The Inn at Dead Man's Point

by SUE FINEMAN

  “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

  Now she understood his foul temper.

  “I’ll just stay here tonight.”

  “No you won’t.”

  Instead of leaving, he sat down and pulled Katie into his lap. A second later, he lifted her off. “She’s wet.”

  “There was a traffic jam in Fife and we didn’t make it to the rest stop in time.” She reached for Katie’s hand. “Come on, honey. We’ll have a nice warm bath and then make something to eat.”

  “Mommy, can I have a kitty?”

  Jenna glanced at Brian and then walked into the bathroom with Katie. “We’ll talk about it after Daddy leaves.”

  Brian stood in the bathroom doorway. “Daddy isn’t leaving.”

  She knew what he wanted, and she wasn’t interested. Brian lived with one woman after another, and between women, he always ended up on her doorstep. She hadn’t slept with him since she got pregnant with Katie, and she didn’t intend to sleep with him again. “Yes, Daddy is leaving.”

  “I’ll order a pizza,” he said, and then disappeared.

  What did she have to do, throw him out? Still, she couldn’t pass up free food. The money this month was a little skimpy, to say the least. Her rent was already two weeks overdue, and she’d used the last of her child support money for Katie’s pre-school fees.

  Without a job, she had no excuse for not moving back to the inn to help Aunt Mattie. But she dreaded it. Mattie Worthington wasn’t easy to live with before, and now that Uncle Charlie was gone, she’d be even more impossible.

  <>

  After she took her daughter to pre-school the next morning, Jenna made several phone calls to find an attorney who would help her get the inn back. According to Al Donatelli, Aunt Mattie had the legal right to sell the inn, but how could that be? If Jenna’s parents put money into the inn – and she knew they had – why wasn’t her name put on the deed when her parents died? The one thing Jenna had held onto over the years was that the inn would someday belong to her.

  It shouldn’t matter so much, since she hadn’t lived at the inn for so many years, but it did. In some ways, it felt like she’d lost her family all over again. They’d bought into the inn, and now they were gone, Uncle Charlie was gone. And the inn was gone.

  The only attorney interested in taking the case wanted a five thousand dollar retainer. Two others advised her to offer to buy it from the current owner, as if that was likely to happen.

  Brian showed up an hour later. He wasn’t working, as usual, but with him it was by choice. His parents supported him between jobs, which was most of the time. They were the ones who paid the child support, because Brian spent his money on other things, like clothes and cars and women.

  “Did your girlfriend take you back, Brian?”

  “I don’t want her back. Why can’t I move in with you?”

  Because she didn’t want him. If not for Katie, she wouldn’t have anything to do with him. “You want to live here? Fine. You can move in tomorrow. I have to move out to the inn for a few weeks.”

  “No.”

  “Yes. Aunt Mattie broke her arm, and I have to take care of her.”

  “Hire someone.”

  She itched to wrap her hands around his neck and shake some sense into that empty head. “With what, Brian? I know money has never been an issue for you, but for me, it’s work or do without.” She shoved a box into his hands. “You can help me pack.”

  “Come on, Jenna. Be reasonable.”

  “Either help or get out of my way.”

  He grumbled, but he helped her pack.

  <>

  Jenna picked Katie up from pre-school and took a load of boxes out to the inn. Brian followed with more boxes in his SUV.

  There were four men on the roof of the inn, prying off the old shingles and tossing them over the side. She opened the car door and stepped out.

  Brian walked over and asked, “Who’s paying for this?”

  “Not me. The boxes go upstairs, if we can get to the door.”

  A man stepped onto a ladder and backed down to the porch roof. He had a great looking ass, wide shoulders, and strong arms. He stepped off the ladder and turned to face her. “Jenna, I didn’t expect you today.”

  Brian gaped. “Al Donatelli?”

  “I hope you’re not planning to move in, Brian.”

  “He’s not,” Jenna said.

  Brian stared at Al. “What in the hell are you doing up there?”

