Changing Tides

by Meredith Summers

  “Shane helped.”

  “Seems like he’s doing great work.” Jane turned back to the paintings she’d been studying. They were similar to the ones in the living room and just as old. They did have a lot of them, and maybe if they had to sell just one, it wouldn’t be so bad.

  “Ah-yuh.” Sally lingered instead of going back to work. “Those are nice paintings. Always liked those.”

  “Me too. Chandler Vanbeck said the ones in the living room are really valuable.”

  Sally scowled. “You’re not thinking of selling them?”

  “We might have to. Without another bathroom, the wedding will probably fall through, and we’re running low on funds.” Jane hated to admit it, but she supposed she was going to have to say it out loud at some point.

  “Didn’t Andie say she had a plan?” Sally asked.

  Did Sally hear everything that went on around the inn?

  “Yeah, but then she took off, and I haven’t heard from her.”

  Sally started picking up her tools. “Have some faith. That girl will come around. You’ll see.”

  Jane turned back to the painting. She wasn’t so sure about that. If Andie followed her usual pattern, she was probably booking a flight back to New York right now.

  The front door flew open, and Andie rushed in. “Big news! I’ve just been to the town hall. I talked to the building inspector, the town clerk, even the town attorney.”

  “And?” Jane asked. Andie’s face was flushed with excitement, her body nervous with energy.

  “It turns out that we can put two more bathrooms in, and we don’t need a special variance.” Andie fist-bumped Sally then turned to Jane, her fist out.

  Jane was skeptical but bumped knuckles with her anyway. “We can? How did you wrangle that?”

  “I didn’t really have to wrangle anything. Something you said about the existing bathrooms triggered a thought in my mind. Remember the three-seater outhouse that we use for storage?”

  “Yeah, I remember we used to play there as kids. Yuck. But it’s all run-down and gross. It’s worse than a porta potty. That will never fly with the wedding client.”

  “We’re not going to use the outhouse. The town clerk said that you needed a special variance if you wanted to add more than the existing bathrooms. Well, come to find out those bathrooms in the outhouse count as existing.”

  “They do?” Jane was having a hard time believing it could be this easy. “But they’re not hooked up to plumbing or anything.”

  “Doesn’t matter. It’s a loophole because the bathrooms existed originally with the house. I’ve run into similar things in my business. Not with bathrooms but with existing laws and things grandfathered in. That’s what made me think of it.” Andie pulled a piece of paper out of her bag. “I have the permit to renovate the outhouse with a functioning bathroom right here. No special variance necessary.”

  Jane’s spirits lifted. On impulse, she hugged Andie. It was a little awkward and stiff, but it was a start. “That’s great news. We can still have the wedding. Shoot! Except… how can we build an entire bathroom structure in four weeks?”

  “I bet we could do it in two weeks with the right people,” Sally piped up. “We built one for the Andersons in eight days.”

  Jane was still doubtful. “Seriously? Where would we find people to work on it on such short notice?”

  Sally winked. “I know a lot of people in this town that don’t want to see Tides go under. Your grandparents helped their grandparents, and they’ll be happy to repay the favor. Lord knows what they would build here if you had to sell, and no one wants some new monstrosity coming in. With a little bit of persuasion and a few favors, people will be able to shuffle their schedules around.”

  Jane couldn’t believe it. “Do you really think so?”

  “Ah-yuh. And I know we can persuade Ralph Marchand to do the plumbing. Good thing Claire already greased the skids with him by plying him with all those free pastries when he was fixing the pipes at Sandcastles.”

  Chapter 25

  The next week flew by in a blur of permit getting, supply ordering, and contractor hiring. Before Jane knew it, the old outhouse building had been cleaned out and demolished. A backhoe had dug a hole for the foundation of the small bath building that would replace it, and concrete had been poured.

