Inn Love (Chapters 15-17)

Chapter Fifteen

            At nine that morning, Anders phoned his father to deliver the news about his latest venture. He dreaded the phone call, knowing that his father would say to demolish the building, which is exactly what Blair had done. Anders normally would have just gone along with whatever his father had said, but today, a day in which he started out the morning by hugging a stuffed, pink, toy lion, and eating some still delicious left-over pastries he had argued with his father. 
            “No, Dad, I think you should come see this place,” Anders felt disbelief at his own words, looking at his reflection in the rear-view mirror of his brother’s truck which he’d borrowed earlier that morning. “It’s different, here. It’s not meant for condos.” A flash of what could be came into his mind and Anders tried to hold onto the feeling of everything being right in the world, an unfamiliar feeling that scared him a bit, though it was nice for as long as it lasted.
            “Son, I read your report that you left on my desk”, Anders imagined his father, a granite-like block of man sitting up straight behind his glass and chrome desk, glasses perched on his nose as he flipped through the report. “I see no reason to try to save this place, I can’t imagine what you see in this property. But if you insist, I’ll make the trip up in two days. I’ll bring your mother as well, she might like the drive. Find us a place to stay and we’ll make a weekend of it.” Blair barked orders to his son.
            “Yes sir,” Anders said, and thought about how he would find them a place to stay, but no matter. He had won a small victory in convincing Blair to come to Millvale at all. 
            His father abruptly hung up the phone as Anders felt his brow break out in a sweat. “What do I do now?” he said aloud to his reflection. His reflection had no answers for him. 
            When Anders borrowed the truck from his brother, he had retrieved the keys from Alec and Valentina who were huddled around a small camp fire down by the old mill where they had pitched their tent.  When Anders left Jane’s house, he walked through town and discovered it was wooing him with its charms. Old Victorian houses with well kept gardens lined the street, with the sidewalk running close to the front doors of the homes so it would be easy to say hello to your neighbours. It was a warm and inviting place, with much to offer in terms of beauty and scenery, but not much to offer in terms of amenities and entertainment. Though there was an old railway track that had been turned into a conservation and walking trail, aside from the building that housed the café, travel agency, hairdresser, and variety store, there was not much else to see and do, except maybe some fishing in the meandering creek down by the mill at the back of the café property. As Anders walked through the town, he felt more and more at home, his bones settling into the quiet pace of the streets, the sound of the creek rippling through the air soothing him. 
            Deciding to take a drive to see what lay in the neighbouring town, Anders took the truck, and pulled off the side of the road to phone his father. Now, he continued his journey, past sod and potato farms, horses and cows behind wire fences, on a wide-open road that lead straight to the larger town of Bellfield. Here he found a dry cleaner, where he dropped off Jane’s husband’s t-shirts. Then he found a farm supply store and bought himself some working clothes, so he could pitch in around the café with the clean up. He found a small bistro where he ordered coffees and breakfast sandwiches to take back with him. The town was quaint, with interesting art shops, some small restaurants, a bowling alley, and a theatre. On his way back to Millvale, he took a different route and discovered there was a ski resort within a few minutes drive, as well as three golf courses in the area. 
Anders also spotted a nice-looking bungalow for rent on his drive back. He pulled into the driveway and phoned the realtor who came to meet him quickly. Anders toured the house, discovering the property was warm and inviting, and was available for rent on a nightly basis as well as for longer term. The place was furnished in warm tones, like his office. He felt at home, and notice his shoulders relaxed a bit. He would stay here for the next few days, give his parents a place to stay, and maybe even Alec and Valentina too. Then he would show his father around and try to convince the difficult man that an inn was what the area needed. 
A plan was developing in his mind when he pulled up in front of the café, to find his brother and his bride, along with Iris, Fae, and an older man working on clearing out the debris from the ceiling collapse. He soon discovered the man was Ed, Ellie’s bus driver, and by the looks of things, Fae’s boyfriend. 
The business owners in the other shops were here too, looking out for their friends and lending a hand. It was clear that the people of Millvale looked out for their own. Anders handed round the goodies, including the now cold coffee he’d brought with him to the crowd of rag tag helpers who had assembled, feeling like one of the crowd, even though he knew that the people who owned businesses here were suspicious of his presence. He couldn’t blame them, and he wanted to reassure them that he was there to help, not destroy their lives. But it was too early for him to say anything. So, he got stuck in with the cleaning effort to try to prove through his actions that he wanted to look after the businesses of Millvale. When a quiet moment came, he pulled Alec aside and they put their heads together as to what they would tell Blair when he showed up, and how to break the news to Jane when they saw her again. 

