Sweetheart Cottage (Cranberry Bay #1) (10 page)

“Yes,” Rylee said. She rubbed her forehead, trying to remember what the Beach and Sky had told her. “I dropped off business cards at all the hotels on the coast. No one had any work.”

“Well, the Beach and Sky does now. Colleen’s brother runs the place and keeps a tight fist on everything. But her father recently died, and she’s inherited half of the hotel. She wants to have a whole new look. She wants it to be more casual, with a touch of the old-fashioned. A vintage beach hotel like your cottages.”

Rylee felt like she couldn’t breathe. A job. No, not just any job. A big, important, career job had just landed in her lap as well as the opportunity to be featured in a national magazine. She never dreamed all of this good news could happen, here, in small-town Cranberry Bay. She thought jobs like this one only came along in large cities. Her mouth dried, and she swallowed hard. “How do I get in touch with her?”

“I’ve got her card and home cell number.” Ivy reached into the side pocket of a large canvas bag hanging on the back of a chair. “Here you go.” She held out an ivy card with black cursive lettering.

Rylee’s hands shook as the familiar ring on her cell phone twinkled out of her bag.

“Phone call?” Katie called as all four women stopped and listened.

“Sorry. It’s mine.” Rylee grabbed the phone. Her father’s number scrolled across the top. “Excuse me.”

“You can go in the back room.” Katie motioned toward a small door at the back of the store.

Rylee strode to the backdoor, stepped inside, and shut it. “Dad?” Rylee leaned her head against the wall. A bulletin board with neatly written index cards and a calendar lined one entire wall. Scraps of fabric were piled high on a folding table.

“Rylee, baby!” Her Dad’s voice crackled, higher than a kite on his latest win. Rylee groaned to herself. She wasn’t sure which was worse, Dad winning or Dad losing. She’d known the pattern all her life, and each cycle caused a sense of dread.

“…coming to visit Cranberry Bay.”

“What?” Rylee shook her head. She hadn’t heard right. Dad didn’t say he wanted to visit Cranberry Bay. He hadn’t been back in over thirty-five years. This wasn’t the time to return.

“I’m coming to visit Cranberry Bay,” Dad repeated. “I thought it’d be great for us to spend Thanksgiving together.”

“You can’t,” Rylee blurted. If her father returned, he risked what all of them had worked so hard to do—keep his gambling addiction a secret. Dad couldn’t go a day without finding some means to gamble, whether it was setting up a poker table or online or playing the Vegas tables. It would only take one poker game in Cranberry Bay for him to reveal what had happened to the hometown boy. “Grandma’s house is under repair. There’s nowhere to sleep. I’m sleeping on the couch.” It wasn’t true, but her father didn’t need to know that.

“That’s fine,” Dad said. “There’s a hotel in the area. The important thing is for us to be together for Thanksgiving. You know how I feel, baby; we’re all we have. We have to stick together.”

Rylee’s heart contracted. Her father had always danced in and out of her life during the holiday season. He’d show up at her doorstep, unshaven and broke, looking for a place to sleep and a hot meal. Once she’d sought counseling, and the therapist told her to send him to the men’s mission down the street. But she never had the heart to do it. Instead, she opened her home to him.

“Why don’t we talk about this in a couple days? I’m right in the middle of something.” In a couple days, Dad would have lost the money to travel. It was the boom and bust of his addiction, and the only thing she could count on.

“Sure, baby girl. We’re going to celebrate a good old-fashioned Thanksgiving. It’ll be great to reconnect with everyone in Cranberry Bay again. You know they loved me once.”

“I know, Dad,” Rylee said, her voice dropped to a whisper. “I know.” Everyone adored her father. It was why all of them had worked for years to keep his addiction a secret from the town. Her heart ached, the way it always did after every conversation. She couldn’t let the whole town see what her grandparents had tried so hard to keep secret over the years. Her Dad, the hometown star, had not succeeded. He was living off handouts from his daughter.

Slowly, Ryle clicked the phone off.

