No sense dwelling on it now though. It would only make the hours till Olivia’s call drag out. She pushed all thoughts of Jonah and the job away.
Graham trotted ahead on the trail, tail wagging. Then he turned and waited for her, wearing that doggy smile she was becoming familiar with.
“Are you excited to see the barn? Huh? It’s just so exciting, isn’t it?”
Moments later as they broke through the clearing, Lauren smiled too. The barn was the perfect shade of rustic red, and the white trim set off the windows and new barn doors in just the way she’d imagined.
A crew would be out to reshingle the roof next week, and then the new windows would be installed. The barn would be dried in by the end ofOctober just as she’d hoped. The kitchen and bathrooms would be framed by then, just in time for electrical and plumbing.
She walked the perimeter of the building, inspecting the work. The crew had done a terrific job. She’d leave a nice review online. When she reached the barn doors again, she slid them open. They glided along the track without a single squawk.
Graham bounded inside the dank space and she followed. Nothing new in here, but she couldn’t resist the urge to view it again, to make certain she hadn’t forgotten any component of the project. There would be no time for mistakes if it was going to be finished before her departure in December.
If she would even be here that long. If Olivia offered the job to the other woman, would there be any point in staying?
She shut off the negative thought and pored over every square foot of the space, making notes on her phone as she went. Questions for the flooring crew, for the electrician and plumber, the heating and cooling people. There was a lot of work to do in just two months.
Her gaze snagged on Graham who stood near the wall on the far side of the barn. He sniffed the ground, tail tucked low. “What’s wrong, buddy?”
The instant the words were out of her mouth, she realized. That was where she’d fallen. She joined Graham, but he continued his incessant sniffing. A dark spot stained the wood. Blood. She envisioned her body lying there on the floor, sprawled and still, as Jonah had described.
Her focus moved to the ladder propped again on the wall near the loft. It stretched upward about twenty feet, and for the first time she envisioned herself falling. She could almost hear the thud of her body hitting the wood floor. The thunk of her head striking the ground.
She winced. A chill swept down her arms. She was glad she couldn’t remember the accident. Imagining it was bad enough.
As if he was reliving the accident, too, Graham whimpered. She reached down and comforted him. It could’ve been so much worse.She could’ve died. It happened sometimes—a hard knock to the head like that. She could’ve died at the age of twenty-six with her whole life ahead of her.
Thank You, God.
She’d been so busy mourning the decisions she’d made over the summer, she hadn’t stopped once to be thankful she’d survived that fall. It could’ve all ended on September seventh. She never would’ve gotten the chance to realize her career goals. Would’ve never had the chance to marry or become a mother.
She would’ve missed the opportunity to have any kind of closure with her own mother, who Lauren assumed was still out there somewhere living her own life. Would Lauren have regretted that? As always happened when she thought of her mother, the boulder returned, weighting her chest.
Chapter 25
Jonah avoided the resort until Sunday afternoon. He knew Lauren well enough to realize she needed space. Even after two days he still wasn’t sure how he’d be received. That was how he found himself in the lodge, straightening the brochures, adding oil to door hinges, and vacuuming the floor.
His truck was in the lot. If she wanted to seek him out, she could. If not... the lodge could stand a little extra attention.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned and found his mom staring at him as if he had three heads. He flipped off the vacuum, ushering in silence. “What’s wrong?”
“What are you doing in here? I told Lauren you’d come help her. Didn’t you see how many guests signed up for the pumpkin carving?”
Jonah glanced out the window though he couldn’t see the pavilion from here. So close yet so far. He remembered the anger sparking in Lauren’s eyes on Friday. The flaring of her nostrils. The tears trickling down her cheeks. “Maybe you should help her.”
Mom crossed her arms and pinned him with a gaze that made him squirm. “Funny, she said the same thing. What happened between you two? You were getting along so well.”
“Lauren found out she gave up the job in Boston.”
Mom’s eyes lit. “She remembered?”
“No, she called Olivia.”
“Oh.” Mom’s brows pressed together. “I guess she was pretty upset about it.”
“An understatement. I should’ve told her right away.” He’d been beating himself up all weekend. “Now she hates me.”