  The design of the bath building was simple, but the white siding and nautical-blue trim would match with Tides. Things couldn’t have worked out more perfectly because this separate bathroom would come in handy if Jane had events out in the garden. People wouldn’t have to traipse back into the inn this way, and Andie had suggested adding a planting bench with a sink and a foot-wash station for people coming from the beach on one side.

  Maxi and Andie had bonded over coming up with the design for the bathroom. Jane was happy to leave it to them. They’d taken several trips to the local home-fixer-upper store, picking out toilets and sinks and fixtures. Andie had even managed to get a coupon so everything could be bought at a discount.

  Thankfully, a second wedding deposit came in, and wedding guests were booking rooms at the inn for the days surrounding the wedding.

  The project was expensive, though, so Jane had taken out a small equity line of credit on Tides, thanks to Maxi and James, who had pushed it through quickly for her. The interest rate on a line of credit was much lower than a regular loan, and it was faster to get and better than charging things on credit cards.

  Jane was heartened by the way people had juggled their schedules to accommodate her. Many of the local business owners had taken over the businesses from their parents, who had been friends of Jane’s parents. And they all wanted to help their neighbor.

  The permits had been sped through the system. Shane and Sally had worked double time on the bathroom, arbor, and dance floor. Jane suspected they weren’t even charging her for some of their hours. Claire had made some extra pastries to bribe Ralph Marchand to drop what he was doing and plumb the building as soon as they were ready.

  Jane stood with her feet planted in the sand and Cooper at her side, watching workers nail down the roofing on the small building. She could hardly believe it was really happening.

  Woof!

  Cooper bounded off to meet Mike, who was walking up the beach toward Tides. He’d texted earlier to see if he could take Cooper to visit his grandfather at Tall Pines and had invited her to go with them, but she had so much to do here that she couldn’t go.

  “Things are really coming along. Looks like you’ll be able to have the wedding after all.” Mike was clearly happy for her, but Jane’s excitement dimmed a little. There was still one fly in the ointment.

  “Maybe. There is one problem. We still need to hook up to the sewer lines at the street, and for that we need the town sewer people to come out. We’ve almost got everything ready for them, but they have a full schedule, and it might take several weeks before they can fit us in. They said they’d call if there was a cancellation, but there’s a chance we might not be able to get the bathroom up and running in time.”

  Mike frowned. “You’ve come this far. Something like that can’t stop you now. Are all the other plans moving forward?”

  Jane nodded. “Wedding guests are already starting to book rooms for that weekend. Maxi is making special pillows. Claire is matching the cake to the bridesmaids’ dresses. It would be a tragedy if I had to call it off now. I mean, not only will it be bad for Tides, but these poor people will never be able to book another venue in time.” Jane sighed, feeling the weight of ruining someone’s wedding on her shoulders. They had a few weeks before the wedding, but Jane would feel a lot better if the bathrooms were up and running now. What if something happened to delay the completion and she had to cancel at the last minute? That would surely result in some bad reviews.

  Mike put a hand on her arm. “Don’t worry. You still have a few weeks. And besides, I think I might be able to help.”

  “How?”

  “Leave that to me.
”

  As Jane watched him leave, she realized that Mike and Cooper might not be around much longer. She’d gotten attached to the dog, and the thought of the inn without him almost brought tears to her eyes. Was it time for her to do something to try to make it permanent? And could she really hope that whatever Mike was going to do would save the day?

  Andie hauled the flat of petunias out of the trunk of her rental car. She’d been lucky and had snagged some of the pink-and-white-striped variety. Her mother had always used them to edge the garden, but they were rare, and she’d been lucky to find them at the garden store.

  The garden was coming along nicely. It should be in pretty good shape by the wedding. It would take longer to fully build out the way her mother had always kept it, though. Maybe if she stayed the rest of the summer… but was she going to stay that long? The thought wasn’t unappealing. These last few days had made her realize she really didn’t have much waiting for her in New York. And Jane needed her here now.

