Page 4 of Coastal Reflections

Theo held his hands up defensively in a “don’t shoot” gesture. “I know what it’s like to enjoy your work. I love being a mechanic.”

“Mm, okay, well, I’ve heard you grumble about it plenty of times.”

“Sure, well, that’s when you think something is going to take an hour and it ends up taking you two days⁠—”

Michelle uttered a long-suffering sigh, rolling her eyes, and turned to the guest book, busying herself with checking to see when certain rooms would be available again. She was confident that her spreadsheet was up to date, but it never hurt to double check.

“What was so fun about the conversation?” Theo asked, leaning in the doorway of the parlor. He always seemed to be leaning on something. Leaning toward her, as a matter of fact.

“Well, she was just really fun to talk to. She lives in Florida, but she wants to come up here for a vacation to be near her relatives who live on a farm near Coral Sands. She works as a dog breeder, and she didn’t mention having a husband or anything. I always love imagining the backstories of the people who come to stay here and thinking about how coming here to The Birchwood House might make their lives better. Like, maybe she’ll fall in love with someone here in town. Maybe she’s haunted by the tragic loss of her one true love, except he’s not actually her only true love, because she’ll find another.”

“Yeah—a veterinarian with hints of gray at his temples and a strong jawline who’s just dying to go live on a dog breeder’s farm in Florida and together they’re going to have a bunch of babies just like⁠—”

“Stop, you.” Michelle threw a paper clip at him. “I think me wanting her to find love if she doesn’t already have it is sweet. I love thinking about the lives of the people who come stay in our house. They all seem so exciting and fascinating. There’s nothing wrong with thinking about them.”

“Wrong, no, silly yes.” Theo laughed. “None of those people’s lives are any more interesting than yours.”

Michelle shook her head, sighing. She didn’t know how to explain to him that the guests of The Birchwood House felt to her like living, breathing novels that she might get to read a little bit of—and she might even get to witness parts of their story. That idea thrilled her, and she didn’t want Theo to knock it down or tell her that she was silly again. “Why did you come in here, anyway? Just to annoy me?”

Theo smirked and laid a coupon down on the desk. “We’re running a deal for half-off on an oil change and I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss out.”

“Oh, sure. Okay, um, thanks.” She took the coupon half-heartedly, although she realized that her car would be due for an oil change probably in the next few days. Theo’s timing was pretty uncanny.

“See you later, then,” Theo said, waving. He left The Birchwood House using the front door, and he glanced back at Michelle one more time before exiting.

She waved at him, holding back a smile. He was a quirky guy, that was for sure. She looked down at the coupon, thinking to herself that it was a lame excuse to walk all the way to The Birchwood House. He could have just texted her about the coupon.

As she was looking down at the little piece of paper, her eyebrows lifted and then she started to laugh. It was clearly home-made and printed on computer paper. Although the auto shop’s company logo was on it, the rest of the coupon looked as though it had been hurriedly thrown together on a computer and then printed on white paper that had been cut into a sloppy rectangle.

Am I the only one he gave this to? she thought, smirking. She glanced up at the door that Theo had just left through, and for a second, she thought she saw a shadow move behind the stained glass that bordered the door. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s come up with a silly excuse to cross paths with me.

For a second, she stared into space, laughing a little and wondering why he wouldn’t just say outright that he wanted to talk to her. In the next moment, however, she put thoughts of Theo from her mind as the phone rang again.

CHAPTER THREE

Elaine shifted the brown paper bags in her arms as she strolled along Coral Sands’ main street. It was a blustery autumn day, but despite the chilliness in the air, she loved being outdoors. She loved the way the air started to smell crisp and spicy in the fall, as if it was being scented by all of the leaves. Overhead, the sky was a breathtaking blue, and the warmth of the sun offered a pleasant contrast to the cold.

She’d been busy all afternoon, running errands for The Birchwood House. She’d gone to the grocery store and driven back a car full of grocery bags, and then set out on foot because she wanted to enjoy the beautiful day. She’d picked up bars of soap and some hand lotions from a local gift shop, since they always furnished every room with welcome baskets and she wanted to make sure they didn’t run out of the supplies they needed for those. After that, she’d stopped at the hardware store and purchased kerosine for the kerosine lamps that they liked to light in the parlor at night. The lamps gave The Birchwood House a cozy atmosphere and they made Elaine feel as if they were able to travel back in time, just a little. The guests loved them as well, which was all the encouragement Elaine needed to keep up the habit.

Although the bags were somewhat heavy, she was enjoying her walk and wondering if there was anywhere else she should go before returning to the mansion. She was only a couple of blocks away from home, and she considered returning to the hotel to drop her bags off and then walking back to the main street to continue shopping.

Suddenly, however, she caught sight of Townsend’s Bakery, its windows gleaming in the golden late afternoon sunlight.

Oh, I have to stop there, she thought, picking up her pace. I want to talk to Shep before they close.

Suddenly feeling lighthearted, she began to whistle slightly as she made her way toward the bakery. She arrived just as the old Lutheran church’s bells began to chime the hour, but she hurried forward and stepped inside the shop just as Iris was about to lock the doors.

“Could I have a minute, Iris?” Elaine asked with a smile, slightly out of breath because of how quickly she’d been walking.

Iris, who was holding the key to the bakery in her hands, smiled knowingly. “Come on in,” she said. “Shep’s in the kitchen.”

Iris was, for the most part, the face of Townsend’s Bakery, since Shep Townsend preferred to keep to his kitchen and seldom ventured out to talk to anyone. Elaine had managed to arrange a partnership between the bakery and The Birchwood House, but only after she’d barged into Shep’s kitchen a couple of times, insisting on talking with him.

Elaine and Iris had always thought well of each other, but their friendship had strengthened ever since the business partnership had begun. Spending time with Elaine had caused Shep to start being slightly less reclusive, and he’d even come out of the kitchen to greet customers every now and again. Iris always encouraged Elaine to do anything that might help pull Shep out of his shell, and Elaine knew that his happiness was a shared goal of theirs.

“Shep!” Iris called loudly. “Elaine is here!”

Almost instantly, Shep stepped out of the kitchen, drying his hands on a green and white checkered towel. “Hello, Elaine,” he said, smiling at her fondly. “Michelle already came and picked up the evening order of cookies for your guests.” Shep had suggested once that they add cookies to the welcome baskets, and all of the Sutton women had agreed that was a wonderful idea.