Love Came Unexpectedly

“Hmm…he had several women over the years to do the cabins and the laundry after his wife died,” he told her. “Sylvia and Anne something or other. Sylvia did them a few years till she quit to move in with her daughter. Then there was Anne.”

“I haven’t a record of an Anne. I found an old memo about Sylvia, I think.”

“Well, Anne lives somewhere in town. Anne Newton. Somebody should know her.” He took another bite of his sandwich, getting mustard on the edge of his mouth.

Her gaze settled on the spot, making him aware of his manners. His tongue edged out to swipe it, the taste sharp, and her gaze shifted elsewhere.

He guessed he’d passed muster at some point. She didn’t seem as awkward with him now, or as uptight as she’d been yesterday.

“Okay. Where is the washer and dryer?”

“Oh, they’re in the back of the garage. I’ll show you after lunch.”

“Okay.” She was quiet again. Her hair looked golden in its tight braid, although tendrils of it had escaped and fluttered about her face. He had a sudden urge to brush it from her eyes, but kept his hands busy with his sandwich instead. He wondered what she did with her hair when she was nursing.

“Now, how about the lawns?”

“Nathan kept them up.”

“Right.” She nodded. “The place isn’t big enough for full-time care, but I noticed they’ve been tended to recently.”

“Ah, that was me.” He stopped chewing for a moment, and swallowed. “I thought I’d just keep them trimmed until you turned up. I mean, nobody knew for sure if you’d even want the place, and I had the time. Nathan doesn’t charge me to keep my boat here or anything—I mean, he didn’t—”

“Yes, I see what you mean.” Her gaze was speculative. “I have you to thank, then, huh? It’s very kind of you.”

“Wasn’t much,” he said in perfect cowboy lingo, then repeated, “I had the time. It’s a fair trade. But soon my business will pick up and I won’t have time for anything more.”

Another pause. She appeared to be thinking that over.

“Okay. So now I’ll have to find someone else to do the yard work.” She put down her sandwich to take up her tea glass. “How about the boat stuff?”

“Boat stuff?”

“Yes, the, um…you know.”

“Uh-huh. Well, Nathan took care of the docks, the boat lift, and everything else. He kept them pretty neat, too. I guess you can find everything you need—all the tools for keeping the place are in the garage.”

“Active old guy, wasn’t he?” she mumbled.

“Yep. Active as any ten men his age.”

“Mmm…I haven’t explored the garage yet.” She raised an eyebrow. “Couldn’t find the key to it. Do you know where it is and what’s there?”

“Oh, the truck, I expect,” he said, helping himself to sugar for his iced tea. He spoke without looking at her, and stirred his tea with vigor. “Ol’Winnie. And the lawn mower, wheelbarrow, hand tools. You know, the works.”

“A truck?” Her voice went up a notch as excitement entered her system. She slapped what was left of her sandwich down on her plate, and looked at him with sparkling eyes. “There’s a truck included? Really? What kind, what make?”

“Now hold on, it’s not the Hope Diamond, you know. It’s only a black truck. He always called her Ol’ Winnie. She’s about three years old, I guess.”

“Yes, but I can turn in my rental car now. I won’t have that cost and I won’t have to depend on—I was using my savings—oh, never mind that now. A truck! And only three years old?”

It was the most excitement she’d shown.

“If I had known it would create such unbridled excitement, I’d have told you about the truck the other day,” he said, letting his grin spread wide.

She glanced at him, flushed with embarrassment, and grinned back. Her mouth curved in such a way, it reminded him again of the way old Nathan’s mouth made the same curve.

That was it. She had her granddaddy’s smile.

Only on Sunny, it had a sweetness he hadn’t counted on seeing. It charmed him out of his shoes. In spite of himself, or memories of Heather.

“I’ve never driven a truck, but I can learn. Ol’ Winnie, huh? Well, how hard can it be? And it’s only three years old. My old car barely got me to work and back, and I prayed every day that it would hold out just a little longer.”

She finished her last bite, chewing thoughtfully, her eyes full of stars. Finally she turned to him. “Now what were we discussing? The yard?”

