I satat the chipped wooden breakfast table, scrolling through TripAdvisor’s top ten things to do in London. There was a Harry Potter immersive experience. Would Marissa even like that? I had a stack of brochures and papers spread over the table. Hopefully Carol and the other two random guests staying at the B&B wouldn’t mind my mess. Marissa kept her end of our deal with getting me a place to stay, and I needed to make sure I kept mine. After all, planning was no joking matter.
My stomach was a jumbled mess after Marissa opened up to me last night. Carol wanted her to take over the B&B?But she didn’t want the business, right?I was certain Marissa had never mentioned running the B&B before.
Carol sat down with her cup of coffee and glanced at the papers. “Those for you?”
Oh great, she was going to think I was running off. “No, for Marissa.”
She raised one eyebrow. “So, you and Marissa area thing?”
I needed to stop that rumor before it caught and spread. “Nope. Just friends.”
Okay, not just friends based on how often I thought of kissing her, but either way, nothing serious.
“Is she having you plan a trip for her?” Carol nodded to the brochures and blew on her coffee. “Are you going too?”
“Nope.” I stacked the papers into even piles. “I offered to help her if she convinced you to let me stay here.” I flinched. That didn’t sound good. “It was for her own good, though. Did you know she was planning on leaving? Going to another country with zero plans?” I shuddered at all that could go wrong. “Just winging it?”
Carol chuckled. “That doesn’t surprise me. I think she believes that if she doesn’t plan life, it will hurt less if it doesn’t work out how she wants.” Carol picked up a printout about Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guards.
I thought back to the scars across her stomach. Life had not been easy for Marissa. “Is that because of the accident?”
Carol’s eyes widened. “She told you about the accident?” The paper stilled in her hand. “Or was it someone else?”
“She told me, kinda. She only said that her parents died, and that’s how she ended up living in Hillsdale. I could tell she didn’t want to talk about it more. I didn’t press.”
Carol raised her eyebrows. “She never talks about it. To anyone. Except maybe Rose. Even then, I doubt it.” She set down the palace paper and picked up one about the tour of Bath. I went back to scrolling my computer, saying nothing. I resisted the urge to use Carol to find out more about Marissa’s past. “She is tricky, that Marissa.” Carol thumbed through more papers. “Wow. You should have her try this.”
Carol pulled out a paper with a “Meet your Match” romantic getaway package. There was speed dating, dancing lessons, making pasta, the whole thing. Heat rushed through my chest as I imagined her dancing through Europe in some random man’s arms. Hewould probably wear a wool scarf, have an accent, and be a duke or something ridiculous.
I closed my eyes, trying to clear the image and my unexplained anger away. I opened my eyes to Carol’s smug smile.
“Interesting . . . friends . . .”
I groaned. “Carol, it’s nothing.”
“Doesn’t look like nothing.” She smirked, finished her coffee, and stood from the table. I shook my head and grabbed my plate with remnants of bacon and eggs and followed her to the kitchen. I looked around the worn space. It had a safe, welcoming vibe. I hoped the investor would be good to the property when they took it over.
Carol glanced at me sideways as I started filling the kitchen sink with warm water. “I’m still not sure if you are here to stay or for something else . . .”
I froze. What did she mean? I hadn’t said anything about Raymond & Johnson Law Firm out loud, right?
“But I noticed the repairs around the house are magically fixing themselves, and I appreciate it. I don’t even know how you reached the light over the stairway. That one has been out for three years.”
I knew the one she referred to. Even with my height, I needed to use a ladder and lean precariously on the banister. “It would be easier if I didn’t need to sneak around and guess what needs doing.” I nodded to her. “Maybe you could give me a list?”
Carol turned to face me. Her eyes bored into mine, pleading. “I’ll see to a list, but Scott, do not hurt those boys. Or Marissa.” Carol’s eyes were full of emotion and I couldn’t look away.
The air caught in my lungs and my chest tightened. Somehow that group of boys and Marissa had made it past the boundaries I put up to keep them at a distance, and the thought of hurting them made me feel sick. “I don’t plan on it, Carol. Promise.”
Carol nodded, grabbed a towel from the stove and dried herhands off. “Let’s talk about rent too. How about $250.00 and whatever time you can give to help me around the B&B?”
“That would be great. Thank you.”
Carol nodded and looked out the window. There was an older woman in a puffy jacket walking around outside shaking a bag of cat food. “Alright, I got to go help Betty Ann. Seems that she lost her cat . . . again.” And with that, Carol sighed. “I better go before she gets it in her mind she can climb trees.” She hurried out of the kitchen.
I stayed and finished rinsing the dishes. Outside the kitchen window, the large maple trees in the yard had dropped piles of orange and yellow leaves. A mom and her child threw the piles of color back and forth, laughing. If Carol sold the property, would this still be a place where people could come and enjoy all the grounds offered, or would they only belong on the property as employees and not share in its beauty? That would be a shame.
Tonight, the town would come together as ghosts and goblins here at the B&B. A place where they belonged, because Carol had always made sure everyone in this town had access to it. The boys thought of this as a second home. Marissa had taken to planning the trunk-or-treat and shined. I loved watching her excitement in it all. I loved watching her, period. She said she couldn’t imagine herself running this place, but I could.