Chapter Sixteen

            Later that afternoon, Meredith called. Anders was surprised to see her number light up his phone. Answering on the third ring, a lump of guilt ran down his throat. Anders forgot about Meredith. That can’t be right, could it? He wanted to marry her, and he hadn’t thought about her at all since he got to Millvale. He was just preoccupied with the café and now with finding a place for his parents to stay, and the plan he was developing to save the space. That’s all. Without warning, the image of Jane smashing her face floated into his mind while Meredith told him about the latest funeral they’d had yesterday. He caught himself drifting into the memory instead of listening to his girlfriend. He’d never minded listening to Meredith’s funeral stories before, why did he stop listening to them now? He was just tired from staying in a new place and all the physical labour he’d been doing. 
            “Honey, I’m really tired,” Anders said, feeling slightly panicked. “Do you mind if I phone you again tomorrow?
            “Yes, alright,” Meredith said sounding just as she always did. Calm, collected. “Any idea of how long you will be in Millvale?” She asked.
            “I’ll be here for a few days, my parents are coming to check out the café property,” Anders responded, feeling a bit surly at her questioning him. He shook it off. “I’ve rented a house until Monday next week so we’d all have a place to stay.”
            “That’s a great idea,” Meredith said, and Anders agreed that it was a great idea too. Close to the café, close to his project that he hoped he’d be able to make work, and close to Jane and Ellie. He shook his head again. He really must be tired. Why did he keep thinking about Jane? And now Ellie too?
            “Okay, Meredith. I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” he felt the urgent need to get off the phone and figure out his mind. 
            “Good bye, Anders,” Meredith said.
            “Bye,” he said quickly and hung up his phone. Maybe he should have a nap. He could try out one of the beds in the house he’d rented. He’d set up a little work station after the day of clean up finished. Insurance adjusters had come to inspect the property. He, along with the crew they’d assembled, finished clearing away as much debris as they could. Alec and he had climbed on rooves and tarped what ever looked like it might leak. A meeting was made for the next morning that would convene at Ander’s house around the large oak dining table that came with the place. He would present his ideas to the group. If they liked them, he would show them to his father the next day. 
            After he left the clean up crew, and before he came back to the house, Anders stocked up on some snacks and drinks, and bought an orchid, his mother’s favourite, to put in the window. Somehow, he hoped that having her favourite flower would make up for this house, that he knew his parents would hate. Anders, on the other hand, really liked it here. There was a large fenced yard in the back, and the property had a long winding driveway, which was always something he’d dreamt of having since he moved into the condo. The idea of walking down a peaceful lane each morning to pick up the paper appealed to him. The yard was flanked by a forest on one side and a corn field on the other. The interior of the house was just what he would like in his dream home. Aside from a few different choices in paint colours, he could see himself in a place like this. Comfortable furniture, fire in the fireplace, happy photos on the mantle, some toys scattered around. In his mind, the place felt like home already. 
             This wasn’t his home. It was a temporary stop, required only to accomplish the job he had been sent to do. He looked at the clock on the kitchen wall that he could see from his work station in the dining area. It was a quarter to five. He was to be at Jane’s house at five thirty, on invitation for dinner from Ellie. Evidently, it was the last day of school for the year and she wanted to have a celebration dinner. How could he resist a celebration dinner during all the upheaval he’d been dealing with the past few days? He’d even bought her a small gift when he was shopping. He decided that instead of a nap, he’d have a shower to sooth the sore muscles and revive some sense of normalcy to his mind. 
After his shower, he dressed in some of the new clothes he bought that day. A white golf shirt and jeans he’d picked up at the men’s clothing store he’d found in Bellfield. He was surprised at all the interesting and useful stores he’d found. There was also a big box department store, that had groceries and other things one might need like diapers, kid’s clothes, and tires. One stop shopping at its finest. Exactly what he needed, where he needed it. He also had time to pick up Tom’s t-shirts on his way through town. Imagine, it was cleaned in less than one day. Anders supposed that was one of the perks of small town living. Not so many other people in the way. 
            In the yard, he waved to Alec, who was loading a contraption made from P.V.C. pipes in the back of the truck. 
            “What’s that?” he asked as he climbed in next to Valentina who was in the middle of the bench seat. 
            “You’ll see,” said Alec, with a half happy, have excited smile on his face that he tried to hide when he climbed in the driver’s seat. 
            They drove down the winding drive and out onto the road that took them back into town, to Jane’s house. 

Chapter Seventeen

            Jane sat on the couch, holding a bag of frozen peas to her forehead. She was feeling much better, though her head still throbbed a bit. Two doses of those extra strong pain killers and sleeping all day had done wonders. She had managed to have a shower, being careful to avoid the still darkening lump from where she’d hit her head, and she had gotten dressed in shorts and a t-shirt with her damp hair thrown up in a messy pony tail on top of her head. As she rested from the effort, she smiled at Ellie and her best friend Sally who were sitting at the kitchen table working on her new cookie binder and laughing, happy to be done school for another year. 
