Homecoming Reunion Read online

  He thought back to that little moment they shared in the room upstairs. The connection he couldn’t shrug off.

  “Really?” Larissa twirled her hair a bit harder. “That’s too bad.”

  “Seems like you’ve been in the same situation,” he said, leaning back in his chair, crossing his arms. If she could hint, so could he.

  She lifted her shoulder in a vague gesture. “I’ve had a couple of...friends.”

  “I gather Pete was one of those...friends.” That comment came out sharper than he intended and the puzzlement on her face showed him she had picked up on it.

  “We dated for a while,” she said, waving her pen in a dismissive gesture. “But as you can tell, whatever we had didn’t make any difference in his booking the inn.”

  “Friends is friends and business is business,” Garret said feeling a sudden burst of surprising jealousy. Did she still think about him? She didn’t seem too bothered by it. In fact Pete seemed to be doing more of the chasing than she did.

  Suddenly she sat up and clapped her hands. “Friends is friends indeed. If its workers we need, I could call in a few favors,” she said leaning forward, her hands clasped picking up some energy. “Get some of my friends to help. We could have a painting party.”

  Garret frowned. “Could they do a good job, though? We can’t have paint all over the place.”

  “Now Debbie,” Larissa said wagging her finger at him.

  Garret laughed again, stifling his next objection.

  “We’d have to supervise, of course,” Larissa continued, “Which would mean extra work for us, but I’m sure we could get the work done properly. Especially if we’ve got Benny doing the prep work and the first coat. That’s the fussy work. The rest is just production.”

  “Could we get it done on time?”

  “I’m positive we can,” she said, picking up her cell phone, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

  “That’s just the painting. What about the furnishings?”

  “If I get enough people painting, Alanna and I can head over to Cranbrook and get some fun and funky bedding at that new home furnishing store. I know they’ve got some really good deals going on now. We could do every room a bit different. Like a cross between a B and B and an inn. What do you think?”

  “Do you really think we can get enough people together? And how would we pay them?”

  She frowned. “Pay them?”

  “We certainly can’t expect people to come here and help us out for nothing?”

  “You don’t think your family would want to help you out?”

  He returned her frown, not sure what to think. “This is a business. Why would they want to help me?”

  Larissa sat back, her one arm folded across her midsection, her fisted hand resting under her chin as she seemed to be studying him. “Friends may be friends, but I’m sure family falls under another category. Besides that’s what family does for each other. That’s what a community does for each other. When Kerry needed painting done at Mug Shots, a bunch of us all pitched in and helped. Mia, Alanna, myself. When Mia Verbeek moved out of her house we all helped out. It’s what you do when you live in a community.”

  Garret held her gaze, aware that while she was looking at him, she nodded, her grin growing. “Watch me make some Hartley Creek magic,” she said and started punching in numbers on her cell phone.

  Garret couldn’t help pick up on her energy, her enthusiasm. As she started scribbling a list of potential candidates and talking to her friend Alanna, he found himself unable to look away. Unable to not be drawn in to her smile, the sparkle in her eyes, the enthusiasm in her voice.

  He tried to remind himself that she was his business partner and not his old girlfriend.

  But he found the more time he spent with her, the harder that got to be.

  Chapter Nine

  “So for today I’ve got Hailey in the yellow room and Emma and Carter doing one of the blue rooms. Alanna and I will be doing the green room and Kerry and Evangeline are in the gray room.”

  Garret looked over Larissa’s chart, nodding as she showed him her plan, the smell of fresh paint filling his nostrils. “Looks like we’ll get done by today if all goes well,” he said. The panic that had gripped him since he made his rash promise to Pete was slowly easing with each day of progress. “I still can’t believe you got all this done so quickly and with minimal interference to our other guests.”

  Larissa nodded, her head down, but to Garret’s surprise he saw a flush working its way up her neck. Was she embarrassed by his praise?

  “It took a bit of organizing, but your family has been a great help.” She looked up at him then and her smile dove into his soul. “And thanks for helping as well.”

  Her hair was held back by a paint-speckled bandanna and smudges of paint decorated her cheek and the oversize shirt she wore over her clothes. And still she looked beautiful.

  “Hey, I’ve got a vested interest in turning this place around. It’s been kind of exciting to see the changes the past few days.” He held her gaze, the warmth of her smile creating an answering warmth deep in his soul. “Sort of like seeing this place rising up and being restored to its former glory.”

  Her smile grew, her expression softened. “I’ve always gotten the impression that the only reason you wanted to do anything to this inn was to make it profitable for profit’s sake.”

  “It’s a business, of course that’s a priority, but at the same time I have to think of what you said about this being a place of refuge for travelers...” His voice trailed off as he looked past her to a room that had already been painted, trying to imagine what it would like when it was all completed. He turned back to her, feeling a bit embarrassed at his little outburst. “Anyhow, it’s looking good.”

  “That means a lot to me,” she said.

  Their gazes held and once again old emotions laced with newer ones arced between them. He let his gaze rest on her face so familiar and yet so different.

  Older. More mature. More confident.

  More beautiful, if that was possible.