  “Replacing the roof. Watch your step and keep Katie inside.” He unhooked a water jug from his belt and took a drink. His long legs were covered with faded denim and knee pads, and he wore a tool belt slung low around his waist. Strong muscles rippled under his T-shirt. The more Jenna saw of this guy, the better he looked. But if he remembered the awful way she and her friends had treated him in high school, he wouldn’t have anything to do with her now.

  Jenna carried Katie through the debris and into the house.

  Brian followed with a big box. He wrinkled his nose. “This place is a dump.”

  Yes, it was. She should have moved back when Katie was a baby. If she had, she could have gotten the inn running again, paid the taxes, and taken care of these repairs herself. Now it was too late.

  Alessandro Donatelli owned her inn.

  Chapter Two

  As Jenna and Brian picked their way through the old pieces of roofing to carry in boxes, Al called down to them. “The two clean rooms upstairs are mine.” He’d slept here last night, but he didn’t have his office moved yet because the men in his family showed up to help him tear off the old roof. Since he couldn’t turn down free labor, he changed his plans. It was just as well that they get the work done before Mattie came home from the hospital. The noise would probably drive her crazy.

  “What in the hell,” said Brian. “Since when are you living here?”

  “Since last night.” Al ripped shingles off the porch roof and tossed them over the side. Why in the hell did she have to bring that creep out here? Bad enough to have her here, accusing him of stealing the inn.

  Blade came down to help Al rip off the old porch roof. “What a great spot, Al.”

  “I got a good deal on it. The old lady who owned it needed money, and I needed a quiet place to work. Another week with Vincent and DeeDee the Ditz and I would’ve moved onto the boat. She doesn’t do anything but listen to loud music. The neighbors are revolting. Ma would have another stroke if she saw the house now.”

  “So instead of Vincent and DeeDee the Ditz, you’re going to live with an old lady and a little kid?” He grinned. “On the other hand, the kid’s mother isn’t bad looking.”

  “If that hot shot sometimes boyfriend of hers moves in, I’m throwing them all out. I never could stand Brian Baxter. Thinks he’s hot stuff because his parents are rich.”

  Blade laughed so hard he almost fell off the roof. Sometimes Al forgot that Blade had inherited millions. The guy still drove his Harley, changed the oil in his cars, and helped out on family projects like this one. And he changed diapers. He may be rich, but he didn’t act rich. Neither did Nick, who was married to Cara Andrews, one of the richest women in the world. He changed diapers, too.

  Al was the youngest and the only one of his siblings who was still single. All the others had at least two kids, including Angelo, with his six-week-old twins. Nick and Cara had three kids now, and Blade had six, including the four Maria had by her first husband. Seventeen kids in the family, and Ma was pushing him to get married and give her more grandbabies. Her lap wasn’t big enough to hold the ones she had.

  <>

  Brian dropped the box on the floor. “He’s a what?”

  “An architect,” said Jenna. “He designs houses for Max and Company.”

  “He’s related to Nick Donatelli?”

  “Apparently.”

  “Damn! I thought he was just another dumb wop.”

  Jenna crossed her arms and stared at Brian. “How does being related to s
omeone make him smart or stupid?” When Brian didn’t answer, she went on. “Are you smart because your parents have money? Or stupid because you mooch off them instead of doing something productive with your life?”

  “Who cares? I’m moving in with you.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “I’m going home to pack.”

  “Leave my boxes before you go running off, and don’t think you can move into the inn, because you can’t.” Nobody wanted him here, including Jenna.

  Katie tugged at her father’s slacks. “Daddy, look at the kitty cat.”

  “Yeah, she’s cute,” he said without looking. “My old man has been trying to arrange a meeting with Nick, but the guy never returns his calls.”

  “Imagine that,” Jenna said to herself. Bruce Baxter was a big blowhard with a pot belly who smoked green cigars and spent his days talking to his stock broker and playing golf. She avoided him whenever possible. Louise Baxter was a tiny woman with a big mouth. No one could get a word in unless they shouted over top of her, so the noise level in their house was unbelievable.

  Brian snapped his fingers. “I know what I’ll do. I’ll go get a case of cold beer. Be right back.”

