A Place to Call Home (7 page)

“W
hat can I get for you, Abby?” Kate Nichols slid into the seat across from her with a welcoming smile.

Abby, who couldn’t imagine her brother ever joining his guests at their table with such unaffected ease, smiled back. The owner of the Grapevine Café couldn’t have been more than a few years older than she was, but the lively snap in Kate’s shamrock-green eyes hinted she was up to any challenge that came her way.

Abby felt a pinch of envy.

We’re working on it, aren’t we, Lord?

“Just coffee.” Abby’s gaze drifted to the slices of pie rotating in a dessert carousel a few yards away from the booth.

Kate arched a copper brow. “Strawberry, peach or apple?”

“Strawberry.”

“Strawberry it is.” Kate leaned forward. “So what brings you into town? I haven’t seen you since the service last Sunday morning.”

Abby winced at the memory.

Exhausted from working well past midnight, Abby had
started to nod off during the video clip Pastor Wilde had played during the adult Sunday school hour. A discreet nudge from Kate’s elbow had saved her from acute embarrassment.

Abby would have scooted away right after the class ended but Kate had caught up to her at the door, blocking her escape with an enormous leather study Bible. Something in the young woman’s warm personality and mischievous smile had reminded her of Jessica, so she’d accepted Kate’s invitation to sit with her during the worship service.

“I still can’t believe I did that.”

“Don’t worry about it. I know what exhaustion feels like. I’m up by 4:00 a.m. making pies three times a week. Believe me, you’ll have a chance to return the favor someday.” The soft laugh that followed the promise put Abby instantly at ease.

“I will.”

Kate turned toward a pack of adolescent boys jostling their way between the tables, their destination the jukebox in the corner. The movement set her cap of fiery red corkscrew curls bouncing.

“No music for five minutes. We’re trying to have a conversation here,” she barked out.

The boys froze in their tracks and did an immediate about-face, slinking back to the booth they’d occupied moments before.

“If I have to listen to ‘Born to Be Wild’ one more time, I’m pulling the plug on that relic,” Kate muttered. “Missy! Read that book during your break. We need two cups of coffee and a piece of strawberry pie over here.”

The willowy teenage girl behind the counter snapped to attention, blushing, and hurried to obey.

“My brother would love you,” Abby said without thinking.

“What?”
Kate’s eyes widened.

“As an employee,” Abby amended quickly. “Alex owns
a…restaurant.” Or four. Restaurants which happened to be located in the hotels he also owned, but she saw no point in mentioning that. “He appreciates ‘highly motivated people.’”

Unless it was his sister, of course. When it came to her, Alex appreciated it when Abby was highly motivated in a place where he could keep an eye on her.

Kate shrugged. “If you aren’t highly motivated around here, you don’t survive. Which is why you’ll do just fine. It was sheer genius to buy that old camp and turn it into a bed-and-breakfast.”

Abby hadn’t expected the compliment but it bloomed inside her. “There’s still a lot of work to do.”

“When isn’t there?” Kate aimed a wink at Missy, who’d sidled up with the pie and two cups of coffee. “Refill the boys’ glasses and take ten, sweetheart. You’re not going to be any good to me if you spend the whole afternoon wondering what’s going to happen at the end of chapter three.”

Missy’s wide smile exposed twin rows of metal braces. “Thanks, Kate!” She darted away.

“Chapter three?”

“I facilitate a book club for high school girls. It meets here once a month during the summer,” Kate explained. “They get homemade pizza and chocolate cake and I get a chance to reread the books I loved at that age. It’s a win-win situation.”

“It sounds like a lot of fun.” Abby emptied the contents of a sugar packet into her coffee. “And I think it’s great you take the time to organize something for them.”

Kate waved her spoon in the air, as if brushing aside the compliment. “The kids’ main complaint is that there isn’t a lot to do around here. This is my way of encouraging them to ‘bloom where they’re planted,’ so to speak. You don’t know how many times I hear the girls say they can’t wait to graduate and move away, never to return.”

“Did you ever feel that way?”

“Call me crazy, but no. I never did. I happen to think Mirror Lake has a lot to offer—but I guess it depends on what you’re looking for.” Kate smiled. “You must know what I’m talking about. I mean, you moved here on purpose, you brave girl.”

