Page 27 of Starfish Cottage
Chapter Fifteen
The meeting had taken the wind out of Maddie’s sails, and she wasn’t in the mood for work when she got back to the cottage. Dex gave a cheery hello, and she half waved, trying not to show her disappointment.
Not in the mood to work, she grabbed a beer from the fridge and was hunting in the drawer for a bottle opener when Dex came in to wash out his paintbrushes.
“The meeting didn’t go well?” Dex looked truly concerned.
“Not really. They loved my idea, but Constance Harbinger threw up some roadblocks.” Maddie told him about the problems Constance had presented.
“Seriously? She’s going to nitpick about that?” Dex reached over her and plucked the bottle opener out of the drawer and handed it to her.
“Yeah, but we can’t just ignore the bylaws because that would set a precedent, and someone might use that legally to do things in town that no one wants.” Maddie flipped the top off her bottle and held it toward him. “Want one?”
He smiled. “Sure.”
“I was just going to take a walk down the beach and think things through. You want to join me?” Why in the world did she ask him that? Just two weeks ago, she couldn’t stand Dex. Now, he was becoming a friend. Or more. No, just a friend. He couldn’t be more, and she didn’t want him to. “I’ll show you my special spot where I sit sometimes to think things over.”
For a second he looked uncertain, and Maddie was afraid she’d overstepped. Hopefully he didn’t think she was propositioning him or anything. But then a lazy smile spread on his face. “Of course. Looks like you could use a sounding board.”
As soon as Maddie stepped barefoot into the warm sand, she started to feel better. The soothing sounds of the waves, the sunshine, the salt air worked their magic… and the beer didn’t hurt either.
They strolled along the water’s edge in the wet sand. Dex described how he’d almost finished the exterior, and that the cottage was actually in pretty good shape. That was good news at least.
“I just don’t understand Constance. Why is she so angry?” Maddie asked.
Dex’s expression turned sympathetic. “I guess she’s had it rough. Her husband killed someone drunk driving, and I think she feels guilty even though it had nothing to do with her. Gram said she used to be big into helping in town, but now she’s sort of a recluse.”
Maddie felt bad. “Oh, maybe I should be kinder to her. Belinda did seem to think there could be a way around it, a temporary exception they could invoke.”
“Maybe my grandmother can help with her. She has a way of making people see things differently.”
“Do you think so? That would be great.” Rose was a fixer, a person who brought others together, a person who got things done. If anyone could help change Constance Harbinger’s bad attitude, it was Rose. “Your grandmother is great. She’s been very kind to me since I moved to town.”
“That’s typical Gram. She’s really been a big influence my life,” Dex said.
“My grandmother was like that too.” Maddie inhaled a deep breath of salt air while memories of her grandmother swirled in her head, bringing a nostalgic bittersweet smile to her face. Gram hadn’t been gone for very long, and she still missed her.
They’d come to an outcropping of rocks on the beach. Maddie had discovered the jetty on one of her walks. She’d already spent hours exploring the cracks and crevices between the rocks and the puddles left on top for snails, crabs, and starfish. There was a rock that was smooth enough to sit on with a taller rock behind it as a backrest, and she’d taken to thinking of that as “her spot.”
The best part was the dramatic view. It looked out over the vast expanse of ocean, but to the right the coastline jutted out, and you could see a tall white lighthouse with a thick red stripe on the middle in the distance.
“I love this place because it’s far enough from any of the other houses and public beaches that no one comes here.”
Dex grinned. “It’s great. I promise not to tell anyone.”
“Thanks.”
She gestured toward the rock, and they both sat, sipping their beer in silence. Maddie felt a bond of friendship beginning to form.
“Our grandmothers were good friends, weren’t they?” Maddie asked. Rose had told her as much, but she knew that Rose, Leena, and Pearl had grown up in Shell Cove, and her grandmother, Rena, had moved here later in life when she bought the Beachcomber Motel.
“Yep. The four of them were really close.”
“I can’t imagine what they got up to when they were a few decades younger.” Maddie laughed
“They were a hoot! They used to hang out at the piano bar in town. Spent most of their nights singing.” Dex chuckled at the memories. “And, of course, they were always organizing things, picnics, meetings. Food was usually involved.”
“Their signature dishes.” Maddie cringed at the thought of the pretzels she brought to the town meeting. “I’m not as good at that as my grandmother was.”
