Finding Promise (The Promise Series, A Small Town Romance) (11 page)

“Why, no! I can proudly say that my son’s place is lovely on
the outside. The inside is another matter. You’d swear that it was a college
student that lived there and not a grown man of thirty! But it’s neat and I
suppose it serves his needs. But then again, there’s hardly anything in it to
clean, so if it wasn’t neat then I’d have taken a broom to him already.” Laurel
grabbed a broom that Caroline had received amongst the welcome gifts and made
sweeping movements to illustrate what she meant. Caroline had a hard time
picturing his diminutive mother being able to do anything like with his six
foot frame. Broom placed in the correct cupboard in the mud room, Laurel
continued, “I’ve asked him why he doesn’t get himself some furniture and
knick-knacks to make it more homely and he just grunted back at me.”

“Men and their grunting!” exclaimed Patsy. “You can’t have
the one without the other.”

“Amen.” The other ladies chorused with such sombre faces,
Caroline grinned.

Laurel was not to be deterred from her mission, which was to
give the two a push in the right direction. “Luke’s place is not far from you.
Just up the road, really. He did some work for vacation home owners a few years
back, right when he started and was desperate to build a name for himself. He
was hardly working for any money at all but the owners were ambitious and spent
more than there budget allowed. Luke agreed to finish the job and fund the
difference if they gave him a piece of the land. There were eleven acres of
land there and they agreed. You should go see his place. It’s a simple little
log cabin but its set in a strip of forest along the cliff, so the scenery is
just great. You should ask him to take you. You could walk from his place to
the cliff. It has a brilliant view of the sea from up there. You can even see
Chester Island from there!”

“You’re match-making again, Laurel.” Interfered Patsy and
making Caroline blush. “Girl, you blush way too often for a woman that’s been
married. You need a good, virile man to help you get rid of that!”

Not knowing how to respond to that, Caroline dutifully
returned her attention to the welcome offerings. There was a bag filled with
apples that looked like it came from a tree in someone’s back yard. The
attached note read, “Enjoy! From Shelly,” made sense. A garden center owner
would grow her own fruit. Her pantry, being still relatively empty, filled up
with jars of pickles and preserves.

“Isn’t this sweet and handy too?!” Stella held up an
emergency kit from Bess. It held plasters, anti-septic cream, bandages as well
as over-the-counter anti-histamine and pain medication. “You never know when
there’ll be scrapes and cuts, especially with all this tinkering going on
here.” She sounded, to Caroline, like a mom that had seen her fair share.

“Goodness knows mine came in handy when Luke and Nate were
kids. Those two were always getting themselves into scrapes.” Patsy agreed with
Stella.

“I haven’t met Nate yet but I’ve seen him at Waves. Have
they been friends for long?”

“They’ve been basically raised from the same crib. If you
wanted to know where one was, you’d look for the other. They were always
together. Still are close. But they’re good boys.” Caroline looked at Patsy’s
face, proudly beaming. It seemed that Patsy, for all her gruffness, had a huge
soft spot for the boys.

“This is good!” Jo handed her a jar of apple jelly. “Old
Nancy has a fine hand with apple jelly.”

Laurel handed her a huge dish. “Here, this looks like Kelly
brought over the apple pie and the Chamber of Commerce pack. The pack’s good,
the pie’s debatable.”

“Oh, her pie’s good. She just puts too much raisins in
them.” Patsy chirped, eyes gleaming behind the glasses. “Wish someone would
tell her that apple pie has to have apples as the main ingredient and then
it’ll be alright.”

The women began to have a heated discussion on the best
local bakers and recipes. Caroline was content to listen as she began stocking
her fridge with a variety of casseroles and pies. Someone had brought muffins.
Eloise, she saw from the note attached. Saving all the notes so that she could
return their dishes and thank their owners, she set about serving the women
muffins and tea.

“I like your home, honey. I like the work you’re doing on
it. Speaking of work, where is that son of mine?”

“He must be here somewhere or he’s off to the hardware
store. I haven’t seen him yet this morning.”

