AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She shook her head. “Old news. No longer relevant.”
CHAPTER NINE
“I CAME BY your office for a reason,” Jace said. It wasn’t to overhear Kelly’s conversation. But when she began to talk, he had listened.
“What did you want?” Kelly asked.
“The back garden is unfinished. I wondered if you’d mind if I worked on it?”
“What are you planning to do?”
Jace knew Kelly was seeing dollar signs. Even the garden required plants, sand and dirt, bricks and cording. Some landscaping jobs cost thousands of dollars, but this one wouldn’t.
“I’ve drawn up a design if you’d like to see it.”
She smiled then. It was a bright, wide smile. Maybe the phone call was forgotten. Jace stepped inside the office and went to the small round conference table that sat near the window. He unrolled a single sheet of drawing paper. Kelly came over and sat in one of the chairs. Jace stood and leaned over her. Her hair was close enough to touch. Jace breathed in.
“This is beautiful,” she said, showing the awe she must have felt.
The idea was simple in nature, a concept designed around a circle in a square. He’d drawn a large square with entrances on all four sides. The floor would be made of tile and outside the perimeter he’d place small shrubs of varying colors. They would change throughout the summer months. In the center of the square was a circle. In its center was a fire pit. Around the inside of the circle was seating. Walkways led to the fire pit that doubled as a table during warm weather. In another area he’d added a gazebo. It would be outlined with lights that would change color or remain constant on one color.
“What’s this?” Kelly asked.
“It’s a large table with chairs. I thought it would be a good place to breakfast on mornings when the weather permitted.”
“That’s a good idea. I love being outside. And it faces the house, so we’ll get to see all the flowers that bloom in the summer.”
“Have you determined a budget to go along with the plans?” she asked.
Jace produced another sheet of paper. It listed all the necessary materials and an estimated cost.
“This seems extremely reasonable,” she said. “Are you sure you can do it for this?”
Kelly looked up at him and he didn’t realize how close he’d moved to her. He was near enough to kiss her and that knowledge removed his ability to speak. All he could do was nod.
Their gazes held, then he moved a step back and the thread between them snapped.
“They’re tearing down some old buildings along the highway. I made a deal with the foreman to take some of the debris they’re throwing out.”
“Is it any good?” She frowned.
He nodded. “It can be recycled.”
She smiled then. “Save the planet. I like that.”
“What about the plants?”
“There’s a nursery not far from here that’s going out of business. They’re selling everything at huge discounts.”
“How soon do you need the money?”
He dropped in the chair next to hers. “I don’t need it all at once. The plants are the big thing. We don’t want to wait in case everything is picked over by the time we need it.”
She checked the cost breakdown again. “I think we can swing this,” she said. “What is this line that says free?”
“Come with me.” Jace got up and helped her out of her chair. He led her over to the window. His arm was around her waist before he realized it. He didn’t remove it. It felt right to have it there. Her body was soft where he rested his hand on her hip.
“Look over there.”
Kelly followed where he indicated. He couldn’t tell how she felt about the physical contact between them. However, she didn’t pull away. He took that as a good sign.
“See the horse stable?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Behind it and along the sides are shrubs.”
Kelly peered at them.
“They’re the kind that grow fast and replenish themselves. I plan to dig up the ones on the back side and replant them around the perimeter of the square.”
Kelly turned and eased out of his grasp. She returned to the table and looked at the drawing Jace had made.
“All right, you have my approval under two conditions.”
“What are they?”
“If the costs are going to exceed this estimate, I need to know immediately.”
“No problem. What’s the second condition?”
“You’ll be finished with this part of the renovation before the open house.”
Jace nodded. “It’ll be right under your window, so you get to see it each time you look outside.”
There had never been a seating area there before, although Jace had once suggested it to Sheldon. Immediately, his brother rejected the idea. Jace had only remembered the notion when he saw Kelly at her office window. He did think the garden needed enhancing, but making the area appealing would please her.
And that pleased him.
* * *
SHELDON WASN’T ONE to talk openly about his feelings. He’d been on his own for years now and he was used to keeping to himself. Audrey, however, seemed to have other plans. He’d run into her or Christian at the oddest times and places. He hadn’t told her his story, and she hadn’t asked about it since that day in the grocery store.
Today he went for a walk along the beach and when he came to her house, she invited him in for iced tea. They sat watching the sea and Sheldon began to talk. He wasn’t sure if he came for that reason or if he felt he needed to get the story out, tell someone about the way he had lived, provide the details of the rise and fall of a Maryland horse farmer.
“And that’s how I got here,” Sheldon said. Audrey had added a couple of sandwiches to the tray with their glasses of iced tea.
She’d listened carefully to him without saying a word. He told her of the jobs he’d tried and failed at. He told her about his father, how they treated Jason and that when his dad died, he totally cut Jason out of any legacy. He told her about Laura and how she’d died.
Once the words started to come, they poured out of him like the tides rushing for the shoreline. Sheldon relived it, seeing himself as the unlikable character he was, treating his brother so poorly. He saw himself as the bridegroom, in love with a woman who should never have been with him. He’d caused such pain to those he should have embraced. And now there was nothing he could do about it.
“What happened to Jason?” Audrey asked.
“I don’t know. He left right after I married Laura. We didn’t hear from him again. I know he was treated unfairly. At least I know it now. I don’t forgive myself for my part in making him hate me. I couldn’t have done a better job if I’d tried. And I tried. Whereas I should have known better.”
“Don’t beat yourself up,” Audrey said. “You’re no longer that man. You’ve grown and learned. You’ve traveled from Maryland here. Along your journey look how you’ve changed. The high and mighty person you say you were is gone. What I see is a compassionate man who cares about people.”
“Now I’m the poor, humble creature who should have understood my brother better, but was unwilling to even listen to anything he had to say.”
“We all make mistakes, Sheldon. Have you considered contacting the Kendall’s new owners and seeing if your brother has been in touch with them?”
Sheldon had, but always found a reason not to do it. “It wouldn’t be of any use for me to do that,” Sheldon told Audrey. “Why would Jason want to see me or even speak to me. I’m afraid he’s a bridge I burned long ago. There’s no rebuilding it now.”
“You may not be rebuilding the past,” Audrey said. She spoke very slowly as if she’d taken a long time to think about her choice of words.
“In the past few years, you’ve moved around a lot, leaving behind what you don’t want to face.”
“I’m facing what I am,” he said. “I know what I can’t do and I know there will be no going back to the life I had.”
“You need to resolve it,” Audrey proclaimed. “It’s hard, almost impossible, to go forward in life without resolving the past.”
They sat in silence for several minutes. Sheldon had no watch. He’d long since sold it for food. He looked at the sun. He’d gotten used to being able to estimate the time by the movement of that heavenly body. He had a small calendar from a diner in his bungalow, so he could keep track of the days. Not that he cared much for them, but he needed to remember when to go to work.
What Audrey said made sense. It might be an exercise in futility, but contacting whoever owned the Kendall might give him some closure.
“What are you going to do now?” Audrey asked, interrupting his thoughts.
“Now?” He lifted one of the tea glasses. The drink was cool and seemed to refresh his throat after so much talking.
Audrey smiled. “I meant with the rest of your life. You’ve got a lot more living to do. Are you going to be cleaning hulls forever?”
“I have thought of becoming an electrician,” he remarked.
“Don’t you have to go to school for that?”
“No, but there is a test and an apprenticeship.”