Katie stuck her head into the room. “What’s the matter? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“It’s okay,” Rylee said, smiling to cover her rocketing emotions exactly the way she had for years. She followed Katie back into the sewing shop, where the chatter had turned to talk of Ivy’s friendship with the high school history teacher and historic train conductor. Grateful to have someone else take center stage, Rylee turned toward the tall file cabinet of patterns. She pulled open the bottom drawer and hunted for the apron patterns in the back of the cabinet. But before she located the apron pattern, a sharp, familiar bark caused Rylee to straighten and look through the shop’s large front window.

Bryan waved and smiled at her. Beside him, Raisin lunged on his leash toward the shop door.

Rylee dropped her pattern and hurried toward the door.

Bryan shifted the leash to his left hand as Rylee burst through the sewing shop door, bringing with her colors of joy on a gray, drizzling, and breezy late afternoon. Bryan’s heart lifted.

“Is everything okay?” She kneeled beside Raisin and ran her hand over his fur.

“Everything’s fine.” Bryan placed his hand on her left shoulder. He squeezed lightly and felt her thin shoulder bones under his fingers. “They were tearing apart your grandmother’s backyard, and there wasn’t much room for Raisin to stretch out. I thought he’d like a walk.”

“Tearing apart the yard?” Rylee jerked to an upright position and crossed her hands over her chest. Her eyes narrowed.

“Something about a pipe leak. Jim said he talked to you about it the other day.”

A car drove down Main Street. Bryan stepped alongside Rylee and sheltered her from the passing car’s water spray.

“Another problem with the house,” Rylee muttered.

“Sorry,” Bryan said. “Jim didn’t tell you? The whole town uses an old version of copper pipes. Mom had hers replaced a few years ago. I think the city offered a grant to replace them. I can check to see if that’s still available for you.”

“Anything would help,” Rylee said, her voice filled with strained emotion. “I never dreamed I’d find so many problems before I could sell.”

“Maybe she didn’t want you to sell,” Bryan said.

“Why do you think that? Did she tell you?” Rylee’s face screwed up tightly, the same way she used to look when she tried to work a puzzle piece at her grandmother’s kitchen table.

Bryan twisted Raisin’s leash tighter. He’d let his emotions slip out. He didn’t want her to sell the house and leave Cranberry Bay. He needed Rylee to stay, not only for the bet, but because everything became a little happier, a littler lighter when she was around. “She didn’t say anything,” Bryan said. “I’m sure she wanted you to sell it.” He hoped his voice didn’t give away his emotions.

Katie tapped lightly on the large picture window and motioned to Rylee. Rylee nodded to her. “I’ll grab my things and walk back with you and Raisin. I might as well find out what’s going on with the backyard sooner rather than later.”

Rylee hurried inside, and Bryan paced back and forth on the sidewalk with the dog by his side. The afternoon at Rylee’s grandmother’s home hadn’t gone very well. He’d received a phone call from the riverboat real estate agent. Another bid had come in. A bid that was higher than Bryan’s. If he wanted the casino boats, he had to increase his offer. Bryan raised his bid and promised the sale of the cottages would give him the rest of the needed money. But the cottages weren’t receiving any attention. He’d posted pictures of the renovated and staged buildings, but so far, not a single bite.

Bryan fisted his left hand. A gust of wind whistled around the building. He stepped under the long, overhanging eaves. The sky darkened and, any minute, the thick wall of gray clouds would open and pour rain. The impending downpour and early fall evenings caused the streetlights to flicker on above him. He scrunched further into his jacket.

Rylee pushed open the door to the New Leaf Sewing Shop amidst a flurry of female voices and laughter. She stepped easily next to Bryan, and the two walked up the hill toward Maple Street. “I have great news for the cottages.”

Her excited voice caught Bryan in the chest. He gazed at her with kindness and smiled. “Did you sell them?”

He moved Raisin away from her outstretched hand and continued to walk the dog by his side, making sure to walk on the outside of Rylee along the street side, protecting her from the occasional truck passing by. He enjoyed walking Raisin. The dog ambled comfortably next to him and seemed to enjoy him too. It was hard not to imagine what it would be like to have Raisin and Rylee in his life every day.

“No,” Rylee said, playfully. “It’s better. Cottage Magazine wants to feature the listing for an upcoming edition.”

Bryan let out a whistle. “Colleen Sanders, right?”

“Right.”

“Her brother runs the Beach and Sky Hotel,” he said, grimacing. “No one much cares for how Shane runs his business, but he can pull the tourists in, so no one complains too much.”

