Misty Lake: Book One in the Misty Lake Series (26 page)

“Do you want to tell them? I have to warn you, my mom might turn herself inside out when she hears the news.”

Sam considered. “Not yet,” she decided. “I want tonight to be just you and me.”

She reluctantly tucked the ring in her pocket, rose up on her toes to kiss Jake, then took his hand in hers as they slowly made their way back to the party and toward their future.

The Inn at Misty Lake

By Margaret Standafer

1

Susan blew the hair out of her eyes, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and wondered, not for the first time, if she was in over her head. She looked around at the mess surrounding her and almost gave in to despair. Almost. Instead, she allowed herself five minutes to sit in front of the fan and gulp a bottle of water before turning the music up a little louder and getting back to work.

She could have the rest of the kitchen floor torn out by evening, she told herself, then swore as her hand slipped off the crowbar she was using to pull up faded yellow linoleum and landed a nice uppercut on her jaw. She rubbed her chin, moved her jaw back and forth a couple times, and as the sting subsided, had to laugh at herself. She’d learned a lot in the few weeks she’d been in the ‘remodeling business’ but she thanked God daily she didn’t have to make a living at it. It was hot, dirty work. But, all the sweat would be worth it when she turned the old farmhouse into the best bed and breakfast in Northern Minnesota.

To think that only a few months ago she’d still been working at the Billingsley Hotel in Chicago and putting up with the pompous and utterly worthless Stephen Billingsley. Once he took over the day-to-day operations from his father, Susan had known she needed to get out. He had asked her out repeatedly and, when she refused, made her life at work miserable. Besides, she was tired of Chicago, tired of the Billingsley, and tired of working for someone else.

She knew her parents, her brothers, her friends—everyone, really—thought she was crazy. Her cousin Sam hadn’t said much and had even invested in Susan’s dream, but Susan knew she had her doubts, as well. She’d show them, she promised herself. She already had so many ideas she had started writing them down…in a notebook she kept well hidden in her dresser at Sam’s place. She wasn’t ready to share everything just yet. She needed to work on her friends and family gradually, let them warm to the general idea of a bed and breakfast before she sprung too many details on them.

As she attacked the floor with renewed vigor, she silently prayed that the heat would give way to cooler, October-like temperatures soon. So far, the blazingly hot summer they had endured was holding tough, apparently unwilling to let go, and forcing most of the upper Midwest to sweat through the early days of autumn. Certainly not the weather she would choose for the work she was doing. The heat seemed to surround her, sapping her energy and making the job all the more difficult. Not to mention the fact that the high temperatures served to intensify the odors that the one hundred and fifty-year-old house sitting vacant for forty years had developed. Susan sneezed as dust billowed when a section of floor splintered under the force of the crowbar then wrinkled her nose against the smell. She had swept and shoveled and done everything she could to clean out the mess left behind by animals that had sought refuge in the house over the years. It wasn’t as bad as it had been but the smell was still unpleasant. Riley had assured her pulling up the old flooring would help, another reason she couldn’t wait to have the job behind her.

Riley McCabe. She didn’t know whether to smile or curse when she thought of him. When she first met him, it had been his work that had grabbed her attention. A series of framed photos proudly displayed at his parents’ house and showcasing before and after pictures of remodeling and restoration work he’d done had intrigued Susan. Even through photos, the quality of his work and the care and conscientiousness he put into it was apparent. She had peppered him with questions to learn about his business and, in the process, found the man to be interesting, thoughtful, and funny. And, at times, infuriating.