  He had to fight the urge to reach out and tuck a stray strand of hair back under the bandana.

  He felt his hand rising up.

  “Just the people I need to talk to.”

  Garret groaned as Mrs. Rochester’s voice broke into the moment.

  He turned to face the housekeeper, dredging up a smile. “What can we do for you?”

  “I can’t work around this,” she said, waving her hand at the plastic-covered hallway. “I can’t possibly do what needs to be done each evening up here. It’s a disaster.”

  “Why don’t we talk about this downstairs?” Larissa said, taking Mrs. Rochester’s arm and easing her away from Garret. “I’m sure we can come to an agreement.”

  But before she left Larissa shot Garret a warm smile that did nothing for his equilibrium. “I just have to take care of this,” she said.

  “Yes. Sure. Okay.” He took a step back, then spun around and strode down the hallway, entering the room he had been assigned to work on with his cousin.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Hailey asked as he picked up the paint roller. “You look like someone just kicked your dog.”

  “I don’t have a dog,” Garret retorted, hoping Hailey wouldn’t connect his confused emotions with his meeting with Larissa out in the hallway.

  “I guess we’re not talking about your little chat with Larissa, though I can’t figure out what she said that would have put that grumpy look on your face.” Hailey dipped her brush in the paint and carefully coated the corner of the wall.

  It wasn’t what Larissa said that bothered him, Garret thought, rolling the butter-yellow paint over the whitish-gray undercoat. It was how she looked. How she sounded.

  How, in spite of being liberally sprinkled with paint, he could still catch the scent of her perfume.

  And that’s enough.

  “Larissa sure picked out some nice colors,” Hailey was sayi
ng.

  “Yeah. She did.”

  “Got a good eye,” Hailey added with a knowing wink.

  Garret rolled some more paint on the wall, ignoring his cousin’s knowing smirk.

  “I can’t believe Larissa conned you into helping. I thought you were supposed to be walking around, looking all managerial, cracking the whip and keeping us on task,” Hailey teased.

  “I’ve painted before,” Garret said, dipping his roller in the tray. “This way I can keep the most unruly of our workers in line, though I really appreciate the help.”

  When Larissa first mentioned getting people to paint, Garret wondered who would be willing. But he underestimated both Larissa’s ability to sweet-talk and the generosity of the community. The last couple of days the inn was a beehive of activity and, surprisingly, laughter as friends and neighbors and family all pitched in.

  “I’m helping because I have a stake in getting this place shipshape,” Hailey said, getting off her chair and moving it so she could finish up around the window. “Though we have the church and hall booked as a backup, Shannon and I still dream of having our weddings here.”

  “I don’t know what shape the grounds will be in by then.”

  “You’ve done a ton of work already,” Hailey said.

  “And there’s about five tons that need to be done yet.” Garret thought of the overgrown tangle of shrubs and trees he hadn’t had a chance to work on. “And that crazy grass keeps growing.”

  “We could all help with that too,” Hailey said, shooting a glance over her shoulder. “I’ve pushed a mower a time or two in my life. Even ran the riding mower at the ranch.”

  “I hope your mowing skills have improved since then,” Garret said, his smile growing as his mind slipped back in time. “I remember a run-in with Nana’s lilac bush and a detour through the garden.”

  “You still blaming a faulty throttle on me?” Hailey said in mock horror, pressing a paint-stained hand against her chest. “Besides, the lilac bush needed some trimming and I believe there’s still a dent in Naomi’s cabin from when you hit it with the same mower with the same faulty throttle.”

  Garret laughed, surprised at the raft of memories filing his mind since spending time with his family. “Speaking of Naomi, I heard she’s coming back in a couple of weeks.”

  Hailey’s smile faded as she nodded. “Yeah. I’m surprised my dear sister stayed in Halifax as long as she did.”

  “A month after her fiancé died isn’t that long.”

  “I just wished she would have come here. So we could have helped her through this time.”

  Garret felt a touch of sorrow for his cousin Naomi. “I’m surprised at her strength. I talked to her yesterday and she seemed so calm.”

  “That’s our Naomi. Always the strong, quiet one.” Hailey tapped her paintbrush against the container she held and released a melancholy laugh. “As opposed to me who can never keep her mouth shut. Or your brother Carter who is having a little bit too much fun. You might want to go check on him when you’re done here.” Her smile returned along with a mischievous sparkle in her eye. “Or you could see what Larissa is up to.”

  Garret looked away as he rolled some more paint on the wall. The help was great but Hailey’s constant innuendos concerning Larissa he could do without. “Larissa has Alanna working with her.”

  Thankfully Hailey said nothing more on that topic but as they worked they talked about the ranch, their nana, the community and Hailey even touched on Garret’s church attendance.

  He didn’t mind. Since coming back he was surprised how easily he slipped into the lives of his cousins and how quickly he had found his own place here.

  He let his mind drift a bit more, letting himself look to the future and wondering what shape it would take.

  Whom he might be with.

  “This is awesome. You guys have done a great job.”

  Larissa’s voice behind him gave him a start and he spun around.

  “Looks like you got more paint on yourself than the wall,” Garret said.