  “Unload my boxes first.”

  “Yeah, sure.” He ran outside, tossed the boxes out of his SUV, and took off.

  The men climbed off the roof and cleaned up the mess around the front of the inn, tossing the debris into the backs of two pickups. By the time Brian returned, they were back at work on the roof.

  Brian pulled up and called, “Hey, guys, I brought some cold beer.”

  “No, thanks.” Al came down off the roof and passed a roll of black roofing felt up to the porch roof. “Better get those boxes inside. It’s supposed to rain tonight.”

  Brian brought the beer inside and filled the refrigerator with it. He left Jenna’s boxes sitting in the dirt, so she started carrying them in herself. Apparently, beer was more important to Brian than his daughter’s clothes and toys.

  By two, Jenna had her boxes stacked inside the front door and a room upstairs cleaned for Katie to sleep in. She put her down for a nap. Katie didn’t always sleep at naptime, but if she didn’t rest, she was fussy by dinnertime.

  <>

  On the roof, tempers flared. What had started out to be a pleasant family work party had turned into drudgery, because Brian was nagging at Nick to have dinner with him and his parents. They wanted Cara there, too, of course. She was the one with the money.

  “I said no,” said Nick, but that didn’t stop Brian. He kept nagging.

  “I’ll take care of it,” said Al. It was his place. The least he could do was get rid of the pests. He climbed off the roof and walked up to Brian. “Get lost. We’re trying to get some work done, and you’re interfering.”

  “I’m not talking to you, I’m talking to Nick.”

  Using the heels of his hands, Al hit Brian’s chest with each word. “I… said… get… lost. Get the hell out of here before I call the cops.”

  Brian took a swing, but Al blocked it and cracked his fist against the guy’s jaw. Brian sprawled in the driveway, moaning. Applause and whistles came from the roof. Al wasn’t one to start a fight, but growing up with five siblings – six with Nick – he knew how to defend himself. Besides, he’d wanted to slug Brian Baxter since the ninth grade.

  “Look out,” Jenna yelled, and Al turned in time to block a fist. Brian was not only up off the ground, he wanted revenge.

  Al easily fended off Brian’s weak attempts and slugged him again. Brian landed on his back. “Get up so I can hit you again.”

  Brian moaned and rolled to his knees, but he didn’t get up. If the guy had any sense at all, he’d leave while he was still able to move. “If you’re not gone in two minutes, they’ll have to carry you out of here.”

  Al climbed the ladder and went back to work. Seconds later, Brian pushed himself to his feet and drove away. Al’s fist itched to give him a parting gift, but clouds were building up in the west, and they needed to get the roof covered before it rained.

  The view from the roof was outstanding. Al could see for miles. In spite of Brian’s pestering, he felt a sense of peace here. This was his home, and he couldn’t have picked a prettier spot for it.

  The inn was perched about fifty feet from the steep hill that led down to the water. There was an old switchback trail down the hill, but part of it had washed away. It wasn’t safe to use. If he ever opened the inn for business, he’d build a fence along the top and build steps down to the rocky beach. It wasn’t what his mother would call a ‘friendly’ beach, not like the gentle slope at Nick and Cara’s house. This was more for looking, not for water sports or wading in the summer. Docks along this stretch of beach had to be the movable kind that could be hauled in for the winter. Otherwise, they were battered to pieces by the winter storms.

  <>

  There were times when Jenna wished she’d never told Brian she was pregnant, times when she wished she’d cut her ties with him and his obnoxious parents before Katie was born. She should have avoided him in high school, but she desperately needed to be included in those days. She was an orphan living with an elderly couple, and Aunt Mattie ragged at her so much she destroyed her self-confidence. It was hard enough being a teenager without having to live with Mattie Worthington.

  She lugged two boxes upstairs and found Katie lying on the bed with Callie, a calico cat that had to be at least twelve years old. Katie was wide awake and petting Callie, who purred her little heart out. “You have another kitty friend, I see. Her name is Callie, and she loves to be petted.”

