Page 9 of Return to Lovett Cove
He bounded down the porch steps and looked up. When he saw her, he grinned and held up a white bag in one hand and a tray with two cups of coffee in the other. “Figured you’d want breakfast.”
Jasmine smiled at him. He’s thoughtful. And he looked ready to work, dressed in stonewashed jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. His tool belt was slung over his right arm.
“Also wanted to finish fixing that kitchen pipe, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all,” Jasmine answered. “The extra key is still under the pot. I’ll be down in a minute.”
Jasmine fussed with her natural curls, a chunk of stubborn spirals determined not to be tamed. She went back and forth over her outfit, not sure whether to wear the skirt that accentuated her hips or the practical drawstring pants she wouldn’t mind getting dirty if River asked her to hold a tool or something. In the end, she chose the drawstring pants. She felt more comfortable in her skin in the loose pants, and they were stylish enough for a day in town.
When she entered the kitchen, River looked her over, his expression pleased. “Good morning. You look like you slept well.”
“I did, thank you. The bed was incredibly comfortable.”
River handed her a biscuit breakfast sandwich from Petunia’s cafe. “Your mother wanted the best. Oh, here. I’d almost forgotten about this.” He slid a manila envelope across the island counter where they were seated.
“You’re the mail courier, too?”
He chuckled. “Close enough.”
“What brought you out here? To Lovett Cove specifically?” Jasmine asked as she opened the envelope.
“Divorce. I was a corporate attorney. Long hours.”
“That makes two of us. Trying to make partner has me living in the office.”
River rubbed the back of his neck. “I had a chiropractor on retainer thanks to my couch giving me cricks.”
“Ouch.”
“My ex and I didn’t see eye-to-eye on where my career was going. I made partner early, and that meant living almost like a bachelor. She resented me for it, and I resented myself for allowing my marriage to fall apart.” His shoulders sagged as though he carried some residual weight from his past. “My priorities were out of order. I didn’t realize it until we had signed the papers and I nearly had a breakdown.”
Somewhere in the middle of River’s story, Jasmine had stopped opening the envelope. “Oh, River…I’m so sorry.”
He smiled graciously. “Thankfully, Lovett Cove gave me a fresh start. I remember coming here to the beach as a kid.”
She grasped his arm. “I did, too! We all did. My sisters and me. There’s a photograph of us on a dune upstairs.”
“The old dunes are still there. We can go see them sometime, if you want.”
He wasn’t suggesting that she delay her return home. Work briefly entered her mind, but faded away as the feeling of digging her toes into warm sand sounded way more pleasant. “I’d like that.”
“Anyway, when I came out here just to lay on the beach and contemplate my future, I met an attorney who was retiring. He owned the real estate agency as well. It seemed serendipitous.”
“Certainly sounds like it.”
“I don’t regret it. I’ve known a peace here that can’t be beat.”
Jasmine bit her lip, considering. Had her mother found that peace before she died? What did it look like? So far, Jasmine could only see it as living in a rundown house with a busted kitchen pipe, old flooring, and peeling paint. Had her mother truly been happy giving up her busy life for a small town?
He gestured toward the envelope. “That envelope should’ve been in the packet I gave you yesterday. It’s a letter from your mother about the inn and some old pictures, I think.”
Jasmine pulled out the letter, but it was the pictures that caught her eye. They were black and white photographs of the home, in its previous glory. “Wow, look at these,” Jasmine exclaimed. “This house looked amazing.”
“Thirty years ago, yes. Your mother wanted to revive the place and see it create future memories for people who wanted a place to rest, even if only for a weekend.”
“A place to rest,” Jasmine echoed. “I like that sentiment.”
River busied himself with the kitchen faucet while Jasmine finished her delicious egg and sausage biscuit sandwich and read her mother’s letter.
