Page 45 of The Spotted Cottage By the Sea
Patty laughed. “I bet you are!”
Sheila sighed. There was no winning with her. “I’ll see you inside.”
Nineteen
It was windy and the ocean was agitated, with white caps in the distance and waves crashing onto shore. Rain poured down, outlining the tea shop in gloom. Not ideal for a boating dinner, but a perfect excuse for Russell to drive one house over to pick Sheila up.
He’d heard Eliza and Sheila say they were going to paint the exterior of both the cottage and the tea shop themselves, and while he agreed it needed to be done, he didn’t want them to have to suffer through it. Between scraping the old paint and putting on multiple coats, it could take them a week or more to do it on their own.
He’d wanted to approach Patty about gifting something to the tea shop, joking it would help his own property value, but he knew she’d say no.
His mind was made up. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and made a call.
“Hey. It’s Russell Westwood.”
“Russell! How’s it going? I hope my work is holding up.”
“Absolutely. It’s great.” He leaned forward and narrowed his eyes. It looked like one of the gutters had collapsed in the downpour. That wasn’t good. “I’m sure you’re booked up for the year, but I’ve got a job for you when you’ve got some time.”
“I just had a cancellation this week. What’s up?”
Russell told him what would need to be done – painting, redoing the roof, and shoring up the gutters. “Don’t be surprised if the homeowner comes out to yell at you, then afterwards brings you a plate of cookies.”
He chuckled. “Got it. My kind of client. My team will come out on Tuesday. Should be no problem.”
Russell ended the call and smiled to himself. Patty would yell at him, but she’d get over it quickly enough.
Sheila was the wildcard. He never knew what she was going to do or say. It was a thrill just to be near her.
He pulled up to the cottage and walked to the door with his umbrella deployed.
Russell didn’t know what the rules of dating were anymore – he didn’t even know if this was considered a date – but he wanted to make sure Sheila didn’t get soaked on her way to the car.
He knocked and, immediately, Derby barked and announced his arrival.
The door opened. “Hey. Sorry. Just one second,” Sheila said, holding up a finger.
She wasn’t in her normal band t-shirt and jeans, but instead a white shirt with lace at the edges of the neck and a black skirt that hit high on her waist. Her dark hair was straightened and swooped to one side.
His heart thundered in his chest and his mouth hung open. Maybe he wasn’t ready to go out with anyone. Maybe he needed a few more years with the wolves…
“No problem,” he managed to say before kneeling to pet Derby.
Sheila disappeared and returned a moment later with her purse on her shoulder.
“You kids have fun!” Patty yelled as she shuffled into view. “Don’t stay out too late or you’re grounded, Sheila! No ice cream!”
Sheila kept her eyes facing forward. “Good night, Patty.” She stepped outside and shut the door firmly behind her. “No one ever warns you about that.”
He held the umbrella high to ensure she was covered. “About what?”
“About living with your ex-mother-in-law.”
A laugh burst out of him. “You’re right. People talk all the time about how moving in with your ex-mother-in-law is easy and trouble-free. They never talk about how they hog all the ice cream.”
“Exactly. Liars, every one of them.”
The dock was a fifteen-minute drive and Russell was excited to share the playlist he’d put together. “It’s not quite as good as one of yours,” he said as they settled into their seats, “but I added some of my favorites.”
