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“Guilty as charged,” I say with a smile.
“Lordy lord, and there I thought Raiden had company. Nowadays…you just don’t kn—”
“May—”
“I’ve had five boys in this house at some point, Bill Brodie. I’m worldly wise.”
I take the awkward gap in conversation to walk onto the porch and hold out my hand. “Georgiana Wess, here to build a tiny house with Raiden Logan.”
Bill shakes my hand with a wry smile. “Bill Brodie. Hunter told me about the misunderstanding and mess Raiden got himself into. One word of advice, young lady: stand your ground and he’ll come around.”
I bite my lip as his gentle words sink in. Bar my desperate call to Mel, my best friend since kindergarten, these are the first kind words I’ve had from anybody since Hunter left me standing with Raiden in his office. I didn’t realize I needed them so badly. “Thank you, will do.”
“Raiden doesn’t like surprises. Ever since—” May breaks off her sentence as she steps up to me and we shake hands, but as if she senses that I need a hug, she pulls me closer for a warm, quick one.
Now I feel like crying so I glance up and around to distract myself. For the first time in my life, I’m away from home and in a place where I know no one. The fight with my mom is still raw and claws at my chest. Add Raiden Logan to the mix… I take a deep breath. “It’s a beautiful old house.”
“Over one hundred and fifty years old,” Bill says and takes a sip of his coffee. “Where’re you off to so early? You’re not going back to Miami, are you?”
“No, I’m hoping to get a head start, but I don’t know where the barn is where we’ll be working.”
“I see. Didn’t tell you much, did he?” Bill asks.
“Most probably closed up like a clam,” May adds.
“Pretty much.”
“I’ll show you the barn. It’s down the road,” Bill says. “I’m off to go milking and it’s on the way. The cows are out on the further fields this time of year.”
“Have you had any coffee, dear? Breakfast?” May asks, studying me closely.
I’m not sure what her relationship is to the Logans, but she looks like the motherly type I always wished I had. The type that bakes and cooks and hugs with every part of her and then some more.
“Not yet. I snuck out of the house so I wouldn’t wake Raiden. He’s been threatening me with a plane ticket home ever since I met him yesterday. I planned to grab something in town.”
“There’s no Starbucks in Ashleigh Lake if that’s what you’re hoping for, and nothing is open at this time,” May says with a gentle smile. “Come inside, I’ll see you have something to take with you to the barn. Getting a head start is exactly the way to deal with Raiden. You’ve got to show him what you’ve got, not just talk about it.”
The pressure in my chest eases as if I’ve been wound up too tight and someone finally allowed me to let go a bit. At least here are some people who don’t doubt me and don’t want to get rid of me on sight.
I follow May into the house and breathe it all in. The interior has been remodeled at some point with an open plan living room that’s separated from the kitchen by a long wooden table and a mismatch of chairs. The sofas are well worn, and the wooden furniture looks like it’s heirloom. The kitchen is new though and comes with beautiful stone countertops and wooden cabinetry that suits the house perfectly. The scent of lavender wood oil mixes with fresh coffee and it’s like a warm homey hug.
“Here you can admire Raiden’s handiwork,” May says as she walks into the kitchen and reaches for a thermos flask in a top cupboard. “Two summers ago, the boys remodeled the kitchen for me as a birthday gift. Raiden could only be here on and off with all the work he had to do in Boston, but for a few weeks it was like the old days. Raiden made the top cupboard doors himself, one by one over months, as a surprise for me.”
I look closer and realize the cupboards have inlays of maple leaves in different shades of wood, seeming to drift to the ground. It’s so beautiful and different, like a Vermont fall caught in the wood of the cabinetry. I run my finger down the surface and feel the edges where he matched them perfectly. The finishing is exquisite. I’ve never seen anything like this before. Mom would go mad for this.
“It’s beautiful,” I murmur. Raiden might not know what to do with his mouth, but he sure knows what to do with his hands.
May gets busy with pouring coffee and all I want to do is ask about Raiden and his stubborn stoic silence, but she heads for the fridge and has her back to me.
“Half and half?”
“Yes, please.”
May smiles as she hands me the thermos flask with the coffee, a tub of yogurt and a granola bar. “There’s a spoon in the lid of the flask. This is standard fare here first thing in the morning. Bill usually comes back for a full breakfast after he’s taken care of the milking.”
“Thank you so much, this is more than enough.” I follow her to the porch where Bill has finished his coffee.
“Let’s go,” he says. “I’ll introduce you to the real Raiden, and for that it’s sometimes best if he isn’t there in person.”
