Page 27 of Second Chance in Charlevoix
Since all of her rider toys were now at Skipper's place, Izzy wasn't sure what she could dowith Holly. Why hadn't she planned ahead? However, Sam appeared in the doorway with a darling green plastic horse that looked just about Holly’s size. Her little girl was beside herself when Sam presented the toy and helped her onto it. “You are a miracle worker,” Izzy said.
Not needing much instruction, Holly was off. Her little legs pumped as she grasped the hand grips next to the horse’s eyes. Everyone laughed as the toddler circled the table, bumping into a leg here or there. Izzy missed her sisters, missed their doting over Holly. But the house still smelled like a construction project. The windows were closed and the place felt hermetically sealed.
“Why don’t we all sit down.” Aunt Cate motioned to the empty chairs.
“Thank you all for coming.” Seth wasted no time and got started. “I'm going to make this short but I thought you should all be in on this decision. Cate thinks you’ll be open to this.” When had her aunt become Cate? But their aunt didn’t look insulted. She had become the point person for the project since she was here during the day. The two had a good working relationship.
“Living in a house when it's being renovated isn't easy,” Seth began, tapping a ballpoint pen against his palm. “I appreciate your patience. This is your dream house and we all get that.”
“You're doing a great job.” Aunt Cate leaned forward while they all nodded. “We appreciate the care you've taken to not interfere with our lives.”
“Thank you.” Seth gave Aunt Cate a nod. “But I want you to consider something that could make this more comfortable for everyone. Working around three people in the house when we have multiple renovations going on is not easy on either you or the men. For example, we can finish a bedroom in two weeks, which would equate to six weeks for the upstairs bedrooms alone. But if we brought in another crew and worked on them together, we could do the bedrooms in three or four weeks.”
“Sounds wonderful. Summer is coming,” Sam said with a dreamy look on her face.
“That’s on my mind too,” Seth said. “I’d like to have most of the big work done before the end of June.” At that point Seth went into some of the details of the project, including the kitchen and dining room. Where was he going with this? Izzy was hungry. Mrs. Malone had made pork chops, which weren’t her favorite. Besides that, she'd been in a hurry to get over here. Now she was starving.
“I want to propose something to you.”
The air seemed to go out of the room. Did Seth mean the renovation would be more expensive? Izzy had heard of that happening a lot with building projects. “Recently we finished work on a newhome with three bedrooms,” Seth continued. “It’s pretty spacious. I've had a talk with the guys and we think if we brought in the crew that had been involved in that other home, we could finish the Sunnycrest a lot sooner. What do you think? Would you consider living in that new home for a while?”
“But what about the owners?” Marlowe asked. “Aren’t they anxious to get into their house, especially with summer coming?”
Pursing his lips, Seth looked at Aunt Cate. Did her aunt already know about this? “Okay, it's my house. Some time ago I decided to build my dream house. But I can live with my dad a little longer.” His grin indicated the two got along.
“Sounds wonderful but that doesn't seem very fair to you.” Sam looked as if she couldn't believe it.
“The timing is what makes this possible. It's not a big deal, really. At this point, I know you. I know how careful you are. I’d be fine with having you in the house. The pets too.”
Aunt Cate looked as if she was positively bursting with excitement. Obviously she thought this was a great idea.
“But I would still stay at Skipper's, right?” Right now Izzy was feeling left out.
“That's what I was figuring on with the three bedrooms.” Seth hesitated. “Is that all right?”
She eased out a breath. “Actually, I think thatwould be fine.” She'd settled in at the Malone house, which was a total surprise. Uprooting Holly again might only confuse her.
“So we'd all have our own room?” Marlowe asked, glancing around the table. “Two of us need an office.”
“Make that three, dear,” Aunt Cate said. Sometimes they forgot that their aunt was still active with her New York law firm.
“Sorry, Aunt Cate. It's been a long day.” Marlowe threw Aunt Cate a smile.
“These are not your average bedrooms,” Seth said. “They’re each large enough to hold a desk, and each has a private bathroom. The house is up in Horton Bay, which is part of Lake Charlevoix.”
“I’ve been in Horton Bay. That would be convenient for me,” Marlowe said. “My office is north of that area.”
The discussion went back and forth. Holly was busy smashing into the old antique table with her new toy, which was making Izzy nervous. Her stomach growling, she slipped away to explore the kitchen.
The idea of updating this old kitchen made her sort of sad. The knotty pine cabinets and the cracked linoleum floor held a lot of memories. But the cabinets, sink and fixtures all needed to be replaced. With the renovation they were moving into a new life. Izzy could appreciate that. Seeing the bakery box in the center of the kitchen table, she grabbed a fork. Shesmelled apple tarts. Why was the top caved in? Certainly there would be at least one apple tart left for her. She could easily replace it in the morning.
But when she finally got the box opened, she couldn't believe it. What a mess.
Holding the dented box together, she took it to the dining room. “What happened to Skipper's apple tarts?”
Aunt Cate and Sam began laughing hysterically. Wiping her eyes, her aunt said, “Wait until you hear that story.”
Chapter 14
