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“Good. I just left Ava at the spa, and I’m heading now to collect my things at the inn.”
Abbi looked at her, confused.
“Don’t you remember? Ava offered last night for me to move in upstairs...”
Abbi smacked herself on the forehead. “Oh, my lord she did. I completely forgot that. I’m so sorry, we dumped Lane on you, didn’t we?”
“It’s fine. Ava told me what happened.”
“I feel terrible. Does Lane know you’re going to be there?”
Desi nodded. “He does now.”
“And you’re okay with Brutus and Molly too?”
“I prefer the company of animals over humans any day,” Desi laughed.
“Thanks for understanding... everything.”
Desi stiffened as Abbi pulled her in for a hug. She never liked her personal space invaded, but she soon found herself relaxing. It had been so long since she felt the embrace of a motherly hug that she found as soon as Abbi dropped her arms, she felt lost...
Abbi stepped back and smiled. “Well. I better get a move on; I have a six mile walk ahead of me. But on a happy note, I’m down another pound this morning, come hell or high water I will fit into that dress!” she laughed. As she started to walk away, she looked over her shoulder, “If you need anything just give a holler!”
And with that she was off, heading towards the downtown area of the village. Desi turned and headed towards the inn to collect her stuff. Excited, she started to jog down the incline and around the bend to the left.
She slowed her pace once stepping onto the laneway and walked the rest of the way to the front doorway. Opening it, she saw Dean standing there on the phone. He raised at hand when he saw her in way of a greeting as he spoke into the receiver, she waved back as she headed down the hall to the kitchen looking for Kim.
Finding it empty, Desi ducked into the hall underneath the staircase to the elevator. The gate was closed, meaning, Kim had to be in the basement. More than likely with Peony, her pet pig. Desi hated going down there and couldn’t see why anyone would want to, but she didn’t want to just leave without telling Kim she was going.
She stood there a minute and admired the ironwork of the gate; the intricately intertwined roses on it, also matched the open design carriage. It really was a work of art. Initially it only went down to the basement, but Dean and Kim found someone to cut a hole the size of the lift in the landing of the massive front staircase above, and had it extended to the second floor. It was the perfect addition for those that would have a problem navigating the stairs.
She was about to push the call button to bring the carriage back up so that she could go down, when it dinged, letting her know that Kim was on her way up.
Thank goodness,she thought, as the top of the lift cleared the level. The first and only time she was in the basement she felt the eyes of many on her, despite her being alone.
“Hey there buttercup,” Kim said, when she came into view. The carriage came to a smooth stop and Desi opened the gate. “So, how did things go at the spa?”
Desi stepped aside to let Peony pass by. She never was able to wrap her head around the fact that a full-sized pig lived in the house but at least she was house trained. “Good. It went well. Ava gave me the key, so I’m here to collect my stuff, but—”
“Here, carry these will you?” Kim bent down and picked up one of the two boxes of liquor bottles and handed it to her. The basement was loaded with vintage brews, some of which were over 100 years old. Grunting, Kim lifted the second one and said, “Follow me.”
They headed the short distance to the kitchen where they deposited the boxes onto the table. Turning, and with her hand on her hip, Kim raised her brows. “But what?”
“Huh?”
“You said, you were here to get your things and then but. But you didn’t explain what but was.”
“Oh, right.” Desi raised her shoulder, “It’s nothing really. Just that I’ll have a few temporary roommates.”
Kim walked to the fridge and took the milk pitcher out and sat it on the table, turning she went to the cupboard and collected two glasses and the cookie jar. Armed with the goodies, she sat them on the table and said, “You need to back up and tell me the whole story. Sit down.”
Desi sat and between munching on half a dozen cookies dipped in milk, she explained everything to Kim. Sighing she said, “Honestly, I don’t know how this is going to work out. He hates me. And aside from him saving me from choking, I think I kinda hate him too.”
Kim waved her hand in a dismissive fashion. “Pft! Why would you think that? You two don’t even know each other!”
“I smacked him with a door and threw buttered biscuits at him, of course he’s going to hate me. As for me not liking him...” She stopped. When he caught her trying to sneak away like a thief in the night, she felt like he was scolding her like a parent would a child.
Kim held up a finger. “He did the biscuits to himself, wasn’t your fault that he wasn’t holding onto the tray good enough.”
