‘She,’ he mumbled, somehow knowing what was coming. His older brothers may be grown up, but they hadn’t changed that much from when they were younger and teased the daylights out of him.
‘Oh-ho-ho.’ Nathan burst out laughing. ‘Now we know why you were so keen to move into the inn. Spill, brother. What’s she like?’
Jake frowned. ‘I didn’t know who it was until late yesterday. Hell, I didn’t even know it — she — was female. For some reason, I just assumed it’d be another guy.’
Simon dug him in the ribs with his elbow. ‘Come on, give. Who is it?’
‘Zoe Chandler.’
There was dead silence for a moment before all three of his brothers started to laugh. Jake tried to ignore them, concentrating on finishing his beer.
When Simon finally calmed down, he ordered another round of drinks for them all and then turned to Jake. ‘Little Zoe Chandler? That girl you had a hard-on for at school?’
Jake grimaced. ‘Yeah, that Zoe Chandler.’
‘She still as hot as she used to be?’ Nathan wanted to know.
‘She’s okay, I guess.’ Now that’s an understatement, boyo.
Drew, normally the quiet one of the twins, grabbed the opportunity to jump into the conversation again. ‘From what I hear, Zoe Chandler is a lady who knows what she wants and goes after it. The boys were talking about her at work the other day. Brad about got his balls handed to him on a platter when he tried to put the hard word on her. Seems the lady likes to do her own asking.’
Jake felt an immediate flash of anger race through his blood at Drew’s comments. He wanted to find this Brad person and kick him in the gonads himself. Beat the living crap out of him until he stayed away from Zoe. Then he’d…
He cut the internal thoughts off, his mouth dropping open. Holy shit, he was jealous. When the hell had that happened?
‘Didn’t she get married almost straight after school?’ Nathan mused. ‘I seem to remember hearing Dad discussing it with Mum once. They didn’t realise I was sitting in the kitchen and could hear everything they were saying.’
‘Yeah, everyone thought she already had a bun in the oven and that’s why she married so young, but when no baby appeared, the gossip died down.’ Nathan signalled for the bartender to order more drinks.
‘No more for me,’ Jake said. ‘Two lights are plenty. I need food more than I need alcohol.’
He was suddenly glad the need for more drinks had interrupted the conversation about Zoe. Somehow, he felt disloyal discussing her with his brothers.
He wasn’t about to let on, but he knew a lot more about Zoe’s circumstances than any of them realised. He and his father had discussed the situation as it referred to the bank. Zoe’s ex had taken out a mortgage loan a couple of years before he and Zoe divorced. After they split, Des had taken off and the loan was in default so the bank had no option but to foreclose.
But it wasn’t the loan money that had worried Jake’s father so much. It was the way the man used to talk about Zoe, the confidences he shared. Talk about an antiquated idea of women.
Slap ‘em around if they get out of line. Cut off their friends, curtail their activities, and soon enough they’re dependent on you for everything. They don’t speak unless they are spoken to. That’s the way women should be handled.
Christ, Jake could hear that little weasel’s voice in his head even now. No wonder Zoe had left him. And since that day, she’d never depended on a man. Never allowed anyone else to control her future.
A light bulb suddenly went on in Jake’s brain. Hah, no wonder the lady had a few issues. ‘It’s all about control,’ he muttered.
Simon frowned. ‘Sorry, what was that, Jake?’
He shook his head. Damn, he hadn’t realised he’d said that out loud. ‘Zoe’s marriage. It was a pretty bad scene from what I understand.’
‘Des was in our grade at school,’ Nathan said with a nod towards Drew, ‘and later on, in the same football team as us. He was a controlling bastard back then and I can’t see him changing simply because he got married. Yeah, I’ll bet it was no bed of roses for Zoe. No wonder she took off.’
The bartender slid a couple of menus along the bar and Jake used it as an excuse to change the conversation. ‘I’m starving. Let’s order.’
Nathan held his hand up. ‘Sorry, not me. I promised Sherry I’d be home for dinner.’
Simon looked at his watch. ‘Going to be a bit late, aren’t you?’
