Seaview Inn

“I don’t think I’ve let myself focus on that at all,” she admitted.

“How can you not think about it?” Kelsey asked. “She was so much a part of Seaview Inn. You must see her everywhere you look, like those old sand pails she collected. They looked like rusty junk to me, but she’d get all misty-eyed when she told me about how they reminded her of when she was a girl.”

Hannah choked back an unexpected sob. She could recall her mother’s excitement every time she came across one of the tin litho sand pails with their colorful images in one of the antique shops she haunted. Her eyes would light up as if she’d just recaptured a hundred old memories, all good ones. Hannah had deliberately avoided looking at the shelves that held the prized collection. Only now did she see how much of the past two days she’d spent in denial.

“She loved them, all right,” she said, when she could speak again.

“Oh, Mom, are you crying? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

“I think I’ve just been pretending since I got here that everything was normal, that she was just away on a trip or something. I haven’t wanted to deal with the reality that she’s gone forever.”

“Maybe having me there will be a good thing, then, huh?” Kelsey said. “I can distract you.”

“Given the reason you’re coming, I’d say that’s a sure thing,” Hannah said wryly. “See you tomorrow afternoon.”

“Bye, Mom. Love you.”

“I love you, too,” she said slowly, and disconnected, only to have the phone immediately ring again. She was tempted not to answer it, but given the work crisis she’d missed yesterday, she didn’t want to risk another lecture from Dave about her inopportune absence. Glancing at the caller ID, though, she saw that it wasn’t Dave at all, but Sue Nelson, who’d been her best friend since Hannah had arrived in New York nearly twenty years ago.

“I want to know why I had to find out from your secretary that you’ve skipped town again,” Sue demanded when Hannah answered.

“Sorry. The trip came together pretty suddenly.”

“Jane said your grandmother was having a hard time coping without your mom. Is that why you went?”

“Pretty much. I’m hoping to convince her to sell the inn and move to a retirement community.”

Sue chuckled. She’d met Grandma Jenny and could imagine her reaction. “And how’s that going?” she asked.

Hannah laughed with her. “About like you’d expect. I didn’t even get the words out of my mouth before she was warning me off in no uncertain terms.”

“Then why aren’t you heading home? I’d think being there right now would be really hard. Besides, don’t you have a three-month cancer screening coming up?”

“I postponed it.”

“Hannah!” Sue protested. “You can’t do things like that. This is too important.”

“Don’t overreact. I only postponed it a couple of weeks. I’ll go in the day after I get back to New York.”

“Can I get that in writing? I know you’re dreading it.”

“Well, of course, I’m dreading it, but I’m not stupid. I know I can’t put it off indefinitely.”

“What’s the new date?”

“Why? Do you think I’m lying?”

“I wouldn’t put it past you, but that’s not why I’m asking. I want to put it on my calendar, so I can go with you. I told you when you first got diagnosed that you’re not going through any of this alone.”

Hannah’s eyes stung for the second time that night. “You’ve been wonderful and I will never be able to thank you enough,” she said. “But you’ve spent enough of your time babysitting me through surgery and chemo. I can go to one appointment on my own.”

“But why should you have to?” Sue asked. “Especially when we can go out afterward and splurge on an outrageously expensive dinner to celebrate that you’re just fine.”

“Hush. Don’t say things like that. It’s just asking for something to go wrong.”

“I thought you weren’t superstitious,” Sue teased.

Hannah thought about how recent events had conspired to make her question that. “I’m reexamining my beliefs on that subject.”

“Oh?”

“Long story, and you and John must be about to have dinner.”

“He won’t mind waiting for a few minutes,” Sue said. “Tell me why you’re suddenly leery of black cats and walking under ladders.”

“It’s not about cats and ladders,” Hannah told her. “But trust me, bad things do come in threes.” She paused, then announced, “Kelsey’s pregnant.”

“Oh, my God, you’re kidding!”

“Not something I’d kid about,” Hannah said.

“No, I don’t suppose you would. When did she tell you?”

“Last night.”

“How did you react?”

“You know me. I’m a control freak. I ordered her to come down here before making any decisions. I need to see her. I want to see for myself that she’s okay.”

“And she’s coming?”

