Page 3 of Coastal Reflections

“Thank you,” Audrey said, delighted by how much the woman seemed to love The Birchwood House. Around her the soothing sounds of the hotel made their everyday music—the grandfather clock in the hallway ticked, one of the guests laughed loudly from the second floor, and the wind rustled the leaves of the birch trees that surrounded the house, letting the sound sigh in through the open windows.

I have such a blessed life, Audrey thought. I finally feel like I can relax and take a deep breath and enjoy having reached this place in my journey.

The Birchwood House was a haven to all of its guests, but it was also a haven to her, somewhere she felt safe and comfortable and excited about facing the future.

CHAPTER TWO

Michelle set down The Birchwood House’s phone and smiled as it made a satisfying click. As someone who was used to only ever using cellphones, she enjoyed working with the landline that they’d set up for the hotel. They’d purchased a phone that looked and operated like an old rotary dial phone, and it made her feel as if she was living in some kind of old movie.

She was sitting at the reception desk of The Birchwood House, a desk that they’d placed in the parlor, perpendicular to the doorway and facing the front door of the hotel. It was stocked with all the paperwork that needed to be handed out to guests upon their arrival, room keys, a computer, various notepads and spreadsheets, and of course the phone.

Michelle had loved working at the travel agency, and working the reception desk at The Birchwood House gave her all the things she’d loved about her old job. She got to help people choose a vacation for themselves that would allow them to feel revitalized. She loved interacting with customers and seeing them smile when they learned about all of the good things that were in store for them. She also loved organizing schedules and spreadsheets, and she kept the reception desk immaculately tidy and well-organized. She’d created a color-coded floorplan of The Birchwood House and she’d placed it in a frame and set it on the edge of the reception desk. She liked to be able to show potential guests the layout of the mansion so they knew just where they’d be staying as soon as they arrived at the hotel.

Michelle was without a doubt a people person, and she was greatly enjoying her managerial, front-facing role at The Birchwood House. She loved meeting all of the people who arrived at the hotel as guests and learning more about their stories. More than once, she’d gotten sidetracked talking with guests at the front desk.

Usually, when guests first arrived, they wanted to go straight to their rooms. But often they would wander the mansion once they were settled, and they would stop near Michelle’s desk and chat with her for a while. She was learning that that was her favorite part about running the hotel—getting to meet all kinds of people and getting to know who they were and what their lives were like.

She jotted down a note in one of her notebooks, taking down the information that the potential guest on the phone had given to her. The woman hadn’t booked a room yet, but she was interested in the mint room for the following weekend. Michelle wanted to write down the information so that she remembered not to give that room to anyone else.

She looked up from her notebook and squeaked in surprise when she saw Theo Hartman standing in front of her.

“Oh my gosh, you scared me,” she gasped, placing her hand on her heart.

“Don’t worry, I’m not a ghost,” Theo said cheerfully, his dark brown eyes dancing playfully.

“How on earth did you sneak up on me like that?” she asked, gesturing to the front door, which was behind him. “I always hear that door open.”

“I came in through the kitchen,” he confessed. “Your mom’s in there and she let me in. Then I came out here.”

“Oh, and chose to not talk above a whisper the whole time, huh? I can hear voices in the kitchen from here.”

Theo grinned, admitting his guilt. “I wanted to sneak up on you. Your mom thought it would be funny.”

“Oh, she was in on it? Hmm, I’ll have to prank her with a plastic spider or something later.”

“Hey, what a great idea.”

“Oh no, don’t even think about it.”

He leaned against her desk, crossing his lanky arms. “Admit it, you like this better than the antagonistic banter we always used to do.”

“No comment,” she said cheerfully. “Just know that my revenge will be terrible.”

When she was a kid, visiting Coral Sands with her parents, Michelle had been mortal enemies with Theo. He’d teased her mercilessly, and although she’d always known he was just being silly and meant well, when she was a kid she’d been too shy to come up with the kind of sharp retorts that she’d wanted to, and she’d found Theo incredibly irritating. When she moved back to Coral Sands as a young woman, she’d been able to spar with him verbally with ease, something that delighted them both.

I remember worrying that my life here in such a small town was going to end up feeling boring, she thought with a chuckle. No chance of that with this guy around. He’s always keeping me on my toes.

Lately, their connection had shifted from that of friendly enemies to something else. Michelle hadn’t come right out and admitted that their new vibe was a romantic one, but it was something that she knew in her core every time Theo came near her. For one thing, he was looking at her completely differently. For another, for a while there he had been showing up unexpectedly in all kinds of places where she was. She’d begun to suspect that he’d gone into buildings he had no real business being in simply because he’d seen her car in the parking lot. They’d finally had a conversation about getting to know each other better intentionally, and although they weren’t calling whatever they were “dating”, Michelle definitely felt butterflies whenever she saw him.

Well, butterflies and indignation. He was still infuriating.

“You sure seemed involved in that conversation you were having on the phone,” he said, still leaning against her desk. She realized that he smelled faintly of evergreen. Or was it mint?

“You sure have been watching me for way too long,” she retorted.

“Not at all. If I hadn’t been watching you that long, I wouldn’t have gotten to see how much you were geeking out about the fact that whoever that was on the phone is a dog breeder.”

Michelle raised her chin slightly. “It was a very fun conversation. Besides, it’s important to enjoy one’s work. Or do you think that everyone should be miserable at work?”