“That’s men for you, always off busy doing nothing.” Patsy
was a regular crackerjack, keeping the laughter flowing. “Now, Laurel says that
she’s planning a big barbeque for you to welcome you to the town. Looking at
this place, I think you need to have it here as a housewarming.”

Clapping her hands in agreement, Stella jumped into the
conversation, “Yes! I think that is a brilliant idea!” Looking at Caroline’s
bewildered expression. “Don’t be daunted dear. We’d never throw you in the deep
end. We like planning a party as much as having one. We’ll help you with the
guest list and could all come up here on the day and join in the cooking. We’re
like family in this town, so nobody coming would come empty handed either. Nate
could bring the music, we could ask if John would lend us some tables and
chairs from the inn, and you’ll find that everyone will bring a dish or two of
something to eat. So, you see, it’ll all work out on its own. When did Luke say
he’d be done?”

“Oh, he said that it’ll be about a month to do it all and
there’s just under three weeks left.” Twenty days, five hours and thirty-three
minutes, she thought, impatient for the chaos to end.

They all agreed that it was a good idea and Caroline fell
into their plans as they discussed them.

On their way out, Laurel offered on behalf of the other
ladies, “The Chamber of Commerce pack will give you a list of the available
services in town, emergency numbers, shops and so on. The tourism committee
probably also included some of their brochures on what to do around here. But
if you need anything, don’t be shy to shout. You can call any one of us,
anytime.”

“She’s right. Don’t be shy. We’re a friendly town but if
you’re not used to us, we can come across as a bit forward.”

“A bit?” a grinning Jo, questioned Patsy.

Vying for the final word, Patsy ended with inviting them
over for tea. “Caroline,” she began, her voice less firm, oddly a bit sweeter,
“I’ve heard of your baking from Laurel. She hasn’t shared any of it with me,
claiming that John polishes it all off.

“She’s fibbing,” interjected a smiling Laurel, “she all but
polished off those hazelnut cookies Luke brought over.

“Anyway,” continued Patsy while glaring at Laurel, “we
should have tea a week or so before the work’s done on the house. Then we can
kill two birds with one stone. The rest of us,” she looked pointedly at Laurel,
“can sample your baking and we can all plan the party.”

“I think that’s a great idea!” Caroline acquiesced. “I can
invite Bess, Rachel and Faith too.”

Grinning and feeling thoroughly welcomed, she ended up
hugging all of them before they left, chattering their way down the garden
path. Garden path reminded her, she’d better get a move on and get the day
going. There was still a lot of work to be done in the garden.

--------

Two hours later, she was done with her housework and ready to
tend to the garden. Her kitchen was clean and a tray of scones, hot out of the
oven, was ready for the crew. She’d also put out some of the muffins and
Kelly’s apple pie. They were a large, hungry bunch. There were at least ten of
them on any given day as they worked, in coordinated chaos, on various parts of
the house. Yet, she appreciated how respectful they were. They weren’t saints.
She didn’t come back to a spotless kitchen but plates were neatly stacked out
to dry on the dish rack even though her floor had mud prints all over it. She
guessed that they were so used to dust and mud that they didn’t notice it.
Setting out side plates, cream, butter, jam and cheese, she wondered what
they’d make of this very English tea offering.

“Hi”, her head whipped around at the sound of his voice. She
had become used to having Luke around but at times, when she was least guarded,
her heart still got a jolt when she saw him. He looked yummier than the scones
making her mouth water. She’d resigned herself to the attraction she felt for
him, feeling safe, knowing that it wasn’t reciprocated. If a man like that was
interested, she was sure that he would’ve made a move by now.

“You have a bit of cream here.” He wiped the cream off her
top lip, feeling its softness.

Caught, Caroline could only stutter, “Aah…” as she watched
him put the tiny blob of cream in his mouth. She nearly moaned.

Seeing her, standing there and looking at him with interest
in her eyes, Luke started to bend his head to kiss her. It was the right
moment, he thought. But before he reached his destination, his best friend,
Nate called out to him. Nate standing at the back door and grinning like a
fool.