Brave? It was a word Abby never would have chosen to describe herself. Her faith had given her the courage to start a new life in Mirror Lake but there were times she still battled doubt.

“The book club is always open to new members,” Kate continued. “If you’re interested.”

“It’s tempting…” Abby hesitated, not wanting to be rude.

“But totally unrealistic,” Kate finished. “I understand. You’ve got your hands full with that place. I suppose it’s slow going without Daniel Redstone there.”

Abby wasn’t surprised Kate had heard about Daniel’s windfall. As much the carpenter talked about fishing, he’d probably turned cartwheels down the middle of Main Street after he’d won the vacation.

“He sent over his partner yesterday, so I’m still on schedule for the grand opening.”

“Partner?”

“Quinn O’Halloran.”

“Quinn—” Kate, who’d taken a sip from her cup, suddenly began to cough.

“Are you all right?” Abby plucked a napkin out of the metal holder and pressed it into Kate’s hand.

“I think so,” she wheezed, dabbing the cloth against her streaming eyes.

“Do you know Quinn?” Abby asked, hoping the question didn’t sound like shameless curiosity. It was merely…curiosity. Without the shameless.

“A little. He grew up here but we were a few years apart in high school.” Kate’s voice crackled and she tried to smooth it out with another sip of coffee. “He left town right after graduation. No one saw him for years and then he showed up after his dad died. I didn’t realize he was working for you.”

“Only until Daniel comes back,” Abby said, still processing what Kate had just told her. If Quinn had grown up in Mirror Lake, why hadn’t he mentioned that when she’d asked him how long he’d lived in the area?

“He’s helped Daniel out in the past, I suppose,” Kate murmured. “But Quinn isn’t—”

“Kate,” a plaintive voice interrupted. “Can we play a song now?” One of the boys she’d shooed away appeared beside the booth. “It’s been more than five minutes.”

“Sure. Streisand or the Beach Boys. Your pick.”

Glowering, the teenager stomped back to the booth.

“It’s important to give kids choices.” The twinkle in Kate’s green eyes belied her serious tone. “Now, what were we talking about?”

“Quinn.” Abby leaned forward, more than ready to return to the previous topic of their discussion.

She wanted to know the reason behind Kate’s strange reaction when Abby had mentioned that Quinn was filling in for Daniel. And what Kate had been about to say right before they’d been interrupted.

“Miss Porter!” The bells on the door accompanied Mayor Dodd’s boisterous greeting. “I knew I’d find you here!”

“Not that a person has a whole lot of options in a town this size,” Kate whispered as she picked up her cup and slid out of the booth. “I think this is the perfect time to check over the dinner menu.”

A half hour later, Abby knew why her new friend had made a quick getaway. While Quinn had managed to condense the purpose behind Reflection Days in a few short sentences, Mayor Dodd expounded on it as if he were standing behind a pulpit on a Sunday morning.

Abby had been introduced to him briefly after she’d moved to Mirror Lake. As round as he was tall, the mayor bore a striking resemblance to a garden gnome. Blue eyes blazed beneath snow-white eyebrows that merged together like an unclipped hedge over the bridge of his nose. Sideburns connected a flowing salt-and-pepper beard to the thick mustache that obscured his upper and lower lip. What it didn’t obscure was the toothpick that jutted out of the corner of his mouth and kept time with every word he spoke.

“…the Chamber of Commerce welcomes new businesses to the area. You give to the community, you get back.” Mayor Dodd’s coffee cup came down between them like a gavel to emphasize the point.

“I’d be happy to—”

“Good. Good.” The toothpick bobbed in approval. “We’re one judge short for the Reflection Day parade.”

Behind the counter, Abby saw Kate make a slashing gesture against her throat. “Um—”

“Good. Good. I’ll have my wife call you with the details. She’s in charge of the parade committee.”

Abby decided that Kate must have been directing the gesture toward the boys crowded around the jukebox. Judging a parade didn’t sound like a huge responsibility. And she was looking forward to getting involved in the community.

Abby happened to glance at the clock and gasped. “I’m sorry, Mayor Dodd. I have to go.”

