by Nancy Naigle
“I think we have a good plan. You’re good at this.” He pushed his chair back from the table. “I made a big pot of chili. Are you hungry?”
“I do love homemade chili. What can I do to help?” She followed Matt into the kitchen.
“You can pour us some tea. Glasses are in the cabinet next to the fridge. I’ll get the chili.” Matt grabbed two large soup mugs and carried them over to the fireplace. He ladled the chili from the huge cast-iron pot into the mugs and brought them into the kitchen, where he had small dishes of onions, sour cream, and cheese already set up for them.
“That smells great.” Her mouth was already watering.
“I thought we’d eat in front of the fireplace if that’s okay with you. A little less formal.”
“Sure.” She set the drinks on the oversize wooden trunk that served as a coffee table. The heavy metal straps, hinges, and latches had aged to a deep patina. It would probably take three strong men to lift the darn thing. It looked like something she imagined you’d find on an old pirate ship.
She bowed her head and said a quick silent blessing. When she lifted her head, he was doing the same. She dipped her spoon into the bowl and lifted it to her lips.
“Do you like the chili?”
“I like it a lot. I’d love to tell you that I’d reciprocate when we get the kitchen done at Angel’s Rest, but the truth is I’m not a good cook. I never date anyone I work with either. So there’s that.” It was a not-so-subtle way to make sure their roles were clear.
“That suits me just fine. As friends, maybe I can give you a hand with a couple of easy recipes so you don’t starve up here. There’s no delivery in Antler Creek.” He tapped his spoon against the side of her bowl. “Add it to your project plan.”
“I just might,” she said.
After they ate, she collected her things and he walked her out.
When she opened the backseat door to put her computer bag inside, he said, “Wow, you really made quite a haul at Flossie’s.”
“I sure did.” She pulled out the quilt. “Isn’t this beautiful? It’s like the quilt that used to be in my room at Angel’s Rest. I can’t believe I found it.”
“Nice. Blue is my favorite color,” he said.
She hadn’t noticed until just now that the quilt was about the same color as his eyes. “It’s a Counting Stars pattern.” She pushed it back into the car and slammed the door. “I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’m dying to get moved in. Even if it is just one of the cabins for a while.”
“I can understand that. We’ll get you in as soon as possible, and we’ll get those cooking lessons going too. Pick a night.”
“Thanks, Matt.” She backed out, waving as she drove toward the road.
He stood there watching from the porch as she drove off. Taking a few lessons from Matt on the fine art of cooking for one wasn’t the worst way she could spend her spare time.
Chapter Sixteen
Matt made a few calls to get some workers on board for the Angel’s Rest project, then cleaned up the kitchen. With everything from the Angel’s Rest project filed away, he rolled up another set of plans and tucked them into a tube. “Want to go for a ride, Elvis?”
Elvis slowly got to his feet and lumbered toward the door.
When Matt got to the truck, Elvis walked around to the back, so Matt dropped the tailgate and let him climb in the bed.
Matt drove across town to the Creekside Café. He carried the cardboard tube and paused to tell Elvis to stay. Not that he ever wandered away; it just seemed like the right thing to do.
Inside, Matt took his usual seat at the bar, and stood the cardboard tube in front of him between the barstool and the counter. “Hey, Barney.”
“How’re you doing?” Barney said between bites of chocolate chess pie, barely turning to give Matt a second look.
“Good. Getting ready to start a new project.”
He nodded and kept shoveling. Barney could fix about any appliance there was, and he was fast. Fast at everything, really. Repairs, driving, and eating too.
Maizey walked over and leaned on the counter in front of Matt. “You’re early today.”
“I wanted to catch you between rushes. I brought you something.” He swung the tube out from under the counter and handed it to her.
“For me?”
“Yep, and it’s on the house.” He grinned, enjoying the surprise on her face.
“What is this?”
“You were talking about expanding this place someday, but you weren’t sure where to begin. I drew up some plans for you.”
She took a step back, then placed her hand across her heart. “Are you serious?”
“Sure am.”
She popped the end off the tube, pulled out the papers, and spread them out on the countertop. “Scooch over that pie and coffee, Barney.”
Barney grumbled but did as she asked.
Maizey pressed her hands together. “You sure did. This is exactly what I was thinking!”
“I know.” He tapped his finger to his temple. “I listen. Now you’re one step closer to making it happen.”
“Thank you, Matt. You’re one of the good ones.”
“I’m happy to do it. You keep me well fed and happy around here. Always feels like home.”
“Antler Creek will always be your home no matter where you pick up your mail, Matt Hardy.” She pinched his cheek and then looked back at the plans with tears in her eyes. “Your mom and daddy would be so proud of the man you’ve become. Thank you for doing this for me.”
“Order up,” Cook yelled from the flattop, even though he wasn’t three feet from Maizey.
Maizey slid the hamburger plate from the window to the counter in front of Matt. “Thank you, Matt. This one is on the house.”
“No, ma’am. I worked up those plans because I wanted to do it. I don’t expect a thing in return.”