“Tomorrow,” Hannah confirmed.

“Okay, now tell me how you’re really feeling.”

“I’m mostly numb, to be perfectly honest,” Hannah replied. “I never expected this.”

“I doubt mothers ever do, unless their daughters are wild ones, which Kelsey definitely is not,” Sue said. “Is Kelsey okay or is she totally freaking out?”

“She sounded calm, but I know she’s falling apart. She’s definitely not thinking clearly. Right now her solution is to quit college and move back to New York with me.”

“Oh, boy! I’m amazed I didn’t hear your reaction to that all the way up here.”

“So am I,” Hannah said.

“Anything I can do?”

“Just knowing you’re there when I need to talk is enough,” Hannah told her.

“I could fly down there and mediate, if it would help,” she offered.

“I’d have to give you combat pay,” Hannah joked. “No, I’ll muddle through this. Just start shaking the martinis the second I get back to New York.”

“You’ve got it, and the minute you decide you need anything more, all you have to do is call.”

“Thanks, Sue. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Thick and thin, that was our deal all those years ago,” Sue reminded her, then added dryly, “Too bad some of my marriage vows didn’t last the way our friendship has.”

“Only because you had extraordinarily bad taste in men before you met John. He’s a keeper.”

“Yeah, I think so, too, which means I’d better get in there and feed him. We miss you, sweetie. Hurry home.”

“Thanks for calling.”

Hannah disconnected the call with a smile on her face. She had other friends in New York, including Dave and his wife, and plenty of acquaintances, but Sue Dyer Martinelli Nelson was the best. If Hannah had said she needed her in Florida, Sue would have been here by morning, no questions asked. Knowing that was almost as comforting as it would have been to be sitting on the porch with her right now, a shaker of martinis between them.

Chapter 3

The Seaview Inn looked like hell. Luke Stevens hadn’t seen the place for twenty years and it was showing every one of those years with its fading paint, untended lawn, and half a dozen posts missing from the railing that wound around the sprawling front porch. In fact, it looked a lot like he felt, as if it had been tossed aside, a victim of neglect.

If the assessment of his life sounded bitter, he figured he had a right. Like too many other men returning from Iraq to find their old lives in tatters, he’d spent months in a rehab hospital in Washington, then faced the fact that going back to the life he’d left in Atlanta wasn’t an option. His wife had filed for divorce two weeks before a car bomb had shattered his leg. The doctors had saved his leg, for which he’d be eternally grateful. Even so, he was a long way from being able to stand in an operating room doing the kind of orthopedic surgery that had been his specialty before he’d come out of military retirement and answered the army’s call for doctors. Yeah, he was bitter and not one bit apologetic about it.

Sitting in a wheelchair during his recovery, staring out at the snow that had blanketed Washington one January morning a couple of weeks back, he’d suddenly had a yearning for the sunshine and palm trees he hadn’t seen since leaving Seaview Key for college more than twenty years ago. Though his family had moved away from the island to live with his sister in Arizona, Seaview had continued to have a special place in his heart. It was home. It was where he’d fallen in love for the first time, where he’d learned to fish and swim, where he’d volunteered with the local rescue squad and discovered his passion for medicine. It was, he’d decided, the perfect place to heal.

There were no memories of Lisa, his soon-to-be-ex-wife, in Seaview, no images of his kids on the stretch of white sand there. After being gone for so long, he could only hope that no one there would remember him all that well. Most of the kids in his class had fled, chasing dreams of more excitement than the tiny town could offer. If he was right about that, there would be no pitying looks to bear, no questions to be answered, just the peace and quiet he craved while he figured out what to do with the rest of his life.

Twenty years ago, there had been only one place to stay on the island, Seaview Inn, a sprawling bed-and-breakfast run for three generations by the Matthews family. Hannah had been in his class, and like the rest of them, she’d been eager to flee. He had an image of a quiet, studious girl whose face lit up when she laughed, which was all too seldom. She’d been best friends with Abby Dawson, his first love, so they’d spent a lot of time on the inn’s front porch, rocking for hours and talking about the future while sea breezes stirred the palm trees and stars sparkled like diamond chips scattered across black velvet.

