Seaview Inn (9 page)

S
itting on the porch with Grandma Jenny, Kelsey rocked slowly. When she’d come to Seaview Key on her spring break back in high school, she’d discovered how soothing it could be to sit outside on a nice evening and rock, just listening to the sound of the waves and the birds and whatever music her grandmother and Grandma Jenny had chosen to put on the CD player that evening. Until then she hadn’t realized how quiet it could be without the constant blare of honking horns and garbage trucks outside. Even in the middle of the night, New York was never really silent.

On that visit, she’d also liked listening to the stories the two older women told about their family history and about the guests who’d stayed at the inn over the years. She thought it was ironic that she and her mom lived in a huge city, crammed with thousands of tourists every single day, and they never met any of them. Yet down here, where the population was next to nothing, her grandmother and great-grandmother were actually getting to know people from all over the world, more than Kelsey had ever spoken to on all her trips abroad.

“Grandma Jenny, did you ever want to live somewhere else?” she asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

“Not even for a minute,” she replied. “This is home, always was.” She gave Kelsey a pointed look. “And it will be to the day I die.”

Kelsey grinned at the firm declaration. “Has Mom been on your case about moving to a retirement place?”

“She’s danced around the subject ever since she got here.”

“Have you told her how you feel?”

“In no uncertain terms,” her great-grandmother declared. “Doubt she’s listened, though. Your mom came by her stubbornness naturally. Your grandmother Maggie was the same way.” She grinned. “I’m worse.”

“I don’t think you should have to move if you don’t want to,” Kelsey said quietly. She’d been struck by an unexpected idea soon after she’d arrived. She wasn’t sure exactly when she’d decided that it was the perfect answer for her right now, but once it had come to her, she’d embraced the plan wholeheartedly. Now seemed like as good a time as any to bounce it off Grandma Jenny. “I could stay for a while and help you out, you know, till the baby’s born.” She held her breath as she awaited her great-grandmother’s response. To make the plan work, she needed Grandma Jenny on her side.

“Kelsey, you’re a sweetheart to offer, but we both know that your mom thinks you should go back to school and finish your education.”

Kelsey analyzed the response and decided it wasn’t a total rejection of the proposal. “She’s said that, like, a million times, but is that what you think, too?” she pressed. “Or are you saying what you think she’d want you to say?”

“I certainly agree with her that an education is important and I would hate to see you walk away from college and not go back,” she replied.

Kelsey could tell she was choosing her words carefully. “But what do you really think?” she asked again.

“That it needs to be your decision, same as staying here should be mine,” Grandma Jenny admitted.

“That’s what I think, too,” Kelsey said with a sigh. “I’ve tried explaining that to Mom, but she won’t listen, so I’ve pretty much given up. I really would like to stay here. I’m glad Mom was here when I told her about the baby. Coming here was better than going to New York. In a weird way, it felt kinda like coming home. Do you think that’s crazy?”

“Of course not. This
is
your home, even though you haven’t spent much time here. Your family’s roots are here. And one day, if you should ever decide you want it, this inn would be yours, too.”

Kelsey’s mouth gaped. “Really? It could be mine?”

“Well, who else would I leave it to? Hannah doesn’t want it. I suppose if neither of you did, then you’d sell and split that money, but I don’t want that to happen in my lifetime. It would hurt too much to see it in the hands of strangers, especially some developer who’d raze it and put up condos.”

Kelsey sat back and fell silent. The thought of owning Seaview Inn someday had never crossed her mind. For years she’d been focused on having a career in graphic design because it was something she had an aptitude for, but her heart wasn’t in it anymore. Not really. She liked people, liked talking to them to see what made them tick, cheering them up when they were down. What could be better than running a place where people came to relax and have a good time?

Besides, ever since that last visit, she’d felt a connection here to something bigger than herself. She’d had this
nagging sense that this was where she belonged. Could it be that this unplanned pregnancy had happened simply to show her another option for her life? Wouldn’t that be amazing?

She turned sideways. “Grandma Jenny, please let me stay here, at least until I have the baby. It’ll give me time to figure things out.”

“You mean like whether you really love the baby’s father?”