  Larissa looked down at her shirt laughing. “Alanna tried to have a paint fight. I held her off, but this was the result.”

  “A paint fight? At $32.00 a gallon?”

  “Alanna can be such a child,” Larissa said. Then she held up her phone. “By the way, just got a call from My House and Yours in Cranbrook. They have a new shipment in of duvet covers. I’m going in and check them out.”

  “Now?” Garret glanced at his watch. It was already 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon and Cranbrook was an hour’s drive away. “Cutting it a bit close, aren’t you?”

  “I don’t have time to go tomorrow or the day after.” She glanced at Hailey. “I’m guessing you’re done here.”

  “You’re guessing right,” Hailey said stepping of the chair. “We’ll come back tomorrow and do the other room.”

  Then Larissa held up her phone. “I should get going.”

  “Do you need me to come?” Garret asked.

  “You don’t need to.”

  Garret wasn’t sure if she was giving him an out or being understanding, but he felt as if he should go along. He didn’t want her making all the decisions about the inn.

  It had nothing to do with spending time with her. This was strictly professional he told himself.

  On another level, however, he knew it was an excuse to spend some more time with her. To find out what was going on between them.

  Because he knew something was.

  “Most everyone is done here and Sheila said she would stay for a while longer,” he said, glancing at his watch. “She can make sure we don’t have any more disgruntled customers.”

  “Okay then, let’s go,” Larissa said, surprising him with her lack of resistance. Was she also sensing his growing awareness of her? Did she feel the same?

  Garret sent his cousin a quick wave goodbye, ignoring Hailey’s faint smirk.

  This was business. Nothing more. That was the only reason he was going along.

  So why did his heart quicken at the thought of spending some time with Larissa away from the inn? Away from the constant stream of people?

  Chapter Ten

  “I can’t believe we got everything we needed,” Larissa said, trundling one of the laden carts toward the exit of the store.

  “And we did it without bloodshed,” Garret joked, following Larissa with his own cart. “Though it’s pretty hard to draw blood when your only weapons are sheets and pillowcases.”

  Larissa’s pealing laugh warmed him. “You had your chance when we picked up pictures and frames for the rooms. Those things have sharp corners.”

  “The mood had passed by then,” he said with a grin, pleased at what they had accomplished in such a short time.

  Yet, he knew there was more to the feeling of goodwill that wrapped him as comfortingly as the duvets they had just purchased.

  This time with Larissa, away from the inn, away from other people, allowed him to feel more relaxed around her. Gave him a chance to sort out his changing feelings and try to figure out what he should do about them.

  Try to understand why she thought he would have taken her father’s money. The tentative conversation on the subject hadn’t been enough. He felt that if they could resolve the money issue once and for all, their business relationship would go more smoothly. Because whether he liked it or not, Jack would return from his extended stay in Asia and he was as much a partner in this business as Garret was. Larissa held the balance of power and he would prefer that she were on his side, rather than Jack’s.

  Yet, even as he thought that, he knew there were deeper underlying reasons he wanted to remove the barriers the past had put between them. He wasn’t ready to examine them too closely, but for now he wanted to nurture the ray of hope that sprung up in his chest when he touched her cheek and she gave him a genuine smile in return.

  They stepped outside the store and Garret was surprised to see the sun hovering above the horizon. In the store, with i
ts bright lights and lack of windows, time had stood still.

  “I didn’t know it was this late,” Larissa said, glancing at her watch as she parked the cart by the car. “My goodness, seven o’clock already.”

  “Lunch was a long time ago,” Garret grumbled as he opened the back door. As he took the packages from Larissa, the blinking lights of a restaurant caught his eye. “You as hungry as I am?” he asked, glancing back at Larissa.

  “Actually, yes,” she said.

  “So why don’t we grab a bite to eat at that restaurant over there?” he asked, indicating with his chin as he continued loading the parcels into the back of the car. “We can leave the car here and walk over.”

  “Sounds like a good idea.” Larissa’s quiet response was accompanied by a careful smile, which only served to ignite the flicker of hope glowing in his soul the past few days.

  He knew he should be careful. He had come to Hartley Creek with a plan. Yet, as he and Larissa strode over the almost deserted parking lot to the restaurant, a sense of anticipation washed over him. Anticipation he sensed had been building between them ever since he admitted to her that he had never forgotten her.

  When they got to the restaurant and he was settled into a booth across from Larissa, her hair shining in the lights of the restaurant, a gentle smile hovering on her lips, his anticipation grew and settled into the part of his soul that had been empty ever since he walked away from Hartley Creek and Larissa all those years ago.

  The waitress handed him a menu, a tall black affair with a padded cover and the name of the restaurant printed in raised gold letters on the front. When they had stepped inside the restaurant and he saw the brick fireplaces flanking the entrance and the waterfall behind the hostess desk, he had an inkling supper wasn’t going to be cheap.

  Larissa waited until their friendly waiter was out of earshot, then closed her menu and leaned forward with a concerned expression. “We don’t have to eat here. Have you seen these prices?”

  “I’ve seen worse,” he said, unable to resist adding a wink.

  “We could just go get a burger,” she said lowering her voice.