The toothpick drooped like a cat’s tail on a rainy day. “But
we haven’t talked about your nomination for the Main Street beautification project yet—”

“Mayor?” Kate breezed up to the booth. “I’ve got one slice of apple pie left. On the house, if you’re interested.”

The blue eyes brightened. “On the house? Good. Good.”

Abby sent the café owner a grateful look as she snatched up her purse. “How much do I owe you for the coffee?”

“Forget about it.” Kate lowered her voice. “You earned it. FYI, the mayor’s won the pie eating contest five years in a row. Six slices in three minutes and twelve seconds. Now go.”

As Abby made a break for it, the opening beat of “Born to Be Wild” followed her out the door. Stepping into the warm afternoon sunshine, she scanned both sides of the street but there was no sign of Quinn. Or the truck.

Great. He’d kidnapped her dog and left her stranded in Mirror Lake.

“It’s about time.”

Quinn caught the wadded-up piece of paper that came sailing toward him as he walked into the office.

“That bad, huh?”

“Let me count the ways.” Faye crossed her arms. “Your part-time guys are struggling for dominance. If this was
Survivor,
I’d vote them both off the island. Mel Burdock calls every few hours, complaining his house isn’t getting the
undivided attention
you promised when he hired you…and it’s five hundred degrees in here today because my stubborn boss won’t swallow his pride and let me buy an air conditioner for the office.”

“Don’t exaggerate. It can’t be more than a hundred and fifty.” Quinn raked a hand through his hair. “But go on.”

“Thank you. I will.” Faye picked up an envelope and waved
it at him. “This letter from Jeff Gaines came in the mail and every time I get tempted to steam it open, I eat a piece of candy instead. I’ve gained three pounds in the last two hours.”

Quinn held out his hand.

“Candy or the letter?”

“Both.”

Faye complied. “Now be a good boy and stand still while I read it over your shoulder.”

“What would I do without you and your total disregard for the fact that I’m the one who signs your paycheck?”

“Is that what you call it?” she asked tartly. “To my way of thinking, a paycheck should cover more than a cup of coffee at the Grapevine.”

“Kate’s coffee
is
expensive.” Quinn grinned, used to Faye’s acerbic sense of humor. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

She reached up and patted his cheek. “I hope it’s good news, honey.”

He did, too. But it took two laps around the office before Quinn opened the envelope. If his bid was accepted, he could tell Alex Porter he wouldn’t have time to work at the lodge, looking for threats that didn’t exist…and be forced to deal with the unexpected feelings Abby stirred inside of him.

She continued to astonish him. Her response to his comment about the car had left him reeling. To Quinn’s knowledge, no one had ever accused
him,
even teasingly, of being a snob before.

No one had ever dropped him on the back of his head with a basic move from chapter one of an amateur’s guide to self-defense book, either.

Or cut through his defenses with a single smile.

The sooner he was done with this assignment—and, he reminded himself, Abby Porter
was
an assignment—the
better. Alex had hinted that she had moved to Mirror Lake on a whim; once she realized that the grim reality outweighed her dreams, she would return to Chicago.

Quinn didn’t doubt it for a second. And he had no intention of letting Abby take a piece of his heart when she jumped into that little red convertible and drove away.

He took a deep breath and opened the envelope. Inside was an official letter from Gaines Developers. With Jeff Gaines’s official signature at the bottom. Officially telling him that the deadline for the bid on the White Wolf Run condos had been adjusted due to extenuating circumstances.

Extenuating circumstances otherwise known as Alex Porter.

Quinn closed his eyes briefly.

Should he admire the guy’s tenacity or withdraw the bid and walk away with his pride still intact? Quinn hadn’t been guaranteed that O’Halloran Security would win the contract, but if Porter put in a good word for him with Jeff Gaines, it would level the playing field a little. Give the business a fighting chance.

Quinn wished he didn’t need one.

But Mike O’Halloran had dragged the family name through the mud and every time Quinn took a step forward, it felt as if everyone’s eyes were on him—watching to see if he left footprints.

The bells over the front door jingled, announcing the arrival of someone Quinn hoped was a potential customer. If it wasn’t, he had no doubt that Faye would convince the person that O’Halloran Security had something they needed.

He wasn’t sure what he’d do without her.

Quinn hadn’t forgotten the day she’d shown up because it was the day he’d almost given up.