Beach Winds (38 page)
Authors: Grace Greene
And she, Frannie, hadn
’t done everything she thought she had to do, specifically with regard to Laurel, and that was maybe a good thing.
“
Fran!”
She turned toward the house. Brian was walking down the crossover with quick step
s.
Her handyman.
She held out her hands and he took them in his own as he joined her at the railing.
“
I have to ask you something, Brian.”
“
Anything. Ask.”
His smile was so broad, she hated to risk dimming it.
“Why haven’t I received an invoice?”
He tilted his head and frowned.
“Invoice? Oh, for the painting and stuff.”
“
Yeah, that stuff.”
“
Must’ve gotten lost in the mail. I can send another.”
“
Liar.”
He touch her chin and turned her face toward his.
“Harsh.”
“
But true.”
“
Only in the sense that I didn’t send an invoice.” His words were playful, but his tone had lost some of its shine. “What’s wrong?”
“
Uncle Will’s handyman is Patrick Bryan. His business card on the fridge gave your game away…except, what is your game? Why the charade?”
“
Game? Charade? I’m a pretty handy guy and I did paint the house, didn’t I? Most of it, anyway. And for what? You know, I’m beginning to think
I’ve
been played.”
“
What?” Her temper flared.
“
That’s right. You suckered me into painting that house. You were very clever. I’m still trying to figure out how you managed it.” He pulled her closer. “In fact, I think you do owe me, but I don’t want money so I won’t be sending an invoice. Nope, this bill gets delivered, and collected, in person.”
His arms were strong around her. His dreamy blue eyes, eyes the
fresh blue of robin’s eggs, held her own.
“
You’re trying to distract me, aren’t you? Why not just tell me? Admit it, you aren’t a handyman. That’s not how you earn your living.”
“
At first I was curious about you, and concerned about Will, but even that doesn’t explain why I painted that house. I don’t paint houses. I hate house painting.”
“
But you did.”
“
Exactly. Why is that?”
“
How do I know?” She frowned.
“
And I kept coming back. Why is that?”
“
You are infuriating. You don’t know how to have a simple, civil conversation.”
“
Why, Fran? Why did I keep coming back?”
“
Because of me.”
He dropped a kiss lightly between her eyes.
“Because of you. You fascinated me in some way that I don’t fully understand. Fate, I guess.”
“
Fascinated?” She started to frown, but couldn’t. The touch of his kiss remained.
“
What? You don’t like that word?”
“
It’s a lovely word, but it’s past tense.”
In response, he picked her up and set her on the railing, then leaned forward so that their eyes were almost level.
“So, if I’m not an official, bona fide handyman, aren’t you curious about what I do for a living?”
“
You’re a caretaker.” Was he going to be sensitive about it? She touched his cheek. “And you’ve been recovering from the bike accident. If you don’t mind, I would like to say that you need a larger place if you’re going to give Megan a fulltime home. You are going to do that, right?”
“
Yes. I’m going to come to an arrangement with Diane. Something that benefits Megan more than the two of us. But I already have a larger house. I moved to the garage apartment after the divorce and the wreck. It was easier to manage on my own, without stairs, plus the big house had a lot of memories.”
“
You own that house? You aren’t the caretaker?”
“
Yes and yes. The marina down by the bridge, that’s mine. Frankly, I lost interest for a while…lost interest in almost everything, but I’ve been going over there in the afternoons working my way back into it. Good thing, too, with the warmer weather coming fast.” His voice softened, dropping as he spoke.
Fran had leaned
toward him as his words grew fainter. Brian took advantage of the proximity and kissed her.
Frannie leaned her head against
his rough cheek. The clean scent of the breeze fresh off the ocean seemed to promise good things. Not cold, this was a spring breeze whose warm touch made winter an already fading memory.
“
I feel drained, but in a good way.” She draped her arms over Brian’s shoulders. “I’m ready for whatever comes.”
“
How about lunch?”
“
Lunch?” Trust a guy to think of food.
He looked at his watch.
“It’s lunchtime.”
“
Hard to believe. It’s been a long morning. I’m not hungry. Too much emotion, I guess. I could stay right here with you and watch the ocean indefinitely.”
“
Not even a cup of tea? The kind you like? What did you call it? Chai?”
He was sweet to remember, even if he remembered incorrectly.
“Maybe in a little while.”
He kissed her temple.
“You have things to do.”
“
Like what?”
“
Have you forgotten your uncle? You’re overdue for a visit.”
She sighed.
“Yes, you’re right. I have a lot to tell him, and a lot to thank him for. A lot to thank you for, too.” Her peripheral vision caught a glimpse of movement from the direction of the house. She started to turn that way, but Brian stopped her with a gentle hand to her cheek.
“
Not so fast. I’ll collect my thank you now.”
She smiled and leaned forward with the intention of kissing him, but movement again caught her attention and she
turned toward the porch.
