He slumped down in the backseat. He’d seemed to forgive me for our move after his first game of fetch on the beach but being left in the SUV when he wanted to go exploring was never his favorite.
“I promise I won’t be long. And I’ll get you a treat on the way back.” The Mad Baker had these adorable little cupcakes just for dogs that I knew would have Bruno drooling. He barked in response.
I rolled down the windows a crack, then climbed out and shut my door, beeping my locks as I walked away. I passed the bakery and a mail and copy shop before hitting Second Chances. An antique bell tinkled as I pulled open the door.
“I’ll be out to help you in just a minute,” a voice called from the back.
“Take your time,” I returned.
I wound my way down one side of the narrow shop and knew that it wasn’t Bruno at risk of drooling. It was me. The furniture pieces had been meticulously restored with a bit of whimsy in many of the color choices—lots of blue-green sea tones with the occasional pink pop. Even the more practical grays and browns had unique accents.
A sideboard made my breath catch, and I bent to peek at the tag. I then proceeded to nearly swallow my tongue. This place was way out of my price range.
“Piper, I’m so glad you stopped by,” Bell greeted.
I straightened, releasing the piece of paper that might as well have burned my fingers. “I’m trying not to drool over your gorgeous pieces. Where did you find them all?”
She beamed. “I’m so happy you like them. I hunt just about everywhere. Garage sales, estate auctions. I’ve picked up more than a few pieces on the side of the road. My fiancé thinks I’m crazy.”
“You found some of this stuff on the side of the road?” If that was the case, I clearly needed to start driving the neighborhoods of Anchor.
Bell chuckled. “Well, they didn’t look like this before. I’ve restored just about everything in this shop. Not the little decorative odds and ends, but all of the furniture.”
I surveyed the space with new eyes. Bell certainly had the vision and the skill. “That’s amazing.”
“Thank you. Are you looking for some pieces for your resort?”
“I wish I could buy about half the store, but I’m afraid you’re a bit out of my price range. This restoration is going to bleed me dry.”
Bell winced. “I know how that is. We just finished a remodel on our house not too long ago. I thought it was going to kill me.”
“It always takes longer, and costs more than you think.” I’d learned that time and again working with Nathan and Vic. I’d hoped to get lucky with Whispering Falls, but I didn’t think that would be the case.
“Isn’t that the truth?” She paused for a moment, taking me in. “Come with me.” She flipped the sign on the door to Closed and threw the lock, motioning for me to follow her. Bell led me through the store and out the back door. Across the alley was a much larger building that looked as if it had been a garage at one point.
She keyed in a code and entered. “This is where the magic happens.”
I stepped inside and gasped. There were what seemed like endless rows of furniture. Mostly wooden pieces in various states of distress, but a few were in mid-restoration stages. I found myself pulled to a stripped and re-sanded desk. It only waited for paint. My fingers dusted over its surface. “What color are you going for?”
“She’ll be a deep blue-gray when she’s done.”
“Perfect. You know antiqued brass accents would look great.”
Bell arched a brow. “You’ve got an eye.”
“I have an interior design degree, and my uncles have a home-restoration business. They specialize in historic houses and are always trying to blend the old with the new. I love the process.”
“Me, too,” she said, crouching low to check some invisible detail on the desk. “There’s just something about bringing a piece back to life, especially if it was neglected or damaged. It never gets old.”
A burn lit along my sternum. “Finding a new purpose for something that was lost or forgotten.”
“That’s it, exactly.”
It was why I’d continued working with my uncles even through college and after I’d gotten a job. It gave me hope. No matter how long something had gone unseen and abandoned, it was always possible to give it life again.
“Piper?”
Bell’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. “Sorry, got lost there for a minute. Anything with history will do that to me.”
She straightened from her crouch. “I knew I liked you from the minute I met you.”
I covered my face with my hands and groaned. “You mean when I unloaded on a perfect stranger in the middle of a hardware store?”
“You were stressed.”
“Understatement.”
“Well, I appreciated the honest moment.”
I chuckled. “I’m glad I didn’t scare you off.”
She tapped the desk with her knuckles. “You certainly didn’t. Tell you what? I hit up the estate and garage sales almost every weekend. Why don’t you come with me? We can find you some bargains that you can refurbish yourself. I’m sure if you’ve worked on old homes, you can handle furniture. And I can give you pointers if you get stuck.”
“I’d love that.”
“Awesome. Now, tell me, how’s Hunter doing on your resort? Not making too much trouble for you, is he?”
“You know Hunter?” Though it was a tiny island, Bell probably knew most people. Still, I had a sudden panicked thought that Hunter might be Bell’s fiancé. It was ridiculous for that possibility to send my stomach into freefall, but that knowledge didn’t stop the tumbling sensation.
“Pretty much since we were born. He’s my soon-to-be brother-in-law.”
I didn’t want to look too closely at the cool relief sweeping through my veins. The last thing I needed was to get distracted by a man. Especially not when I would be spending every ounce of energy I had getting the Falls back on its feet. “Small world.”
“Small island,” Bell chided.
“True. He’s been great. It was really nice of him to start on some projects himself before his crew made it over.”
Worry flashed across Bell’s expression. “He’s not overdoing it, is he?”
“I don’t think so. I’ve been trying to help out as much as I can. He told me about his shoulder injury. He’s okay, right?” I wanted to ask more. What had happened? How? It seemed that I had a million and one nosy questions I wanted to ask when it came to Hunter, but I held them back.
“He’ll be fine. He’s just not great at moderation. Once he has a vision for a place, it’s full speed ahead.”
I understood that drive. I was chomping at the bit to bring the picture in my mind for the Falls to life. “He’s had some great ideas for the cabins already. I think I lucked out finding him and his company.”
“Hunter really could be an architect. He just didn’t get the degree. He had so many genius ideas for Ford’s and my place.”
“Let’s hope he brings that genius to Whispering Falls.”
“I’m sure he will.”