“Gracie and Katie weren’t too fond of him.”

“No.” Bryan shook his head. “No one is too fond of him. Shane has the most rooms of any of the inns or hotels in the area. Most of the hotels are former boutique hotels, or hotels that were once one-story drive-by, ranch-style hotels. The Beach and Sky can easily offer deep discounts and beat out the others who can’t offer the same specials.”

“But how did he get such a large hotel?” Rylee asked. “I thought the beach hotels were under strict guidelines about their size.” She angled her body slightly toward Bryan and stepped closer to him.

“It happened about seven years ago. “Bryan replied, trying hard not to lose his thoughts in the closeness of Rylee. “Jeremy Sanders bought a large stretch of land from Sawyer and built a huge high rise. No one knew exactly how the proposal passed City Council. There was a lot of speculation about timing. The council set the meeting for the permit to be two days before the holidays. Of course, no one was in town, and Jeremy loaded the rooms with his supporters. Colleen’s brother, Shane, is part-owner and has run it for years.”

“Colleen is part-owner now. She wants to hire me to redo the hotel, so it’d be more boutique and casual beach.”

Bryan stopped short on the sidewalk. Rylee had been offered a job. A good job that would allow her to stay in Cranberry Bay. Excitement rose in his chest. He wanted to pump his hand in the air, swing her around, and kiss her. All his prayers had been answered. Rylee would stay, and he’d win the bet. The riverboat casinos would be his. The town would have a new means to attract tourists. He could see the lights shining in the empty buildings around him. New restaurants, coffee shops, and even a bookstore would fill what now lay dark and empty. He didn’t dare hope, but he didn’t want to think about what else Rylee staying would mean to him.

“Do you want me to take your grandmother’s house off the market?” He couldn’t keep the smile out of his voice.

“I don’t know…” Rylee shook her head. “I think the cottage article is perfect. It will help us to sell them at a high price. Both our names will have good promotion. Yours as a good Realtor in the area, and mine as a decorator for future jobs on a national level. But…”

Bryan’s hope flickered, and his heart dove back to his cold toes. “But?”

“But I’m not sure about taking the beach job, especially after what you just told me.”

“It’s a great job,” he said, trying to remain optimistic yet not wanting to get his hopes dashed.

“It is,” Rylee shook her head. “It may sound silly. But after a bad experience, I made a pact to myself to not take jobs that would harm mom-and-pop businesses. I can’t always know about it, of course. But this seems like it would affect the other hotels nearby. If Colleen can discount all the rooms and undercut the other smaller businesses that would be similar to hers…well…it just feels wrong.”

Even though Rylee’s answer wasn’t what he hoped for, Bryan’s insides warmed. He stepped closer to her. Large drops of rain dropped out of the clouds, and, without thinking, Bryan linked his fingers with Rylee’s. “Come on. I know a place we can go until the heavy rain passes over us.”

Bryan guided her to a set of poorly lit stairs leading down to a small door with a sign, “Restorative Hardware.”

The two stepped into the room, and Bryan’s eyes adjusted to the dimly lit space filled with various pieces of old hardware and lighting fixtures. Rylee turned around in circles. “What is this place?”

“This,” Bryan waved his right hand over the room, as if showing off a special home on a city history tour, “is the place where old hardware from our Cranberry Bay houses ends up. When people have a remodel and want to get rid of their old fixtures, Bill and his team save them. He resells the items on the Internet and gives the owner half of the profits.”

“Just like Ivy’s antique store,” Rylee said, smiling. “I bet I’ve bought from him without realizing. I’ve purchased a lot of vintage hardware and lighting to add to some of the homes I’ve decorated.”

She walked toward a faded green dresser and pulled open the top drawer. Her sharp gasp filled the room as she pulled out three light-blue-and-white seashell drawer knobs. All the worry dropped from her features. Her face filled with the round joy of a child in a toy shop.

“How long has the store been here? I don’t remember it when I used to visit.”

Bryan ran his finger over a bronze light stand. “Your Grandpa used to spend a lot of time in here. That’s how I first met him. This shop was the first place I learned to fix things.” Bryan leaned back against a tall wooden counter. He crossed one leg over the other. “I always felt accepted by your Grandpa. I struggled finding my place at home. Sawyer was always good at sports, and Dad expected me to be like him. But I couldn’t ever seem to live up to his expectation.”

