Page 10 of The Magical Bed & Breakfast

Rory closed his eyes as if in prayer. “I hope this is all right,” he said to her. “There really is no stopping him when he’s like this. Just let me know where to place each piece, and I’ll make sure it goes where you want it.”

Kate followed the two men to the back of the U-Haul. Rory rolled up the door with a flourish.

Kate gasped.

Floor to ceiling, the back of the U-Haul was packed with beautiful wood furniture.

“All the pieces are from the eighteenth century. And they’ve been well-lov….” Seymour trailed off, then coughed, “well-cared for. My Margot wouldn’t do any less than keep an antique in pristine condition. I promise you, she took excellent care ofyourfurniture.”

Kate couldn’t fathom why Seymour kept calling itherfurniture. There had been no furniture included in the sale of the inn. That she would have remembered.

The two men pulled out the base of a highboy dresser. Kate had done her research on period furniture and knew immediately that it was valuable.

“Tell us where you want it,” said Rory.

Shoving all hesitation aside at accepting this astonishing windfall with no questions asked, she said, “Second floor, first bedroom on the right.” Questions could come later. Right now, she’d welcome this miracle with joy.

So it began. The highboy base was followed by the top with all the drawers. Bed frames and cedar hope chests. Eight bedside tables and a single dining table that could easily seat twelve.

And then a multitude of chairs: Captains’ chairs and padded chairs clearly recently reupholstered in muted calico. Six leather wingback chairs that made Kate catch her breath. She directed Rory to place two in the downstairs drawing room and one each in the larger guestrooms.

She really hoped she could afford everything she was looking at in awe. Surely Seymour wasn’t bringing it to her for free. She had money set aside to purchase furniture, so she could willingly negotiate a deal with the eccentric old man once it was inside her inn.

Her heart fluttered in excitement at this boon. Yes, it fluttered at this magnificent blessing, not at how easily lean, muscular Rory Throckmorton hefted each piece with a mere modicum of assistance from her and Seymour. Rory was tall, strong, and, well…a whole lot of wow. The sense that she should know who he was tugged at the back of her mind. He definitely looked familiar to her, but maybe she had seen him in town. She certainly didn’t know everyone, even though Ivy assured her it was only a matter of time before she was familiar with the entire population of Hazard, Rhode Island.

Once all the pieces were placed, Kate got down to business. “Seymour, thank you so much. This is extraordinary. I don’t even have enough words to express my gratitude.”

Seymour flushed in embarrassment, looking everywhere but at her face.

“What do I owe you for all of this? Now that it’s inside, I hope we can agree on…”

“It’s yours. All of it. Yours. It always was. Margo was juststoringit for you. He emphasizedstoring. “So it wouldn’t be ruined. That’s all.” His eyes rolled wildly, like he was desperate that she take him at his word.

“Yours, all yours. I need to return the U-Haul.” He turned to hustle back to the box truck.

“I can drive it back, Granddad.”

“No, no, I drove it when I picked it up. It’s easy to drive empty. You’re staying here now, anyway.”

“What?” Rory narrowed his eyes at his grandfather and stated decisively. “I’m staying with you.”

“No, no, I told you. I don’t have anywhere for you to sleep, just that old lumpy couch, and the Boy Scouts are hauling it off tomorrow for their clubhouse. The furniture’s all here now.” He gave Rory a wide-eyed, pleading look.

Rory gave him an annoyed, pointed look back. “Don’t do this.”

“I have to return the truck by three p.m. Bye.” Seymour moved faster than Kate would have thought possible for such an elderly gentleman. The U-Haul roared to life and Seymour drove away, Rory staring after him.

“Son of a gun, he left me.”

“Why would hegiveme all this furniture?”

Rory smirked. “Because Grandma stole it, but I’m not supposed to tell you that.”

“She stole it? When?”

“Back when the Hazard Inn was falling down and abandoned. What he said is probably true. She knew the furniture was valuable and wanted it. So she took it. And since no one called her on it, she kept it.” Rory shook his head. “Sorry, Grandma was a pistol. I just never knew she was a thief. I’m still trying to wrap my head around that.”

“So, this furniture is really all mine? For free? No questions asked?”

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