“Yes.” Eve stood up, suddenly, glancing around for her luggage and clean clothes. “I’ll drive up.”
“We’ll expect you later.” Her mother hung up without saying goodbye. She didn’t hold it against her, since she knew that she probably had a lot on her mind. Hell, Eve was so overwhelmed by the news, it took her more than two hours to pack and throw what she could into the used car she’d bought a few days after the divorce was finalized.
She drove the almost four hours up Puget Sound towards Orcas Island, a trip Eve didn’t make often. In the past nine years since she’d left home, she’d only been back twice. She’d dreaded the visit completely, except for the time she’d spend with her grandfather.
By the time she boarded the ferry to the island, her mother had called her more than a half dozen times to check on her status.
Orcas Island was the second largest of the topmost islands near the Canadian border. Even though it was second in size, there were fewer than five thousand people living on the island year-round.
Most of the tourists to the island were a direct result of her grandfather’s inn, that and the large preserve and state park that ate up most of the island.
She knew the roads from the ferry docks to the inn like the back of her hand. Still, it had been years since she’d been home and she was a little surprised at all the potholes she had to swerve to avoid. Had there been this many when she’d lived here?
She drove through Hope Harbor. The inn was less than two miles out of the small town she’d grown up in.
The town looked the same, with its old main street that consisted of five buildings and one stop sign. There was a new pizzeria and bank at the corner, along with a new gas station and bait shop.
Still, not much had changed. Passing the school and library, she was almost to the last turnoff towards the inn when something caught her eye, causing her to slow the car down. That something was a man. To be more exact, a very sexy man.
The guy was standing in the driveway of her friend Holly’s old log house. She knew that Holly’s parents had sold the place a few years back, after her father’s death.
What had caused her to slow down and gawk was the fact that the man had removed his shirt and was full of some of the sexiest muscles she had ever witnessed. The sun made his skin glow and glisten from the sheen of sweat dripping down his back.
He was standing in front of a table saw, cutting a very long piece of wood. His legs were spread wide as he concentrated on his work. A tool belt hung low on his hips, pulling his jeans down far enough that she got a view of his hip bones. She watched the muscles in his arms and shoulders work as he pushed the board through the sharp blade with ease and skill.
When he turned towards her after he was done cutting the piece of wood, she marveled at his very impressive six-pack.
Her mouth watered at the sight. How long had it been since she’d felt a stir like this? Long before she’d married Brent. With him, the sexual tension had died quickly, if there had ever really been any. She believed that even in that arena, he’d fooled her.
Swallowing the desire, she glanced up and saw she was about to miss her turn. She slammed on her brakes, and gravel spit up around her as she skidded to a stop. Putting the car in reverse, she spotted the man watching her. He was less than ten feet away from her, and she thought that she could see him smiling at her as she pulled into the long drive of the inn.
Damn. She sighed.
“Okay, sexy dream guy, get out of my head,” she said to herself as she drove up the bumpy lane. When the large white four-story inn came into view, she felt her heart skip at the thought of her grandfather not being there to greet her.
Passing the last of the large wooden carved signs that read “Candlewood Inn” in gold lettering, she parked in the main parking lot and took a moment to collect her thoughts. She knew how to put on a mask, to shield herself from the horrors that her family usually brought upon her the moment she stepped foot in her old home.
Even though she had grown up living in an inn, it hadn’t changed her life in the least. Her mother and father had lived in a three-room suite on the top floor, just down the hallway from her grandfather’s own suite. Actually, while growing up, the entire top floor had been dedicated to her family. When her great-grandfather had the place built, his large family had taken over the entire west wing of the inn.
Eve didn’t know if most of her family members were still living in the inn, since she limited her phone calls to her mother and father to five minutes each. Her father usually called on her birthday or holidays and said a few words to her, while her mother usually called her to nag or complain about something and never asked Eve how she was doing.
Gathering her strength, she climbed out of the car, pulling her large suitcase with her. Of course, Timothy, one of the inn’s oldest employees was there to help her carry her luggage in.
“Thanks, Timothy.” She gave the older man a hug.
“I’m so sorry, miss, for your loss,” he said, holding onto her gently.
“Has everyone arrived?” she asked.
The man’s steps faltered. “Yes, ma’am,” he finally answered. “They’re in the main drawing room.” He held one of the massive double doors open for her.
Stepping into the two-story entry of the inn was like stepping back in time. That or stepping directly onto an Alfred Hitchcock movie set. The old place was in desperate need of a face-lift. Inside and out.
Still, it was the fanciest place to stay along the group of islands that bordered the United States and Canada. Which meant the inn was usually packed. She stepped inside and glanced around. There wasn’t another person in sight.
Hearing voices coming from across the entryway, she turned to Timothy.
“Just leave those behind the counter. I’ll carry them up with me later.” She touched the man’s arm.
“No bother.” He shook his head. “I’ll carry them up to your rooms. Your mother has put you in your grandfather’s suite.”
“She…” Eve swallowed. “She has?”
“Yes, miss. The rest of the floor is filled and it’s the only room available.”
“Fine.” It was no use arguing with Timothy, since he was only doing what he was told. And arguing with her mother had never really worked out for her either.
Stepping into the drawing room, she braced herself for the onslaught of attention, only to be completely ignored. Her uncle Gerald and her father, Thomas, were in the middle of a heated conversation. The two men were toe to toe, their faces red with anger as everyone else in the room sat watching the show.
Gerald and Roger were twins, with her mother Grace coming almost eight years after their birth. Her uncles were the spitting image of their father, minus the patience and charm. Their black hair was streaked with silver while Reggie’s had been completely gray as far back as she could remember.
Eve’s mother, Grace, had taken after Gerald’s wife, Gloria, or so Eve had been told. Gloria had died of lung cancer long before Eve had been born.
Both Gerald and her father were dressed in expensive suits as if they had jobs in the city instead of a daily life that consisted of lounging around the inn and getting everything they wanted with a snap of their fingers.
“I don’t care what the lawyer says, I’m going to be there when they read my father’s will,” her uncle was saying.