by Annie Rains
But if she continued to hide, she risked never truly being home here in her new town. And that’s what she wanted more than anything.
Trisha took a breath, her heart beating forcefully. She wasn’t ready to talk about the past, but the future seemed less threatening. “Well, the cottages are really coming along. Della Rose came over this week and gave me some great advice on what I can do to make them more marketable for renters. I’m planning to take some pictures of the places now that they’re all spruced up. I just need to figure out how to build a website for the property to showcase the cottages.”
Moira raised her hand. “Oh, I can help you with that. That’s easy.”
“Really?” Trisha asked, shocked that every time she voiced a need, someone in this town volunteered to help her with it. “That would be amazing. Thank you.”
“Of course. Just email the pictures to me. I have a lot of free time at my job so I’ll just build the website in the long stretches of boredom.” She laughed and held up a hand. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad I’m bored because that means there are no crises happening that require nine-one-one services.”
Trisha reached inside her purse and pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil. “What’s your email address? I’ll get those to you tomorrow.”
Moira told her and assured her that building a free website was no big deal. “I’ve done it several times for other people in the community.”
“Then once you get that website up,” Della Rose said, “send me the link. There are a lot of young medical folks in Magnolia Falls. They like to rent instead of buy because they’re not sure where life is taking them just yet. I think those Somerset Cottages would be perfect for them.” Della looked at Trisha. “Maybe take a few photos of the fun stuff you can do on that lake. That way we can lure those young people in.”
Trisha wrote that down in her notepad as well. “Fun stuff,” she said as she jotted down notes. Then she looked up. “Like what?” she asked.
“Oh, you know. Snap a picture of Jake’s dog running on the beach. People love dogs. Or snap a few photos of someone paddleboarding. Boating. Fishing.”
“Take a picture of Jake with his shirt off,” Lucy said, waggling her eyebrows and making the women giggle. “That’ll attract the women for sure.”
Trisha laughed, too, her face growing hot.
“Of course, Jake is already taken by Trisha,” Lucy added. “No hope for those hopeful women.”
Trisha looked up from her notepad. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.
“You rendered her speechless,” Tess said on a laugh. “Let’s stop teasing poor Trisha. We might scare her away.” She held up the book club selection for the night instead. “Now, let’s get to business. Be honest, ladies. Who read this week’s chapters?”
Trisha was the only one to raise her hand. Well, it looked like she had more to share with the group tonight than she’d thought.
* * *
Jake checked the time on his cell phone and tossed the ball for Bailey again. He was sitting below the deck of Peony Cottage to provide Bailey lots of running space. It would also allow him to get up and go see Trisha faster when she arrived home.
She’d been gone for hours. What in the world took hours to talk about at a book club gathering? He wasn’t sure because he’d never been part of such a group. The books he read weren’t popular selections.
Bailey skidded and jumped, catching the ball in her mouth. Then she ran back, just as energetic on the twelfth time as she was on the first.
Jake tossed it. She brought it back. Tossed and fetched. Tossed and fetched.
Finally, headlights streamed along the gravel road behind the cottages. Jake felt his heart skip in his chest. He stood and turned to face the oncoming car. It wasn’t Trisha’s. Instead, he held his hand over his eyes, trying to get a better glimpse of the large SUV. Uncle Tim.
Please keep going. Keep going.
The SUV pulled in next to his truck behind the cottage. Jake didn’t think they had anything to talk about tonight, but apparently, Uncle Tim thought differently.
“Jake,” his uncle drawled as he headed in Jake’s direction. Bailey met him halfway and propped her paws on Tim’s thighs. He dutifully patted her head and looked at Jake. “After our conversation on Monday, I did a little research into the help around here.”
Jake put his hands on his waist. His uncle was one of the best lawyers in his area. If Tim wanted to dig up dirt on someone, he’d have no problem doing so. “Oh? And what did you find?” he asked, a tinge of worry tightening his chest. Everyone had pasts. Everyone kept secrets.
