Chapter Eight
Autumn studied the contractor information Joel had given her last night before he left. She was debating about whether she wanted to spruce up the place a little more before inviting a professional inside. Maybe if she got fresh paint on a lot of the walls and did some of the trim fixes herself, the contractor would be fooled into thinking there was less involved here than she knew.
Although, if any contractor fell for that trick, she probably wouldn’t want to hire him. She hung her head and glanced at the wood floor, bending over and rubbing some of the dust off to see if there was any hope for restoring them. Not that she knew exactly what she was looking at, but she figured they must still have some life left in them. They weren’t too dinged up or scratched, and under the dust, the grain was beautiful.
She sat back up and let out a stifled groan. She needed to stay focused, or there’d be no hope of getting this place ready by ski season. Knowing she could spend weeks in the basement without ever getting anything actually accomplished, she steered clear of that treasure trove and started the process of cleaning out some of the built-in cabinets in the study. Or at least she thought it would make a good study.
She’d already managed to go through a lot of old magazines and newspapers—some too interesting to recycle—and with a thick spray of wood polish and a rubdown, a lot of the cabinets came to life in the study.
Her mind somehow managed to slip back to Joel. There was no doubt about it. They were a good team. The way she spritzed and he scraped, and vice versa, the wallpaper never had a chance. And that kiss. She went to bed thinking about it and woke up thinking about it.
But she had to focus. There were so many rooms in this house that she wasn’t even sure of what to call them all without sounding pretentious. The library was obvious because every wall had shelves and shelves of books, and she was certain when she made the room sparkle again, she’d be able to shove out Ronald’s presence along with all the dust. There was the potential for a music room, a living room, a sitting room, and a game room, and that was just downstairs.
Upstairs had seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, and three bonus rooms. She thought she might turn one of the bonus rooms into an office for herself so she could run everything from one space instead of from many, which is what it looked like Uncle Fred might have done, at least at the end.
She walked through the study and glanced out the double doors that led to one of the gardens. It was overgrown now, but Autumn could picture guests roaming the grounds with a cup of coffee or tea and finding a place in the shade to read a book and get lost in another place and time.
Excitement pulsed through her, and she decided to go get the wood floor cleaner. If the floor shined up half as nice as the built-in cabinets, she’d be thrilled. Within minutes, she was following the directions on the back of the bottle and damp mopping the wood floors. When she’d finished her last pass through, she was thrilled with the results. All she needed to do in here was add new paint, new furniture, and wall hangings. She could even use the same paint as she was going to use in the dining room.
She’d stopped at the hardware store this morning after she’d gone grocery shopping and came up with several different paint alternatives, all beige or ivory of one sort or another, and finally decided on Accessible Beige. She’d had all the paint chips laid out on the dining room floor. Who wouldn’t want the paint color to scream accessible?
She always had a good laugh when she saw the names of paint colors. Actually, she often had a good laugh about anything, and soon, Ronald would be in that laughable category. She hadn’t heard from him since she’d sent a quick text making sure he’d landed safely—and he had.
There was one she was going to put in one of the downstairs powder rooms called Mermaid Net, but their local hardware store didn’t carry the brand. Not that she was at that point yet.
That particular powder room was missing the pedestal sink, and it was one of the rooms that had a crack going up the wall and into the ceiling. Those were the kinds of things she was looking forward to discussing with a contractor. But a lot of this other stuff, she was sure she could handle.
After she grabbed her keys, sunglasses, straw hat, and purse, she made her way through the kitchen and out the door. She was looking forward to painting the dining room and study.
Those acts alone would improve the place drastically and make her feel like she was on the right track. She glanced at the caution tape flapping in the wind and ignored the sensation of dread that wanted to rain on her parade.
So instead of dealing with the possible reality of the situation, she tugged her straw hat on and tied the bow under her chin.
She got to the sidewalk and instinctively glanced at Joel’s house. It didn’t look like Joel was home, but she was pretty sure she saw the outline of Oscar panting at the window. She gave the pooch a quick wave and got into her convertible.
Today was another perfect day, and she was starting to think all the talk about the grey skies in Western Washington was just that.
Talk.
Rumors to keep the tourists and newcomers away.