            Jane had felt terrible when Ellie came home singing “No more pencils, no more books…”, and celebrating the end of another school year. Jane had completely forgotten that school was ending this week. With the worries of the café, the flood, and thinking about how they would pay for a new wheel chair for Ellie, Jane had just let it slip from her mind. But Ellie hadn’t minded. She had planned a party for herself, asked her grandmother to cook, and now Iris, Ed, Valentina, Alec and Anders Brookstone were all coming over for dinner. A bit of a strange group, but Ellie had taken to Valentina right away. Jane smiled to herself and thought about how confident and capable her daughter was becoming. Though the thought of Ellie out there in the world alone frightened her more than she wanted to admit, Tom would be so proud of how she was growing into her own person. She felt a lump rising in her throat just as the doorbell rang. 
            “I’ll get it”, she called into the kitchen and quickly let out a breath to erase the sad memory. Today she would have some fun and celebrate with her daughter. Despite everything else that was weighing on her mind. She let the hand holding the peas drop from her face to her side as the door opened. 
            “Ouch,” Iris said, giving a quick hug to Jane in the doorway. Her curls floated around her shoulders, rubbing slightly against the goose egg on Jane’s face. 
            “Yeah,” Jane said with a half-hearted chuckle. Behind Iris followed Ed, who was smartly dressed in tan slacks and a crisp blue polo shirt that complimented his greying hair. 
            “Hi Jane, these are for you. I hope you’re feeling better,” Ed handed her a small bunch of deep pink carnations. In his hands he held two more bunches of flowers. One, a nosegay of yellow daisies for Ellie to celebrate the end of school and to thank her for all the cookies she’d made for him over the past school year. 
            “Thanks Ed,” Jane called over her shoulder after Ed, who was delivering the third bunch of flowers to her mother. A small bouquet of pink sweetheart roses that were the approximate shade of Ed’s cheeks as he gave them to her. This impromptu dinner fell one day before their date, for which both Ed and Fae were obviously excited. Ed offered to help with the dinner preparations. After handing him an apron, Fae had him set to work chopping cucumbers for the salad. Ellie pushed her walker over to the cupboard and pulled out three mason jars for the flowers. 
            “Let’s all have vases of our own,” she said, filling them with water and putting her daisies in the centre of the dining table. 
            “Good idea, sweetie,” Jane said. She turned to put her flowers in their jar when she saw the Brookstone truck pulling over to the sidewalk. She waited in the doorway to greet them. Valentina gave her a big hug, and a jar of camomile paste she whipped up.
            “It will sooth your lump,” she said with her thick accent, making the thought of smearing weird herb paste on her forehead sound somewhat appealing to Jane. 
            “Thank you,” Jane said smiling. 
            “Valentina,” Ellie shouted excitedly from the kitchen. “Come meet my friend Sally.” 
            “Hello lovely Ellie, and Sally, it’s nice to meet you,” Valentina’s voice drifted toward the kitchen, where the girls started laughing over something Jane didn’t catch. She smiled though at all the happy noises coming from the small room.
            “Hello Alec, come in,” she said to the blonde Brookstone brother. Alec nodded, trying to be polite and obviously not looking at Jane’s bruises. Bringing up the rear was Anders, who looked good, very good to Jane’s utter amazement. I mean, he was a good-looking guy, she had remembered that much, but seeing him now, dressed in jeans with a well-fitting polo shirt loosely tucked was surprising. He looked normal, like a regular guy who wasn’t out to ruin her business. “Careful Jane,” she said to herself. But why would she need to be careful? She was not interested in dating, never mind this guy, of all the men who came into her café. Never this guy. 
            “I come bearing gifts, of sorts,” Anders said, holding out Tom’s shirts on wire hangers, covered in a dry-cleaning bag and a new binder for Ellie which he deposited on the kitchen table.
            “Awesome,” Sally said.
            “Thanks,” Ellie smiled.
            “Oh,” Jane said, surprised to be getting the shirt back so quickly. “Thank you. Let me just put these things down,” she said, feeling awkward. Placing the peas back in the freezer and her flowers in their vase. 
            “I’ll carry it,” he said, trying to follow her down the hallway to her room.
            “Um. No, that’s alright,” Jane said, taking hold of the opposite side of the hanger. Anders tugged back a bit and smiled at her, his eyes twinkling just a bit too much for her liking. “I wanted to talk to you, alone, if you don’t mind.” His smile waned and returned in a microsecond. Jane noticed, though she didn’t think Anders knew it had happened. 
            “Okay,” she said against her better judgement, and nodded for him to follow her down the hall, past the partiers in the kitchen who were all busy laughing and helping to get dinner ready. 