  Sitting on the bed beside Katie, petting the kitty, she felt like she’d come home. But Aunt Mattie wasn’t here yet to lecture on morality, someone else owned her home, and she didn’t know what the future held for her and Katie.

  “Mommy, can we live here forever and ever?”

  “No promises, Katie Bug.” She wasn’t even sure about tomorrow.

  She heard the men outside laughing and then she heard thunder in the distance. Minutes later, they were all inside, carrying her boxes upstairs.

  Al said, “Jenna, this is my brother Angelo, my cousin Nick, and my brother-in-law Blade Banner.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Angelo had Al’s dark chocolate eyes. He was a few inches shorter and a little rounder, but they looked like brothers. Nick had a scar through one eyebrow and a warm smile, and Blade had striking blue eyes. They were all great looking guys, and Al was the best looking of the bunch. Who knew the high school nerd would turn out to be a major hunk? Too bad he was gay.

  “I’m sorry about Brian,” she said. “I tried to chase him away, but he’s like a stray cat that smells food. He doesn’t chase.”

  Angelo said, “We noticed.”

  Rain pinged against the windows. They’d stopped working on the roof just in time.

  The men carried up another load of boxes and talked about what supplies they’d need to finish the roof. Blade said, “Diapers?” and the others laughed. “Hey, it’s not funny. Every time I leave the house, Maria tells me to bring home more diapers.”

  “At least you had one at a time,” said Angelo. “Twins take twice as many.”

  Apparently all three of these men had babies at home, and they all seemed happy. She couldn’t help but like the Donatelli men. Too bad she hadn’t picked a better man to father Katie. If Brian hadn’t caught her in a weak moment, there wouldn’t be a Katie. She’d had a bad day at work and he’d just broken up with someone. They shared a bottle of wine and he seduced her.

  And the condom leaked.

  <>

  Al cleaned up and went down to the kitchen to find something to eat. He’d brought a few groceries, but the refrigerator was filled with beer, and the food had been pushed back. Swearing to himself, he pulled the beer out, poured it down the sink, and put the empty cans in the recycle container.

  Jenna was upstairs cleaning another bedroom. He hadn’t counted on sharing the second f
loor with anyone, and he hadn’t figured a kid into the mix at all.

  A cat cried and then another, and then a little girl with blond hair stood in front of him. “Sounds like the kitties are hungry, Katie.”

  “Can I feed them?”

  “Sure.”

  Katie followed Al into the laundry room. He put the bag of cat food on the floor and handed her the scoop. She spilled several pieces, but the cat clean-up crew took care of them. He put the bag back in the cabinet and took care of the cats’ other needs – fresh water and clean litter.

  Katie wrinkled her nose. “It stinks.”

  “That’s where the kitties go potty,” said Jenna. She stood in the door. “Katie, are you ready to go see Aunt Mattie? We’ll stop at McDonalds on the way.”

  Al put the water dish on the floor. “How soon do you think she’ll be coming home?”

  “Maybe tomorrow. I don’t know yet. There’s still a lot to do here, and I don’t even know if she’ll let me stay.”

  “Why?”

  Jenna glanced at Katie. “She thinks I should have married before I had children.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  Her chin lifted. “Because I didn’t want a husband who lies and cheats, and I didn’t want his boorish parents for in-laws.”

  Al nodded slightly, acknowledging her for having the good sense not to marry Brian Baxter. He’d always been a loser, and never more so than today, when he wouldn’t leave Nick alone. Years ago, Brian wouldn’t have anything to do with the Donatelli family. Now that Nick was married to Cara Andrews, things had changed. People recognized the name Donatelli and assumed they were all rich, like Cara.

  They were wrong.

  <>

  Mattie hated being in the hospital, and she absolutely refused to let anyone operate on her arm. It wasn’t the first time she’d had broken bones, and they’d always healed just fine. Sure, she was old, but she was tough and independent. She’d be all right without the surgery. Jenna could help her. Mattie had taken care of the girl when her parents died, and now it was Jenna’s turn.

  She was sitting up in bed when Jenna arrived at the hospital with her little bastard. One bastard having another bastard. What was the world coming to?