  She was treasuring the time with her mother, even with her failed memories. Andie felt like she was getting to know her better on a different level. She’d even brought some of the flowers in on her visit this afternoon and asked for her mother’s advice. Addie had lit up. Surprisingly, she hadn’t forgotten a thing about planting flowers and proceeded to tell Andie just where to put each color, how to pinch off the leaves for bushier growth, and when to water them.

  If she returned to New York, she wouldn’t be able to see her mother at all. Even though Addie was in good physical shape, she wasn’t going to live forever.

  Glancing out at the ocean, she took a deep breath. It was so different from the city here. In New York, when you took a deep breath, you inhaled diesel fumes. In Lobster Bay, it was saltwater and sunshine.

  The sounds of hammering made her smile. She was proud of the way the bathhouse was turning out. It had been a lot of fun working with Maxi to design it. They’d picked out fixtures, pored over paint samples, and had even found a few cute decorations. Maxi had a great eye for color and decorating, and the two of them shared a common passion for design. If Andie stayed here in Lobster Bay, she imagined that she and Maxi might even become friends.

  She hauled the flat to the garden area, surprised to see a man with a young toddler there. The toddler laughed and pointed at the hummingbird feeder as the tiny brightly colored birds buzzed around it.

  She laid the flat down on the ground and paused to watch. Andie never regretted not having children, but the baby tugged at her heartstrings. Grandchildren might have been nice. Still crouched at the child’s level, she called out, “Magical, aren’t they?”

  The child turned to her, smiling, but before he could answer, someone yelled from behind her.

  “There’s my favorite boy!”

  Her heart leaped at the familiar voice. It was Shane, and he was coming toward them. He swooped in and scooped up the child, holding him up in the air. The child kicked and screeched with delight.

  He turned to Andie. “Hi, Andie. This is my grandson, Caleb.” He settled Caleb on his hip. “Can you say hi?”

  The little boy smiled and flexed his chubby fingers at her, and Andie couldn’t help but smile and wave back.

  “Looks like me, don’t you think?”

  Andie glanced between the two of them, her lips tugging in a smile. “He’s much more handsome.”

  Shane laughed then introduced the man. “This is my son, Greg. And this is Caleb. Greg, Andie Miller. Her family owns Tides.”

  Andie shook hands with Greg then returned her attention to the baby. Shane tickled him, and he laughed hysterically. It helped ease the tension. Why had she been avoiding Shane? It seemed silly now. Clearly, he wasn’t mad or holding a grudge. She’d been making too much of their past. In fact, it looked like he didn’t even remember their teen romance or the way she’d broken things off.

  One of the reasons she’d avoided Lobster Bay all these years was because she felt guilty about the way she’d ended things with Shane. Now she felt foolish and self-absorbed. It appeared that Shane had moved on from her years ago. He’d been married and now had children and grandchildren.

  Now that she didn’t feel awkward with Shane and she was making inroads with her relationship with Jane, she had even more reasons to stay and even fewer reasons to return to New York City.

  Shane’s heart swelled at the joy in Caleb's eyes. Having a grandchild had changed everything for him. He'd never known he could experience such love. Well, maybe once when he’d been young. And Andie had been that love.

  But he was older now, and that had all been in the past, water under the bridge. Yet looking at her laughing with that wicked twinkle in her hazel eyes brought it all flooding back. It didn't help that she still looked much like that young girl he’d fallen in love with. She still wore her hair in that sleek ponytail. She’d filled out a bit, but only in the right places. She was no longer the skinny girl he'd once proposed to.

  But Andie was an adult now, with her own life in New York City. She probably had a boyfriend. And a lot of responsibility, if her demeanor since she'd been here was any indication. She wasn't carefree like she had been back in high school. But every once in a while, like now, he caught a glimpse of the girl he once knew in high school, and it made his heart beat faster.

  Better not get wrapped up in her again, Shane cautioned himself. She'd hurt him once, and she was only staying in town for a short while. Or was she? He’d overheard some snatches of conversation, and Sally had mentioned some things that indicated she might be having second thoughts about that.