‘Nah, Sherry’s putting the kids to bed early and then preparing a special romantic dinner for the two of us.’ He grinned. ‘There you go, Jake. If you still want Zoe Chandler, get some romance going.’
Jake snorted. ‘Yeah, right. My last lady friend told me I was the most cold-hearted bastard she’d ever known. And the least romantic.’
Simon, who’d been quiet for the last 10 minutes or so, turned a quizzical glance towards Jake. ‘Seriously, does she still do it for you?’
He thought about telling his brother to butt out and mind his own business. He thought about lying. Then he grimaced. This crew knew him too well. They’d spot a lie at a hundred paces.
He drew in a deep breath and exhaled on a loud sigh. ‘Okay, you want to know? Yeah, she still pushes my buttons. But she’s not about to relinquish control to anyone and I sure as hell can’t see her going for anything more than a casual liaison.’
‘What about you? What do you want?’
Jake held his hands up. ‘Hey, enough, you fellows. Guys aren’t supposed to discuss stuff like this. It’s just not manly.’
Nathan and Drew burst out laughing. ‘They do if they happen to have interfering brothers,’ Drew said.
‘On that note, I have to leave. I’m going home to my lovely wife and my romantic dinner.’ Nathan dug into his pocket and dropped a couple of bills and a handful of coins onto the bar. ‘Jake, I’ll see you later. Oh, totally off subject, but one final word before I get out of here. A message from Mum.’ He bent close to Jake’s ear. ‘Portrait. Mean anything to you?’
A tortured groan built up and Jake let it roll up through his throat. ‘She hasn’t said anything for a while. I thought she’d forgotten all about it. Or at least I hoped she had.’
Nathan burst out laughing. ‘You have got to be joking. You really thought she’d forget about it? You’re crazy. This has become a family tradition now. Sorry, brother, you don’t have any choice in it. We had to put up with it. Now it’s your turn. I’m out of here.’ Still laughing, he disappeared out of the bar.
Simon grinned and raised his eyebrows. ‘He’s right, mate. She’s already started on me because I just turned 33 and I only got home last night. But my portrait can’t go up until yours does.’
Jake shook his head. He thought he’d gotten away with it. Damn it, now he was going to have to find a painter.
Hang on, you have a painter right on your doorstep.
Yeah, but a house painter, not a portrait painter, although he vaguely remembered his mum saying something about Zoe selling landscape paintings. He wondered if she did portraits as well.
But if she wasn’t so great at painting portraits, and he convinced her to have a try and it turned out bad, maybe his mother would give up the idea and just go with a big blown-up photograph instead.
Damn it, he didn’t have time to sit around getting his mug painted. And it was kind of underhanded to ask Zoe when he was hoping she’d fail. Nah, he couldn’t do it…could he?
‘Hey, Jake, you zoned out there, mate.’ Simon poked him in the ribs again. ‘You thinking of the delectable Zoe Chandler again?’
Jake smiled. ‘I was, as a matter of fact.’
‘You really still have a thing for her, don’t you?’
‘She makes me laugh at myself. Makes me forget that I’m supposed to act like the old man.’ He shrugged. ‘I kind of like the challenge. She’s sexy as hell, but totally prickly if she thinks you want to take control. And I only just realised that tonight.’
‘If sh
e makes you laugh at yourself, she’s alright in my book,’ Drew said. ‘You’re too damn serious at times. You need to lighten up a bit.’
Jake placed his order for a large steak, jacket potato and a big side salad before turning back to his brothers. ‘I sometimes think I was born old.’
‘Nah, Dad just trained you too well. He had a plan for us all. Nathan was to go into medicine. Okay, we have our doctor. Me? The law. You and Simon were to follow him into banking.’
Simon chuckled. ‘Except I kicked over the traces and rebelled, hence my working in the hospitality industry. I thought he’d have a stroke when I told him what I was going to do.’
The bartender brought cutlery and condiments and placed them on the bar in front of the three men. Once he’d moved up to the other end of the bar, Drew dragged his stool around to the other side of Jake so he didn’t have to talk across Simon.