Startled from the spell, they jumped away from each other.
Mentally cursing his friend’s lack of tact, he frowned into Nate’s laughing
green eyes. The bugger knew what he’d done.

Caroline recognized Nate from the first night at Waves.
Looking at him gave her heart a chance to slow down. She could swear that Luke
had been about to kiss her. So, this was the man that Rachel was gaga over? He
wasn’t really her type. Lately, she found that her type ran to the rugged, good
looks that Luke sported. Nate was a good looking man, though, with a sweet,
nearly pretty face, if it wasn’t for his sculpted cheekbones and prominent jaw.
He would be what you’d call a beautiful man. Even his hair, a warm, wavy brown,
looked beautiful, they type of hair one expected on male models. His was lean
and muscular, without bulk. Rachel had taste, she thought, contradicting what
her friend had said about Nate.

Luke had seen her appraise Nate while he greeted him. He
didn’t like that at all. Her expression, except for the odd moment like in the
kitchen, was always guarded around him. Taking things in hand, he introduced
them. “Caroline, meet Nate. Nate. Caroline. What you doing here?” he barked at
Nate. 

“The sea’s a bit rough today. It looks like we’ll have a
hell of a storm in a day or two, so we can’t take the boats out on a tour. The
tourists tend to have sensitive stomachs.” He grinned then looked at Caroline.
“I had some time and thought I’d come and say hello.”

Nate ignored the dark looks Luke was throwing his way. “Nice
to finally meet you Caroline. I’ve heard so much about you from Luke.” Taking
her hand in greeting, he could see why his friend was making a fool of himself.
He’d been hankering for an introduction for the last two weeks but Luke didn’t
bite. Wondering what the mystery was about, he thought that he’d pop around,
under the pretence of looking for the baked goods Caroline was gaining a
reputation for. 

“I see I’ve come just in time.” He pointed at the spread of
food on the table. “I heard that you are a generous lady with your talents.”
The innuendo seemed to evade a flattered Caroline but Luke had caught on. Good,
Nate was pleased with his work so far. Looking at the frown his friend sent
him, he thought that maybe a bit of jealousy would get Luke moving. The whole
town was noticing Luke’s interest in Caroline. That his friend has made no progress
yet, was embarrassing.

Liking him, Caroline invited him in. “Come sit down. I’m
sure I can make a plan. I can’t claim fame to all of this though. I just made
the scones. This is Kelly’s apple pie and Patsy’s muffins.”

“Oh, mom was here. Our moms,” he nodded towards Luke, “have
been friends since they were kids. I bet you found the whole brigade on your
doorstep this morning. Nosy women!” he said in mock irritation, making Caroline
laugh. She certainly couldn’t argue that point.

Luke’s face was turning an interesting shade of red, so Nate
continued, “Kelly’s a different matter. She’s a bit uppity with her husband
being the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, so she does irritate the other
ladies a bit. They’re all alright, though, so do yourself a favor, darling,”
Nate placed emphasis on the word darling, grabbing Caroline’s hand, “and don’t
get caught up in that politics.”

Luke watched Caro laugh as Nate shared stories with her about
the arguments his mom and her friends have had with Kelly. She never seemed so
easy-going around him. He needed some air. Jealous of Nate! That’s never
happened before. Nate was practically his brother. Mumbling something
unintelligible, Luke left the kitchen, which was beginning to fill up with his
crew looking for food. He didn’t seem to have much of an appetite and thought
he’d check on the job.

Looking at the newly installed gutters, Luke didn’t really
see them. His mind was filled with Caroline and his uncharacteristic jealousy.
He wasn’t stupid. He’d grown up with Nate and his game was clear. Okay. Hint
taken. He’d get a move on. Later, he’d ask Caro out for dinner. He could do
with a good meal and her sitting across from him. Of course, he could do with a
lot more. Like her being the meal.  But he’d figured that he’d have to
take his time with her. He needed to get her to let her guard down a bit and
trust him. Sure of his pending success he went to check on the work.