Page 17 of Falling for the Grumpy Stranger

“Nothing better than a good bakery. Then I guess between your two sisters, I won’t have to worry too much about getting this kitchen into working order.”

“I can wash these dishes,” I said. “Since you were nice enough to make me lunch.”

“No, I’ve got it. Besides, I have this private deal with the sink. I talk to it nicely and turn the spigot just right, and it rewards me with a trickle of water. It would take a great deal of training to pass those skills on.”

“You really do have your work cut out for you with this house.” My gaze swept around the room. “Still, I think it’ll be worth it. This old house needs to be needed again. I almost feel guilty that we’ve given the place such a bad rap with this whole curse nonsense.”

“Do you think it’s nonsense? I thought your first assignment was all about the curse.” He stood up and picked up the bowls.

“It was. I mean it is, but after reading some of Margaret’s entries, I emailed my boss to see if I could write a series about Margaret Grimstone. She was very active in women’s charities and pursuing things that were for the good of all. She was the main patron of a school for little girls. Girls from farming communities who wouldn’t have had a chance at education if not for her school. I found one article about Margaret Grimstone’s death, and it briefly mentioned that she died from injuries sustained in a fall. The rest of the article was about her father’s accomplishments. But it seems Margaret had plenty of her own, but since she was a woman?—”

“She wasn’t considered important enough,” Rhett finished for me. “That’s a shame.”

“That’s what I think. That’s why I sent my editor the idea for the Margaret Grimstone series instead of focusing on the silly curse.”

Rhett pulled his mouth in.

“What? Do you think it was a bad idea?” I asked. “Oh no, you’re right. How pushy of me. This is my first assignment. I’ve only just signed with the publication. I don’t even know the editor yet, and here I am pushing my ideas on her. Do you think I’ve made a terrible misstep? I have, haven’t I? I’ve never had a job like this before, a real job tied to a career. Well, that sounds bad, doesn’t it? Lazy Ella has never had a real job before. The truth is my sisters have been mostly supporting me. It was at their insistence. They wanted me to pursue my writing dream.”

“That’s nice of them. You’re all really close, aren’t you?”

“Very. We finish each other’s thoughts, laugh at the same things, and sometimes, if one of us is in trouble or distress, the others can sense it even before they hear about it. It’s all due to Nonna’s magical upbringing.”

“You’re all lucky to have each other. It’s hard to find people who will always have your back, people you can trust with your heart and soul.”

Rhett looked lost in thought, like he had when I first saw him standing on the edge of the cliff. His expression looked pained.

“You’ve never found someone like that?” I asked quietly.

My question pulled him from his thoughts. He shook his head. “Thought I had once but I was wrong. Guess I’m not always a good judge of character.”

“It’s not that. It’s just that some people are really good at hiding their true character.”

We stood together in the vast, dilapidated kitchen. The sink dripped water onto the dishes Rhett had just set down.

“Unfortunately, once you meet someone like that,” Rhett said, “it’s hard to ever trust anyone again.”

I smiled at him. “That trust will come back. You just have to find the right person.”

He stared at me long and then it happened. He smiled. It wasn’t big and splashy, one that was heading toward laughter. It was faint, reserved, but it was there. It wasn’t my imagination this time.

“You might be one of the most interesting people I’ve met in a long time, Ella. And if this house is cursed, I have that curse to thank for bringing you to my front door.”

I couldn’t help but blush at his nice words. I pointed my thumb back over my shoulder. “Uh, I’ll get back to the journal for another hour, then I’ll get out of the way so the chimney guys can do their thing. Thanks for lunch.” I spun around andscurried down the hallway. My heart rate zipped along at twice its usual speed, and my knees didn’t seem to be as solid as they were a few seconds ago. I had no idea what was happening, but it certainly wasn’t anything I’d ever felt before. I was breathing hard, and my face felt flushed by the time I reached the library.

I picked up the journal and plopped down into the chair. My fingers were trembling slightly as they rubbed over the name on the cover.

“Well, Mags, we’ve got to talk. The weirdest thing just happened.”

Chapter Fourteen

RHETT

It felt different in the house after Ella pulled on her coat and scarf, flashed her unforgettable smile and walked out. I spent the rest of the afternoon searching for a good contractor and interior designer. I’d convinced myself that I didn’t have the spirit or patience for a big remodel. As long as there was heat and running water (that was questionable) then I could easily live out the next months or year inside the scarred, splintery walls of Grimstone Manor. My state of mind wouldn’t allow me to think past my own misery. In fact, the state of the home fit that state of mind perfectly, scarred and gloomy. Then a ray of sunshine, packaged in an adorable young woman, had sort of shot herself right into my life, and suddenly, I wanted to kick myself. I’d let the two people I cared about the most destroy my life, but I was done with the pity party. I needed to stop feeling sorry for myself and get over it.

The three hearths and chimneys had been inspected, and I’d been given the “all clear” to build fires in any of them. Now, all I needed was wood. I realized how soft I’d become, always working behind a desk. When I was younger, I competed in triathlons, crazy races where you worked your body so hard it took weeks to recuperate. I could fly down a mountainside onskis so fast that friends would joke that I left a trail of fire behind me. I even dropped out of an airplane more times than I could count just to experience the thrill of falling to earth with only a piece of nylon to keep from making it my last jump. But once the germ of an idea for the software company became a full-blown idea and business plan, I spent most of my days and plenty of nights bent over a keyboard and in brainstorming meetings with my developer team. The thrills of youth were replaced with the thrill of building something far bigger than I could have ever imagined.

I doubled up on my shirts and pulled on my thickest coat, a knit beanie and gloves. The dampness that always hovered over the coast held a deep chill. I had no more than an hour of decent light left for splitting wood. The house was surrounded by ten acres of wilderness, mostly shrubs and trees that had all seen better days. There were enough broken trunks and trees to start a decent woodpile. Ella would be back tomorrow, and I was determined to fill the library hearth with a glowing fire. She hadn’t complained, but as she left for the day, her chin was trembling from the cold in the room.

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