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“Have you taken the test?” she asked.
Sheldon shook his head. “I checked some books out of the library and studied them.”
“That’s wonderful,” Audrey said. “At the school where I work we have a technical maintenance man who’s an electrician. Would you like me to introduce you to him so you can get first-hand knowledge of what’s required?”
Sheldon was tempted to refuse her help, but that seemed like a foolish move. “I would appreciate that very much.”
“Why an electrician?”
Farther alongthe beach, the marina was barely visible, but he could still see a glimpse of some of the sailboats moored there.
“Have you noticed all the lights on the marina at night?” he asked.
She nodded. “They make a pretty picture.”
“I thought about them. I thought about a job that would always be needed. Someone has to fix those lights when they break down. Someone has to fix the electricity in all those big houses in town.”
“That’s a good reason,” Audrey said.
Sheldon wanted something he could count on. He found he couldn’t count on being the manager of a horse farm. The manual labor to clean the boat hulls would fall to a younger man in time. And he needed a profession that would pay him better than the minimum wage he was receiving now. The book on electricity seemed to jump out at him in the library and he’d checked it out.
He felt like he was making progress. He wouldn’t go back, couldn’t go back. That life was gone. But in this new life, he would try his hand at new things, be more open to people. Jason was an engineer, trained to be useful. He would never be hungry, never have to scrub scabs off boat hulls for the rich.
Sheldon had once thought his brother should be more like him, conforming to tradition, polished in his dress and manner. Those things were useless. And no good to him when everything went bad. Now Sheldon was planning to be more like Jason, resourceful and respectful. He might not be able to go back, and Jason would never know the effect he had on Sheldon, but Sheldon would know.
* * *
THE SMELL OF brewed coffee and bacon cooking woke Jace. Turning over he looked at the clock. It was just past seven. He sat straight up, realizing Kelly was up and that she’d been at her desk or holding a hammer or paint brush for hours already. It took him three minutes to shower and five minutes to dress. Ari was still asleep.
Jace was thankful the child no longer slept fitfully, which was why Jace probably overslept. He headed for the kitchen and the good-smelling coffee. Coming into the room, he found people he didn’t know. A man and a woman.
“Hi,” the man said. “I’m Drew.” He offered his hand and Jace shook it. “You must be Jace.”
“And I’m Mira, his wife and Kelly’s cousin.” She stood at the stove, ladling bacon onto a plate with a paper towel on it. “We heard you needed a car.”
Jace just stared at them.
“Kelly called and said you had to turn in your rental,” Drew said.
“We have a car that’s not being used.” Mira glanced at her husband. “And Drew is too stubborn to get rid of it.”
“If I had, then Jace here wouldn’t be able to borrow it.” Drew looked back at Jace, the smile on his face told him the car wasn’t a bone of contention between the couple. “It’s not a car, actually, but a beat-up old truck. The keys are on the floor,” Drew said.
“Thanks. I’ll take care of it,” was his reply.
“Good. Now, how about some breakfast?” Mira said. The mood brightened at the prospect of food.
“It smells wonderful.” Jace helped himself and took a seat at the table. His plate was piled high with bacon, sausage, eggs and toast. A jar of homemade jam sat on the table. And the coffee she poured in his cup was exactly as he liked it.
“Kelly told me you like your coffee strong.”
“This breakfast is terrific. Thank you. Where is Kelly, by the way?”
“She’s up in the attic searching for some papers,” Mira said. “She’s already eaten. And Kelly is not one to let anything grow under her feet. She’s always moving.”
The three of them sat and ate their breakfast.
“What are you two doing today? Kelly mentioned you help her out around here, so I guess she gave you a list of things to do, too,” Jace asked the couple.
Mira laughed. “Not today. We only came to deliver the truck.”
Drew said, “I know your family lived here before, but when Kelly bought it, it was truly run-down. She’s spent night and day bringing it back to where you see it today.”