Kelsey shook her head slowly. “No, I already know that I love Jeff. I’m just not ready to be married. I don’t know who I am yet. And marriage is supposed to be forever, like you and Great-Granddad, not like my mom and dad. That’s what I want, but how can I commit to something like that until I really know what I want out of life? Does that sound totally selfish?”

Grandma Jenny reached over and squeezed her hand. “No, I think you’re much wiser than your mother and I have given you credit for,” she said. “Of course you can stay here for as long as you want.”

“Mom’s going to be furious,” Kelsey said, trying to imagine how that conversation was likely to go.

“Let me handle your mother. All she really wants is for you to be happy.”

“That’s all she wants for you, too,” Kelsey reminded her.

“Then I suppose we’ll both just have to show her what makes us happy,” Grandma Jenny said matter-of-factly.

Just then faint voices rose over the sound of the waves.

“I bet that’s your mother and Luke now,” Grandma Jenny said. “They’ll be here soon.”

Kelsey wasn’t anxious to have the serenity she was feeling broken. “Maybe we should go up to bed.”

“Running away never accomplishes a thing, young lady.”

“I was just thinking maybe they’d like some privacy. Admit it, Grandma Jenny. You’re trying to get something going between them. I saw that gleam in your eye the other night when I first got here.”

“You think you’re so smart, don’t you? Okay, yes, I’d like to see your mother find someone new. Everyone should have a special person in their life who cares about them.”

“You never married again after Great-Grandpa died.”

“That’s different.”

“How?” Kelsey asked.

“You saw how well we got along. We were together for more than sixty years and you don’t get over something like that in the blink of an eye. I still miss him every single day and it’s been four years now since he died. And it was just a couple of years after that when your grandmother got sick and all my time and attention were devoted to her. Besides, once you’re my age, there aren’t that many old coots around worth bothering with.”

Kelsey giggled. “How about a younger man?” she teased. “You’ve still got a lot of spunk left in you.”

“Now, that might be worth considering,” Grandma Jenny said with a wink, “but most of them are chasing women half their age. No, I’m content with things the way they are. Your mom, though, is young enough to start over. And after the turmoil your dad put her through, leaving and coming back more than once before bailing completely…” She shook her head. “Well, she deserves to find real happiness with someone worthy of her.”

“Do you really think Luke could be that someone?”

Her great-grandmother gave her a sideways glance. “Have you taken a good look at that man?”

“You know, there’s more to a man than his looks, at least that’s what Mom has always told me.”

“Well, of course there is, but it’s a fine place to start.” She rose slowly to her feet. “You know, I think you had the right idea about going inside before they cross the street. Who knows what could happen between those two on a night like this if we’re not around.”

“Are you going up to bed or are you going to peek through the living room window to see what they’re up to?” Kelsey asked.

“I would never do such a thing,” Grandma Jenny retorted indignantly. “I am going to bed just as soon as I change the music to something a little more romantic.”

“I could run inside and pour a couple of glasses of wine for them,” Kelsey suggested, getting into the spirit of things.

“Too obvious,” Grandma Jenny objected. “But you could leave a bottle and glasses on the kitchen counter where they’ll be sure to see them. Then they’ll think it’s
their
idea.”

Kelsey regarded her approvingly. “You’re very good at this matchmaking thing.”

“Oh, I’ve had my moments,” she said, tucking her arm through Kelsey’s. “Something tells me you’re going to take after me.”

Kelsey met her gaze evenly. “I hope so. I really do.” Between her mom and Grandma Jenny, Kelsey thought, she couldn’t have two better role models. She just had to get her mom to see that she’d learned the value of being strong and independent from them.

Luke left Hannah alone in a rocker on the porch and went inside to get them something to drink. When he spotted the bottle of wine and two glasses prominently
placed in the center of the kitchen counter, he chuckled. He supposed they’d been left there as a subtle hint, but it might have been more subtle if the bottle hadn’t been uncorked.

He grabbed the wine bottle by the neck and picked up the two glasses, then returned to the porch.

“Look what I found in the kitchen,” he said dryly. “I’m fairly certain it was meant for us.”

Hannah sighed. “I’m sorry. Grandma Jenny’s determined to matchmake.”