He shook his head, struck by how simple life had been back then. His biggest problem had been trying to figure out how to rid Abby of her bra without getting slapped. He’d finally mastered the technique by the end of summer. He grinned as he thought of how well that skill had served him in college.

Once they’d all left for college, though, distance had taken its toll, and they’d lost touch. He’d met Lisa and stepped into his future, Seaview Key all but forgotten until recently.

With one call to Information, he’d found the number for the inn, but it had taken him days to get through to anyone. He’d found it odd and discouraging that there didn’t even seem to be an answering machine, but he’d persisted just the same, unwilling to give up on the only plan that had appealed to him in months.

When the phone had finally been answered, it was by a woman who sounded ancient and annoyed. “What do you want?” she’d demanded without so much as a pleasant hello.

“Is this Seaview Inn?”

“That’s the number you dialed, isn’t it?”

He’d grinned despite her tone. Clearly old Jenny Matthews was having a bad day. He could relate.

“It certainly is,” he agreed. “I was hoping to reserve a room.”

“We’re closed.”

Luke decided to try another approach. “Mrs. Matthews, this is Luke Stevens. I don’t know if you remember me—”

“My mind’s not gone yet,” she snapped. “Of course, I remember you. You’re Mark and Stella’s boy. Used to hang around here with that Dawson girl. She was all wrong for you, by the way. I sure as heck hope you had the good sense not to marry her.”

“I don’t know how much good sense was involved, but we didn’t get married,” he said, impressed by her memory.

“Good. Last I heard she was working in some bar up in Pensacola and hanging out with a rowdy crowd. Bikers, I suspect.”

Luke chuckled despite himself. The last he’d heard, Abby had owned a restaurant in Pensacola and been married to a minister. He saw no need to debate the point with Mrs. Matthews. There would be plenty of time to settle the matter when he saw her.

“You said you’re closed right now,” he said, trying to get back to the point. “How soon will you be reopening?”

“That depends on Hannah.”

Luke didn’t even try to hide his surprise. “Hannah’s still in Seaview?”

“No, Hannah’s in New York, but I’m working on that. Once I get her back here, I figure I can convince her to stay. After that it’ll take a couple of weeks to whip this place into shape for guests.”

“I could help with that,” he offered. “I don’t know what you need, but I can manage some odd jobs for you.”

“Not if you’re a guest, you can’t,” she responded, sounding scandalized.

“I don’t mind. It’ll be good to do something useful. If you feel strongly about it, you can give me a break on your rates. I hope to be there for a few weeks at least.”

She was silent for so long, he thought she was going to refuse, but then she asked, “When would you be coming?”

“The first week of February, if that would be okay with you,” he said.

“Perfect,” she muttered, more to herself than him. “Okay, Luke Stevens, you have yourself a deal and a reservation. You might have a fight on your hands with Hannah, but I imagine you’ll be able to handle her. Goodbye.”

She’d left him openmouthed then, just as the sight of the Seaview Inn had him openmouthed now. Apparently he’d been overly optimistic about just how idyllic this trip down memory lane was going to be.

* * *

Luke knocked on the front door of the inn, but when no one answered, he stepped inside and called out. “Mrs. Matthews, it’s me, Luke Stevens. Are you home?”

He heard a door to his left bang open and then Jenny Matthews came bustling out of the kitchen and across the dining room, drying her hands on a dish towel.

“You’re early,” she said, making it sound like an accusation. “I thought you weren’t coming for another week.”

“I was able to get away sooner than I expected. Since you mentioned having work to do around here, I figured the sooner I was here to help, the better. Is it okay?”

She looked troubled, but then shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. I just haven’t had a chance to explain this to Hannah.” She shrugged, then gave him a rueful look. “Well, she’ll get used to the idea soon enough, I expect. Let me show you to your room.”

“You don’t need to do that,” he said, worried about her ability to negotiate all those stairs. “Just point me in the right direction. I can manage.”

“Okay, then. I’ll get you a key and you can take your things upstairs. Less running up and down I do, the better I like it.” She went to a small desk in the foyer, pulled a key from the drawer and handed it to him. “Since there’s no one else staying here right now, I’m giving you the room on the end. It has more space and the best view. Has a real nice bathroom, too. Hannah’s mother talked me into putting one of those Jacuzzi things in there. Said we could double the price if we did that.”