“It’s a good thing the place was never protected as a historic landmark,” Mira said.
“Why is that?” Jace asked.
“Rules,” she said. “If the house or the grounds had been designated a landmark, there are hundreds of rules about what can and cannot be done. What materials can be used. Where things can be placed. Dimensions of buildings that can be built. And every change needs to be approved by a committee. It would have taken years for her to go through all the paperwork and inspections for even the most minor thing. Kelly has kept the character of the house, modernizing some of the areas that needed it.”
Jace had forgotten his meal. Insight into the character of the woman he crossed swords with was more interesting.
Jace’s respect for her increased dramatically.
* * *
JACE CLIMBED THE stairs to the attic. He’d had second helpings of breakfast and poured another cup of coffee. He was going to take it to Kelly as a kind of peace offering. Jace put everything on a tray and added a bud vase with a flower in it that he pinched from the arrangement on the foyer table.
The attic covered the entire house. It was made up of several rooms, some finished, some not. As a young boy, Jace took refuge up there, before he’d found solace riding. When he first arrived at the Kendall, he’d hide and cry, missing his mother and not understanding why his father and older brother treated him like he’d done something wrong. That little boy came back to him as he reached the top step and opened the door to the first room. Inside there was faded wallpaper and old furniture haphazardly arranged or placed on top of other pieces. Closing the door, he went in search of Kelly. He found her in the next room. This one was clean of any dust and cobwebs. There were several pieces of furniture. Near Kelly was a round oak table half uncovered. Three chairs were around it, one with a broken leg, the other two without the spindles that used to be the back.
Kelly wore a short T-shirt and pants. This was what she wore most days. Her hair was in a long ponytail. It was set high on the back of her head and the way it swung when she moved reminded him of the combed and polished tail of a show horse. “Kelly. I brought you something to eat. Mira made this and it’s delicious.”
“Jace?” He could hear the surprise in that single word.
“I met your cousins in the kitchen. They said you were up here.” He didn’t tell her about the other stories they’d shared. He set the tray on top of a filing cabinet.
She took the cup of coffee and sipped it. “Thank you,” she said. “What brings this on?”
“You did something for me. I thought I’d return the favor.”
“What did I do?”
“Drew and Mira’s truck.”
“Oh, that.” She brushed it aside as it meant nothing.
“Few people have ever done anything for me,” he said. “I like to say thank-you when they do.”
Kelly took the tray and set it on the table. Pulling a chair over, she took a seat and Jace did the same.
“Join me,” she said.
He’d already eaten, but he took a piece of toast, tore off part of the crust and popped it in his mouth.
“Living here wasn’t fun for you, was it?” she asked.
He shook his head, glancing toward the room where his sobs probably still echoed around the walls.
“That can change,” Kelly said.
Jace looked at her. “It’s in the past.”
“For you,” Kelly said. “For Ari, things can change for him. You can lavish all the love you want on him and things here at the Kendall will be different.”
Jace realized she was speaking as if he was permanently stationed at the farm. When only a few days ago, she was telling him he was a runner and not likely to put down roots. But in everything that had happened, Jace knew Ari was at the top of his priority list. So he would do what was necessary to care for Ari and to keep him happy.
“I guess I should get to work,” Jace said. “It must be time for my partner in crime to wake up, if he isn’t already combing the rooms searching for me.”
He got up and, taking Kelly’s hands, helped her to her feet.
“Thank you for the food,” she said.
He should have let go of her hands right then, but he didn’t. In fact, he didn’t want to let her go at all. It was a totally foreign feeling for him, especially when she looked up and her eyes met his. They were big and questioning.
Jace had pulled her forward and brushed his mouth over hers before realizing he’d done it. When he saw what he’d done, he wanted to do it again. Wrapping her arms around his waist, he stepped even closer and kissed her full on the mouth. There was something between them. That undefinable something that only two people with a special connection understood. Her eyes opened slowly. There was a dreamlike quality to them.