“Yeah, well, um, yard stuff… Nathan couldn’t use a rider mower, you know. Ground isn’t level enough. He walked the whole site, when his knee wasn’t hurting him. The part that is kept mowed anyway.”

“I guess I could manage that.” She was a bit doubtful. Her voice grew pensive. “He had a bad knee?”

“Yeah. He, um, he’d get shots once in a while for it. He saw a doc in town.”

“I see.” Her face took on a still, faraway look again. Her mouth, in repose, was sweetly bowed. “Well, I suppose Sunshine Acres doesn’t have much in the way of grass,” she said, pushing back her chair. “But I noticed there were an awful lot of rocks.”

“That’s right, the soil is far too rocky for a real lawn, I guess.” He chewed the last of his sandwich. “Gotta build up a layer of dirt if you want a lawn. Shirley had a few old flower beds when she was alive and could care for them.”

Sunny turned to stare at him, a vulnerable, lost look on her face that she couldn’t quite hide. “You knew Shirley, too?”

“Yeah, a bit. Not as well as I knew Nathan.”

“What…what was she like?”

“Oh, friendly…worked hard, but she liked to laugh. She had the kindest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. She loved being outside, and would stay out till dark most days. She loved talking with her customers. And she loved those flower beds.”

Sunny was silent a moment, staring at her glass. Then almost as if she didn’t want to ask, she did. “Did you ever meet my dad?”

“No.”

The single word seemed to send her into stone. He was sorry he had nothing to tell her, but Johnny hadn’t been in the picture when he’d come into Nathan and Shirley’s life. Nathan hadn’t talked of Johnny much. Shirley spoke of her son on occasion, but very little. His death seemed to cause her too much pain for long discussions.

Sunny shook herself, and smiled. “Will you have some ice cream?”

Chapter Four

The garage was huge, but the only vehicle in there was the shiny black truck, Ol’ Winnie. Sunny stood and stared a moment. Her granddad really liked Ol’Winnie; the care he’d given the truck showed.

Was this really hers? Just a gift from the blue?

Not really from the blue, but it was another gift from a grandfather she had never known. Imagine…a truck!

“Wahoo!” She let out a shout. A truck would solve her most pressing problems.

Grant let out a chuckle. He observed her carefully, but she didn’t care. Elated at finding a working vehicle, Sunny hoisted herself up and into the seat. She turned the key, starting the motor. It hummed like a top.

Her granddad must’ve enjoyed a good running engine, she mused. From habit she looked over her shoulder to make sure the drive was clear, then carefully backed Ol’ Winnie out of the garage. Ol’ Winnie, hmm… Secretly, she found her granddad’s whimsy amusing. Naming the truck—it was an aspect of the old man she hadn’t suspected.

She parked it, hitting the brakes a bit too hard, jerking her forward in her seat. Uh-oh. This truck would take some adjusting to.

“Wonderful! I’ll have to get a pillow to put at my back,” she crowed, looking at all the instruments on the panel in front of her. “And learn what all this means. Will you drive into town with me to return the rental car?”

She’d asked the question spontaneously, as though he had nothing better to do than help her. Glancing up at him from the seat, she held her breath.

“Sure,” he said and nodded. The corners of his mouth twitched, and his eyes sparkled. It made her want to smile in return, but all she could do was stare at the corners of his mouth. “But we’d better do it this afternoon because I have things to do tonight.”

“That’s great timing,” she caught her breath to say. “Then I can do some more grocery shopping.”

She patted the steering wheel, then with resolve, got out of the truck. The rest of the garage was filled with tools, laundry equipment and the discarded treasures of a lifetime.

Turning her attention to the garage, she inspected the washer and dryer, whistling under her breath. “Boy, these are old. I suspect I’ll have to replace them soon.”

He watched her wander to the push lawn mower. “I suppose this is still okay…” She pushed it a few inches in its place. “And there are plenty of garden tools. I won’t have to purchase anything new here.”

Against the back wall was the work counter with cabinets beneath. Parts of boat engines, old life jackets, and a collection of various old license plates lined the wall. Didn’t her grandfather ever throw them away?

She ran a hand down the counter. Her fingers felt the polished wood. A fine sand filled the corners. Her grandfather spent a lot of time out here, she thought.

