Page 26 of The Summer House
Ten
“Look at this,” Olivia said from the other room as the deliverymen finished the appliance installation. She came into the kitchen where Callie was, holding an old lockbox about the size of a shoebox. It was brown with a keyhole on the front, the hinges thick with dust.
Wyatt was beside her with a little hammer, both he and his mother wearing matching safety glasses. “I know this wasn’t in the plan for today. I’ve been working to get rid of those built-in shelves like we’d talked about while the workers are here so they can fill in any missing drywall. I’m doing one and Wyatt’s doing the other. Take a look at what we found.” She held up the box.
“It was in the bottom of the built-in,” Wyatt said.
“Apparently, the bottom of each one—the part that juts out—is hollow and accessible by lifting the last shelf out,” Olivia explained with excitement.
“Is it treasure?” Wyatt asked.
“I don’t know,” Callie said, sitting down at the table with her coffee. “What’s written on that brass tag there?” She pointed just above the keyhole.
Olivia set it down and squinted at the tag, running her finger over it to shine it up. “It looks like ‘FM’.”
“Could M be for McFarlin?” Callie took a sip of the coffee. She’d made it while she waited to sign off on the delivery, the warm, creamy liquid melting away her aches from working so hard yesterday. “F for Frederick.” Callie jiggled the lock. “I wonder where the key is.”
“Iwonder why it was left here, if it is in fact his. Wouldn’t it be of importance to him or Alice? Unless it’s empty…” Olivia lifted it to her ear and gave it a shake. “It sounds like something’s in it.”
Wyatt twisted the latch, but it wouldn’t budge.
“They left the lockbox and that journal that you found. Wonder what else they left.” The deliverymen quietly interrupted, handing Olivia a clipboard for signature.
“I’m sure Alice had hidden them and, after she died, no one knew they were here.”
“The fact that they were hidden makes me wonder what’s in them,” Olivia said quietly, scrawling her name across the paper on the clipboard, raising her eyebrows in curiosity. “Maybe there are some family secrets,” she teased. She put the box on the floor of the pantry and shut the door.
Callie walked over to the oven as Olivia handed the paperwork back to the crew, thanking them. “Oh, oh! We have fire!” she said with excitement. She turned the knobs of the brand new gas stove that had just been delivered, along with the giant refrigerator. They must have been the first delivery of the day because they’d been there right at eight-thirty in the morning.
After the deliverymen left, Callie sat back down. She put her face in her hands. “I shouldn’t have let Luke stay so long last night,” she said, her heart telling her something else. She wished he were there right now, holding her hand like he had last night. She missed his smile already and couldn’t wait to see him tonight.
“No, I think you just let yourself relax, let things come naturally,” Olivia said, grinning.
“Now we have this party tonight…” Callie lifted her mug to her lips to keep from smiling.
“It’ll be fine. Plus, Wyatt’s absolutely thrilled about it.” She opened the fridge and freezer, peering inside at the new space.
There was a knock at the front door and they both looked at each other.
Olivia shut the freezer and went to get it while Callie got up, leaving her coffee, not going with her to answer the door just in case it was Luke, but unable to sit with all her nervous energy. Instead, she wiped down the stove and the new granite countertops they’d picked out. They’d chosen them because the light caramel and cream specks on them reminded them of the wet grains of sand on the shore just after the tide went out. She needed something to do to keep her mind off last night.
Last week, they’d painted the kitchen a beachy pink color, the stainless steel appliances coordinating with the silver metallic seashells they’d put up on the wall. They’d also added whitewashed cabinets, demolishing the dark wood ones that had been there since probably the 1970s. With the new tan tiles under her feet, she stood back, admiring the look of it all.
“Callie,” Olivia said, entering the kitchen with a man. He had dark hair, a thin build, and a smile that would put any stranger at ease. “This is Aiden Parker. He’s finalized the plans for the back porches.”
Callie walked over and shook his hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” she said. Olivia had driven up to the cottage the day Aiden had come to survey the property, but Callie was still settling things back in Richmond, and she’d told Olivia to just go with her instincts on the plans. Callie trusted her more than anyone else, and she knew that Olivia would make a perfect choice regarding the back porches. After seeing Aiden’s initial plans when she’d first arrived at The Beachcomber, she realized she’d been right.
Callie dried her hands on a towel and stepped over to them to give them her full attention. “Olivia’s told me a lot about you.”
Aiden cast an amused glance over to Olivia. “That’s scary,” he said with a grin. “Considering most of our stories have something to do with college parties…”
Olivia and Aiden had gone to college together, and he’d lived in the same apartment building on the floor just under hers. He’d been the first person Olivia had met when she’d gotten to college, which happened to be her birthday. He’d taken her out that night, and every year after until they graduated. With life having pulled them in different directions after graduation, Olivia had said she was glad to have a chance to see him again.
Callie jokingly scolded Olivia with a look to let her know that she’d held out on her. “Well, clearly she wasn’t telling me the right stories, then.”
Aiden laughed and looked over at Olivia again. When he did, it was clear by the friendliness in his face that their shared experiences were all happy ones. “I’m glad she asked me to do this. I haven’t been back to the Outer Banks in ages. I’ve forgotten how great it is.”
“Did you used to vacation here?” Callie asked.