There were only a few wispy clouds lacing the brilliant blue sky, and the mountain peaks off in the distance framed her new hometown. It was pure bliss.
She pulled onto the road leading to town and noticed lots of families and couples walking their dogs and enjoying being out in the sunshine. The B&B really was situated in the perfect part of town. Guests would be able to walk or drive wherever they wanted to go.
It was funny. For so long, she’d been living her parents’ dreams and working through grief and she hadn’t really thought about what she wanted to do, but this gift seemed to do just that. It gave her a goal and a place to set down roots.
Since her parents’ deaths, she’d been something of a drifter. She always kept a small apartment in Los Angeles as a base, but most of her time was spent traveling. She was really at a point in her life where she never wanted to see another airport again.
She did have a small group of friends she’d left behind in California, and she’d miss getting to have dinner with them, scouting the overcrowded beaches with them, and taking day trips, but she was certain she’d eventually find friendships here too, and maybe she could even convince a couple of the Cali friends to head north.
Driving into the heart of Silver Ridge only reconfirmed her belief that she was meant to be here. Everything in this town had been done with purpose and care. Nothing here was temporary. There wasn’t the feeling of people needing to rush anywhere or to escape. This little town was where people came to escape.
It seemed perfectly fitting.
The sidewalk to her left was filled with families eating ice cream cones and milling around the patio tables between the overflowing flower containers. She really needed to set some time aside and explore her new town. So far, she knew where the burger joint, grocery store, urgent care, gas station, and hardware store were located, but Autumn didn’t even know where the pizza place was located. Now that Ronald was out of her hair, she could finally live again.
Out of the corner of her eye, an attractive man caught her attention, and she whipped her head to check him out, feeling somewhat guilty that she had eyes for someone besides her neighbor.
Sure enough, it was Joel North in front of the town bakery, sitting down and chatting with a group of people. He looked completely in his element, and just seeing his smile made her day brighter.
As she drove by, he happened to look up. Their eyes locked, and her breath literally caught in the back of her throat at the sight of him. His smile grew, and he gave a quick, friendly wave, which she returned as she went on down the road.
Pure giddiness settled in her stomach from seeing the man. She definitely had it bad, and she wasn’t sure what it was.
Lust?
A crush?
A rebound from a nonexistent relationship?
A one-night stand?
Neighborly kindness?
Autumn hid a grin as she turned into the small parking lot of the hardware store and found a spot to park up front. She untied her hat and placed it on the passenger seat before heading inside.
She had a feeling this place would be her second home for the next year. She already knew Mildred, who was one of the cashiers, and gave a wave in her direction. Mildred had curly grey hair and wore striking red lipstick to match her red work vest.
“Know where you’re going, sweetie?” Mildred asked.
“To the paint section.” Autumn pointed toward the back of the store.
“Have fun,” Mildred called after Autumn.
Paint chip in hand, she walked up to the counter and plopped down the color of choice.
“How’s your day going?” the man asked. He was wearing the same red vest as Mildred, but it looked a little too snug on him.
“Excellent. It’s so gorgeous here.” Autumn leaned against the counter.
“Shh.” He held his finger to his mouth. “It’s our secret.”
She grinned and nodded. “I suspected that was the case.”
“So this is the color?” The man grabbed the paint chip and a pen. “Would you like eggshell, satin, semi-gloss, or gloss?”
Autumn’s gaze flew to his and she shook her head. “I don’t know. I didn’t really think about it. It’s going in a dining room and a study.”
“With those rooms, it’s really about personal taste.”
She nodded and pulled over the samples of each finish, analyzing them closely when she heard a man come up behind her.
“I’d go with satin, but that’s just me.” Joel’s voice coated her inside and out. She spun around to see him and almost gave him a big hug.
But she was trying to play it cool. She turned back around to the paint professional. “Satin it is.”
“Good choice.” He nodded and smiled at Joel. “Good to see you, Joel. It’s been a while since you’ve been in.”
“It’s a good feeling to be between house projects.” Joel grinned while slipping her hand in his. “How long will it be?”
“With mix time and the shaker, I’d say about twenty minutes.”
“Perfect.” Joel squeezed her hand.
Everything was going according to Joel’s perfectly planned surprise, and he hoped she wouldn’t be the wiser, and his brothers wouldn’t screw it up.
