On Lavender Lane (21 page)

Like the broken-winged, red-tailed hawk he’d begun working with, she’d require patience to get close to.

Fortunately, he thought, as he watched her ooh and aah over the bright red, yellow, and green peppers; leafy lettuce; ripe tomatoes; and cartons of speckled, organic eggs, like a woman exploring jewels at Tiffany, he wasn’t going anywhere. And, it appeared, at least for now, that neither was she.

24

Lucas had just arrived at the farm when Sofia and Maddy drove up. He’d done a lot of thinking about the restaurant while he’d been fishing, and had a few ideas he would have discussed with Maddy if they hadn’t gotten so sidetracked on the past.

But now he was in full work mode. Though, he admitted as he watched those long legs climb out of the passenger’s seat, while he’d assured her he could keep his mind on business, there hadn’t been any prohibition mentioned against enjoying the scenery.

“The plan’s changed,” she announced before he could even say hello.

“Okay.”

He wondered if she’d talked Sofia out of working with him. Maybe she’d pushed for her grandmother to bring in a contractor from the Willamette Valley. Or Portland.

“Maddy had the most wonderful idea,” Sofia said. “Along with a restaurant, we’re going to start a cooking school.”

He glanced over at Maddy, whose set face suggested she expected an argument. “Okay,” he repeated. “How many students are you thinking of?”

“We talked about it on the drive home from Haven House,” Sofia said. “And ten to a dozen seems like a workable number.”

“That’ll take an additional room.” He ran a few numbers through his head. “And a lot more money.”

Maddy folded her arms. “Afraid you won’t get paid?”

“No. I was merely thinking that if Sofia’s doing this to shore up her finances, pouring more money into the place might not be the best idea. Since it would probably take a while to turn a profit during the best of times.”

Which these were not.

“Maddy had an idea about that, too. She wants to make it a reality show.”

Whoa
. “A reality show?”

Apparently, his skepticism and lack of enthusiasm for that idea showed on his face, because the creator of what, in his opinion, was a cockamamie idea squared shoulders clad in a crisp white blouse.

“Nothing’s set yet,” she admitted. “I’m going to have to discuss it with my agent, and obviously we wouldn’t want to show any students from Haven House, since their anonymity’s so important. The network’s been after me to do another show, and none that they’ve suggested have sounded at all appealing. But everyone loves to live vicariously through other people’s remodeling projects, so I figured we could begin by taping some of the renovation to use on the opening episode of the show, then switch to the school. We’d pitch it as a before and after, along the lines of the Cooking Network meets HGTV.”

Since he didn’t want to get into another argument with her, Lucas didn’t share his feelings that the appeal of those reality remodeling shows was in viewers being able to enjoy other peoples’ remodeling horror stories.

“So I’d be part of this project?”

The upside of the deal was that he’d be working with Maddy every day and she wouldn’t be able to yell at him because it would ruin her friendly, accessible, on-air image. The downside was that he’d be on television. And not in any manly hunting, fishing, or gun show. But on the freaking
Cooking Network. And wouldn’t his former SEAL teammates rag on him about that? He could just hear them asking him to whip up a soufflé over a campfire.

“You could be,” she responded. “If your price is right.”

“And you’d have to be willing to appear on television,” Sofia said, jumping in to act as peacemaker, revealing that he wasn’t the only one feeling all those confrontation vibes emanating from the originator of this supposed plan. “Which I can understand might prove a problem for you.”

“It would’ve back in my SEAL days, since we needed to stay under the radar, but it wouldn’t be any big deal now. I’ve already said I’d keep the cost down. Hell, since it would essentially be free advertising for me, I’ll throw in my labor for free.”

“Oh, that would be wonderful, dear.” Sofia beamed. Then turned toward her granddaughter. “Wouldn’t it?”

“Every little bit helps,” Maddy said mildly. But he could sense a slight softening in her stance. “I also happen to have a ring burning a hole in my purse that I could sell to add to the coffers.”

He had a suspicion he knew what ring that might just be, since her left hand was bare.