She’d have a job to clean it up, but it would look tidy by another month, she vowed.

While she looked around, Grant lounged against the hood of the truck watching her. She tried not to notice, but she caught a quick, appreciative gleam when she turned to him.

Over the years, she’d dated a few men who’d openly admired her, yet she hadn’t fallen in love with any of them. She hadn’t had time, what with school, work and her church involvement.

Yet she didn’t mistake Grant’s gaze. She hardly knew what to do with it. Before now, her goal had been to grow up, study hard and make something of herself before getting involved with anyone. That drive had been constant.

The Larsons’ influence had solidified her thoughts, too. Boyfriends could come and go if she wanted them, but the Larsons had encouraged her hard-working habits. They’d said that steady work, a solid career in something she was good at and her church would ground her.

And there would be no hopping from place to place, city to city for her, Sunny privately thought, not like the kind of life she’d led with her mother.

Her co-workers knew enough to keep their relationships just friendly. She’d keep this friendly, too, she decided.

She cleared her throat, then asked tentatively, “All right…can you go into town now?”

“I suppose so. Let me make a phone call, and I’ll be set.”

“Okay, you can use the phone in the office.”

“I’ll use my cell phone.”

Of course. Most people had cell phones these days. Only Sunny, always saving money, did not. She really didn’t need one, she thought, being so busy with work and with only a few friends from her work or church she could call on any available phone. Only her foster family mattered to her, and she called them most evenings from her apartment, assuring herself they were fine, that little Lori was fine.

That reminded her. She’d have to close her apartment. Could her foster father Mark do it for her? She owed him and Jessica so much already that she hated to ask him. Neither Mark nor Jessica were well these days, and they needed the money they got from caring for foster children. But she had no one else to ask and she couldn’t leave the resort to take care of the matter herself.

She couldn’t go on paying the expense of an empty apartment for a whole year, either. She’d have to trust someone to close it, like Mark and Jessica.

Grant used his phone while Sunny collected the paperwork on her rented car. It took all of five minutes.

“All set?” he asked from the doorway.

“You bet!”

Sunny drove the twenty minutes into town, with Grant following, and then the five minutes down the side street to the car rental at the side of the new-car lot. Grant turned off his motor and waited while she turned in the car. When she came out of the car-rental office, practically skipping, it made him chuckle.

“I never saw anyone so happy about a truck. Except your granddad, maybe, when he got it new.”

“Well, a truck! I mean, I’ve never owned such a big vehicle before,” she explained. “It’ll take a lot of abuse, won’t it? And I suspect it’ll make it over these rougher roads just fine. A lot easier than that car did. And it will be big enough to haul washing if I have to take it into town. I’m not too sure about those machines.”

He laughed. “I suspect old Nathan did that on more than one occasion. I’d see him sometimes, hauling his laundry around. Said he’d take it to town where he could drop it off at the Lite Laundromat, and he’d pay to have it done. Saved him some time and effort, I guess, especially if the housekeepers didn’t show up. These last years he’s been lonely without Shirley, and he…” he paused to run his tongue over his lips “…he sometimes liked the entertainment in town.”

“Did he?” She grew quieter.

“Yeah….”

They were almost at the resort when he made a suggestion. “Sunny, I know you want to reopen the resort as soon as possible—”

“Yep, I have some people coming in tomorrow. It seemed foolish not to open it.”

“Yeah, well, that’s good. It’s only good business sense. With reservations to honor and all, it shouldn’t be too hard to fill it up.”

He slowed his car, pulling into her drive, then stopped. “But why don’t you give yourself some time about what to think…I mean, about your granddad? Whatever you do, don’t make any quick judgments about your granddad, will you?”

He turned to look at her, his eyes serious. “He was a fine man. People liked him a lot.”

Feeling warmed suddenly, she was grateful for Grant’s friendship. She gazed at him, experiencing an emotion she couldn’t name…but it was a welcome one.

“I…suppose they did. Thanks for that, Grant,” she said softly. “And I wouldn’t dream of making any quick judgments. Thanks for the ride into town, too. I owe you one.”

His hand on the wheel, he spread it wide. “You don’t owe me a thing, Sunny. But I’d welcome another invitation to lunch anytime.”