“Perfect for what?” Autumn looked up into Joel’s eyes, and he felt like he’d just seen her for the very first time.
She was even more beautiful than the day before, and he couldn’t believe how lucky he’d been to kiss her. Everything about her was even better than he’d dreamed, and he’d most certainly dreamed of her.
“I wanted to introduce you to someone special.”
“Who and where?” She patted down her hair and glanced at her white jeans and oversized pink linen tunic. At least she wasn’t in yesterday’s outfit.
“The best baker in town. If you don’t plan on doing all the baking for your guests, this is the best source to get your baked goods, and I know she’d throw in a heavy discount.”
“How do you know that?” she asked, following him back out of the hardware store, her hand still in his.
“Well, she’s my grandmother.” He grinned, and they walked right by her car.
“How’d you know I’d be there?”
He laughed, and the sound made Autumn wish she could think of more things to say to make him do it again.
“Boy, could it be that B&B you’re trying to fix up will eat up all of your free moments? By my calculations, you’ve only had enough time in town to figure out where the vital places are like the grocery and hardware stores. Now, I want you to be able to relax and check out the bakery.”
She looked up at him, as they walked on the sidewalk hand-in-hand, and wondered how long they’d play this game of neighborly attraction before it fizzled out. She hated that she thought that way, but she did have to wonder if she was the shiny new object in Silver Ridge.
“As I was driving through town, I was really thinking about all the places I still had to try like the bakery and the ice cream store. Plus, all those cute clothing boutiques are a must.”
“Well, you’ve been busy taking care of someone else since you got here. I’d say it’s time you finally start to take care of yourself, and I can’t think of a better way than with food. I mean, I saw how you responded to double pepperoni.”
She rolled her eyes but leaned into him more. “I was simply deliriously happy from getting rid of my visitor.”
“Have you heard from him?”
“I checked to make sure he got in okay, and he did, but other than that, it’s been eerily silent from him.” She chuckled. “I’ll take it.”
Joel slowed down in front of the area where she’d spotted him earlier. The bakery looked like it was also a café. People were sitting on the sidewalk eating sandwiches and all kinds of amazing-looking desserts.
“Since we’re here, wanna do lunch and not just dessert?” he asked, holding the door open for her.
When she stepped inside, the smell of fresh chocolate chip cookies drifted through the air, and several people were seated at the rustic looking tables. The entire bakery was charming, and she immediately felt at home.
“This place is incredible. I love the tables and chairs and all of the decorations.”
“Believe it or not, my brother Kyle did all of this.”
She snapped her eyes to meet his. “Seriously? Wow. I’m impressed.”
He nodded. “It was kind of a surprise for my grandma. She loved it.”
“I bet she did.”
They stood in line while Autumn continued to take in the refurbished skis hung on one of the walls and the reclaimed wood counter. It was so cute and seemed absolutely perfect for a mountain town. She imagined snow drifting across the street and coming in here to warm up with homemade hot chocolate.
“So you and your brothers are really close with your mom and grandma?”
“We are. Even when my dad was around, they were the ones who were always there, fully present, you know? My dad didn’t have that same bond, at least not with me.”
“So your parents aren’t together?”
“No. They divorced quite some time ago.”
An older woman opened up her arms and leaned over the counter next to the other cashier.
“You know, I wouldn’t make my favorite grandson wait in line.” He took his grandma’s hand and gave it a squeeze as his grandma’s gaze settled on Autumn. “And who is this?”
“This is Autumn Tucker. She’s the woman I told you about who moved in across the street.”
“Into the old B&B,” Autumn added, feeling as if his grandmother was sizing her up.
“A woman who doesn’t back away from a challenge.” His grandma nodded emphatically. “I like that.”
“Oh, well . . . thank you. It should be worth it. If I can just make it to the end.” Autumn laughed nervously.
“You will, dear. You’re a Tucker.”
“I’m not completely sure what that means, but I’ll take it.” Autumn caught his grandmother and Joel trading glances, and she froze, worried she’d said something wrong. “I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to bring it back to what it used to be.”
“You will, honey. There’s nothing in this world worth having if at some point, a little work wasn’t thrown in there along the way.” She winked, and Autumn immediately relaxed.
