He didn’t move as he stared at her and waited. After a moment, he started cracking every knuckle on his right hand, the way he always did when nerves were getting the better of him.
“It’s not going to end like this,” he said.
“Maybe not, but I still need you to leave,” she said, proud of how steady she managed to sound.
Sebastian closed the lid on his suitcase and secured the lock. “I still want to deliver Margo’s research to you. We’ll take this up again after you’ve had time to think,” he said gently before heading to the door and closing it softly behind him.
“You’re not seriously thinking of having anything to do with that guy, are you?” Anger made Jack’s voice tight.
“No,” she whispered. “Of course not.” She shook herself and cleared her throat. “We should get back to working on the clock.”
Jack gave a terse nod, but it occurred to her . . . tonight was the first time she’d seen Jack jealous on her behalf, and she cared enough about him to find that oddly wonderful.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jack arrived at the Roost early. The nip of autumn was in the air, and dew on the grass glittered like diamonds as the sun rose. He stood before the Roost, its sagging lines and dark wood looking bedraggled and derelict, and he couldn’t help but smile.
This was its last day located on this patch of land where it had sat for more than three centuries. Within the hour, a crane would lift the roof and carry it to a new location. Every board, window, and stone would be taken apart. Alice’s sentimentality must be getting to him, because it was hard not to mourn just a bit for the old Roost.
“You’ve had quite a run,” he whispered to the building. Soon it would be better than ever, positioned atop a solid foundation, wired for electricity, reinforced, and spiffed up, but it was still sad to see it taken apart. Nothing would ever be quite the same.
He was still staring at the Roost like a sentimental fool when Alice joined him. She looked unbelievably sexy in a slim-fitting suede jacket and tall leather boots. He slid an arm around her, and she was trembling. It was chilly, but not that cold.
He pulled her in front of him and wrapped her in his arms. “How are you doing, pretty lady?”
She shrugged. “I’ve been better. I know this is the right thing to do to save this place, but it will be hard to see it taken apart.”
“Heard anything else from that fancy actor?”
She laughed a little. “Not a word. My head is screwed on a little tighter this morning.”
He smoothed a strand of hair behind the shell of her ear. “Good,” he said gently, relieved she had found her equilibrium.
Over the next hour, the heavy construction equipment arrived, the crane rumbling and moving toward the Roost like a vulture. Construction workers scrambled across the roof, securing cables and preparing for the lift. A few members of the press had arrived because dismantling the historic landmark was going to make the evening news.
Alice seemed determined to put a good face on things. “At least the Baltimore Ravens flag is gone, never to be seen again.”
“I’ll fly it outside my hotel room,” he teased. He had been staying in the classy historic hotel owned by the Tuckers. Daisy Tucker gave him a good rate since she was still trying to curry his favor over the spat about the Roost.
Soon the construction crew had secured the cables to the roof, then they climbed down and the lifting was ready to begin. The engine of the crane rumbled, the driver pulled levers, and the cables went taut. The rumbling from the crane grew louder.
Alice rotated in his arms, burying her face in the crook of his neck. Every muscle in her body was tense, and she trembled even more.
“You’re going to be okay,” he murmured against her hair.
“I know, but I can’t watch.”
She didn’t sound okay, and even he flinched a little as the roof began to lift a few inches. Bystanders began cheering, cameras were rolling, and the roof swayed as it was lifted higher.
Alice hugged him tighter. She was hating this, and the cheers from the crowd probably made it worse.
“Soon, the Roost will be put back together and welcoming thousands of people every month,” he murmured against her hair. “It will be bigger and safer. You will have done your magic on the inside, and Reid’s Roost will be the most popular gathering spot in all of Virginia. Once, this place was a home for people struggling to survive in the wilderness. It was a gristmill, a brewery, a hospital during the Civil War. It was a place where a lonely golf course designer and a drunk once camped out.”
She smothered a laugh against his shoulder, but the creaking of the roof as it swayed in the air was nerve-racking. The crane rotated, carrying the roof clear of the building. The Roost looked strangely decapitated without the steeply pitched roof atop it, and he squeezed Alice tighter.
“Alice, this place has a new lease on life becauseyoumade it happen. No matter how long either of us lives, the Roost is going to outlast us both and be here for generations to come.”
“Thanks, Jack,” she whispered against his neck, the tears in her voice making his heart squeeze.