            When they reached the closed door to her room, Jane turned and said, “I’m sorry but it’s kind of a mess. I was not really feeling up to being neat today.” She frowned; Anders felt compelled to stroke her face and caress away the painful looking bruise. He resisted. 
            “It’s fine. Really,” he said instead. She opened the door. The room was just like he thought it would be. Cozy, like the rest of the house, with light blue walls and a blue quilt embellished with kittens in different fabric patterns chasing after colourful balls of yarn. A large bed, with a silver framed photo of Tom on one bedside table, his side he assumed, along with a reading lamp and some new looking books on her side. Dirty plates and cups sat there from her day in bed, alongside the bottle of pain killers. The windows were covered in yellow drapes, and there was a long, low white dresser on the wall opposite the bed. He liked it. He smiled at her. 
            “Your room is great,” he said with an approving nod.
            “Thanks,” she said, doubtfully. She took the shirts from him, discarding the hangers and bag on the end of the bed, pressing the fabric to her face. She was visibly disappointed as she neatly folded the shirt and put it back into a dresser drawer. She didn’t mention that she could no longer smell Tom on the shirt, even if that was never even possible, since he passed away so long ago. But in her memory, she could still smell him. The memory of that shirt had been altered since she saw Anders wearing it and would never be the same. She shook her head.
            “That’s a nice photo of your husband,” Anders gestured awkwardly to the framed picture. 
            “Thank you,” Jane focused on the frame, crossing the room to caress it. 
            “Ellie said he died in a motorcycle accident?” Anders let the question drift, hoping Jane would fill in the rest. 
            “Drunk driver ran a red light,” Jane offered up by way of an explanation.
            “I’m sorry,” Anders 
            “Me too,” Jane’s face looked hurt. Anders felt the need to take away the pain and crossed the room to stand close to her. He reached out to place a hand on her shoulder.
            “What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?” Jane said, dodging his hand then turning away slowing so as to prevent her head from spinning.
            Anders rubbed his hands nervously on his thighs. “I think you should sit down for this,” 
            “Okay,” Jane said, feeling butterflies rise in her chest. Anders took a few deep breaths. “You’re making me nervous,” Jane said. “Out with it.”
            “Okay, here goes,” Anders started. “I think I have a plan to save the café, and I wanted to run it past you first before I told everyone else. 
            “We need to save the café?” Jane knew in her heart they did but was hoping it wasn’t true. Her head throbbed a little. 
            “Yes, otherwise, my father will just tear the building down and put up condos,” Anders said, in a matter of fact voice of a businessman. Jane felt a cold chill settle on her skin, despite the hot weather outside. “My father is a tough man to please, trust me, I’ve had years of practice in disappointing him.”
            “Oh,” she said. She was quiet for a moment, thinking if she should kick him out or ask him to continue. She hoped what he would say was going to save her future, but how could she trust this man who was a near stranger? She decided to take a leap of faith. “Go on,” Jane said.
            “I want to turn the café, and the other businesses, into a beautiful hotel, with a restaurant and spa. I want to expand the café into something more. I think this is the perfect location for it,” Anders said all of this in one breath. “What do you think?”
            “How?” was all Jane had to say. 
            “We could use the insurance money you would get, along with the insurance money from the other tenants to make repairs to the building and to expand it to make the hotel, an inn, actually. I am going to meet with my father tomorrow to try to get the rest of the money as an investment from Brookstone Holdings.” Anders was quiet while Jane thought. The insurance money could buy a new wheelchair for Ellie. Maybe it was time Jane and her mother cut their losses and Jane got a regular job in the neighbouring town? She wondered what Fae would say? She would obviously need to talk to her before answering Anders. The insurance money would put them afloat for a few months, maybe even six months or more. Could she risk all of it on a new venture? She didn’t know if she had the strength to start over again. 
            “I don’t know,” she said, and Anders frowned. “I need to talk to my mom about all of this before I can agree to anything.”
            “Alright, I understand. I have a presentation I can show you both after dinner,” he patted the satchel slung across his body, which held his tablet, she assumed.  
            “Okay, I think that would help,” she said, smiling slightly. 
            “Great,” Anders said. They stood for an awkward moment of silence. Jane broke it by gesturing to the door. “I guess we should head back to the party to see what’s happening with dinner. I’m starving.” She wasn’t sure if she was hungry or if she might throw up, but mostly she wanted to end this conversation because her head was starting to swirl again, and she wanted this man out of her room. Anders began to walk ahead but stopped in the hall to look at her. 
            “I’m not going to lead you into ruin,” he said, looking so sincere that Jane felt the hard part of her heart that had his name on it shift a little. She nodded, staring back at him. He turned and walked to the kitchen, with Jane right on his heels.