  Shane didn't dare get his hopes up. Even if Andie was staying, he knew he would have to bide his time if he wanted to get to know the mature version of Andie better. At least she had stopped avoiding him now.

  Chapter 26

  Sitting on the back porch of Tides in the moonlight was one of Jane’s favorite ways to end the day. It was peaceful with the wide swath of empty beach in front of her and the vastness of the dark night sky, its billions of stars stretching forever over the ocean. The waves crashing on the beach had a relaxing cadence. The glass of wine didn’t hurt either.

  Andie opened one of the French doors and poked her head out. “There you are. Want some company?”

  “Sure. I have crackers and cheese, if you’re hungry. Grab a wineglass.” Jane held up the bottle.

  Andie disappeared back inside then came back out, juggling a wineglass along with an armful of items. Jane filled Andie’s wineglass as she settled into the creaky rocker.

  Cooper, who was lying next to the railing, kept his eye on the plate of cheese and crackers as if he were willing a morsel of cheese to drop on the floor.

  “I wanted to show you some of the paint samples and fixtures that Maxi and I picked out for the bathroom.”

  The excitement in Andie’s voice was contagious, and Jane’s spirits lifted as Andie showed her paint cards, pictures of faucets, and flooring samples. Everything was perfect, from the simple lines of the fixtures to the nautical accents.

  “And I found these adorable blue-and-white striped hand towels. Of course, we’ll have a hand dryer in there, too, but these will look cute rolled up on a shelf like you would see in a spa.”

  “That will give it a little bit of class.” Hopefully not too many people use them, Jane thought, mentally adding up the laundry bill.

  Andie took a sip of wine and gazed out toward the ocean. “So, it’s all coming together, if we can just get the sewer hookup.”

  “Yeah, if…” Jane let her voice trail off. She’d waited on pins and needles for the sewer department to call with an opening in their schedule, but so far, nothing. She didn’t want to voice what might happen if they couldn’t. She’d taken out a loan, rooms were booked, and she didn’t have enough money to give everything back. Not to mention the poor bride who was counting on them to host her special day.

  Andie reached for a cracker. Cooper’s ears perked up.

  “Don’t wor
ry. It will all work out. I have a good feeling.” She chewed thoughtfully. “This was a fun project, and I had fun working with Maxi. I never really got to know her or Claire very well because you guys were so much younger than me in high school. It wasn’t cool for seniors to hang out with freshmen.”

  Jane laughed. “Funny how age made such a big difference back then and not so much now.”

  Andie washed down her cracker with a sip of wine. “Sure is.”

  They rocked in silence. Jane felt content sitting here with her sister. It didn’t escape her that Andie had stayed longer than her usual two or three days. Was she thinking about moving here permanently? Jane wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but she had to admit the last few days with Andie had been very pleasant. She wanted to tell her sister that but wasn’t sure exactly how.

  “Maxi seemed a little distracted. Is she okay?” Andie asked.

  Andie had picked up on that too? Maybe it wasn’t just Jane’s imagination. Still, she didn’t want to voice her worries to Andie. Maxi and James’s relationship was her friend’s personal business, and Andie was practically a stranger. “I think so. She’s a recent empty nester and trying to adjust.”

  “Oh, I guess that must be hard.”

  Jane glanced at Andie. She was staring straight at the ocean, but there was a tenseness in her jaw that indicated maybe Andie had some problems of her own. Well, it would all come out in time.

  Andie flipped a piece of cheese to Cooper, who caught it expertly in the air. “Will Cooper be staying on here at Tides?”

  “I’m not sure. Do you think that’s a good idea? I don’t want to do anything that could be off-putting to potential guests.”

  Andie shrugged. “We have guests now that seem to love him. Maybe it would actually attract guests.”

  “I like having him here.” In fact, Jane couldn’t imagine not having him here. Mike had said he couldn’t keep him in Seattle. What would happen to him when Mike went back home?