oh my God, are you ten?”
“Her money’s good. All I need to know.”
“And?”
I put down my fork. “I’m trying to eat.”
“Just tell me what else you know and I’ll get back to work and leave you in peace.”
“You’re so nosey.” I swigged my coffee and leaned back. “She grew up here until she was seven and then her parents split. Says her dad is still here, but I don’t know who he is. Last name Lyles.” I stood, dropping money on the table. It felt ridiculous to tip my sister, but I did it every time.
Adele had crept nearer as we talked, pretending to wipe down the booth next to us. When I said “Lyles,” she gasped lightly and then turned and bustled back to her podium when I stood. “What do you know?” My sister asked her.
“What?” Adele was not very good at playing dumb.
“Who is she?” My sister pressed. Adele and Frank had been up here for years. It was no surprise they knew who Harper really was.
“Well, I don’t like to gossip,” Adele said, pursing her lips, her little eyes betraying her excitement.
“Bullshit,” I said, and my sister tried to stifle a laugh. We stood near the door of the diner, Adele at her podium trying to decide whether to share what she knew.
I shook my head. “I’ve gotta get to work. I don’t have time for this. See ya.” I pushed out the doors into the warming morning, wishing my mind wasn’t screaming at me to stay and find out what I could about Harper.
It was better this way. I didn’t need to know anything about her, other than that she’s paying rent.
Plus, there was no way Maddie would let Adele off the hook. If I really wanted to know, she’d tell me. Hell, she’d probably tell me either way.
I drove the truck out the back of the parking lot past the Palmer offices and down the dirt service road to the site of the restaurant. It was rising up impressively from the forest, with a huge deck as the main feature. Some ingenious engineering allowed a windowed wall to enclose the deck in bad weather and during the winter months, and stay open to the air in the summer. Inside would be a state of the art kitchen and a winter sports rental and repair facility. The place was mostly bones at the point, but it had been progressing quickly and had a good chance of being ready for the reception Maddie hoped to hold there at the end of the summer.
“Hey Cam,” Chance Palmer strode around the side of the structure, approaching the truck. “Everything good?”
“Yeah, sorry I’m late.”
Chance shook his head, his toothpaste commercial smile spreading across his face. “No worries, man.” He turned back toward the structure as I pulled my tools from the back of the truck. “Can you keep an eye on the deck planking today, and see if we can get that railing up around the edges? We need to reinforce it over here where it’s going to be external to the main building so it can handle a lot of snow.”
“Pretty optimistic,” I commented. Kings Grove hadn’t had a lot of snow in a lot of years.
“One day this drought will end, man.”
I nodded. Chance clapped me on the back, and I got to work, clearing my mind of small dark-haired women and mysterious mountain stories, to focus on the physical exertion that felt like it saved my life some days.
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Afterword
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Also by Delancey Stewart
The KINGS GROVE Series:
Love Rebuilt
Love Reimagined
Love Redefined
Love Reclaimed
The LOVE IN THE VINES Series:
Vintage
Redemption Red
Beyond Redemption
A Holiday Delay
THE GIRLFRIENDS OF GOTHAM Series:
Men and Martinis
Highballs in the Hamptons
Cosmos and Commitment
STANDALONES:
Without Words
Without Promises
Mr. Big
The PROHIBITED! Duet:
Prohibited!
The Glittering Life of Evie Mckenzie