“So you came here.” Rylee finished for him. Time had given Bryan an emotional honesty she hadn’t experienced with him in their younger days.

“Yes.” Bryan smoothed the lampshade under his fingers. “Bill showed me how to fix things as they came in. I felt important when I was here. And then…” Bryan swallowed, remembering the day as it had happened, “my Dad died.”

He had heard the sirens racing up the hill to their home. In his gut, he had known something was wrong. He’d ridden his bike as fast as he could up the hill, but by the time he got there, it was too late. A heart attack had taken Dad’s life, altering the Shuster family forever.

Rylee didn’t say anything, but her gentle eyes caressed him.

“After Dad died, I couldn’t focus on anything. I spent a lot of time on my skateboard, running around town after dark, and getting into trouble. The police finally had enough and tossed me into juvenile detention. It wasn’t a long stay, and then your grandfather stepped up.”

“I didn’t know that,” Rylee said, and frowned. “I thought Grandpa was your mentor.”

“He was,” Bryan said quietly. “My court-appointed mentor.”

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Rylee stepped around the dresser. She stood next to Bryan and placed her hand on his forearm.

“Because,” Bryan looked up at her as pain filled his chest, “it wasn’t something I was proud of. I wanted you to be proud of me.”

“It wouldn’t have mattered,” Rylee said, emotion clogging her voice. “I loved you.” Her voice caught.

In her eyes, Bryan saw the truth. She still loved him, just as he still loved her.

Bryan stepped up beside Rylee and inhaled her sweet scent. He leaned down and his lips brushed her cheek. He ran his hand down her arm and picked up her hand. Gently, he threaded his fingers through hers.

“Why?” He whispered, his voice hoarse with sorrow. “Why did you walk away from us?”

“Because,” Rylee said, her voice choked with tears. “I couldn’t let you…”

A gust of wind caught the open door and slammed it against the side of the building.

She brushed a tear off her cheek and blinked. “Where is Raisin? He was right here.”

“Raisin!” Bryan said.

Rylee dropped the seashell knobs to the concrete floor with a clatter and raced to the door. Bryan trailed after her and up the stairs, into the now raging rainstorm.

“Raisin!” Rylee called as a large truck whooshed past them on the road. “What if he’s on the road somewhere? He’ll be killed.”

“He won’t be.” Bryan’s heart pounded. It’d been his fault Raisin escaped. He’d gotten so caught up talking about his Dad, he’d dropped the leash. Raisin had walked out into the storm. Rain sliced across his cheeks, chilling him, and plastering his hair to his head.

“Start walking toward your grandmother’s house. I’ll take the lower road along Main Street. We’ll find him.”

“No wait.” Rylee pointed to the curvy road leading up to her grandmother’s house. “He’s there.”

Bryan grabbed Rylee’s hand. “Come on.”

The two jogged up the street. Their footsteps pounded on the pavement. Ahead of them, Lauren kneeled with Raisin. Her bike lay tossed on the ground beside her. She waved at Bryan.

“Look what I found! A dog!”

“Thank-you so much. That’s my dog.” Rylee grabbed Raisin’s wet leash. She kneeled down and wrapped her arms around his wet fur and burrowed her face against his nuzzle. “He escaped from the Restorative Hardware shop.”

Lauren’s smile faded, and she ducked her head. Her wet curly hair dropped over her face. “I thought he was lost. I wanted to keep him. I’ve always wanted a dog.”

“Come on.” Bryan pointed to Lauren’s yellow slicker, which hung unzipped around her bulky green fisherman’s sweater. “Zip up your jacket. What are you doing out here in the rain anyway?”

“I had after-school clubs.” Lauren wrinkled her nose. She jerked her zipper mid-way up her small body. “I hate after-school clubs.”

“What was your after-school club?” Rylee asked, straightening. She wiped a long strand of wet hair away from her eyes.

“Games.”

“You don’t like games?” Bryan asked.

“I hate them.” Tears pooled in Lauren’s eyes. “I never win.”

“Well,” Bryan said, dropping his arm over Lauren’s shoulder and pulling her close to him. “We will have to change that. We’ll start practice right away. Tonight in fact.”