Say I Do in Good Hope

by Cindy Kirk

  “I don’t have time to wait. Lolo is arriving Saturday.”

  Reaching over, she touched his arm. “Please don’t make me move out.”

  Something flickered behind his eyes, a look she couldn’t quite decipher.

  He rubbed his chin. “This is a large home with a lot of bedrooms.”

  Eliza wasn’t sure where he was going with this, so she waited. She told herself it was a good sign he hadn’t yet ordered her to pack her bags. Until that happened, she held on to hope for an amicable resolution.

  Even if things went south, that didn’t mean she’d move out. This was her place, and didn’t someone say possession was nine-tenths of the law? All Eliza knew was she’d chain herself to the banister before she’d be kicked out of her own home.

  “There may be a solution.”

  Eliza expelled the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Kyle was a reasonable man. Why had she ever thought him arrogant?

  She smiled and attempted to hide her relief. It was never wise to let someone know they had the upper hand, even if they did. “What are you proposing?”

  “We’ll live here together until the legal issues are resolved.”

  Chapter 2

  “Absolutely not.” Eliza jumped to her feet, two bright splotches of red coloring her pale cheeks. “This is my home.”

  For some reason, Eliza reminded him of Lolo when she got into one of her dramatic “moods.” Kyle found himself more amused than irritated.

  “Legally,” Kyle kept his tone even, “it’s mine.”

  Her chin jutted up. “I won’t leave.”

  Yep, he thought, stubborn. Just like Lolo.

  Eliza met his gaze with a boldness that would have intimidated most men.

  He didn’t look away. “I believe the sheriff made it clear that if you don’t leave voluntarily, he’ll haul you out.” He settled back against the brocaded satin of the sofa and took a sip of wine.

  “He wouldn’t dare.”

  Another sip of wine. “I don’t know Cade well, but something tells me the man takes his duties seriously.”

  Eliza stood there, chest heaving, those fabulous gray eyes flashing. She looked like a warrior. One ready to go down on her sword because of stubborn pride.

  She might fool herself into thinking the sheriff would back down, but deep down she knew the truth. Cade Rallis was sworn to uphold the law, and that’s what he’d do.

  Kyle wasn’t sure how much of her story was true. Facts were facts. Her name hadn’t been on the title. Her father had signed all the necessary papers, transferring the home to him.

  If Eliza had a beef, she needed to take it up with her dad or pursue her case through legal channels. The home was his, and he felt he’d been generous in offering to let her stay.

  It hadn’t been an altogether altruistic move. If she stayed, the furniture stayed. That meant he wouldn’t have to scramble to make the place look like a home. Plus, there would be a woman around.

  Although Kyle didn’t know Eliza well, Good Hope’s mayor had known her since childhood and Jeremy considered her a good friend. That was a good enough reference for him.

  “It might work.”

  Her words pulled Kyle back from his reverie. He noticed Eliza’s bosoms had quit heaving. Pity. In fact, the iron maiden demeanor she wore like a righteous shield appeared to be firmly back in place.

  When she didn’t continue, he raised a brow.

  “I suppose you could sleep here until all this is resolved.” She waved a dismissive hand. “I’ve got eight bedrooms.”

  “I’m not talking about just sleeping here.” Kyle kept his gaze firmly fixed on her. “My sister and I would live here.”

  She continued on as if he hadn’t spoken. “You’d each have your own bedroom and bathroom. Two of the bedrooms available have a sitting room you could use as your parlor. If you needed to use the kitchen, you’d have to run that by me.”

  When she paused, he cocked his head. “Are you finished?”

  Her gaze narrowed. She gave him a regal nod.

  “Now, let me tell you how it’s going to be, as this is my house and you are the guest.” When she opened her mouth to speak, he held up a hand. “It’s important to me that my sister have a home during the time she’s in Good Hope. That’s why I purchased this place. There will be no ‘my part of the house’ or ‘your part of the house.’ This will be a home. If not, I suggest you leave now.”