“Fine then. Cook, I’m going to need another burger just like the last one.” She untied her apron and hung it over the chair, then grabbed a pitcher of water and walked out to Matt’s truck with the burger plate in hand.
Matt laughed as he watched her feed his burger to Elvis.
She came back in and washed her hands, then put her apron back on. Cook handed another burger plate to her. “I believe this one is for you,” she said with a smirk. “Aren’t you afraid he’s going to wander off?”
“No. He knows what he likes, and that’s mostly lying around.”
“Did you know he was going to get that big when you got him? He probably outweighs me already,” she said.
“I think he’s taller too.” Maizey was so short that when she sat down in a chair next to you it wasn’t all that different than her standing. Matt liked the amount of feistiness packed into that tiny package, though. She reminded him so much of his mother.
“No short jokes, mister.” She wagged a finger at him. “Else that burger plate’ll cost ya double.”
“Fair enough.”
“Speaking of fair, I hear you put in a bid on the Angel’s Rest project. Since when do you take on paid work down here?”
He shrugged. “Seemed like an interesting project.”
Her brow disappeared under bangs. “Does that mean you might stick around longer than just the holidays?”
“Looks that way. It’s a big project.”
“We’d like that. This town needs some new blood in it, and you’re just the right kind. Elvis too.”
“You’re just saying that because I agreed to help you put your Christmas lights up next weekend.”
“That’s only part of it, but I do appreciate your help. Everyone around here does, but I have to ask how much of this has to do with who that project is for?”
“You mean Liz?”
“You know I do. Don’t play coy with me, boy.”
He snickered. You couldn’t hide a thing from Maizey. “You know I’m not looking to get tied down again after that misstep with Robyn.”
“S
he doesn’t even count.”
Easy for her to say. He’d invested a lot of time and energy into that relationship, and until he got working on the house and she realized he had every intention of eventually moving back … things had gone along just fine. Still stung, although he didn’t really miss her anymore.
He’d been itchy to be here ever since too. Although he’d never planned to move back until he retired, things had changed. He loved his work, but suddenly designing big fancy houses wasn’t as fulfilling as it had been. He yearned for something different, and when Liz came along something sparked in him. He wasn’t sure if it was the girl, or the project, but either way he’d locked in on the deal now.
That thought—the girl or the project—hung in his mind all the way home, and woke him up in the middle of the night too.
He’d barely slept and it wasn’t because of the chili, or the project at Angel’s Rest.
What had kept his mind from resting all night was still playing on his mind right now.
Liz.
That woman puzzled him. She was interesting, smart, and a little quirky in a cool nerdy way. She was warm and funny, but turned as cold as ice in an instant. They’d be having a great conversation and then suddenly it was as if she’d put up an impenetrable wall. Not that he was looking for anything serious. It was just kind of nice chatting with her when those icy walls weren’t pushing him away.
He’d been perfectly fine by himself. Coming back here to Antler Creek was proof that he was finally okay with everything that had happened and was moving on.
The influx of new visitors to the town if Angel’s Rest reopened would be a good thing. The population here in Antler Creek was definitely heavily weighted to the over-fifty-five demographic, and he liked the idea of more people his own age coming to the town. With the inn back in business they might even get more visitors.
“This is about the town. Not Liz.” Great, now I’m talking to myself. Or was it. Maybe he was lying to himself.
He made himself focus on the project … not the girl, making a list of all the materials he’d order in the morning.
It was late when he finally crawled into bed. Liz had made it clear that she didn’t date anyone she worked with, so if this was about the girl, it wouldn’t happen until after the project and for now he’d best just stay focused on Angel’s Rest and let the rest play out.
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING, three of the five people he needed for demolition contacted him. They were ready to roll today and could meet him on the jobsite by eleven.
Matt ordered a construction dumpster, then checked his emails before heading up to Angel’s Rest to get the project under way. On his way up the mountain road, he passed a pickup truck with the local electric co-op logo on the side. He waved as they passed on the narrow pavement.
When Matt pulled into the driveway, he was surprised to see Liz standing on the porch talking on her phone.
“Hey there.” He climbed out of his truck. “I saw the Valley Electric Co-operative truck.”
“Good morning. They just left.” She gave him a thumbs-up. “We’ll have power tomorrow.”
“That’s good news.”
“I like this small-town stuff. The guy who came was the same one who turned off the power when the art gallery closed down, and he remembered everything was in good shape then. He walked through everything with me and said it was safe to turn the power back on. The breakers are all off, so don’t let any of your guys mess with them today.”
“I’ll tape a sign across the panel, just to be sure.” Matt opened his notepad and drew a big circle with a slash through it to hang on the box. “I’m meeting my guys here at eleven to get started. I guess all systems are go.”
“I thought I’d do a little investigating of the guest cabins today if I won’t be in your way.”
“You won’t be in our way, but could you first do a walk-through with me? I want to see if any of the junk lying around is something you want to save. I’d planned to send you a string of pictures via text, but this works so much better with you here.”
“Let’s do it.” She opened the door and went inside.
“There’s not much down here.”