“Your little girlfriend is divorced from a man who has made himself an enemy of our family.”
Jake looked down at his feet. He kicked around a few pebbles, debating how he was going to handle this turn of events. “You can’t say anything,” Jake finally said, looking up at his uncle.
Tim’s mouth dropped. For the first time ever, Jake thought his uncle, who was always one step ahead of everyone else, looked shocked. “You knew about this? Does Vi know?”
Jake shook his head. “No, and she doesn’t need to. Trisha didn’t do anything wrong.”
Tim straightened the cowboy hat on his head. “Are you sure about that, Jake? Or is your lust for this woman making it hard for you to see clearly?”
“Her ex-husband is the one who stole from his clients.”
“Stole from your grandmother,” Tim corrected. “And that property manager benefited from what that man stole. You can’t tell me she didn’t know it was dirty money. She was probably living the high life while Vi was going bankrupt and her health was suffering.”
Jake felt his blood pressure rise as his uncle threw out groundless accusations. “Trisha isn’t like that. She’s a good person.”
Another set of headlights streamed down the path now. This time, Jake wished it wasn’t Trisha. Not yet. But it just wasn’t his lucky night. Trisha’s car slowed and pulled in behind Juniper Cottage.
Jake looked at his uncle. “Please don’t cause trouble for her. She’s been through enough.”
Tim followed his gaze to Trisha’s car. “Then you need to do the right thing and stick to the original plan. I don’t want to issue threats, but my family comes first.” Tim narrowed his eyes as if to say that Jake didn’t keep the same values. “If I have to, I’ll tell Vi and the rest of the family who that woman is. And I promise you, it won’t be pretty.”
Tim turned to watch Trisha step out of her vehicle. Then he headed over, stopping about six feet away. Trisha looked between them. “Hi,” she said with a touch of uncertainty.
Petey got out of the back seat and ran over to Jake. “Hi, Jake!” he said eagerly. “This is your uncle?”
“That’s right, Copilot,” Jake said. He had to force a smile because Tim had threatened the people he cared about.
Petey didn’t seem to notice. “Cool!”
Tim held out a hand for Petey to shake. “Whoa! That’s a firm grip you got there, son,” he said when Petey slid his hand in Tim’s.
Petey laughed. “I like your big hat,” he said. Then he headed over to pet Bailey.
Trisha looked between Jake and his uncle again. “Well, I don’t want to interrupt whatever you two were talking about. Petey and I are going inside. We’re worn out from book club.” She laughed quietly.
“Was it fun?” Jake asked.
“It was. I’ll tell you about it tomorrow,” she said, looking between the two men. “Are you getting Mr. S up in the morning?” she asked Jake. “Or should I?”
“I will. I told you. It’s my job while I’m here.”
“If she’s the property manager, sounds like it’s part of her job,” Tim said.
Trisha’s smile slid away just a touch. “I can certainly do it.”
“But you’re not going to. I’m going to have a talk with Mr. S about staying fully clothed outside his own home.” Jake turned to his uncle. “Trisha’s job description for the
cottages is handling maintenance issues and renting them out.”
“There’s seven open, right?” Tim asked.
“Six, because I’m staying in one,” Jake said.
“Rent-free, I presume. And Trisha is also staying rent-free.” Tim kept on smiling. “So that’s eight cottages that are not making the family property money. In fact, last time I checked the statements for these rental properties, they were losing money.”
Jake offered Trisha an apologetic look. “I’ll wake Mr. S and meet up with you later,” he told her. “We’re almost done with renovations. Then they’ll be ready to rent out,” he said more for his uncle’s sake than Trisha’s.
“Yes. I have some news on that front. The ladies at the book club have offered to help me with a website,” Trisha said, excitement flashing in her eyes. “I just can’t believe how wonderfully things are coming together. It’s almost too good to be true.”
