The Inn at Misty Lake: Book Two in the Misty Lake Series (15 page)

17

Christmas was over, the new year well underway, and a long winter still ahead. Most years, Susan had to fight the blues that threatened once the excitement of the holidays was past, but this year there was simply too much to look forward to. The blues didn’t stand a chance.

First, there were two new adorable, sweet, and perfect babies. Born just three days apart, Dylan Joseph McCabe and Lauren Elizabeth Taylor brought light to the long, dark days. Susan’s only regret was that her niece was in Chicago and she wasn’t able to stop in and visit on a moment’s notice. Dylan helped ease the ache. He was a bundle of cuddly joy with the bright blue McCabe eyes, a mass of dark hair, and round, plump cheeks just made to nuzzle. On the day he was born the entire McCabe family had waited, anxiously pacing in the hospital waiting room, for the first of the next generation of McCabes to make an appearance. When Joe came out and announced his son had arrived, healthy and screaming at the top of his lungs, there hadn’t been a dry eye in the room. Three days later Sam and Susan had hopped on a plane to meet Lauren, a fair-skinned, blue-eyed and blonde-haired beauty who already had her father wrapped around her finger.

Next, the progress on the inn was, in her opinion, incredible. The guest rooms were framed, most already covered with drywall, the bathrooms roughed-in, and her kitchen was starting to take shape. Riley had pulled down the rusted cabinets and the plaster that had covered the kitchen wall to fully expose the long-hidden brick. His best guess was that, at some point, a remodeling job involved updating the kitchen and the brick was deemed outdated. She loved the dark red brick that extended the entire length of the kitchen and, to her delight, another wall of the same brick had been uncovered in the parlor during demo. Susan couldn’t wait to decorate the room around the deep red shades of the brick.

Online searches for ideas led her to a dizzying array of design options. She both praised and cursed the Internet. On the one hand, most anything she needed was at her fingertips. On the other hand, browsing the endless pictures and descriptions of the almost unbelievable homes others had envisioned and created left her feeling woefully inadequate. There was simply no way she’d ever match the spectacular displays she clicked through, one after the other. At times she found herself longing for the days when one’s inspiration came from neighbors or from the one or two magazines devoted to home décor, and not from everyone in the world with a flair for the artistic and access to a computer.

Riley had stressed to her the importance of not ordering too much too soon when it came to fixtures. Timing was important, he had explained, since there wasn’t a great deal of space to store toilets, sinks, cabinets, and the like. To Susan, it became a challenge she embraced wholeheartedly. She devised intricate spreadsheets with expected completion dates, estimated shipping times, and ordering deadlines. She set up alerts to notify her as the dates approached. She was especially proud of the information she had built into the spreadsheet that spelled out not only individual item and shipping costs, but discounts based on quantity, where applicable. She would analyze the information to determine if it made more sense for her to hold off on ordering until Riley was ready for everything from a particular vendor, or if discounts either didn’t apply or didn’t outweigh the costs of waiting. Genius. She silently congratulated herself as she studied the data for the umpteenth time.

If she were being honest with herself, finding discounts wherever she could was becoming more of a necessity than merely just a challenge. She hadn’t discussed it with anyone yet, but she was starting to worry about the costs and about her budget. She had known from the outset that the project was going to be expensive, but seeing the bills on a daily basis and knowing what was still to come had her worried. She didn’t know if she could go back to the bank for another loan. Sam would help her out, she’d offered more than once and Susan knew she was sincere, but that would be an absolute last resort.

It was some of the changes and add-ons she had insisted upon and had convinced Riley to go along with that were killing her. Maybe she should have listened to him when he’d tried to talk to her about the price tag. But, she reasoned, they would pay off in the long run. Turning the barn into the event center would bring in more revenue, as would the additional attic rooms. She’d just have to figure it out.

“So, McCabe, what’s so important that I needed to come over here on my day off, when it’s twenty below zero, and when I really should be home doing laundry?” Susan asked as she hurried inside and rubbed her nose trying to get it to thaw. Gusto bolted in ahead of her, ran to greet Riley, then disappeared up the stairs.

“He sure makes himself at home here.”

“Is he in the way? I don’t have to bring him along all the time if it’s a problem.”