Luke thought of how wonderful that would be for his bad leg, which still ached like the devil when he stayed on his feet too long or tried to walk too far. He couldn’t seem to stop himself from testing his limits, though. Being incapacitated and less than his physical best bothered him more than he liked to admit. Being strong and athletic was as much a part of his identity as being a doctor.

“Thanks,” he said. “I appreciate it.”

“I dusted in there myself just yesterday. There should be plenty of clean towels, but if there’s anything you need, let me know when you come back down. I’ll fix some lunch for you. You can eat out on the porch, if you like. I imagine you’ll find that more pleasant than sitting in the dining room all alone. Won’t be fancy, but it’ll be filling. Tuna sandwich, home-baked cookies and lemonade. How does that sound?”

“Perfect.” He remembered her baking with the affection of a teenage boy for whom chocolate-chip cookies had been only a couple of rungs below stealing kisses on his list of favorite things.

“Will a half hour give you enough time to get set-tled?” she asked.

“More than enough. Thanks, Mrs. Matthews.”

“If you’re going to be staying here awhile, you might’s well call me Grandma Jenny.”

“I’ll do that, then,” he said, and impulsively gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. “Thanks for taking me in.”

“Oh, you’ll earn your keep soon enough,” she assured him. “Now, hurry along. You need to be settled before Hannah gets back.”

He regarded her suspiciously. “Why is that?”

“Trust me, it’s just better that way.”

“You think she’s going to want to kick me out, don’t you?”

“Oh, I expect so,” she said nonchalantly. “But don’t worry too much about that, Luke. Despite what she thinks, I still have some say around this place. She hasn’t sold it out from under me yet.”

“Hannah wants to sell Seaview Inn?” he asked, astonished. “Why?”

“Because I’m old and she doesn’t want to be bothered with it,” she said succinctly. “I’d say that sums it up. Oh, she thinks I don’t know exactly what she’s up to, but I can read all the signs.”

Luke didn’t begin to understand the dynamics at work here, but he did know one thing. People shouldn’t be forced into doing something just for someone else’s convenience. He’d treated enough elderly patients with hip fractures to understand how many of them wound up leaving homes they loved because it put their children’s consciences at ease.

Until he knew more about this situation, though, he needed to keep his opinions to himself. It would be wrong to leap to Grandma Jenny’s side before he knew all the facts, as well as heard Hannah’s perspective.

“Well, there’s plenty of time to figure all of this out, I’m sure,” he told her. “At least you and Hannah are agreed on fixing this place up, so as soon as I’ve had some lunch, you can put me to work.”

“You’re eager. I like that,” she said approvingly. “Now, run along. Your lunch will be waiting on the porch as soon as you’re ready.”

“Will you and Hannah be joining me?”

“Not me. I have things to do,” she said, looking vaguely guilty.

“And Hannah?”

“She’s taking a walk on the beach. No telling when she’ll be back.”

Luke got it then. Grandma Jenny didn’t want to be anywhere in sight when Hannah discovered that he’d taken up residence at the inn.

“You’re a very sneaky woman, aren’t you?” he said, delighted by her spunk.

She grinned at him. “I have my moments.”

Luke had a feeling that coming here was about to take some very interesting twists. Oddly enough, the prospect of a few fireworks intrigued him.

* * *

The salt air and cool waters of the Gulf of Mexico usually worked their magic on Hannah, but today it was going to take a lot more than a walk on the beach to settle her chaotic thoughts. Though she loved her daughter dearly and was anxious to see her this afternoon, she was dreading the battle to come over college.

Oh, who was she kidding? The real issue wasn’t whether or not Kelsey remained at Stanford, but what she was going to do about the baby. Her daughter was pregnant! The thought still boggled her mind, at least when it didn’t make her angry. Of all the careless, irresponsible things Kelsey might have done, this was one that Hannah had never even considered.

Sure, college kids in lust took chances, made mistakes, but Kelsey had always had a rigid, almost puritanical set of values. They’d talked about sex being best in a committed relationship. They’d talked about precautions, just in case a situation got out of hand. Dammit, it was the one subject about which they’d always been on the same page!