Guilt curled in Jake’s stomach. He didn’t want to disappoint her, but now that his uncle knew the truth about Trisha, Jake would have to get back on board with convincing Vi to sell the rentals. Or he risked having Tim reveal Trisha’s past. Either way, Trisha got hurt. Either way, Jake lost her.
Chapter Eighteen
Jake woke early the next day. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and then headed out the door to go wake Mr. S just like he’d told Trisha he would. The glow of the sun was lighting up the sky, even though it hadn’t yet crested the mountainscape.
“Jake,” his uncle drawled.
Jake took a few more steps before turning, his feet going faster than his mind this early in the morning. He hadn’t yet drunk his coffee. He looked at Uncle Tim, who appeared as if he’d been up for a good while already. He was smiling and perky, dressed and sitting comfortably in one of the Adirondack chairs below Peony Cottage’s deck. “Good morning, Uncle Tim.”
Uncle Tim waved. “I need to talk to you.”
Jake continued to walk as he called behind him. “All right. We can talk in a little bit. I have something I need to tend to first.”
His uncle ignored the attempt to delay what he needed to say. “I was up all night, thinking about our conversation last night. I don’t want to come off as the bad guy here, Jake. I really don’t. You don’t know all the facts, and I think it’s time you did.”
Jake stopped walking and turned to face him fully. “Oh? What facts am I missing?” Bailey nudged Jake’s hand as it dangled by his side. Jake absently petted her.
“Well, for starters, that financial guru Vi hired did irreparable damage to this place. The storm tore up several of these cottages, and they’ve been sitting vacant for the past year. The only money coming in is from the four cottages that are inhabited, and the rent Vi is charging is far less than what she should be. She doesn’t have the money to hire a property manager for this place. I love my mother and I want her to be happy, but she’s still making bad business decisions.”
Jake shifted on his feet. He already knew most of those things. “We’ll raise the rent then. And Trisha and I have almost completed the repairs on the cottages. They’ll be rented within a month’s time.”
Tim sighed. “You’re not hearing me. The cottages are a dead weight. We’re in the hole, boy, no thanks to that girlfriend of yours’s ex-husband. Eventually Vi will lose these places anyway.”
Jake wasn’t buying that.
Tim offered an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, Jake, but the property manager needs to be let go. Vi is undercharging for rent and overpaying for that job. And she’s giving the woman a free place to live on top of that. Vi didn’t run that decision by the family. She just did it.”
“She doesn’t need to run it by the family. She’s the trustee on the property.” Jake felt all his defenses rising. He rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. He didn’t like this. He wanted to keep arguing. Time and money. That’s what this all came down to. But apparently, if he listened to his uncle, they’d run out of both. “Are you going to tell the family about Trisha?” Jake asked.
Tim frowned. “Whatever I do, I want you to know this isn’t personal against her or you.”
Jake put his hands on his hips and took in a breath. He turned to watch the lake for a long moment. “It is personal to me.”
“Only because you let yourself have feelings for that woman.”
Jake didn’t deny his feelings for Trisha. They were growing and expanding with every breath. He didn’t want to see Trisha get hurt. He didn’t want to see Vi or his family struggle either though. And every turn he made, someone was putting more responsibility on his shoulders. It felt like everyone’s happiness was riding on him—and he couldn’t make everyone happy. “It doesn’t matter if I get back on board and try to convince Vi. She won’t agree.”
Tim gave him a steady look. “We’re a family of lawyers, Jake. We get paid to be convincing.”
Bailey nudged Jake again, no doubt wanting to go down the beach so she could sniff the air.
And wake up Mr. S.
“Ah, geez,” Jake muttered under his breath. “I have to do something.” The sun was already up. If he didn’t hurry, Jake wouldn’t get to Mr. S before someone else saw him. And he didn’t want that. Just like he didn’t want the rest of the inevitable to happen.
* * *
Trisha was enjoying the sunshine on her face when her cell phone interrupted her quiet, peaceful moment. She reached for it, expecting it to be one of two people: Vi or Jake. Instead, the screen displayed an unknown number.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Hello, Trisha?”
“This is she.”