“Nah, he’s figured out what he can and can’t get away with and the guys all like him. He’s getting spoiled. I think they’ve all started keeping treats in their pockets and sneaking him one when they think I’m not looking. If anything, he’s going to need to go on a diet.”

“He is a little mooch, isn’t he?” Susan smiled and stretched on her toes to give Riley a kiss on the cheek. “Anyway, what did you want to talk to me about?”

“I had a call this morning…”

“And?”

“Remember Jeremiah?”

“The barn restoration expert? Sure. Did he finally get back to you?” Susan had been anticipating, and dreading, his report. If he felt it was possible to make the barn usable year-round she knew the price tag would be huge. But if he felt it didn’t make sense, she’d be disappointed.

“He did, with details on how he thinks we should finish the barn to make it usable all year, and he explained his reason for taking so long with his suggestions. You must have impressed him, or he wants to ask you out, or something, because he sure went to bat for you.”

Susan grinned at the idea of sixty-year-old Jeremiah, father of eight, grandfather of fourteen and counting, asking her out. “He’s a sweet man but what do you mean, went to bat for me?”

“Apparently there are grants available for the restoration and preservation of historical barns. He spoke with some of the right people, showed pictures, explained what you’re doing here, and feels pretty confident that if you’re willing to fill out some paperwork, you’ll qualify.”

Shock exploded like fireworks on Susan’s face. “A grant? A grant, as in they’ll give me money for the project?”

“That’s what a grant is, sweetheart.”

“Oh, my gosh. I can’t believe this.” She walked in circles as her mind raced. A grant would cover some of the expenses she had been fretting over. Everything happened in time and for a reason. She was overwhelmed.

“It would appear I owe you a huge thank you once again,” she said turning to Riley.

“I didn’t do anything, Jeremiah did the leg work on this one.”

“Oh, I’ll thank him, you can be sure, but you’re the one who brought him here, the one who had the foresight to call in an expert, the one who explained to him what I wanted to do in a way that made sense, the one who made all this happen. Again. You have a way of making things happen.”

When he just shrugged she went to him and slid her arms around his waist. “In just a few months you’ve amazed me time and again. You pulled strings to get work underway far ahead of schedule, you rolled with all the crazy changes I suggested and made them a reality, you brought Shauna and Frank in to help with things I never would have been able to do myself, and now this. You’re my hero, my knight in shining armor, my… miracle worker,” she said dramatically.

When he chuckled and opened his mouth to argue, she laid a finger on his lips. “Don’t. Just accept my thanks and know that it couldn’t be more sincere or more heartfelt.” Then she replaced her finger with her lips.

“If you’re going to keep thanking me like that, I’ll have to find more miracles to work.”

“I don’t doubt you for a minute.”

Riley gave her an overview of what Jeremiah had suggested they do to winterize the barn to make it a year-round facility. Susan nodded, added a few comments, but was distracted. “You want to call Jeremiah, don’t you?”

“Oh, I do. I have to thank him and I have a million questions for him. I don’t want to get too excited before I know all the details of the grant. How long does the process take? Are there a lot of guidelines I’ll need to follow as far as what changes I make to the original structure? What about the paperwork? How do I go about completing it? And on and on and on.”

“Then go call him. I told him he should expect to hear from you today. I would imagine he’s waiting.”

“Thanks, Riley. Now, where is that silly dog? I haven’t seen him since we walked in.”

“I’m pretty sure I know where he is. Come on.” Riley headed up the stairs and motioned for Susan to follow. They climbed all the way to the attic and found Gusto asleep in the corner of one of the attic bedrooms where the ceiling came closest to the floor and a narrow beam of sunlight snuck in from the dormer window.

“Look at him. I guess he’s found his favorite spot.”

“Ever since I did a little work up here one day and he followed me, he’s been sneaking up here and hiding away in that corner.”

A slow smile spread across Susan’s face. She leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest, nodding.

Riley cocked his head and gave her a questioning look.

“That’s it,” she said simply. “The Hideaway.”

Understanding dawned on Riley’s face…the next name for one of her rooms. “I’d say it’s pretty perfect. But you might have to add a disclaimer that the room comes with a dog.”

That got a laugh out of Susan. “It is perfect. And this day just keeps getting better and better.”

