Josh?”
“He went to pick up the canopy I rented. He’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“You could have waited for Nick to help you with this,” he pointed out.
“I can handle setting a few stakes and running some string, young man.”
And that was the end of that line of conversation. “Nick show up yesterday and the day before?”
“Of course he did. Did everything asked of him, just like always.”
“And Lauren picked him up?”
“No. She abandoned him here so we can raise him as one of our own while she runs off with the circus.”
“ You are a crazy woman.” He turned and walked away. “I’m going to find actual work to do.”
“You’re going to drag the throw rugs out so I can beat them,” she called after him. “And next time you want to know how Lauren Carpenter’s doing, just ask.”
He slammed the kitchen door so hard it was a good thing he’d replaced it with steel, because the old one probably would have cracked.
* * *
Rose watched through the kitchen window as Ryan, Josh, Dill and Matt put up the canopy she’d rented. It was a big one and she was sure if she stepped out the back door, she’d get quite an off-color vocabulary lesson.
She didn’t want to deal with it after the family arrived tomorrow, even though there would be plenty of guys, so she’d talked Ryan into having the guys help him and Josh before they headed back to Massachusetts for the long weekend.
Andy walked into the kitchen, not looking much happier than the guys outside did. “I’m done.”
Because he was tall, she’d asked him to go through the lodge and dust the ceiling-fan blades before she vacuumed a final time. There were a lot of ceiling fans. “Thank you. I have to haul around a step stool and climb up and down for every one of them.”
“I’ll go see if I can give them a hand.”
She watched him walk across the yard, amazed at the difference not even two months could make. Way back when Katie was a little girl, Rose’s husband, Earle, had gone on a sledding trip with Andy, who was his best friend. There was drinking and Andy talked two women into joining them in their motel room. Earle had broken his wedding vows. Blaming Andy had helped her forgive her husband enough to rebuild their marriage into the long and happy one it was until he passed away.
After more years than she cared to remember now of her not speaking to Andy, Mitch and Josh had hired him to do some odd jobs around the lodge. She didn’t care if he’d been a friend of their dad’s and was Drew Miller’s father. She was mad as hell. But having the situation shoved into her lap had caused her to give some thought to it and she’d finally forgiven him. Sometimes it was still strange, the way he was so at home at the lodge, but she was slowly getting more comfortable having him around.
Leaving the men to the canopy, she made a slow, careful tour of the house, making sure everything was ready for tomorrow. They might be family, but Rose took a great deal of pride in the place and she wanted it to look its best for the wedding.
Suddenly feeling a little weepy, she sat down on the staircase and ran her hand over a tread worn smooth by generations of Kowalski feet.
She knew it was selfish, but she hoped the kids didn’t sell the Northern Star. She wouldn’t tell them that. They all had their own lives to lead and maybe they didn’t want to be saddled with it anymore. And Josh deserved the chance to figure out what he wanted to do with his life, even if it meant she’d lose this place.
Logically, it made sense to sell it. Mitch and Paige wanted a house of their own. Ryan owned a beautiful house and a successful business in Brookline. Even if whatever was going on between him and Lauren bloomed into something, he wasn’t coming back to Whitford to play innkeeper. Sean was settled with Emma in New Hampshire, and Liz was in New Mexico. And Josh...she’d just about given up on Josh seeing that what he really wanted was
“He went to pick up the canopy I rented. He’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“You could have waited for Nick to help you with this,” he pointed out.
“I can handle setting a few stakes and running some string, young man.”
And that was the end of that line of conversation. “Nick show up yesterday and the day before?”
“Of course he did. Did everything asked of him, just like always.”
“And Lauren picked him up?”
“No. She abandoned him here so we can raise him as one of our own while she runs off with the circus.”
“ You are a crazy woman.” He turned and walked away. “I’m going to find actual work to do.”
“You’re going to drag the throw rugs out so I can beat them,” she called after him. “And next time you want to know how Lauren Carpenter’s doing, just ask.”
He slammed the kitchen door so hard it was a good thing he’d replaced it with steel, because the old one probably would have cracked.
* * *
Rose watched through the kitchen window as Ryan, Josh, Dill and Matt put up the canopy she’d rented. It was a big one and she was sure if she stepped out the back door, she’d get quite an off-color vocabulary lesson.
She didn’t want to deal with it after the family arrived tomorrow, even though there would be plenty of guys, so she’d talked Ryan into having the guys help him and Josh before they headed back to Massachusetts for the long weekend.
Andy walked into the kitchen, not looking much happier than the guys outside did. “I’m done.”
Because he was tall, she’d asked him to go through the lodge and dust the ceiling-fan blades before she vacuumed a final time. There were a lot of ceiling fans. “Thank you. I have to haul around a step stool and climb up and down for every one of them.”
“I’ll go see if I can give them a hand.”
She watched him walk across the yard, amazed at the difference not even two months could make. Way back when Katie was a little girl, Rose’s husband, Earle, had gone on a sledding trip with Andy, who was his best friend. There was drinking and Andy talked two women into joining them in their motel room. Earle had broken his wedding vows. Blaming Andy had helped her forgive her husband enough to rebuild their marriage into the long and happy one it was until he passed away.
After more years than she cared to remember now of her not speaking to Andy, Mitch and Josh had hired him to do some odd jobs around the lodge. She didn’t care if he’d been a friend of their dad’s and was Drew Miller’s father. She was mad as hell. But having the situation shoved into her lap had caused her to give some thought to it and she’d finally forgiven him. Sometimes it was still strange, the way he was so at home at the lodge, but she was slowly getting more comfortable having him around.
Leaving the men to the canopy, she made a slow, careful tour of the house, making sure everything was ready for tomorrow. They might be family, but Rose took a great deal of pride in the place and she wanted it to look its best for the wedding.
Suddenly feeling a little weepy, she sat down on the staircase and ran her hand over a tread worn smooth by generations of Kowalski feet.
She knew it was selfish, but she hoped the kids didn’t sell the Northern Star. She wouldn’t tell them that. They all had their own lives to lead and maybe they didn’t want to be saddled with it anymore. And Josh deserved the chance to figure out what he wanted to do with his life, even if it meant she’d lose this place.
Logically, it made sense to sell it. Mitch and Paige wanted a house of their own. Ryan owned a beautiful house and a successful business in Brookline. Even if whatever was going on between him and Lauren bloomed into something, he wasn’t coming back to Whitford to play innkeeper. Sean was settled with Emma in New Hampshire, and Liz was in New Mexico. And Josh...she’d just about given up on Josh seeing that what he really wanted was
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