Suddenly Last Summer

“She’s good with spiders. We taught her to be.” Looking at the Boathouse, he saw that its position was perfect. Nestling in the sunshine on the edge of the lake, the wooden structure blended with the forest so that at a single glance you might not even notice it. It had been beautifully restored, the work in keeping with the original structure although hardly any of that remained. But the real charm was the wide deck that almost circled the Boathouse, allowing for alfresco eating. The wide deck that wasn’t finished.

He dropped to his haunches and ran his hand over the planks, feeling the grain under his palm and hearing the gentle lap of the water beneath. “He’s using marine grade wood. It’s a nice job. Zach has improved since the days when we built your lodge.”

“You built Heron Lodge? I didn’t know that.”

“The five of us, with the occasional intervention from Gramps.” But never his father.

His father had vanished on one of his many trips and when he’d returned the job had been done. Sean frowned, wondering why of all the memories he’d banked, that was the one to come to mind.

“You three and Zach makes four. Who was the fifth?”

“Brenna.” Sean straightened, pushing away thoughts of his father. “She pretty much did everything we did. I guess she was the little sister we didn’t have. She climbed the same trees we climbed, scraped her knees right along with us and skied down everything we skied down. She and Tyler were inseparable. The two of them were so close it was impossible to find one without the other.”

It seemed ironic to him that the one relationship that wouldn’t have needed sacrifice and compromise had never happened. Tyler and Brenna both shared the same love of Snow Crystal and the land around it. They were both athletic, outdoor types, perfectly matched. Both of them had built a life around lakes and mountains.

There had been a time when they’d all assumed their relationship would naturally progress, but then Janet Carpenter had come along and all that had changed.

And now Tyler had Jess living with him, which narrowed his life choices more than his damaged knee. With a thirteen-year-old daughter, he’d had to give up his party lifestyle.

That had to be the ultimate compromise for love.

“So now that I know you all built Heron Lodge, I need to know if I should be nervous.” Élise finished her coffee. “When I lie in my bed at night, should I worry that the lodge will collapse under me?”

“It’s a sound structure. Tyler tested it out on the first night by kicking a football around the bedroom. We had to replace the window but the rest of it survived.”

Smiling, she took his empty cup from him. “Thank you.”

Distracted by the tiny dimple that appeared at the corner of her mouth, he lost focus. “For what?”

“For cheering me up. And now I need to go home and take a shower and then make those calls to cancel the party. I can’t put it off any longer. Merde—” She ran her fingers through her hair, the sweet smile fading and the dimple disappearing. “I keep hoping for a miracle.”

“Why can’t you just fix another date?”

“Apart from the fact we’ll have to pay cancellation fees to the band that we can’t afford, the date was set months ago. It was my mistake.” Her shoulders drooped and she looked utterly beaten.

His car was parked a few steps away. His keys were in his pocket. His plans didn’t include hanging around Snow Crystal any longer than was necessary. His grandfather had made it clear he didn’t want him here. He’d looked at the test results himself and could see he was making a good recovery.

His brothers seemed to have everything under control. There was nothing to keep him.

Nothing except his conscience and the look on Élise’s face.

Sean tried to move, but his feet were glued to the deck. The part of the deck that was finished. The unfinished part of it glared at him accusingly.

“How is Walter?” Élise smoothed her hair behind her ear, making a visible effort to be cheerful. “Any change overnight?”

“He’s doing well.”

He tried to kill the idea forming in his mind.

No.

“So you’ll be going back to Boston.”

He opened his mouth to tell her the same thing he’d told Jackson. That he had work backing up and patients to see. That he had to take it a day at a time. That this place made him think of his father and he wouldn’t be hanging around a moment longer than was necessary.

“I’ll finish the deck for you.” He couldn’t quite believe he’d said it and clearly she couldn’t either because she stared at him, as if checking the meaning of each word.

“You’ll finish my deck? How? You’re a surgeon, not a carpenter.”

“I’m good with my hands.”

Color streaked across her cheeks. “Is this a game you are playing or is it a serious offer?”

“It’s a serious offer.” He watched her mouth, hoping the dimple would reappear. “Never let it be said that I walk away from a maiden in distress. I have a free weekend. It’s yours if you want it.”

“What’s your price?”

“We’ll negotiate that later. So I assume that’s a yes? You’d like me to do it?”

Suspicion was replaced by joy. “Yes, of course, yes!” She sprang at him and wrapped him in a tight hug that almost cut off his air and his blood supply. “Thank you. Oh, thank you. I will never again shout at you even when you say Snow Crystal isn’t important.”

The scent of her wrapped itself around him, making him dizzy. Her hair was soft and silky against his jaw. “I didn’t say it wasn’t important. Just that you don’t need to have a nervous breakdown about the café opening late.”

“Thanks to you it’s not going to open late now. It’s going to be on time. What about clothes?” She released him. “You cannot work on a deck in your suit.”

“I have a pair of jeans in my car and I’ll borrow everything else from Jackson.”

“Vraiment? You would do that?” She stared at him for a moment as if she couldn’t quite believe what he was saying and then her eyes filled. “Now I think you’re a hero.”

More used to being cast in the role of the bad guy, Sean felt a flash of unease. “Élise—”

“Zach’s tools are locked inside.” She smiled and the dimple peeped from the corner of her mouth. “I’ll show you where. Then I need to take a shower and call Kayla to stop her canceling the party. She will be so happy. So will Jackson. It is very kind of you, I think.”

Sean dragged his mind and his eyes from Élise’s lips. He wasn’t sure what his motivation was, but he was fairly confident kindness hadn’t played any part in his decision making. “No problem.”

CHAPTER FIVE (#ulink_947cf981-84c3-5a11-a3f0-974cfe90258e)

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS later Élise stood on the deck of the café and wondered why it hadn’t occurred to her that accepting Sean’s offer of help would mean he’d be working here, under her nose.

Why was she so impulsive?

Why did she never think anything through?

After her daily run around the lake, she’d spent the morning in the restaurant, working lunchtime service, discussing menus, meeting with her team. She’d met with two new local suppliers and interviewed a kitchen assistant. And if all that conspired to keep her away from the Boathouse, she told herself it was coincidence, nothing more. It was everything to do with pressure of work and nothing to do with the fact that Sean was working on her deck. And she told herself that pressure of work was also the reason she hadn’t responded to frequent text updates from her new sous-chef, Poppy.

Hi boss, the view from the Boathouse is better than ever today.

And five minutes later.