Omaha sucked. The crappy apartment she was sharing with three other girls sucked. And Dez really sucked. Even more than he had a few years ago when she’d worked for him. He had made her beg, that hadn’t surprised her, but his anger had. He hadn’t forgotten that she’d left town in the middle of the night without warning. He almost didn’t take her back, but he was nearly as desperate as she was, so in the end, they’d worked out a deal. This time she’d made it clear she didn’t plan on being around for long.

Now, here she was, squeezing into a short skirt, a tight top, and heels so high she’d had to practice walking in them. She didn’t know why it mattered what she wore, none of them ever noticed. She studied herself in the mirror as she applied heavy makeup. Looking back at her was a pale, thin ghost of her previous self with stringy, faded blonde hair and haunted eyes. She tried to cover and forget. Forget the twenty-one-year-old with rosy cheeks over tanned skin, bright blue eyes full of secrets and laughter, arms and legs toned from hours spent swimming and water skiing, and sunny blonde hair that bounced on her shoulders and was the envy of all her friends. Forget that day over six years ago when she’d looked in the mirror and seen that twenty-one-year-old for the last time before making the decision that had changed her life forever.

She sighed as she grabbed her purse and started to head out. Before she closed the door behind her she glanced over at the boy sleeping on the stained sofa, a thin blanket tossed over him and Spider-Man clutched tightly in his hand. The girls said they’d look out for him while she was gone. She hoped they meant it.

She closed the door and tottered down the stairs in the sky-high heels. In the midst of trying to forget, she hoped she’d remember one thing. She hoped she’d remember how to block it all out, how to pretend she was somewhere else, how to close off her ears to the sounds, her nose to the smells, and just float away.

18

They’d decided to make a weekend of it and Susan was nervous. Excited, but nervous. The shopping she was looking forward to. They’d have Friday afternoon, all day Saturday, and part of Sunday to scour salvage shops and were hoping to find things to match existing pieces in the house. A couple of the glass doorknobs were no longer usable, a shutter was missing, and the stair rail and some floorboards needed replacing. On top of that, Susan was hoping to get an idea of what was available as far as fixtures for the bathrooms as well as kitchen equipment that met with food service regulations. They had a busy weekend ahead of them.

But first, she had to get over her nervousness regarding the hotel arrangements. Riley had asked her if she wanted a separate room. She had tried, desperately, to read his mind when he asked, tried to figure out what he meant, but he had kept his expression remarkably passive. In the end, she had tried to remain cool when she’d said one room with two beds would be fine—they could split the cost, save some money—but she knew he had seen right through her.

She glanced at Riley, wondering how he was feeling about the weekend. Did guys ever get nervous about such things? Did they ever think that far ahead? As if sensing her stress, Riley took her hand and pulled it to rest under his on the center console. The simple gesture went a long way towards calming her nerves.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that big pine tree on the southern corner of the house. I was working in the bedroom yesterday and with the wind blowing pretty hard, the branches were scraping against the window. You’re going to have to decide if you want to take it down or see if it can be trimmed.”

“I hate to take it down. Last fall when all the windows were open I loved going in that room. It smelled like Christmas…like heaven. It’s a happy smell. I don’t want to lose that. I’ll check into getting it trimmed. You don’t happen to know anyone, do you?”

“I can get you a name.”

“I never doubted it.” Then she grew quiet and stared out the window at the highway racing past, her lips moving and a crease deepening on her forehead.

Riley watched her for a minute before asking, “Care to share?”

She was slow in answering but finally turned to him and touching one finger at a time said, “Scotch Pine, Pine Woods, Big Pine, or…O Tannenbaum?”

“What?”

She responded with a long-suffering sigh. “You really should have this figured out by now. A room name, you goof. What do you like?”

“O Tannenbaum?”

“It means Christmas tree.”

“I know what it means, Red, it’s just kind of weird, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know, it has a nice ring to it. I could keep a Christmas tree in there year-round. Maybe I wouldn’t even rent it out, just keep it as my happy place.”

“I’d go with Big Pine or…what was it? Pine Woods?”

She nodded thoughtfully. “You’re probably right. A pine log bed and dresser, maybe a mirror framed in pine branches, a deep green rug. Pine scented potpourri and soaps, of course. It’ll be gorgeous.” She made a check mark in the air with her finger. “That’s three. They just keep coming.”

“We’re getting close. Which place do you want to stop at first?”

“The big one, don’t you think?”