“Okay, here’s the thing,” he said. “I’ve already given some thought to this before you expanded the idea from a restaurant to a school, and I came up with some ideas I’d like to share with you.”

“And we’d love to hear them,” the older woman said. “Wouldn’t we, darling?”

“Why not?” Maddy agreed with a decided lack of enthusiasm.

“Let’s start in the kitchen,” he said, as they entered the house.

“Well, there’s an idea,” Maddy said dryly. “Since that’s where the cooking takes place.”

She wasn’t going to give him so much as an inch. Which
was only going to make victory, when he won her over, even sweeter.

The minute he walked into the kitchen, the same thought occurred to him as the last time he’d visited and seen the familiar, scarred table. The idea of gutting it to turn it into a commercial restaurant had been bothering him from the beginning. He knew he could design a space that would work. But it would never be the same.

“If these walls could talk,” he murmured. “Right there”—he pointed at the table—“you fed Dad and me the best spaghetti and meatballs I’d ever eaten.”

“You were both a little lost at the time and needed love.”

Lost
was putting it mildly. His baby sister had died after a valiant battle with leukemia, and his mom, battling her own pain, had taken off to Colorado, leaving his father and him devastated and drifting. Sofia De Luca had provided the anchor they’d both so needed.

“And that’s what made them the best,” he said. “I’ve never eaten anything as good as that meal. Even though I was just a kid, I could tell that you’d poured your heart into that meal. I suspect Dad felt the same way. Every time I walk in here, I remember that was the moment I thought we just might make it after all the bad stuff that had happened to our family.”

“If you don’t cook with love, there’s no point,” Sofia said. “That’s always what’s made Maddy such a good chef.”

“That comes through on the programs.”

“Oh, please.” Maddy rolled her expressive eyes.

“It’s the truth. And I’ll bet the network people told you the same thing, so if they and your viewers can recognize it, why would you think I wouldn’t?”

“You’re just trying to win me over.”

“Guilty as charged.” The fact was, they were both back where they’d begun, and she was just going to have to get used to being thrown together again. The same way she was
going to have to get used to the idea that they belonged together. And always had. “But that doesn’t mean it’s not the truth.…”

“So”—he moved the conversation back to his reason for coming to the farm today—“I hate the idea of gutting all the memories this place holds. Not just for me, but for everyone else who’s ever been privileged to eat here.”

“The entire point was to tie the restaurant into the farm,” Maddy countered. “To emphasize fresh ingredients. If we leased some vacant building downtown, it might get us more walk-in tourist business, but it wouldn’t be the same.”

“She has a point,” Sofia agreed.

“Which is why I’m not suggesting that,” Lucas said. “Especially since whatever place you found would probably require a complete redo. And starting over, just the way you want it, is always preferable to a remodel, which would require new wiring, plumbing, sheet-metal work, and a bunch of other stuff to bring it up to code. That’s why I was thinking that an addition would make the most sense.”

“An addition?”

“You could build onto the left front.” He pointed toward the exterior kitchen wall.

“And ruin the integrity of the farmhouse style,” Maddy pointed out with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.

“Good point, and one we wouldn’t want to do. After Dad and I decided to work together, I did a lot of research, since I didn’t have his architectural background and wanted to get up to speed.”

He took out an iPad with the sketches he’d done after Maddy had left the cottage.

“Since it’s important to maintain proportion when adding on substantial square footage to a farmhouse of this era, we’ll want to pay particular attention to scale and have the addition contribute to the appeal while being subordinate to the original.”

“That’s very good,” Maddy allowed as she studied the
first drawing, which was the farmhouse as it looked now. But he’d also drawn in the lavender fields, since they were an important part of the vision he’d come up with.

“Thanks. I don’t have Dad’s talent for architectural design, but I can draw enough to get by.…What I’d suggest is locating the addition ten or twelve feet back from the facade. Also, since the most expensive parts of a house are the roof and the foundation, a two-story building would give you half the roofing costs and half the foundation costs. You also save money in plumbing and heating with two stories.”

“Lots of restaurants in New York have the kitchen and restaurant on different floors, but I was thinking more of an open-kitchen concept,” Maddy said.