‘So what are you going to do about Zoe?’ he asked.
Jake grimaced. ‘If all I wanted was a one-night stand, I have the feeling she’d be all for it. But there’s more than that between us. I’d like to see where it goes, but after Des, she’s so into keeping control of everything, I’m not certain she’ll ever let me in, if you know what I mean.’
He shot Simon a quick glance. ‘And before you say anything, I’m not talking about who’s on top either. That’s not the type of control I’m talking about.’
Simon propped his hands on the bar and rested his chin on them, his brow furrowed in thought. ‘Romance!’ He lifted his head and grinned at Jake. ‘That’s the answer. Like Nathan and Sherry.’
Jake just stared at him, eyebrows raised.
‘No, I’m serious,’ Simon said. ‘You’re living together at the inn. Mum tells me the kitchen is fully functional now. Cook her a romantic meal with wine and candles.’
‘Get real, Simon. You’re the chef in the family. I cook a great steak on a hot grill and I do good scrambled eggs on toast. That’s about it.’
Jake’s normal abode was a serviced apartment in town. An apartment building with restaurant attached. Yeah, he could nuke a frozen meal in the microwave, but how romantic was that? There simply hadn’t been the need, or the time, to learn to turn out gourmet meals.
Damn it, he was well and truly screwed. He couldn’t even do romance.
Chapter Four
‘Okay, this is the last one. Move the light over this way a bit.’ Zoe hooked the delicate crystal prism into its slot and then slid down the ladder, aided by the bright glow from Rachel’s flashlight. Standing back, she angled her head to stare at the chandelier. ‘Turn it on, Rach, and let’s have a look.’
Gaze still trained on the chandelier, Rachel backed up to the doorway and hit the switch on the wall with the flat of her hand. ‘Looks pretty good, doesn’t it?’
‘You did a fantastic job of matching the crystal.’
Rachel grinned as she swaggered over to join Zoe. ‘Thank heavens for old boyfriends who remain friends afterwards. I rang Ted yesterday. I figured if anyone could track the right ones down, it’d be him. He couriered them up here early this morning. They’re not exactly identical, but they’re so close it’s hard to tell the difference.’
‘Well, you did good, kid. It looks fantastic.’
The multi-tiered chandelier, along with the brass carriage lamps set around the walls, gave the room a soft, glowing ambience. The walls were painted a heavy cream shade that reminded Zoe of the colour of clotted cream. The polished timber picture rail running around the top of the walls was a great contrast. The ceiling and the beautifully moulded ceiling rose that framed the chandelier were done in stark white.
This room, too, had its own open fireplace framed by a polished timber mantle. Earlier, Zoe had placed a china vase in centre position on the mantle and had cut three of the old-fashioned, deep cream roses from the garden just outside the room and placed them in the vase. They’d soon die off, but she could replace them for the photos.
She stood back and ran her gaze over the room. ‘I know Jessie’s notes said the Garden Room would be used for conferences or board meetings, but I just can’t see all those business men sitting down around a couple of tables for a meeting. How about we dress the room for a wedding?’
‘Sounds great to me,’ Rachel said. ‘Much more fitting. If I close my eyes, I can almost see the ladies in their ballgowns floating across the polished floor.’
Zoe chuckled. ‘Yeah, I know what you mean. I feel like I’ve stepped back in time. Okay, give me a hand and we’ll place the tables. I don’t want to drag them in case they scratch the floor.’
With Rachel’s help, Zoe placed one table in front of the fireplace for the bridal table, and then arranged the others in a U shape, three across the bottom and two each on either side.
‘I’m just going to go grab some table linen. How about you place the chairs while I’m gone?’
Zoe dashed out of the room and along the paved walkway until she came to a door marked Linen Room at the end of the building. It took her five attempts before she found the master key on the key ring and was able to unlock the door. Then, juggling the tablecloths and napkins, she secured the door and returned to the Garden Room.
The linen was old and where once it had been snowy white, now it had a slight creamy look to it. Perfect for what Zoe wanted. She quickly covered the tables while Rachel turned each napkin into what looked like a swan and placed one before each setting.
