Page 27 of Paradise West
He cleared his throat. “It’s about spreading Dottie’s ashes.” His tone was soft as he reached out a hand and rubbed her arm. “We should probably plan that out soon. Get it over with so we can focus on this place.”
Charli’s stomach twisted at the subject, but she reached down to grasp his hand and give it a light squeeze. “You’re right. Thank you for helping with this.” She swallowed the lump that was clogging her throat. “I know there’s a three-hour ferry ride we can take out there. Is that what you’re thinking?”
“No,” Jack responded, his voice sharp. “No, we’re not taking a miserable ferry ride out to the Dry Tortugas that’s full of drunk tourists and vomiting kids.” He shook his head gently, his voice losing some of the edge it had contained. His fingers held on to hers and tightened briefly. “No, I have a better idea.”
“Okay. What were you thinking?” Her heartbeat quickened at the intensity on his face. It was obvious he took this last request of Aunt Dottie’s as seriously as she did.
“We’ll take my seaplane out, scatter her ashes, have a picnic, enjoy the island, and then we’ll fly back. Make it a real celebration of her life. It feels like something she would want us to do.”
Charli stared at him for a moment, her mouth hanging open. “That sounds amazing, Jack. But...” She scrunched her nose. “You have a seaplane?”
“Well,” he answered as he scratched his head, “my family has a seaplane and since I’m one of their best pilots, I can use it anytime it’s available. We keep it over on Stock Island.”
Her jaw dropped even further. “You’re kidding. I didn’t know you were a pilot.” She huffed. “Geez, Jack, is there anything you can’t do?”
He gave her a silly grin, his dimples popping out. “I can’t argue a case in court, if that makes you feel better.”
Charli chuckled. “Yeah, that actually does make me feel better.” She pressed her lips together and considered him thoughtfully. “Are you sure your family won’t mind if you take me out there? I mean, gas isn’t cheap—and I’ll totally pay for all of it. I really don’t want to impose.”
His hand sliced through the air. “It’s not something to worry about. My family runs a tour and guiding company, so we own several boats, a plane, and a seaplane.”
“Wow, that’s really impressive, Jack.”
He shrugged again. “It’s not a big deal. And tourism is the biggest employer in the Keys. It would be crazy not to cash in on that and my family has been doing it for generations.” He tilted his head and his chocolate eyes warmed. “So what do you think?”
Charli sighed and smiled. “It sounds perfect. Thank you.” She pulled her fingers from his grasp and leaned up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, feeling a slight tingle as her lips touched his stubble. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Jack. You’ve been amazing.”
Holding a hand over the spot where her lips touched, he gave her a roguish grin, his eyes twinkling. “Just face it. You’d completely fall apart without me.”
Charli laughed. “I don’t think you’re wrong about that, Jack.” She sobered. “When do you want to go?”
His brows rose as he tilted his head. “When can you go? What’s your schedule look like?”
Charli snorted and held up her hands. “Other than Annette stopping by on the cruise ship next week, my schedule is wide open.”
His lips twisted to the side. “Okay. Then I think the sooner the better. Let me see when I can take the plane, and then we’ll figure out when we can get this mission completed.” He put his arm around hershoulders and gave a light squeeze. “I think we’ll both feel better when it’s done.”
“Okay.” Charli smiled up at him. “Thanks, Jack.”
“No thanks are necessary. I’m honored to help you with this. Dottie was important to me, too.”
Looking toward the main house, Charli walked over to the old, dilapidated porch and glanced up at the balcony. She took a sip of her coffee and considered the structure. It looked so different from what she remembered. “When do you think we’ll get started on the main house?”
Jack pursed his lips and stared at the building for a moment. “Maybe next week if we can get all the permits in. That’s usually the biggest hang up. Or if we run into any unexpected problems.”
“Unexpected problems?” The thought made Charli pause.
Jack snorted. “Always expect the unexpected in construction, especially in older restorations. You never know what you’ll find when you start gutting something.” He waved his hand toward the house. “Especially with this place. There’s a lot of history here and restoring her is a huge responsibility—for both of us.”
“And it’ll be even more complicated because it’s historic?” she asked.
Jack nodded. “Exactly. It’ll be complicated but not impossible. Plus, there may be sections that will take longer to complete just because of the types of materials or even the tools we can use.”
Charli squinted up at the short balcony on the second story. “Do you think we’ll see Amelia?” She glanced at Jack. “I mean, do you think she really exists?”
Jack snorted. “She exists, but I don’t know if she’ll let us see her.” He shrugged. “We won’t know until we get in there.”
Charli sighed as she took in the weathered exterior, running her fingers over a rotten porch railing. “If the interior is as bad as this, it’ll take us forever.”