“Do you think that’s wise, dear?” Sofia asked. “Given that students will be doing the cooking? They might get more nervous with an audience.”

“Good point.” Once again, she was thinking of what her parents had done. But what worked for them in their small Umbrian town wasn’t necessarily right in this instance. “And one we’ll have to think about.”

“If you did build up, you could always use the space above the restaurant for an apartment if you ever wanted to take on a boarder.”

“Or have someone move in to help around the place,” Maddy suggested, getting into the spirit of the idea.

Which didn’t seem to thrill her grandmother. “I may be old, dear,” she said with typical Sofia spunk. “But I’m not decrepit. At least not yet.”

“Of course you aren’t,” Lucas and Maddy said at the same time. They exchanged a look. “But one of the concepts Dad was really into was working on projects dealing with aging in place. Having an available apartment might come in handy down the road. If not, there are a lot of things you could do with the space.”

“I’ll consider it,” Sofia said. “Though it’s not as if I don’t already have guest rooms in the main portion of the house.”

“Here’s another idea I was playing with.” Lucas scrolled over to the next page. “To keep from having this house in a state of construction chaos, I’m suggesting you might want to go for a traditional carriage house, which Victorians often put in their side yards.

“It would connect to the main structure by this enclosed breezeway attached to what’s now the kitchen’s outer wall.” He used the touch pad to draw an enclosed walkway.

“Oh, I like the windows,” Sofia said.

“Although guests won’t be using it to go back and forth, you still don’t want it to seem like a tunnel. Or bunker. The windows let in light and continue the look of the house’s facade.

“Then, since you don’t sound as if you need the space from a second story, how about using half of it for your training kitchen? It’s bound to take up more space than an actual one. You’d leave the other half open, which would give you a soaring ceiling to open up the dining room. Especially if you add skylights here. And here.”

He quickly sketched what he was seeing in his mind. He’d begun using the electronic tablet while in Afghanistan, exchanging ideas and Victorian design features with his father by e-mail.

“Oh.” Sofia literally drew in a breath. “I love that!” She turned toward Maddy. “What do you think, dear?”

“I think it could work really well. The interior wouldn’t be traditional, like people would expect from a farmhouse, so it would add an element of surprise. And since the food is all about being fresh and simple, the design should reflect that. Though”—she looked up at Lucas—“it should also be homey. Nothing too stark and modern.”

“I totally agree,” he said, thinking of the sterility of Brooke’s Portland apartment. “We can bring warmth in with paint and by putting in some exposed ceiling beams. I also thought it would be nice to duplicate this house’s front porch.”

More quick sketching. All those years of drawing with
his own pencils and pad while sitting next to his dad as he’d worked at home had paid off. Lucas would never have any of his work hanging in a gallery, but he could get an idea across.

“It’d give diners a nice place to sit out and have drinks and watch the sunset over the water,” he said. “Even on drizzly days, since it’s covered.”

“That is so perfect!” Sofia said.

“That’s a good idea,” Maddy allowed. He may still be in the doghouse, but she was beginning to warm to the idea. “It beats people standing around the hostess’s table or sitting on a bench inside,” she said.

“You’ll probably want the bench, but we can make it work. We can also mix things up with lighting and interior design, which I’m totally leaving up to you. Since you’re the expert on restaurants.

“You’ll want a lot of windows, which will not only bring in light, but give diners a view of the lavender fields and the ocean.” He took some tall, double-paned windows from the computer program’s library and moved them into place.

“Maybe some atrium doors here leading out onto a patio.” He added a set of French doors. “Nothing too big or commercial-looking, but it’d probably be a popular spot on sunny days.”

“I love it,” Sofia said on a long, happy sigh as she viewed the result. “What do you think, Maddy?”

“Although I really hate to admit it, I think you’ve nailed it,” she told Lucas. “I also like that if we needed to, with a few upgrades and that breezeway, which would involve knocking through the exterior wall of the house, although we’re keeping this kitchen intact, we could utilize it if we needed it for larger groups. Say, a banquet or wedding.”