“Sure.” she said lightly, getting out of the car. “I’ll let you know.”

Grant drove on down the road. Sunny let herself into the small cabin, thinking about how sweet Grant had been. Sweet men made her a little suspicious—she didn’t know what to think about Grant.

She refused to give her feelings about him any room to blossom. That would interfere with business.

She immediately turned on the air-conditioning unit. Old though it was, it was the only thing she had to cool off her room. She stood near it, raising her shirt slightly to get the cool air against her bare skin.

Heavenly…

The phone rang, and she dodged back into the office to answer it. It was a customer from Kansas City.

“Yes, that weekend is open for cabin number four. Hmm…what color is the cabin? Um, I think it’s the, um, green one. In the middle. All right, from Friday night to Sunday. And the name?”

She was feeling quite comfortable with this. Her nurse’s training had prepared her to deal with all kinds of people, and this was little different. She wondered what the nursing situation was down here, in this resort town. What was the small hospital like? Was it short of staff, as so many were?

By the time she’d taken a couple of more calls, and answered the ones from her answering machine, the sun was low. She left the cabin and wandered down the concrete path to the covered wooden dock.

She noted the remnants of her grandmother’s flower beds that Grant had mentioned. She imagined them in full splendor. She’d sometimes helped Jessica plant flowers. She should do something about them. They would make the place much more colorful, make the place stand out a bit, make it more attractive.

Grant’s boat lolled in the water, using one slip. It was a small runabout. She looked at it, noticing its wear, then moved on to inspect the other, now-empty boat slips.

She folded herself down on the dock’s end, leaned back on her hands, and stared out. The day was losing its heat, and she lifted her face. A few boaters were out on the main body of water, which she could see. But her cove was quiet and serene. What would it be like with every cabin taken? And every boat slip filled?

The sun hovered above the water with its last blasting rays of the day. She watched it sink behind the hills, feeling peaceful. She sighed and strolled back to her cabin in the fading light.

She wouldn’t admit to feeling lonely. Not even a tiny bit.

Going inside, she settled down in the office chair to make a very important long-distance phone call.

Dialing the Larsons, she leaned back and waited for an answer. They were as close to family as anyone she had. “Hi, Jessica, it’s me, Sunny.”

“Hi, honey. I’m so glad you’ve called. I’ve been a little worried about you.” Her foster mother was a small woman with thin brown hair, but her heart was as big as all outdoors. “How’s the heiress? Everything as good as you hoped?”

“Both better and worse…no, that isn’t right. It’s just different than I expected, that’s all. And more work than I’d thought, but that’s good. I mean, it’s keeping me busy. But I’ve learned I really have to remain on the property and run the resort for a full year. There’s no way to get around that.”

“No kidding? So what are you going to do about your apartment? And your job?”

“I can’t afford to keep them. I’ll have to give them up. Can you and Mark go over and close the apartment for me? I’ll write a letter to the manager, but I need someone to take care of what’s there. Will you send me some of my clothes and put everything else into storage?”

“Sure, we’ll do it, Sunny. You can count on us. You don’t have all that much furniture anyway. Do you want me to ship you anything?”

“Only a few things. I’ll send you a list. Tell me, how is Lori?” Lori was the five-year-old mixed-race child she’d taken a shine to, the Larsons only current foster child. The child was adorable, with deep dimples and a smile that charmed everyone.

“Lori is just fine. She’s asked about you several times. Wondered why you haven’t been by lately.”

Sunny chatted for twenty minutes, arranging the pack-up and storage of her things, then, mindful of the cost, she said goodbye and hung up. She sat a moment, praying for her foster family. Mark’s job loss a few months back and his inability to find work again worried her. And Jessica’s asthma made it hard for her to work full-time. How were they going to keep paying their bills?

Could they keep going until she sold the resort?

Her thoughts were unclear about selling. Surprisingly, she felt somewhat glad of the stipulation of spending a year here. She wanted to hold on for a while.

She rose, noting it was ten o’clock. She let her concerns go. Like Scarlett O’Hara, she’d have plenty of time to think of them tomorrow.