As close as she and Kelsey were, Hannah thought she knew everything there was to know about her daughter’s life at school. She’d never mentioned any special young man, not even in answer to Hannah’s direct questions about her social life.

“Sure, I go out, Mom, but it’s nothing serious.”

Hannah could recall her precise words. Well, she’d call a boy responsible for an unplanned pregnancy serious enough to qualify for a mention.

Spilt milk, she reminded herself sternly. She needed to stop thinking about all the dreams that might be going up in smoke. She needed to be calm and rational by the time she picked up Kelsey at the airport. The last thing her daughter needed was a barrage of judgmental, unanswerable questions the instant she stepped off the plane. Nor did she need her mother stepping in and trying to fix things, the way Hannah was always inclined to do.

Crossing the street from the beach, Hannah spotted someone sitting in a rocker on the porch, a very masculine someone who looked vaguely familiar and very much at home.

“Hey, Hannah,” the man said, lifting a glass of lemonade in greeting. “Care to join me? Your grandmother left an extra glass.”

She gave him another hard look, took in the dark brown buzz cut, the angular features on a face that was almost gaunt, the broad shoulders, the lips threatening to curve into a grin. It wasn’t until she looked into his brown eyes, though, that she recognized him.

“Luke?” Her expression brightened. “Luke Stevens? How long has it been?”

“More than twenty years,” he said, his gaze sweeping over her with the kind of masculine appreciation she wasn’t accustomed to, from him. “You look good, Hannah. How’s life treating you?”

“Don’t ask. How about you?”

“Don’t ask.”

“You’re not still living in Seaview Key, are you?”

“No. I haven’t been back in years.”

“Well, what on earth are you doing here now?” She heard how that sounded and quickly amended, “Not that I’m not glad to see you.”

“I just came back for a visit.”

“Well, isn’t that an amazing coincidence?” Amazing and a whole lot more, frankly. It was troubling to discover that Luke still had the same ability to rattle her and make her tongue-tied. Forcing herself to remember the way things had been—Luke and her best friend madly in love, rather than Luke at least noticing her—she deliberately asked, “Do you ever hear from Abby?”

He shook his head. “You?”

“Not since college. So, where are you staying?”

“Here, actually. I moved in about an hour ago.”

Hannah, who’d been about to lean down and give him a friendly peck on the cheek, backed up so fast, it was only luck—and a sturdy railing—that kept her from sailing right off the edge of the porch.

“Here?” she said incredulously. “You moved in here?”

He chuckled and raised his glass of lemonade again. “Surprise!”

“But we’re closed. Who said you could stay?” she asked, though the answer was obvious. Grandma Jenny wasn’t taking any chances. Obviously she figured frugal Hannah wouldn’t turn away a paying guest.

“I made the reservation with your grandmother a couple of weeks ago.”

Hannah directed a sour look toward the house. No doubt her grandmother was sitting right beside a window to get a perfect view of this encounter. “Really. For how long?”

Luke shrugged. “Hard to say. I have some things to figure out. I told your grandmother I’d help the two of you get this place spruced up a bit.”

“Really,” she said again. This must be the help Gran had said was on the way. “She never mentioned you. Did you and my grandmother make any other plans without sharing them with me?”

“Not me,” he claimed. “I can’t speak for her.”

Hannah bounced up. “I think my grandmother and I need to have a talk.” She was about to walk away, when her intrinsic manners kicked in. She turned around. “It really is good to see you again, Luke, but one word of caution.”

“Oh?”

“Don’t get too comfortable. In less than two weeks, this place will be closed, I’ll be back in New York and my grandmother will be...” She faltered on that. “Well, she’ll be somewhere. Right this second a psychiatric facility sounds like just the place.”

She was about to storm inside and have it out with her grandmother when Luke stopped her.

“Hold it, Hannah. If me being here is going to be a problem, I’m sure I can find somewhere else to stay. I noticed a couple of new motels when I drove off the ferry.”

She was about to take him up on the offer when she realized she was being absurd. There was no reason he couldn’t stay in one of the guest rooms, even if having him underfoot was going to dredge up a whole lot of old memories of unrequited longing. It was only the fact that her grandmother had done this behind her back that grated.