Page 25 of Happy Harbor
“Come on,” Josie said, standing up. “We’d better not keep Joe waiting.”
* * *
The house was everything Josie had remembered: The huge open foyer with a beautiful staircase leading up to the spacious second story. The formal living room on the left, the parlor on the right. Thick moldings at the ceiling and around every doorway. The creaky, original wood floors with more character than new houses would ever achieve. The smell of her grandmother’s perfume wafting through the air gave hints of her presence.
Home.
She’d worried that it wouldn’t feel like home anymore, but it felt more like home than her Atlanta condo did. Josie walked into the living room and ran her fingers across the painted brick fireplace in the corner. There were fireplaces in almost every room of the house, but this one had always been her favorite. Hanging over it was a picture of Franklin Durham Carter. He wasn’t a handsome man, with his bulbous nose and thick eyebrows. They probably didn’t do a lot of male grooming back in those days. Still, she’d always felt a connection to this man who lived here, who started their family legacy in Happy Harbor all those years ago.
“I forgot how fancy this place is,” Kendra said, touching the floral wallpaper. Josie had shown her pictures of Adeline’s home over the years. She was happy Kendra was finally seeing it in person.
“Yeah, it is. But it was always so cozy with all the fireplaces going, and Nana making cookies and hot chocolate.”
“Did it get cold enough for that?”
“Of course. We had a few weeks of winter. I mean, rarely much snow, but it would get cold. Your grandmother surely loved this place. Just last Christmas, she said she decorated for a home tour and had a different style Christmas tree in every room. Of course, her friends helped her, but she was devoted to its history until her last days.”
Again, Josie wondered if she was any match for this lifestyle. Could she really run a restaurant and a historic home? Did she even want to? Her emotions were a jumbled mess. She wished she had time to think over her options, but what good would it do? Without a job, she wouldn’t be able to afford her condo for much longer. And her daughter wasn’t going back to that school without a fight.
Why not stay in Happy Harbor and give it a try? What was the worst that could happen?
* * *
Josie sat up in bed, her heart racing. It’d been so many years since she’d slept in her old room, and her mind was full of memories. The times Nana read her stories before turning out the lights. The time she had the flu, and Nana had made her chicken noodle soup and let her eat in bed, which was normally a big no-no. The time her mother called to say she wasn’t coming for Easter because she was leaving town for a while with her new boyfriend. Happy memories mixed with sad. The story of her life.
She pulled on her robe and tied it, quietly opening her door. Maybe a drink of water would calm her down, but it was more likely she’d grab a piece of that pound cake she’d brought back from the luncheon. All day, neighbors and friends of Nana’s had been bringing casseroles and other meals so she and Kendra wouldn’t have to worry about food for a while. Both freezers and the refrigerator were now full.
She tiptoed past the room Kendra had chosen as her own, making her way down the creaky stairs. She would have to get a contractor to fix those because she couldn’t stand the noises. Walking into the kitchen, she turned on the dimmest light she could find and retrieved a glass from the cabinet, filling it with water. Nana didn’t have a filter, so that was something to put on her list, too. Drinking tap water wasn’t her thing. Once, she’d asked Nana about investing in one. When Nana called them “hogwash mumbo jumbo,” Josie knew it wasn’t to be.
She finished her water and thought about heading back upstairs, but her brain was way too awake. It wasn’t quite five in the morning yet, and Josie knew she didn’t need to be at the restaurant until seven, so she had plenty of time to get cleaned up before going.
A part of her was nervous about introducing herself to the staff. The other part was ready to take on the challenge. If she was going to make the restaurant even more successful in honor of her grandmother, she’d have to be tough on the staff, and they probably weren’t used to someone ruling with an iron fist.
The caveat that she couldn’t fire anyone for six months was a problem. Her initial idea would’ve been to make everyone interview for their jobs again, and then fire anyone who didn’t seem to fit the bill. But this was Happy Harbor, not Atlanta or Manhattan, so her fast-paced management style probably would not work here.
She stood at one of the big windows facing the backyard and stared into the still-black sky. She could see stars, which wasn’t something she saw in the city as they were obscured by tall buildings with lit-up offices. She noticed a lightning bug fly past the window, and it made her smile. Nana had always helped her catch them in canning jars when she was a kid. Of course, they let them go quickly so they didn’t die.
Josie quietly opened the door and stepped onto the big porch. Standing at the top of the stairs, she watched the bug fly, its little hindquarters lighting up over and over. Closing her eyes, she took in a deep breath, all the smells of her childhood filling her soul.
A memory of her grandmother singing “Amazing Grace” suddenly came to her as she watched the lightning bug flit around. She didn’t know why. Sometimes memories were strange, popping up in the oddest of places. She began humming the song and then singing it as she swayed her hips back and forth. It made her feel closer to her grandmother just to sing her favorite song.
“That was pretty.” The voice of a man came out of the darkness, and suddenly she wished she had that antique shotgun hanging on the wall of the den. Of course, the thing was probably just for looks anyway. Josie turned around and saw the man sitting in one of the rocking chairs at the end of the porch. He didn’t move, and she could see the hint of a smile in the moonlit darkness.
“Who the heck are you?” she screeched, still not totally sure he wasn’t an apparition. She was in a historical home, after all.
He stood up and slowly walked toward her. She thought about running into the house and grabbing a butcher knife, but he was tall with long legs and would definitely outrun her. So, she froze in place, determined to scream her lungs out if he got too close.
“I’m Walker Jackson. I’ve been renting Adeline’s guest house for about four years now.” His accent was thick, like something out ofGone with the Wind. His walk was more of a stroll mixed with a strut. His hair hung near his shoulders with little wings on the sides that kept it out of his face. The only other thing she could see were dimples, not that she was noticing. He stuck his hand out to shake hers, but she just stared at him.
“Nobody told me there was a renter.” She wondered why her grandmother never mentioned it, although Josie had always steered her questions away from the happenings in Happy Harbor.
Walker slowly retracted his hand and stuck it into the pocket of his jeans. “Sorry about that. I was out of town when Adeline died. I only just got back last night. Guess you’d already gone to bed by then.”
“I guess so.”
“I hated to miss her funeral. She was like a mother to me. I never had one of my own, really.”
“Look, we’re not telling our deep, dark secrets right now. I want to know why you’re up here on my porch in the wee hours of the morning.”