“This is Deputy Bruno. Miles.”
“Hi, Miles.” Trisha assumed for a moment that this was a social call. “Thank you and the kids so much for helping out at the cottages this past week. They did an amazing job. I intend to bring over some goodies to the youth center to thank them.”
“They would love that,” Miles said. He cleared his throat. “I’m calling because there’s an issue with one of your tenants.”
Trisha stood and started pacing the front deck. “Oh?”
“I’m sorry to get your Friday morning started off like this, but I got a call to the lake about a man lying on the shore in the nude.”
Trisha closed her eyes. Nooo. Jake was supposed to wake Mr. S up. “Mr. S. Yes, I’m so sorry, Miles. I will attend to that matter immediately.”
“I’ve already gotten him up and back to his home. I just wanted to inform you about the situation.”
Trisha stepped inside the cottage to get Petey. “Thank you. Can you tell me who called?” She was suddenly worried about what unfortunate person she needed to apologize profusely to.
“I’m afraid that’s considered confidential information. We don’t disclose who calls us, but the person was upset and rightfully so. Mr. S was awfully upset, too, when I escorted him back to Bear Cottage. Mainly because it was a bit of a scene. Law enforcement attracts attention, and he got his share. Anyway, this is a courtesy call to you. Mr. Santorini asked that I contact you instead of Vi. Says he’s afraid of Vi.” Miles chuckled. “I’d guess that word will probably get back to Vi anyway. There were a handful of people gathered. The talk will travel.”
Ugh. Vi was going to be so disappointed in her. “I’ll talk to Mr. Santorini.”
“Thanks. If it happens again, I’ll have to take him to jail. Just doing my job.”
“I understand.” And it probably would happen again. Mr. S was bound and determined to lie naked on the beach. Worst case, Vi might have to evict the Santorini family, which Trisha knew Vi wouldn’t want to do. And ultimately, that was part of Trisha’s duties. She would be the one to hand out the eviction notice.
“Thank you, Miles,” Trisha said.
“You’re welcome. Have a good day,” the deputy said politely.
Trisha disconnected the call and turned toward Jake, who was coming up the steps.
He held up his hands. “I am so sorry.” He
glanced down at the phone in her hand. “The sheriff’s department?” he asked.
“Deputy Bruno. Miles,” Trisha confirmed. “He said next time he’ll have to arrest Mr. S.”
Jake rubbed the back of his neck. “Does Vi know?”
“Not yet.”
Jake stepped closer to her. She looked around to see if Petey was watching. He was still in bed. She looked back up at Jake. “It was my responsibility, not yours.”
“I promised to handle it for you. My uncle Tim met me at the bottom of the steps early this morning as I was heading that way. He had something he wanted to discuss.”
Trisha felt something uncomfortable shift in her chest. She didn’t think anything Jake’s uncle wanted to discuss was probably a good thing.
Petey opened the back door and looked between them. “Hi, Jake! Are you here for breakfast?”
Breakfast. Right. Feeding her son came before putting out fires at the Somerset Rental Cottages.
“I don’t know,” Jake said slowly. He looked at Trisha. “I deserve to have you tell me to get off your deck and not show my face for at least another twenty-four hours.”
She had never been the type to anger easily. She was forgiving and overlooking, maybe to a fault. “Well, then I’d have to finish up that last cottage on my own, which doesn’t sound like any fun. And I’d have to go downtown to Sunset Over Somerset tonight by myself. I’m still an outsider here so I’d rather have you by my side.”
Jake’s blue eyes seemed to twinkle as he looked lazily at her. “I see. You’re overlooking your anger for completely selfish reasons?”
There was a flirty swing to his tone, but Petey was too young to recognize it—hopefully. “Completely and utterly selfish,” she confirmed.
Undoubtedly bored with their adult talk, Petey went back inside the house.
Trisha looked at Jake again. “That is unless your grandmother fires me for dropping the ball with Mr. S this morning, and I need to start packing my bags tonight.”