  Eliza closed her eyes for a moment, and he felt the pity stir again. Then, they opened and flashed.

  Here it comes, he thought. She’s going to burn the only bridge she has because of foolish pride. While he sympathized with her predicament, his duty was to his little sister.

  Lolo had enough stress in her life without moving into a war zone.

  The brunette took one deep breath, then another. She held out her hands, palms down. “Okay. We’ll do it your way.”

  Surprise skittered through Kyle. It wasn’t often he found himself surprised by someone’s behavior.

  “Good.” Setting down his glass, he pushed to his feet. “I’ll go get my stuff.”

  “What?” Her eyes widened. “Now?”

  “No time like the present.” He grinned, glanced around. “Sleeping under this roof is going to be a good sight more pleasant than Sweet Dreams. There’s just one more thing.”

  The suspicion was back in those smoky depths, strong as a flame that had been torchlit. “What?”

  When he’d closed on the house, the realtor had provided him with the keys. But the way Kyle saw it, having Eliza hand one to him would bring it home that this was his place as much as it was hers. Even more, since his name was now the one on the deed.

  Kyle held out his hand, palm up, and smiled pleasantly. “The key?”

  Eliza waited until Kyle left before pulling out her phone. If Donald Shaw thought he could steamroll his only daughter, he was seconds away from finding out he was wrong. She hit his number in Palm Springs.

  “Eliza, I was just leaving the house for the club.” Her dad’s voice was easy, as if he was unaware he’d destroyed his only daughter’s life with one e-mail. “I should be available tomorrow. Let’s talk then.”

  “Why did you do it?” When her voice threatened to tremble, Eliza paused to steady it. Her dad abhorred weakness of any kind. “Gram wanted me to have the house.”

  “She left it to me.” Her father’s tone betrayed no emotion.

  “With the understanding that you would pass it on to me,” Eliza sputtered, feeling like a tea kettle about to blow. “She made that very clear.”

  Her father hesitated for only a second. “The home belonged to me. To do with as I chose.”

  “You know what the house means to me.”

  “Too much.”

  “Pardon me?”

  “You’re too attached. To your routine. To the house. To the town.” Donald’s words came more quickly now, as if he was eager to get through the conversation. “I hoped things would change once Jeremy proposed to Fin Bloom. Nothing has. You refused to meet Stan’s son when he was in Milwaukee last fall. You didn’t make it to Palm Springs at Christmas because you were too busy overseeing the Twelve Nights celebration. You, my dear, are in a rut. Since you can’t seem to pull yourself out, I’m helping you.”

  “By selling my home.” There was no point in arguing all the points he listed. Only one mattered. “Gram promised that this home would be mine.”

  For all his faults, for all the bluster, her father had loved and respected his mother.

  “If you stay much longer, you’ll end up with regrets, just like Katherine.”

  Why her father chose this moment to bring up her grandmother’s cousin, Eliza wasn’t certain.

  Before she could speak, Donald took a breath and continued. “You’ve been in a holding pattern for years, hoping you and Jeremy would end up together. Now, that option is off the table. It’s time for you to spread your wings and soar.”

  Eliza wan
ted to reach through the phone and grab her dad by the neck. Instead, she forced herself to loosen her grip on the phone. Nothing shut down a conversation with her father faster than showing emotion.

  “You’re threatening to sell my home in the hopes of pushing me out of Good Hope.” An arctic chill blasted through the calmly spoken words.

  “Honey, this really isn’t a good time for me. Stan and Jerry are waiting.” Her father’s tone remained pleasant but matter-of-fact. “Let’s be clear. I’m not threatening to sell the house, I already did. I firmly believe that one day when you look back, you’ll see I did you a favor.”

  Kyle stood at the front of the art deco building and hoped his news would allay the last of his parents’ concerns. “I’ve taken care of where we’ll live. You don’t need to worry.”

  When his parents had first approached him about the possibility of his younger sister, Lolo, coming to Good Hope to stay with him, he’d been hesitant. The Sweet Dreams motel was a nice place to stay, but it wasn’t a home, and for the next few months, he was going to be busy overseeing the community theater renovation project.

