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She probably wouldn’t need that much help from him since she was so self-sufficient. They wouldn’t step on each other’s toes, and just maybe a steady future was ahead of them. He was actually looking forward to it.
He packed them up as she finished in the bathroom. She came out in his oversize thermal shirt and a tight pair of jeans. With her hair slicked back in a tail, she looked fresh and ready to go.
“Ready, Sunshine?”
She tucked her hands into her back pockets with a distracted smile. “Yes.”
“Did you call your mom?”
“I will in the car.”
He nodded, unsure why she was so restless. “Everything good?”
“What?”
“You good?”
“Oh, yes. Of course.” She flashed him her fake smile and picked up her knapsack. He followed her out the door with a frown.
The drive was quiet. The snow blanketed everything in a fresh coat of white. Branches sagged under the heavy, wet snow. One thing he’d noticed driving into the Northeast was that the roads all seemed to look the same.
There was no artistry to the thruway, just endless exits and state troopers dotting every third speed trap between the east- and westbound traffic. The closer they got to Grafton State Park, the tighter Kendall curled into herself.
Winchester Falls was on the edges of the state park. Trees and a glass-smooth expanse of water hugged the road. Bare fingers of tree branches reached for the water. It was probably quite lovely when it was in full greenery.
But even with the wintry gray pallor to the tree branches, it had a stark loveliness that California simply didn’t. Clouds streaked the sky, leaving a wake of blue sky like an after burn. She’d said it was lovely, but he hadn’t been prepared for just how much.
He’d loved the breakers off Monterey for the majority of his life, but he found that the serene stones and trees suited him.
“This way?”
She nodded. “Turn up Heron Way and take a right at the large oak.”
“There’s tons of trees.”
“You’ll know it when you see it.”
“All right,” he agreed. He was glad for the wide grip of his truck tires on the gravel road. “No pavement?”
“The gravel is better for drainage in the spring.”
He nodded, and the huge tree came into view. Large was an understatement. The tree had to be as old as the damn lake. It was huge and knotty and needed a good trim. Weathered, gray rough-cut fences lined the property along the lake’s edge. A lot of them needed repairs.
His chest tightened, and muscles bunched in his thighs and shoulders. Almost everything needed repair from what he could see. A faded barn with a warped door was the first thing he saw off the road into the bed-and-breakfast. Huge river rock stones led to the door, but they needed tamping and sanding for stability. The wraparound porch sagged in spots, but the stairs looked new. They seemed to be pressure-treated wood, at least, but they were unstained and didn’t match the rest of the deck.
The door was a cheery red with black-framed windows. Fat pots of mums were strategically placed for color to draw the eye. The split ranch-style house butted up against the water. He could see the edges of Kendall’s precious dock.
A dock that looked as old and tired as the rest of the property.
“This is your favorite place on earth? What the fuck, Kendall?”
* * *
KENDALL CURLED THE unbendable ends of her straightened hair around her finger. His gaze darted around the property with cold precision. She saw the place through his eyes, and her eyes pricked with tears.
For years she’d been doing all the repairs on her own. Fixing what she could, making the rest of the property work. She’d put all the money she’d been able to into the dock out back and the deck coming into the house.
She crossed her arms over her stomach. Day in and day out, she’d done everything she could to keep up. Now, after some time away, it seemed so…shabby. She was only one person. And the last few winters had been harsh. It was all she could do to keep the fishing cabins winterized for people who braved the ice fishing. But the year before had been a mild winter leaving the cabins empty, and she’d dipped into her savings just to keep the taxes paid.