A long sideboard at the far end of the room yielded up a stack of old china. Rachel and Zoe found enough matching dinner plates, dessert bowls and side plates to set the tables.
‘You know what I really need? Ivory tulle. If I had enough I could loop the netting in scallops along the front of the bridal table. I might see if I can get some tomorrow.’
‘No need,’ Rachel piped up. ‘I think I have just the thing you want. Back in a minute.’ Grabbing the keys to her van, she disappeared out of the room.
Zoe used the time to raid the cupboards in the kitchen. Grabbing a tray, she lined up champagne flutes, wine glasses and silver cutlery, and then checked to see if there was anything else she could use.
The top shelf in the pantry was a treasure trove. Zoe helped herself to a couple of three-branch candelabras and on the second shelf down, found enough tapering ivory candles to sink a battleship. Whoever had ordered them must have thought they’d have to deal with a blackout; there were boxes of the things, taking up the whole of the shelf.
She found a stash of silver and some single candle holders on the far end of the top shelf, and… She couldn’t help but grin. So help me God, more boxes of candles.
This time, squat ivory candles that would be perfect for her wedding theme. She added them all to her tray and staggered back to the Garden Room with her bounty.
She’d no sooner placed the tray on the nearest table when Rachel came bolting back into the room with a roll of cream-coloured netting in one arm and a clear plastic bag full of artificial ivory and gold roses in the other. She piled them into Zoe’s arms before digging into her pocket and producing a packet of sewing pins.
She handed them over with a chuckle. ‘I thought I had some of the tulle left from where I dressed that new wedding reception centre. What do you think? Will it do?’
Zoe laughed. ‘I am so glad you never get around to unpacking and cleaning that van of yours and I promise, I’ll never bug you about it again.’ She held up her hand as if swearing an oath.
‘Hey, don’t knock it. That van is my office.’
Still laughing, Zoe started to loop the tulle along the sides and front of the bridal table, pinning as she went. By the time she’d finished and trimmed off the excess, she had a scalloped effect with the upper point of each loop held in place with one of the ivory and gold roses.
She placed the three-branched candelabras on either end of the table and inserted the ivory candles. With some of the leftover netting, she fashioned a twist that resembled the petals of a flower around the ba
se of each candle holder and added a couple of the artificial roses.
Rachel fitted the remaining candles in their silver holders and placed one in the centre of each table. Zoe worked her magic again and used the remaining ivory and gold roses to create a centrepiece to highlight the candle.
Rachel had already set out the glassware while Zoe had been working on the bridal table and now she wandered over to stare at the paintings and old sepia photographs hanging from the picture rail either side of the fireplace.
‘Boy, they sure have strong genes in this family.’
Zoe was counting out cutlery, but at Rachel’s comment, she dumped it all on the sideboard and joined Rachel in front of the paintings.
The portraits, even the more modern ones, were done in sepia tones and each had a small gold plaque fixed to the bottom of the polished frame. Zoe read off the first one. ‘Jake Lord – 1866 – Age 33. I guess this is where our Jake got his name from.’
‘Our Jake?’
Ignoring the raised eyebrows and the grin on Rachel’s face, she went back to studying the portraits and the names and dates inscribed on the plaques. ‘Jake. Joshua. Josiah. George. Nathan. Andrew. And each one was painted when they were 33.’
The family resemblance was strong. In the shape of the face and the nose. In particular, the eyes. Dress modern-day Jake in period costume and he could have sat for the first Jake’s portrait. Two blank spots were left at the end of the row of portraits, obviously meant for Jake and his youngest brother.
‘Hey, I just realised something. Jake’s 35. Wonder how he missed out on joining the Rogues’ Gallery.’
Jake cleared his throat and stepped into the Garden Room, joining the women in front of the portraits. ‘Ah, I need to talk to you about that when you have some free time.’
With a shake of his head, he stared up at his ancestors. ‘I cannot believe she did this. The last time I saw these paintings, they were hanging in the hallway at home. Mum’s home.’
Framed and Hung Page 5