“They’re all big.”

“The really big one.”

Even really big didn’t do it justice. The place was massive. Merchandise stretched as far as the eye could see. Warehouse after warehouse filled with everything she could have imagined, and then some. They had been there an hour before Susan realized there were four floors and an outdoor lot, too. And even though Riley had warned her it would be cold, she was freezing.

They made their way through row after row of doors until they found just the right one to replace a door that was, for some reason, missing from one of the bedrooms. One entire room was devoted to bathroom fixtures and the selection of clawfoot tubs was overwhelming. Susan walked the rows, considering and debating. Some were in bad shape, but several just needed a good cleaning. The prices on the tubs that were in at least fair condition were much higher than she wanted to pay. She asked Riley’s opinion.

“You can probably talk them down some, they want to move the merchandise, but I don’t know how we’ll get everything back to Misty Lake. I still hope to find floorboards, a couple of windows, the stair rail, maybe some other stuff. It’s not all going to fit in the truck. Maybe we hold off on the tub for now.”

“Hmmm.” She circled the tub she liked the best, leaning down to check the bottom and to examine the feet. Then she looked at the rows of similar tubs. “You’re right. If I can’t get this one, there will be another. We’ll forget it for now.”

As they headed off to check out the stock of stair rails and newel posts, Susan started shivering and felt her toes going numb. Her excitement was quickly waning.

They finally bumped into Jimmy, a muscled, bearded, red-faced giant who somehow seemed to know everything the salvage store carried, where it was located, and how to find it through the maze. When Jimmy saw Susan start to hop up and down in an attempt to get warm and took pity on her directing her to the employee office to warm up, he became her new favorite person.

While Riley followed Jimmy, Susan chatted with Francie over a blessedly hot cup of coffee and wiggled her toes, willing them to thaw.

“Where is this inn going to be?” Francie, who Susan learned had run the office for thirty-seven years, was a solid woman with tight grey curls, strong, capable hands, and a booming laugh.

“It’s on Misty Lake. Do you know where that is? I’m still kind of new to the area so I don’t even know how to explain where it’s located.”

“Misty Lake? You don’t say.” Francie slapped a hand to her thigh and grinned. “We used to go there when I was a kid. I have so many memories of fishing with my dad on that lake. We’d go out, just the two of us, before the sun came up. I loved those times when I had him all to myself. And I met my first boyfriend there…Teddy Franks. He kissed me one night on the beach with the moon and stars shining on the lake. I was fifteen and sure I’d found the man I was going to marry. Teddy had other ideas. Two days later I saw him kissing a blonde girl with big boobs. My heart was broken and I cried all night until my mom finally told me to snap out of it, a boy like that wasn’t worth my tears, and when the right one came along, I’d know it. Four years later I met my Wally and I’ve never looked back.”

“I hope some day people will remember their time at my bed and breakfast so fondly. That’s my goal, really, to help people make memories.”

“I get a little of that working here sometimes. I see people wander through and watch their eyes light up when they spot something that reminds them of grandma’s house or their old school. I think it’s knowing that we’re making memories for those we love, or even for those we don’t know, that makes things worth doing.”

“I think you’re right. I worked at a fancy hotel in Chicago before coming here. I met couples on their wedding night, friends reunited after years apart, little kids staying in a hotel for the first time, and once, the sweetest couple celebrating their seventieth anniversary. Their family threw a party for them at the hotel and then booked the honeymoon suite for Betsy and Wilbur as a surprise. I escorted them to their room filled with flowers, sweets, and monogrammed robes. I’ve never seen anyone blush the way Betsy did when Wilbur teased her that they would need to make sure the kids’ money was well spent. Times like those made all the long days and impossible guests worth it. The thought that, for those people, we were helping them seal a special time forever in their memories…you’re right, that’s what it’s all about.”

“I don’t doubt your place will be the setting for many happy memories. What will you call it?”

“Do you know what’s funny? With all the questions I’ve answered about the B&B, all the people who are curious and have asked everything from what kind of food I’ll serve to how many towels I’ll have in the bathrooms, not one person has asked me what I’m going to name the place with the exception of the one who helped me set up my website.”

“Seems to me like a logical question.”

“Doesn’t it? I gave it quite a bit of thought and decided I’m going to keep it simple, old-fashioned, even. Rather than a cutesy sort of name, I’m going with The Inn at Misty Lake.”

