“Hey, my crew and I remodeled your kitchen. If something goes wrong, I want to fix it.”
“It was nothing. A loose screw on the light plate.”
My eyes widened. “Oh my goodness. And you fixed it all by yourself?”
He grinned. “Can you believe it?”
“You are so awesome,” I whispered, and patted my heart.
He gave a bashful shrug. “I know.”
With a laugh, I pushed away from him. “Nut.”
“That’s me.” He reached for the wine bottle. “Okay, I’m going to pour us both another glass of wine and go start the grill.”
“Perfect. Potatoes will be ready in ten minutes and once the steaks are ready, I’ll toss the salad and we’ll sit down.”
He poured the wine, then planted a kiss on my lips and strolled to the back door. “Oh, and when I get back inside, remind me to ask you about the Gables.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Um, okay.”
Frowning, he said, “So you know what that is?”
“Sure.”
He nodded slowly, then walked out to the backyard to start up the grill. I took utensils and napkins into the dining room to set the table. If Mac wanted to talk about the Gables, I figured we’d better use the more formal setting. This was going to get serious.
I was back in the kitchen when he came inside. “So what do you want to know about the Gables?”
“Everything.” He picked up his wineglass and leaned against the counter. “It’s a place around here, right? I only just heard about it for the first time today when I was approached by someone from a development company. Apparently they’re turning some old run-down building into a retail space and they’re looking for local investors. My business manager is really upbeat about the project and referred the developer to me. Her name is Rachel Powers. Have you heard of her?”
“Vaguely.” My friend Jane Hennessey had mentioned her name, I thought, but I had never met her. “So they want to enlist some big names, I guess.”
“That’s the impression I got. Not that I’m a big name.”
“You’re pretty big around here.” I picked up my wineglass. “It’s smart of them to find someone famous who also lives in the area. Theoretically, you’ll talk up the project wherever you go and people will listen. And that might bring in more investors.” I angled my head and looked at him. “You look a little wary. Don’t you think it’s a good investment?”
“I have no idea what to think, but wariness is a natural reaction.” But then he grinned. “Especially since I’ve never heard of the place before today.”
I pulled the steaks from the refrigerator. “Did this developer tell you much about the Gables?”
“That’s the thing that made me suspicious. She wouldn’t tell me anything. Said it would be more exciting if I could see it first. Then she’d give me a tour and point out all the positives.”
“In this case, she’s probably right. It’ll make much more of an impression on you if you see it first.” I took a minute to freshen the water in Robbie’s and Tiger’s bowls before returning to the subject. “I’m still surprised you’ve never heard of the Gables. You’ve lived here for at least two years.”
“Right, and I’m clueless, which never feels good to me.” He sat down at the kitchen table and patted his leg. Robbie gave a rapturous bark and jumped onto his lap. “So clue me in.”
Was it wrong to be jealous of my dog? I wondered.
“It’s funny,” I said, “because you drive past it all the time. It’s about a mile north of town.”
Now he looked baffled. “It is? I’ve never noticed a sign or anything.”
“There aren’t any signs. And it’s hard to see the buildings from the highway. They’re all tucked behind a hill.”
Mac lived three miles north of town in the big house next to the old lighthouse, so he would’ve passed the Gables every time he drove into town. But again, it was well hidden from the road. If you didn’t know the old place was there, you wouldn’t have a clue.
Robbie hopped down to the floor and was quickly replaced by Tiger, my marmalade cat. Mac grinned and agreeably began to stroke her soft fur. I loved that the man was so attentive to my little creatures. I could hear Tiger purring from halfway across the room. It was hard to blame her.
“So why have I never even heard of this place before today?” he asked.
I took butter and sour cream out of the fridge. “Most people around town don’t like to talk about it.”
“Why not?”
To answer this, I first had to fortify myself with a hearty sip of wine. “Because for over a hundred years, the Gables was an insane asylum.”
He blinked, then gaped. “Wait. What?”
“We should put the steaks on.”
He shook his head and gave a short laugh. “Way to drop a bombshell, Irish.”
I winced. He did look a little shell-shocked. “Sorry.”
“That’s okay. I’m sure I’ll have a few dozen questions for you, but let’s get everything on the table before we talk. This sounds like it could get intense.”
“Oh, yeah.”
He grabbed the plate with the steaks. “I’ll get these grilled. Then we can talk while we eat.”
* * *
* * *
Mac managed to make it through the next fifteen minutes of intensive dinner prep without asking any questions. He bided his time, grilling the steaks to perfection while I tossed the salad. He cut open the baked potatoes and heaped on butter, sour cream, and chives. And as soon as we were seated at the dining room table, he pounced. “Now tell me everything you know.”
I swallowed a bite of my baked potato and took a quick sip of wine while I tried to recall my local history. “Okay. The Gables was built in the 1870s and back then it was known as the Northern California Asylum for the Insane. They changed the name in the 1960s.”
He nodded slowly. “Of course. By then it would’ve been considered cruel to use the term insane asylum.”
“That’s right,” I said. “And then in the early eighties, the government started cutting off funding, so mental hospitals across the country were closing. But the Gables managed to stay open until around 2002 because they had private funding.”
“Do you know where the money came from?”
“From the family of one of the patients.”