“Just don’t mess up that fireplace in the demo, whatever you do,” she said. “That’s the best thing in the house.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” He led her from room to room. There wasn’t much down here except a box of paintings in one closet, which she decided to hang on to and take a look at later when they had some light. He marked them KEEP, then led her toward the stairway. “Wait here,” he said.
She stood next to the stairs while he went out to the truck to get supplies.
When he came back with his tool bag and a stack of lumber, she was still standing there in the exact spot waiting on him. He placed a tread board on top of each of the broken and rotted boards, with a quick nail at either end to secure it.
“This is just temporary, but it’ll do for today.” He extended his arm toward her, wiggling his fingers for her to take his hand.
She paused for a moment, looking at his hand, then him, but finally took it. He led her up the stairs to the landing at the top.
Her eyes misted over when she took the last step and looked around. “Oh gosh!”
“I’m not sure why they tore out so much up here, because honestly it looks like they just used it for storage anyway.”
She laid her hand across her heart. “It used to be so beautiful up here.”
“I can only imagine.”
“Each room was different. My grandmother made these gorgeous quilts and throws. She hand-painted little signs outside each of the suites. I can’t believe it’s all gone.” She hugged herself.
“You know my grandmother collected angels.” She walked over and took a night-light from the wall. “I found one of these downstairs the other day.”
All he could see in her eyes were lost memories. He didn’t want to transgress upon them, so he tried to make a joke.
“What came first? The angel collection or Angel’s Rest,” Matt asked. “Or is it like the chicken and the egg and no one really knows?”
She forced a smile. “I don’t know for sure. They always lived here that I knew of, but my grandmother’s belief in and love for angels went much deeper than just the name of this place.” She turned her back to him. “This was the one place I felt most like myself. My life here felt real.”
She was upset. He didn’t have to be a sensitive guy to pick up on that. “Hey, let’s concentrate on how it will look when we’re done. You can re-create all of it.”
She nodded quickly. “You’re right. I can.” Sweeping a tear from her cheek, she recomposed herself so fast he half wondered if it had been an act. “What do we have up here?”
“All righty then. So back here there are a bunch of boxes that look like they may have come down from the attic at some point. I’ve checked the attic. It’s clear. I think some of them could have been your grandparents’.”
“Really?” The smile that reached all the way to her eyes looked so much better on her than the worry a moment ago.
“Over here.” He led her to the far corner of the room that faced the back of the property.
“That’s my grandmother’s writing.” Her voice rose an octave. “She was so organized. She’d have labeled them like this. Oh gosh, this is good news.” She tugged the top off a box labeled SPRING DECOR—GUEST ROOMS. “Throw-pillow covers. She’d change the whole look of every room depending on the season and holiday. I guess these are those little touches that made the rooms seem different. Silk flowers, and colored picture frames in springy pastels. Look at this quilt. Everything has been packed so well.” She lifted the quilt to her face and sniffed. “I think it can all be used.”
“I’ll move any of the boxes labeled like that where you can go through them first.”
Liz pushed a few more boxes over near that one. “Definitely.” She looked through them and opened one
that wasn’t marked. “This one seems to be old paperwork from the art gallery.”
“I’ll get you a marker. You can write ‘trash’ on any you’ve gone through so the guys can get them out of here. We’ll just work around these as long as we can to buy you some time. I’d hate to assume there isn’t anything in them that you want.”
“Thank you. If you need me to get one of those storage pods to move them to just let me know. I don’t want to slow y’all down or make your job any harder than it is.”
“I’ll keep that in mind as an option.” Matt took her through the rest of the space. “Nothing else up here looks like it’s worth saving. Just some old cleaning supplies and art stuff.”
“That can definitely all go.”
“Okay.” He led her back downstairs, stopping to take her hand where the railing was missing. “The first guest cabin is the one they were using for in-residency artists. I think that’s your best bet as far as getting something ready quickly to live in. If you can go through that cabin and mark anything that’s trash, I’ll have the guys move everything to the dumpster for you.”
“I’m on it. Once I get it cleared out then I’ll have a better idea of what I need to do with that space to make it livable.” She turned on her heel and headed to the backyard, calling over her shoulder, “I’m going to get started on that right now.”
He watched her walk away. She didn’t look worried in the least that she might get that purple peacoat dirty, or that her black leather gloves were way too nice for rummaging through an old dusty building.
Matt realized he was standing there smiling long after she’d cleared the door. He rubbed his hand across his face, trying to jar her out of his mind.
At eleven o’clock sharp three guys in an old blue-and-white Ford crew-cab pickup pulled into the driveway, and tumbled out ready to work. “Hey, boss man.”
“Hey, guys.” Matt shook their hands. “Good to be working with you again.”
“You bet. What do you have for us?”
“Thanks for coming on such short notice,” Matt said. “I’m paying you for this demolition and clearing all the trash to the dumpster by the job.” He handed them each a sheet of paper where he’d broken everything out so there’d be no questions. “If it takes you three hours or thirty-three you’re getting paid the same price, so let’s make this time work for us. Get it done right the first time and keep moving.”