  But family was a priority, and his parents had come close to begging. Lolo was refusing to return to school. They’d offered to transfer her to a different school, but she said she’d run away if they made her go.

  She’d finally agreed to stay with him in Good Hope and go to school here for the rest of the year.

  Kyle knew his dad didn’t fully understand why his only son—and business partner—had decided to temporarily relocate so far from home.

  Thanks to technology, Kyle had been able to continue to bid on jobs for Kendrick Construction while in Good Hope. In fact, for the past six months, he’d enjoyed the best of both worlds. He liked the precision of bidding but relished being able to get his hands dirty working alongside the crew he’d hired.

  “I don’t want Lorraine living out of a motel.” His mother’s voice, soft with a hint of a Southern accent, held worry.

  “She won’t have to live out of a motel.” Kyle kept his voice deliberately offhand as he gazed out the window that looked out onto Main Street. “I bought a house. Closed on it last Saturday.”

  “A house?” His father’s voice boomed through the phone. “Why would you buy a house in Wisconsin? That makes no sense.”

  “It was an impulse buy.” Kyle gave a little laugh. “I was having dinner in Milwaukee with an old college buddy, and his wife, who happens to be a realtor, pulled up pictures on her phone of a house in Good Hope that had just come on the market. It was priced to sell.”

  “That didn’t mean you had to buy it,” his father huffed, but Kyle heard the confusion.

  “It’s a beautiful Victorian that caught my eye the first day I set foot in Good Hope. I’ll send you pictures.” Kyle brought up the home in his mind. “It reminds me of the house I grew up in, the one in Woodward Heights.”

  “I loved that home.” His mother’s tone gentled. “Still, you’ve never been impulsive. What’s special about this house?”

  “Maybe I was just tired of living out of a motel.” Even as he said the words, Kyle knew that wasn’t the answer. But nothing else made sense.

  “You bought a home just to sell it in three months when you’re done there.” Though said as a statement, a question ran through his father’s comment.

  When you’re done there…

  Would he ever be fully done here? He knew his father was thinking of the community theater renovation, but Kyle thought of Jeremy Rakes. Last fall, he’d asked Good Hope’s mayor to take a DNA test. He’d repeated the request at Christmas.

  So far, Jeremy had refused. Though he didn’t have test results confirming that his own family roots ran deep in Good Hope soil, Kyle had felt an instant connection to the community.

  “You’re right,” Kyle said conversationally when the silence lengthened. “Buying a house when I’ll be gone in a couple of months makes no sense.” It began to rain outside, and the pedestrians, the few who were outside on this blustery March day, scurried for shelter.

  Except for one.

  “But I got it for a good price and don’t anticipate having trouble selling it when I leave. It’s much too big and too nice of a home to turn into a rental.” Kyle’s voice matched his nonchalant shrug.

  “Kentucky is your home.” His mother’s voice held a catch. “We’re your family.”

  She alone knew what had brought him to this part of the country. Erin Kendrick, unlike his father, was aware this sojourn to northern Wisconsin was about more than him simply needing space after a failed engagement.

  “I’ll be back in plenty of time to celebrate the Fourth in Lexington.” Through the window, Kyle watched the slim, dark-haired woman wrestle with an umbrella that wanted to upend.

  “Is your new house nice inside?” His mother’s voice held that soothing quality he recalled from his childhood.

  Kyle could picture her stroking his father’s arm, calming him with not only her tone but her touch.

  “It’s amazing.”

  The woman won the battle with the umbrella, and when she straightened in triumph, he smiled. The umbrella hadn’t stood a chance.

  Kyle refocused on the conversation and added, “It’s within walking distance of the school.”

  “Will it be safe for Lolo to walk?” Worry filled her voice.

  Kyle understood. Not only would her youngest be far from home, she’d be sending Lolo to a community she knew very little. “Extremely safe. From what I’ve observed, most of the kids walk. Even in the winter. They’re a hardy lot.”