She enumerated what she’d have to do the next day. Calling her apartment manager in Minneapolis was first, to let him know the Larsons were coming to pack and ship her few things. Then check the cabins one last time before guests arrived. And so on…

She locked the cabin door and turned off her air conditioner, but she opened the bedroom window to let in air and kept her overhead fan going. The window air conditioner wasn’t giving her much help. Getting into bed, she sorted through the books at her bedside. Choosing one, she started reading a Western.

She’d never before had time for fiction…

Long after she’d turned out the light, she awoke holding her breath, shooting straight up in bed. She had no idea what time it was. What was that sound? Footsteps? It couldn’t be, the resort was empty…

Wasn’t it?

Listening for a long moment, she heard nothing more than the whispering trees and faint lapping of water. She must be dreaming.

Breathing again, she began to relax.

But the sound of the lake lapping against the shore sounded louder than it should. As though something—a boat possibly—had disturbed the water.

The sound receded. Her eyelids drooped. She just wasn’t used to the lake sounds yet, that was all, she reasoned. She’d become used to it…as of tomorrow, the resort would reopen and she expected three families and a couple of singles to occupy the cabins. There would be people here.

The next day, she was startled at how busy she was kept. Boy, were there people! Starting at ten, when the first family arrived, she heard the shouts and calls of children. She answered a dozen questions. She found herself busy in six different directions. When she saw two boats launched and occupying the slips, she unexpectedly felt relieved.

She was in business.

Then, when she had a quiet moment about seven that evening, she felt flat-out tired. But it was a good tired, a satisfying exhaustion.

Obviously, running a resort was no piece of cake.

On Sunday morning, she turned the television on to a TV preacher and listened to his sermon, but she found the preacher unsatisfying. Then her morning was interrupted by two phone calls, and someone wanting to find somewhere to eat Sunday dinner. She tried to accommodate them with brochures, then had to admit she hadn’t a clue about what those restaurants really were like.

Sunday night when the first family left, she immediately cleaned the cabin. She changed sheets, scrubbed the bathroom and kitchen, vacuumed the place down. There would be new occupants on Monday, and she wanted everything to be clean.

She tried washing the sheets in the washer, but found the machine not up to the job. For the first time, she wondered what the health department would dictate. Were there any health-related regulations at all? She’d have to find out. Meantime, she’d have to take the sheets into town.

Another trip to town. What would she do with the customers when she went to town? What if someone wanted something while she was gone?

She’d have to take that chance.

By Tuesday, she wondered what Grant was doing. She’d seen his car drive past on Sunday evening. His employee was in the passenger seat, but all she saw of him was a gray head. He’d had his head turned. Where were they heading? She hadn’t spoken with Grant since he’d taken her to turn in her rental car.

Thursday morning, she grabbed the phone as it rang on her way to clean another cabin. Thankfully, she heard Mark’s and Jessica’s voices.

“Hello, you two,” her spirits lifted. “How are you? I’m so glad to hear a couple of familiar voices! I’ve been so busy, I can hardly even think.”

“Are you busy? I wanted to tell you, we talked to your apartment manager today and closed the apartment. By the end of the month, you’ll be free of it.”

“Oh, thanks a million, Jessica. I owe you and Mark…”

She recalled saying that to Grant. Someone else she owed a favor.

Grant came into the office before she hung up. “Hi.” She waggled her fingers at him, hiding her quickly beating heart. “Um, Jessica, I gotta go. Thanks a million for taking care of that matter. I’ll talk to you soon.”

She hung up. She missed Mark and Jessica and little Lori more than she could say. Perhaps they could come for a visit soon.

“Hi, Grant. What can I do for you?”

“Nothing important. I was just taking the boat out for a ride and wondered if you’d like to come along?”

She had yet to be out on the lake, and the idea excited her. “You bet! I’d love to go. But I’m worried about leaving the office empty before nine o’clock in case one of my customers needs something.”

“You don’t have to baby-sit them, Sunny.” He said it as if that was a dumb idea—and, she had to admit, it was a little wacky. “If they need anything, you’ll be back later. Put a sign in the window.”

Still, she hesitated.

“You think that would be okay? I have to go into town tomorrow and I’ve been wondering how to do it. You, know, run some errands, find a laundry and things. I—I haven’t left this place since Thursday of last week.”