“I was telling Autumn that if she ever needed baked goods for her guests, this is the place to come.”
“Absolutely. Just ask for Grandma Martha, and I’ll get you what you need. Day or night. Are you planning on doing a lot of the cooking and baking?” she asked.
“That’s my goal. In the beginning, I’m not sure exactly what I’ll be doing, but I hope to learn and ease into it.”
“Your Uncle Fred knew how to make a mean cinnamon roll.” She smiled and glanced around her bakery café. “I think people would stay there just for the cinnamon rolls. Of course, he’d never give me the recipe, and I’d tried really hard over the years.”
Joel bit his lip and looked tentatively at Autumn, hoping his grandmother hadn’t said too much. There was so much he’d wanted to tell her about her family, but he couldn’t tell if she really wanted to know or if it would make her loss worse. Over the years, the Norths’ and Tuckers’ lives intersected in fascinating ways, sometimes adversarial and other times in unison. But not all the stories were happy ones.
“And it’s a funny thing because he was one of the most generous and kind men around,” Grandma Martha continued. “When his wife passed away, it nearly took him too. He’d give you the shirt off his back in the middle of a snowstorm, but he wouldn’t give me that darn cinnamon roll recipe.” She chuckled, and hearing that made Autumn want to know Uncle Fred even more.
It felt odd to Autumn, living in his home and hoping to run his B&B without really knowing who the man was. As far as she knew, she hadn’t even seen a photo of Uncle Fred.
“The Tuckers actually have a long history here in Silver Ridge,” Grandma Martha continued.
“Really?” Autumn sounded surprised, and Joel realized how very little she knew about her dad’s side of the family.
He still didn’t think it was his place, but if she had questions, he’d certainly answer them the best he could. From a historical side of things, the stories were interesting, but the personal and individual accounts were sometimes far less satisfying, leading to missed dreams, opportunities, and heartache.
“Sure did,” Grandma Martha said. “In fact, there’s a Tucker Street on the way to the resort.” She looked at her grandson. “Of course, the main road getting up to the resort is North Street, even though it’s actually east, but it’s named after our family, not the direction. Confuses the crud out of people who are trying to head north, and it takes them east, but it tickles me pink. Anyway, Joel, you’ll have to take her to check out her street.”
“That would be fun,” Autumn agreed, glancing at Joel.
“It would.” Grandma Martha nodded, not giving Joel a chance to answer. “You know, the library probably has a lot of information about your family. It might be kind of interesting for you to research.”
“I think it really would,” Autumn agreed. “It might be fun to somehow add to the B&B too.”
When Autumn moved to town, she never expected that her family had been part of the community to this extent. She’d always felt like such a small unit with her immediate family, not realizing there was an entire history she’d never scratched the surface of.
“It’ll be pretty interesting,” Joel said, smiling at his grandma.
Autumn watched Joel with his grandma in amazement. He obviously respected her and looked up to her. It was nice to see. There weren’t very many men in the world—or at least that she had seen—who cherished loved ones quite like he did. Maybe it was being in Silver Ridge, or maybe it was just his family.
A twinge of sadness surfaced as she thought about how her parents would never get to meet their grandchildren. When both of her parents died, there were a couple of thoughts that came crashing into her mind along with all the sorrow and grief and searching for answers. One was that there was no one to walk her down the aisle, and the other was about her children not getting to know what amazing parents she’d had.
Some might call those two issues petty in the whole scheme of things, but with grief, there is no such thing as pettiness or selfishness. Anyone who experienced loss was entitled to feel how they felt when they felt it. They’ve earned that right to experience sorrow how they please, and anyone who wanted to critique that needed to do some serious soul-searching.
Autumn still never quite got over how many people had opinions on the subject of grieving until her parents’ memorial service. Regardless, now she was left here to try to piece together a history that was part of who she was, and she hoped she was up for the task.
Grandma Martha reached across the counter and held Autumn’s hand as she speculated about what had been hidden from her all these years. What could have been so bad that it would have made her father shun his family? She glanced up at Grandma Martha and Joel and wondered if they somehow knew more than they were letting on. Something told her they did, and she wasn’t sure she was ready to hear the answers.