Page 43 of Paradise West
Charli cleared her throat. “Amy, did we hit all the tourist spots on the island you wanted to see today?”
Amy’s eyes brightened. “Yes! The Southernmost Point wasn’t as much of a hit as I thought it would be, but it was cool. And I really liked Mallory Square.” She sighed and looked down at the table. “We didn’t get to the Hemingway House, but that’s okay. That line was insane.”
Charli smiled, her purple eyes sparkling with warmth. “Yeah, there’s so much more here you haven’t seen. I hope you and Annette will come back down here again.”
“Well, since you’re a local now and all...” Annette added in a sly tone. “We’ll have someone to visit and a place to stay.”
Charli’s brows lifted. “You will, even if I’m not here. I’m not going to sell this place, so it’ll always be open to you two.”
Jack frowned, not liking the sudden change in direction. For a brief moment, it had seemed that Charli was seriously considering Annette’s argument about staying, but now she was back to returning to Boston eventually.
He mentally sighed...Charli had initially committed to staying as long as she could, and he’d been determined to convince her to stay. But he saw now that it was going to take more work, much more work. He took a deep breath. His gut told him that she was the one, so there was no way he was going to give up.
Maybe it was time to switch gears...but how?
9
Key West, Florida
Nearly two weeks had passed as the crew worked to stabilize the structure’s foundation, but they finally worked their way inside the old house.
“My god! It looks like a bomb went off in here,” Charli exclaimed, her heart squeezing as she took in the front entry way.
Jack glanced at her over his shoulder. “It’s been vacant for several years so it’ll be bad,” he warned. “Don’t go too far and don’t even think about going upstairs yet. We have to check all the flooring first.”
Charli nodded absently as she surveyed the disaster before them. She vaguely remembered the foyer as it had been when her aunt was in residence with its immaculate tile floor and the classic front room full of beautiful antiques. “What happened to the antique furniture she had in here? Please tell me it’s not in those jumbled piles of junk.”
Jack grunted as he knelt to inspect a section of the flooring. “She had her favorite pieces stored in a climate-controlled warehouse over on Stock Island.”
He froze suddenly as if something had just occurred to him and peered up at her with a questioning gaze. “I don’t remember those pieces being mentioned in the will. We’ll have to check with Art to make sure that furniture was considered part of this place. If not, we’ll have to figure out a way to acquire them back.”
Charli pursed her lips in thought. “Good point. I’ll give Art a call later. I’m sure he’ll want an update on our progress anyway.”
Jack grinned up at her, his dimples popping out. Charli nearly groaned—the urge to trace them with her tongue was strong. His chiseled features nearly took her breath and she had to look away before he could read anything from her expression.
He had been a perfect gentleman since the Dry Tortugas and she didn’t want to upset him, but God how she wanted that man!
“I’ve been keeping him in the loop, don’t worry. But you’re right. He’ll want to see all this soon,” Jack answered as he stood back up.
Charli mumbled a response and moved to the large front window. She remembered sitting in this room with Aunt Dottie, relaxing to music or playing cards. She released a deep breath and smiled at the memories.
“That was an awfully big sigh,” Jack commented, giving her a quick side glance as he surveyed the ceiling. “You okay over there?”
“Mmmhmm.” Charli walked over to the outside wall and ran her hand over the clumps of antiquated plaster that was peeling off in large chunks. “Just thinking back to when I stayed here. It seems so long ago.” She turned and lifted her hands to the piles of trash, rotten boxes, and broken furniture scattered around the room. “I remember how comfortable this room used to be. I can’t believe it looks like this now.”
Jack shrugged. “Well, you’ll need to brace yourself because it’s obvious that this house has been used by vagrants over the last few years. The rest of the house will be just like this or even worse.” He stood and looked over at the main staircase. “I have a strong suspicion that the Widow’s Walk will be a complete disaster. Gus and I noticed from the garden that it’s sustained some storm damage, and I know it hasn’t been repaired in years.”
Charli hummed and walked to the base of the staircase, staring up to the next floor. This had been one of the resort’s best features with a solid mahogany banister that flowed elegantly down into the main room. To her relief, it looked relatively unscathed aside from a few nicks and gouges.
“Hey, Jack!” Gus shouted from the kitchen.
“Yeah?” Jack answered as he squatted to inspect what looked like water damage.
“Take a look at this flooring in here,” Gus replied, vexation in his voice. “It’s worse than we thought.”
“Shit,” Jack grumbled under his breath. He stood and made his way toward the back of the house.
Charli smirked. She had a feeling they’d be finding plenty of sections that were worse than they had anticipated. She wandered over to the large teak desk that her Aunt Dottie had used to check in her guests. Surprisingly, it hadn’t been stored with the other furniture...guess it hadn’t been one of her favorite pieces. Or maybe it had just been too heavy to move.