  “If you’re certain she won’t be any trouble…” Erin’s voice trailed off.

  “Lorraine is, ah, very unhappy.” A gruffness entered his father’s voice. “We hope spending time with you will be good for her.”

  According to what Lolo had told Kyle when she’d called him late one night sobbing, her school was filled with mean girls. Seeing the trash they’d posted online about his sister not only made him furious, it made his heart ache. Lolo was a sensitive kid. At twelve, she was still very much a little girl.

  With a pudgy face and a mouthful of braces, Lolo didn’t resemble her classmates, many of whom could have passed for college girls. Kyle didn’t want to blame his parents, but Lolo had been a late-in-life baby, and his parents were clueless.

  Though he was no expert in mean girls, Kyle knew the pressures social media added, even to a preteen. His parents seemed to think the world was still like it had been when they were young. He’d encouraged his sister to talk to them, but she’d refused.

  “It’ll be good to have family here.” Kyle’s heart twisted at the words. He’d arrived in Good Hope last summer convinced he had family already here. Though he believed Jeremy was his brother, he still didn’t know for certain.

  His mom insisted the only man she’d ever slept with—other than the man she married—was Ed Rakes, Jeremy’s father. Kyle had already confirmed that Scott Kendrick, the only dad he’d ever known, was not his biological father.

  “There’s an airport in Sturgeon Bay. Cherryland is what it’s called.” His father, always the businessman, laid out the details. “The Gulfstream will land there.”

  “You’re sending Lolo on the corporate jet?” Kyle couldn’t hide his surprise. His father held tight reins on use of the Gulfstream.

  “Well, I’m certainly not sending my little girl across the country alone on a commercial carrier.”

  “Will Saturday work for you?” His mother paused, and Kyle immediately knew what she was asking.

  “Absolutely.” This time when he glanced out the window, there was no sign of Eliza or her umbrella. “I’ll be there to pick her up.”

  “Your mom and I really appreciate this, son.”

  Kyle closed his eyes and took a moment to compose himself before he spoke. “That’s what family is for…Dad.”

  Chapter 3

  When Eliza arrived home after her shift at the general store, she was wet, c
hilled and irritated. Still, she made sure not to track on the beautiful hardwood floors she’d had refinished last summer. She swallowed a sob that tried to rise up in her throat.

  Her gaze lingered on the front parlor, each piece of furniture and objet d’art precious to her. She moved to the antique rocker with its needlepoint seat. A lump filled her throat as she gazed at the pattern her grandmother, Verna, had stitched. Sometimes, when she sat in the fragile chair, Eliza swore she caught the sweet scent of roses, her grandmother’s signature fragrance.

  This was her home. Hers. She would not let it fall into the hands of a stranger. Though she didn’t really know Kyle Kendrick, she almost felt sorry for him. He was as much a victim of her father’s machinations as she was. Even if his sister was coming, what did two people need with a house this big?

  She shoved aside the thought that she was a single woman living in a house this big and squared her shoulders. Her grandmother had taught her that good posture was as important as a take-charge attitude. After hanging up her coat and stowing the umbrella, Eliza moved to the rolltop desk and took a seat.

  Though she’d much prefer to take a bath in the claw-foot tub with scented candles burning and a glass of wine close by, she had work to do. Ready, Set, Wed was a wedding competition between Good Hope, Egg Harbor and Sturgeon Bay and was Eliza’s baby.

  Last month when she’d announced to her parents on a Skype call that she’d been assigned the task of overseeing the Good Hope competition, her father had been impressed.

  Wanting something to distract her, Eliza powered up her laptop and started making lists related to the competition. She relaxed as she dived fully into the task. After an hour, she rose and poured herself a glass of wine. When her stomach began to rumble, she realized she’d skipped lunch.

  Perhaps she’d make up an antipasto plate, then enjoy a second glass of wine. Halfway down the hall, she heard the doorbell ring.

  Eliza paused, a frown pulling at her brows. Kyle wouldn’t ring the bell. There would be no need now that he had a key.