When she’d approached him about working for her he’d been hesitant. She’d walked him through the place, given him an overview of her ideas, and his advice had been to tear it down. The front porch was crumbling, the roof was almost beyond repair, the plumbing, wiring, and heating systems were long outdated, and it was filthy. Susan, however, had pointed out the hardwood floors hidden beneath ragged carpets, the beautiful floor-to-ceiling windows and the huge, cozy-looking fireplace in the parlor, and the intriguing brick wall behind the rusted cabinets in the kitchen. Knowing Riley had been itching to flip a house after years working as a contractor doing additions and remodels, Susan had pressed. She had used the fact that taking the job would mean he’d have steady employment to her advantage. He needed work and she needed someone she could trust to do it right. While restoring an old farmhouse might not have been exactly what he’d had in mind, in the end, he hadn’t been able to refuse the challenge…or the guarantee of months of work. And if Jake, Riley’s older brother and Sam’s fiancé, had added his two cents and had helped convince Riley to take the job as she suspected, fine by her. Riley wasn’t due to officially start for a couple more weeks but he had been stopping by to lend a hand and give advice when he could.

It was funny how a visit to Misty Lake to see Sam and the house she had inherited from their grandfather had turned into a life-changing adventure. A little bit at loose ends after having quit her job just before the trip to Minnesota, Susan wasn’t sure where life was going to take her next when Kathleen Melby, the local realtor who had helped Sam out with the paperwork on her house, had mentioned an old farmhouse going up for sale on the lake. From there, things had started to fall into place. Susan had already decided she wasn’t going back to Chicago, the house was listed at a reasonable price, opening a bed and breakfast would finally give her the chance to be her own boss, and hiring Riley McCabe to do the work would give her a chance to get to know him better. Win-win.

She headed outside to the dumpster with yet another load of old linoleum just as Riley’s truck pulled into her driveway. “Well, speak of the devil.”

“Talking to yourself again, Red? You really should see someone about that, seems like it’s getting to be a problem,” Riley answered as he slammed the door of his truck closed.

“Figure of speech, McCabe,” she snarled as she looked at her watch. “I didn’t expect you this early.”

“The inspector was actually on time and, since he can’t ever find fault with my work, it was a quick visit.” He looked her up and down, taking in the sweaty, stained t-shirt, the reddish gold hair that, he’d learned, tended to curl when she sweat, and the shockingly green eyes that were right now narrowed to slits and glaring at him. She was stunning. Not that he’d ever admit it.

“Are you here to help or to waste my time?”

“Easy. What’s gotten into you today? You’re even more unpleasant than usual.”

Susan blew out a breath and mumbled, “Sorry. I’m hot, sweaty, and tired and that damn kitchen floor is going to be the death of me.”

Riley noticed the nicks and cuts on her arms and, if he wasn’t mistaken, a bruise forming on her chin. He’d have to ask her about that later when she was in a better mood. Feeling sorry for her as he knew very well how miserable tearing out an old floor could be, he grabbed his tool box, threw an arm around her shoulder, and said, “Let’s see if I can’t take care of it before it does you in.”

Two hours later the last of the ugly yellow linoleum was gone and Susan and Riley were sitting on the dusty kitchen floor savoring the ice-cold beer Riley had miraculously produced from the cooler he had stashed in his truck. Susan had stopped snapping at him about an hour before, Riley figuring she was simply too tired to put in the effort. Right now, as she leaned against the wall, eyes closed and the cold can held to her neck, he was betting she was close to falling asleep sitting up.

“I think we should call it a day. The floor is out, that’s a big step. You look exhausted and, besides, it’s going to get dark soon.”

Susan chose to ignore most of what he said and didn’t bother opening her eyes. “That reminds me, when is the electrician going to be here? Have you heard back from him? I’m going to need to be able to work here after dark and obviously the days are getting shorter. I need some working lights run into the different rooms.”

Riley just shook his head. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever met a more stubborn woman. “Actually, I did hear back,” he began slowly, “there’ll be an electrician here tomorrow.”

Susan’s eyes flew open and she was on her feet. “What? Tomorrow? Are you serious? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I thought it was going to be a couple of weeks, at least.”

“I called in a favor. You’re welcome,” he added when she just stared at him.

“Oh, Riley, that’s wonderful! Thank you. Really…thank you. I can’t believe you were able to arrange it.”

“No problem, I’m anxious to get things going here, too. Which reminds me of a little more news.”