Francie considered for a moment, then a smile spread across her face as she winked her approval. “I think you’re going to do just fine with that inn of yours, Susan. Sit tight for a minute.” With that, she disappeared into a room off the office.

Susan looked around while she waited. The window in the office allowed her to watch people milling about, but there was no sign of Riley. She figured he must be close to frozen and felt a little guilty for taking refuge out of the cold.

Susan couldn’t tell what it was Francie had in her hands as she came back into the office. She held it out in front of her and told Susan, “This came in a while back but I always thought it was too special to just throw out there with everything else. I’ve been hanging on to it for the right person. I’ve found her. It’s yours if you want it.”

Francie was holding an old-fashioned-looking wooden sign hanging from an intricate wrought iron bracket. The sign creaked ever so slightly as it swung gently when Francie held it out to Susan. It was beautiful and Susan fell in love with it even before Francie turned it around and she saw the carving on the sign. ‘The Inn.’

“Oh, Francie, it’s magnificent. I’d love to have it, name your price.”

“No, honey, this is a gift. It was waiting for you.”

Susan began to argue then told herself she needed to be gracious and accept a gift when it was given to her. “Thank you, Francie, that’s incredibly generous of you. I happen to have a cousin who’s a whiz with wood and I’m betting she can add another level to the sign that reads ‘at Misty Lake.’ I can’t imagine anything more perfect. I’ll tell you what. If you want to make another trip to Misty Lake you let me know. I’ll have a room waiting for you.”

“I just might take you up on that…make myself some new memories.”

Susan was thanking Francie again when the office door squeaked open.

“Head on in, Francie will ring you up,” Jimmy said, holding the door for Riley.

As Jimmy went to give Francie a tally of what Riley had decided on, Susan rushed to Riley with the sign.

“Riley, oh, I hope you’re not frozen.” Before he could answer, she turned the sign to face him. “Look what Francie gave me. Isn’t it absolutely perfect?”

He admired the artistry of the ironwork before he read the sign. “The Inn? Is that what you’re going to call your place? I guess I never asked.”

Francie scolded him. “How does it happen you spend every day working there and you’ve never asked the name of the place?”

“I’m not sure, ma’am, but it’s definitely an oversight on my part. I’m sorry about that.”

“Don’t apologize to me, son. Those are words your lady needs to hear, not me.”

Properly put in his place by a woman he hadn’t even been introduced to, Riley turned sheepishly to Susan. “I’m sorry, I should have asked you a long time ago. And if I would have looked at your website like I keep meaning to do, I’d know. What do you plan to call it?”

“Well, since you’ve asked,” Susan grinned, “The Inn at Misty Lake. What do you think?”

“I think I like it. It has a little bit of an old-time sound to it and from a marketing standpoint, it’s a good choice. Anyone searching for anything related to Misty Lake will come across it. Very good choice.”

“Thank you. I’m going to ask Sam if she can add a second tier to the sign so it displays the whole name.”

“It will look right at home hanging from the front porch.” Turning to Francie, he tried to redeem himself. “That’s a very considerate gift. It’s very well made and Susan’s lucky to have it. Almost as lucky as I am to be standing here next to her. You have a good eye, Mrs….?”

“Oh, call me Francie,” she answered with a wave of her hand, Riley having already won her over. “And you’re right, you are a lucky man. Don’t you forget it. And don’t you forget to tell her so everyday. A woman likes to hear those things.”

“You can count on it, Francie.”

They made a stop at the hotel to get checked in and to warm up and change clothes before the game. In the end, Susan agreed to wear the Wild jersey…but only after Riley promised—and crossed his heart—not to take a picture. Once there, she found herself in a dilemma. The arena was electric with excitement, it was hard not to be swept up in it. When the home team scored the first goal, the place erupted and, somehow, she found herself on her feet cheering right along. It wasn’t until she caught Riley’s ‘I told you so’ look that she realized what she was doing. Sheepishly, she sat back down and reminded herself she was a Blackhawks fan.

Watching the game seated next to Riley was exciting, amusing, and educational. He twisted and turned and deked in his seat right along with the players. He called penalties before the referees, saw plays setting up before some of the skaters, and questioned the coaches’ decisions at what he deemed critical moments in the game.