“Seems to me people only do that when they think their targets need help. Are we that pathetic?”

Hannah grinned. “I don’t know about you, but I certainly am.” She met his gaze. “Don’t feel obligated to make a pass at me, though.”

“Obligation might not enter into it,” he said, realizing even as he spoke that it was true. He was attracted to Hannah. Walking hand in hand with her on the beach had felt comfortable. It had felt right. More than that, it had stirred feelings in him that he thought had died right along with his marriage.

“You probably shouldn’t say things like that,” Hannah said.

“Why not?”

“Because…” She faced him. “Luke, just how complicated is your life right now?”

He knew he owed her nothing less than total honesty. “Pretty complicated,” he admitted.

“Mine, too. It’s a really bad time to start something that can’t possibly go anywhere, don’t you think?”

“I suppose.” He felt strangely disappointed, despite the logic.

“I’m sorry, though.”

“Me, too,” he said. He turned and waited till her gaze
met his. There it was, that simmering heat just waiting for the right spark to set it ablaze. It seemed like a damn shame to waste it, but he didn’t have the right to complicate her life, not when she’d made it plain it was chaotic enough. “Does that mean we can’t just sit here as old friends and enjoy the wine and the evening?”

He thought he could see a faint smile on her lips as she shook her head.

“No,” she said softly. “It doesn’t mean that at all.”

He supposed there were worse things than coming home and finding an old friend with whom he could share a few memories, some laughs and a quiet night like this. In fact, it was a pleasant surprise, like leaving his quarters in Iraq one day to find a wildflower determinedly sprouting through a crack in the concrete.

“In the name of friendship, do you want to tell me what’s going on in your life?” he asked. “I assume Kelsey’s pregnancy isn’t the only issue.”

“Not by a long shot,” she admitted. “How about you? You want to tell me what’s gone wrong in your life?”

He chuckled. “It could be sort of like, I’ll show you my messed-up life, if you show me yours.”

For an instant she seemed to consider the idea, then shook her head. “Nah,” she said. “It’s too nice a night to spoil it.”

“Just remember that friends can share their problems, Hannah, okay? Anytime.”

“Thanks. The same goes for you.”

“And spoil the illusion that I’m perfect?” he teased.

“Only Grandma Jenny thinks that,” she retorted. “You’ve already admitted to me that your life’s messed up.”

“Through no fault of my own,” he felt compelled to say.

“Really? You sure about that?”

He thought about what had happened, thought all the way back to the beginning when he’d made the unilateral decision to go to Iraq in the first place. That was when it had started. Had he deserved what had happened? No. He would never accept that. But had he put it all in motion by not taking into account how strongly Lisa felt about him going back into the army? No question about it.

He sighed heavily. “I’m not sure how I feel about having a friend who can cut through the crap and call me on it,” he said.

She regarded him with surprise. “Did I do that?”

“Yep, and it was damned annoying, if you must know, especially since you had no idea you were doing it.”

She grinned at him. “Just think how much help I could be if I knew what on earth we were talking about.”

“One of these days,” he promised. “I’m just not ready to rip the scabs off the wounds yet.”

She reached over to tap her glass against his. “To future revelations.”

“And to healing,” he added. Somehow he knew that Hannah had as much of that to do as he did.

“Grandma Jenny, guess what?” Kelsey called out excitedly as she ran onto the porch just before lunchtime the next day. She came to an abrupt stop and her expression faltered when she spotted Hannah standing in the yard painting the porch railing.

Hannah didn’t miss Kelsey’s suddenly guilty expression or Grandma Jenny’s expectant one. She stood there and waited to see what the two of them were up to.

“What?” Grandma Jenny asked.

“I’ve booked five reservations this morning,” Kelsey announced, avoiding Hannah’s gaze. “Every single family
I contacted made a reservation the second I told them we were reopening.” She glanced at the sheet of paper she was holding. “The Van Dorns said to tell you hello, and the Johnsons said they need one more room this time because they have two new grandchildren and they want the whole family to come this year. They’re booking four rooms in all. The Marshals, the Watsons and the Gradys are confirmed, too. Everyone’s so excited to be coming back. A few of them are even canceling reservations they made at other places because they’d rather be here.”