She waited, shifting from one foot to the other and her eyes dancing, all tiredness seemingly forgotten. When he pulled a notepad from his pocket and made a couple notes, picked up the empty beer cans and tossed them in a garbage pail and still didn’t say anything, she threw her hands in the air and shrieked, “What?”

Grinning and paging casually through his notepad he began ticking off on his fingers, “Well, like I said, the electrician will be here tomorrow, looks like the plumber will be here on Monday, the roofing crew by the middle of next week…oh, and I can start full-time on Thursday.”

He almost pulled out his phone to capture the moment. It was the first time he had seen her at a loss for words. Her eyes were wide, her mouth opened, then closed again as she turned away, taking a deep breath and running her hand through her hair. After a minute she turned back to face him.

“It’s really happening,” she said softly, looking a little dazed. “I mean, I knew it was happening, it’s about the only thing I’ve thought of for the past two months, but this just makes it so real.”

“It’s really happening. You’re not going to change your mind, are you?”

“No, of course not,” she brushed the idea aside then wrinkled her forehead. “All the permits are ready? Is there anything else that needs to be done right now?”

“I have the permits. I stopped and picked up everything on the way over here. You’re ready to go.”

She blew out a deep breath then slowly smiled. “Oh, Riley.” She walked to him and hugged him. “Thank you for everything. Thank you for making everything happen so quickly. I know you thought I was nuts when I said I wanted to try to get some of the big stuff done before winter and I know I’ve driven you crazy already and you haven’t even officially started working here but you still made all this happen. I appreciate it.”

Riley was surprised. He’d never seen this side of her. Teasing, irritable, bossy, and determined he’d seen plenty of, but appreciative? Humbled? No. That he hadn’t seen. He supposed she showed it to others but never to him. He found he kind of liked it. And, he found he enjoyed the feeling of her in his arms.

“You’re welcome,” he mumbled, his words getting lost in the hair that seemed to be surrounding him and flooding his senses. It was both a relief and a curse when she moved away and began twirling around the kitchen. He had been about to reach for that hair, to finally feel the fiery golden waves between his fingers, but he quickly realized that would have been a mistake. A little more flustered than he cared to admit, Riley watched as Susan moved around the kitchen, then into the dining room and parlor, all the while talking and imagining the finished product. He couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm, her dreams, and visions. The simple hug had been a thank you, nothing more, and he was glad he hadn’t made a fool of himself.

She was excited, and a little scared. The doubts that had been there all along but she had done her best to smother, once again reared and she wondered if it wasn’t all a big mistake. This was a huge undertaking, expensive, time-consuming, and with no guarantee of success. She stared out the window at the lake, picturing in her mind the way it would look when everything was done, with people enjoying the beach, the canoes and paddleboats she planned to have available, relaxing in the garden with lemonade in the summer or in front of the fire with hot cocoa in the winter. Or, maybe gearing up for the night’s events. Which reminded her…, “Um, Riley,” she began, heading back to the kitchen.

He was still leaning against the wall, looking at her with a funny expression as if he couldn’t quite figure something out. She ignored it and continued. “I was thinking…the old barn out back?”

Riley immediately grew wary and narrowed his eyes at her. “What about the old barn. I thought we agreed it was coming down. Or, maybe we’d turn it into a garage for guests.” He didn’t like the look in her eyes and was afraid to hear what sort of a hare-brained scheme she had cooked up.

“Well, yes, we did talk about that but don’t you think it would make more sense to really use the space? I think turning it into an event center would be much more logical, and better for business. Just think, I could host wedding receptions, family reunions, all kinds of parties, even girls’ weekends. The space could be reconfigured to suit just about any sort of gathering. We’d just need to run plumbing out there, probably do some work on the electrical, put in a bar—oh, I already have something in mind for that—maybe section off a couple smaller rooms, not really a big deal.”

“Not really a big deal? Are you kidding? Do you know how much additional work you’re talking about?” His voice was rising as his mind raced with the practicalities.

“Calm down, calm down. It doesn’t all have to be done at once. I just thought since the electrician and plumber would be here soon, it would only make sense to have them do the work in the barn at the same time.”