Page 39 of Running Home
They’d done a lot with the place. Althoughsmall with only a few rooms, they didn’t seem to be hurting forincome. The place was pretty high-end. The upgrades made adifference; the place gave off a classy vibe, the sort of placeyou’d want to return to year after year. He hated to think what hisparents had spent to rent out the whole place. Likely all part ofthe grand plan to get him out into the world of the living.
Penny arrived at the large dining table witha big smile and plates of delicious crepes covered in strawberries,with scrambled eggs and plump sausage on the side for he andPayson. The others had already started.
“Good morning,” she greeted with her thickFrench accent. “I hope you slept well. Please don’t hesitate to askfor anything.” She was gone in a blink, leaving them to enjoy theirbreakfast.
Frank broke the silence that had come overthe table as everyone devoured their breakfasts. He topped off hisand Laura’s coffee with the carafe before speaking. “Anyone noticethe snow outside?”
Ronan looked out the window, the snow wasreally coming down now; mostly blowing sideways, the sky darkerthan it was even half an hour ago. Wind more screamed than whistledthrough the harbor.
Frank continued, “Nor’easter blowing in,already nearing white-out conditions. A full day ahead of when amoderate snow forecast to hit, stronger and faster thanexpected.
“I talked with our hosts. This shouldn’t beas severe as some of the bigger storms in years past, but the windswill be pretty strong given how fast she moved in. We’ll need tohole up here until things calm down. Tonight, and quite likelytomorrow night as well. As no one can get in either, I have beenable to extend our reservation.”
As soon as he paused, Chase jumped in, “Howare things looking for the boat, and the power on the island?”
Frank continued, “The boat should be ok. Themarina is in a fairly enclosed harbor on the lee side. The islandhas a diesel generator to run when the wind generators go offline,combined with buried power lines; we should be good forelectricity.”
Lips turned up in a playful half-smile, Ronaninterjected, “Uh, this may be a bit obvious, but you can take myroom… I’m assuming you’re not staying on the boat tonight.”
Laura laughed, “Thanks for the offer. We sortof guessed, but we didn’t want to presume. We brought our bags andthe coolers in and stashed them in Aiden’s room.”
Next to him, Ronan noted Payson blushing,looking suddenly fascinated by the whirling snow. Reaching down,Ronan pulled her hand into his and gave a gentle squeeze. A sweetsmile crossed her face, but she kept her gaze on the storm.
Finally, she spoke, “Well, I guess my shopwould be closed today anyway, so I don’t feel so bad about playinghooky anymore.”
Their host, Dariel, a stalky man with amassive head of black hair and neatly trimmed goatee, entered thedining area. “Bon matin. I have some updates for you. Thisstorm looks to last at least another 18 hours, but they’re not verysure of the estimated duration as this was such a surprise.”
Laura smiled up at him. “Thanks, Dariel; wereally appreciate your flexibility.”
Smiling back, Dariel responded, “I’m pleasedyou folks are so understanding.”
Chased laughed, “We’re from Seaview, so it’slikely no calmer at home.”
“You arrived in the boat, that’s right. Noferry service today, of course. The marina here is very protected,even in some of the more severe storms the boats have no problems,”he reassured them.
“This certainly isn’t the first time we’vehad guests sequestered due to a storm. Today, like with similaroccasions in the past with total white outs, we serve three mealseach day. We’ll plan to have a simple lunch around noon and dinnerat six, if that works for you?”
They all agreed and thanked them for theoffer. Normally it was a bed and breakfast with a light snack inthe afternoon, but with the blizzard conditions, nearby restaurantswere likely closed as well. Ronan appreciated that their hosts wereprepared, else he’d have to suffer another of his mother’s homemadesandwiches from the cooler. Not that they were bad, but he wasgetting a bit sick of her sandwiches.
Laura piped in, “I have plenty of sandwichfixings I brought in from the boat that I would be happy to share.”Damn, he spoke to soon.
Dariel smiled, “I appreciate that, Laura. Weare looking forward to preparing some non-breakfast items; we bothenjoy cooking and are glad to cook lunch and dinner now and again.I stocked up this morning when I saw the storm approaching. We havemore than enough supplies, enough to last for a week or more incase this storm decides to hang around long-term,” he said.
Phew, close one.
“That sounds excellent. I’ll keep everythingstored in the mini-fridge in our room for midnight snacks then,”she winked at Frank.
Oh boy, not much better.
Getting up from the table, everyone clearedtheir plates and were quickly shooed out of the kitchen by the hostand hostess. Ronan was definitely going to have to repay hisparents for this extravagant trip.
~
After stopping briefly in the room to freshenup and grab her book, Payson went to join the others in thelibrary. When was the last time she’d sat and done truly nothing?There were always online orders to process, new items to purchase,budgeting; there was always something that needed to be done.
On the rare instances she treated herself totime off, she spent it with her sisters in Boston, which was neverrelaxing. She’d brought a book, a hokey romance which she had beenlooking forward to digging into, all while snuggled up beside herown romantic interest. She headed for the library-slash-socialroom.
She heard them the moment she entered thehall. Shouting, cussing, accusations flying, gunfire, maniacallaughter. Rounding the corner, she stopped at the wide doorway andpeaked in.