“
What’s all that?”
Even from that distance, she could see
people on her porch, but they were hard to make out because of the noon shade and the porch railing. A woman was standing and she was easier to identify.
Frannie
grabbed Brian’s arms. “What’s Janet doing here?”
“
Ouch. Your fingernails.” But instead of drawing away, he slid his hands around her waist. “Looks like you have a couple of visitors. What are you waiting for?” He lifted her from the railing and, after a long, slow hug, he returned her to her feet.
Now she saw a hand, that dear, frail hand, waving.
She whispered, “You brought him home?”
“
For an afternoon visit, that’s all for now. A friend has an ambulance service. He coordinated it. I think, however, that we need to move forward with plans for the ramps and wider doorways. Looks like he might be needing them soon.”
She placed her hand on his cheek, but couldn
’t find the words to express what she felt. She shook her head as hot tears filled her eyes.
“
Fran? You okay?”
She nodded.
Brian touched a finger to her lips. With a grin, he said, “You can thank me later.”
Frannie took his hand. Together they hurried along the crossover, past the dunes and the rustling grasses, to welcome Uncle Will back to his home, his
Captain’s Walk
.
THE END
You
’ve just read
Beach Winds
and I hope you enjoyed Frannie and Brian’s story. If you haven’t already read
Beach Rental
, I hope you will. Emerald Isle, North Carolina is a very special place to me, and the characters in both of these books continue to dwell there—at least in my heart.
I have strong family ties and deep roots in North Carolina and Virginia.
Kincaid’s Hope
and
A Stranger in Wynnedower
are set in rural Virginia. If you enjoyed
Beach Winds
, you might like
Beach Rental
,
Kincaid’s Hope
and
A Stranger in Wynnedower
.
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Thanks for reading
Beach Winds
. Here’s additional information about my other books ~
RT Book Reviews - September 2012 - 4.5 stars TOP PICK
“No author can even come close to capturing the awe-inspiring essence of the North Carolina coast like Greene. Her debut novel seamlessly combines hope, love and faith, like the female equivalent of Nicholas Sparks. …you’ll hear the gulls overhead and the waves crashing onto shore.”
Brief Description:
On the Crystal Coast of North Carolina, in the small town of Emerald Isle…
Juli Cooke, hard-working and getting nowhere fast, marries a dying man, Ben Bradshaw, for a financial settlement, not expecting he will set her on a journey of hope and love. The journey brings her to Luke Winters, a local art dealer, but Luke resents the woman who married his sick friend and warns her not to hurt Ben—and he’s watching to make sure she doesn’t.
Until Ben dies and the stakes change.
Framed by the timelessness of the Atlantic Ocean and the brilliant blue of the beach sky, Juli struggles against her past, the opposition of Ben’s and Luke’s families, and even the living reminder of her marriage—to build a future with hope and perhaps to find the love of her life—if she can survive the danger from her past.
RT Book Reviews
- August 2012 - 4 STARS
“A quiet, backwater town is the setting for intrigue, deception and betrayal in this exceptional sophomore offering. Greene’s ability to pull the reader into the story and emotionally invest them in the characters makes this book a great read.”
Jane Austen “Book Maven” - May 2012 - 5 STARS
“This is a unique modern-day romantic suspense novel, with eerie gothic tones—a well-played combination, expertly woven into the storyline.”
Brief Description:
Beth Kincaid left her hot temper and unhappy childhood behind and created a life in the city free from untidy emotionalism, but even a tidy life has danger, especially when it falls apart.
In the midst of her personal disasters, Beth is called back to her hometown of Preston, a small town in southwestern Virginia, to settle her guardian
’s estate. There, she runs smack into the mess she’d left behind a decade earlier: her alcoholic father, the long-ago sweetheart, Michael, and the poor opinion of almost everyone in town.
As she sorts through her guardian
’s possessions, Beth discovers that the woman who saved her and raised her had secrets, and the truths revealed begin to chip away at her self-imposed control.
Michael is warmly attentive and Stephen, her ex-fiancé, follows her to Preston to win her back, but it is the man she doesn
’t know who could forever end Beth’s chance to build a better, truer life.
A Stranger in Wynnedower
Romancing-The-Book-Blog.com
- June 2013
“Shades of Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase! Shades of the evil Mrs. Danvers in Rebecca! Shades of Jane Eyre and locked rooms and mysterious shadows and the glowering Mr. Rochester!
A good mystery sans shock-value language and with just the right dash of romance is hard to find-but you
’ll find it in A Stranger in Wynnedower. If you’ve read any of the above-mentioned books and loved them as this reviewer has done, you’ll buy into Grace Greene’s romantic suspense from beginning to end. Favorite Quote: He cast those dark, yet warm eyes upon her and reeled her in over a plate of ravioli. ~
An enjoyable read; I recommend it.”