A Haven on the Bay - Nicole Ellis Page 0,19
it.” He tapped his chin with his finger as he regarded the space. “Actually, I was thinking the loft would make a great dining area. Imagine what it would look like with tables along a railing here and then a special table under the window.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking!” Meg wanted to wrap her arms around him. After Theo’s lack of excitement, it felt good to share her vision with someone who understood. “If everything works out, I’m planning to put the kitchen under the loft, and then open up most of the main room for seating, although I may have a few other rooms along the sides for private dining. It’ll work well for larger banquets or for smaller parties.” Her ideal restaurant shimmered like a thin veil over the barn’s current condition as she glimpsed into the future.
Taylor sneezed loudly, snapping her back to the present.
“Gesundheit.” She grinned at him. “Maybe it’s time to open up those doors now and let a little fresh air in here.”
They packed up their breakfast and brought it back down to the main floor, setting it on an old bureau by the door. She removed two dust masks and two pairs of leather gloves from her bag and handed one of each to Taylor.
“So where should we start?” he asked, his eyes darting around to take in the massive space.
She had that odd feeling again that the walls of the barn were closing in on her. After taking a deep breath, she focused on the task at hand. “I think we should try to do this in an orderly fashion. Let’s designate locations where we can have piles for things to keep, throw, or donate.”
He nodded, and they got to work, removing small items from on top of larger objects and placing them in the appropriate pile.
“Is this an old tractor?” Taylor lifted the corner of a tan canvas tarp off of an object hulking in the far corner and peeked under it.
“Yep. Shawn mentioned there was one in here. I think he’s going to try to fix it up for them to use.” The green paint on the old John Deere had chipped in places and the rubber tires had long ago deflated and started to disintegrate onto the cement floor of the barn, but the metal frame appeared solid. “I don’t think we’re going to get that thing out of here by ourselves, so we should try to make an access path for Shawn. Once it’s gone, there will be a lot more room in here.”
Taylor walked past the tractor. “I’m guessing we’re tossing these mattresses?”
She took one look at the soiled, mildewy twin mattresses leaning against the wall and recoiled. “Yeah. Those are definitely trash.” They each grabbed a mattress with gloved hands and dragged them out in front of the barn. Shawn had ordered a large dumpster from the local refuse company, but it wasn’t scheduled to arrive until later in the day.
They moved a kayak to one side of the barn to evaluate for seaworthiness, then added a set of brass light fixtures to the keep pile. “Zoe might like some of these for the guest rooms in the Inn.” Meg rubbed away a patch of dust from one of the frosted light shades to appraise their condition. No visible cracks. She set it down with care. “I saw something similar to these in one of the antique shops on Main Street.”
Taylor stopped what he was doing and nodded approvingly. “I bet there’s a lot of old furnishings in here that would be nice for the Inn. George Camden may have his faults, but I admire how much thought he put into the decor of the Willa Bay Lodge. He managed to keep a historical feel for much of it, while still making it modern enough for current-day guests.”
“Me too. I always loved walking the halls of the Lodge. It was like taking a step back into history.” She closed her eyes briefly, envisioning the bare interior of the Inn at Willa Bay. They’d had some issues getting the roof replaced, so Zoe was behind on getting the rooms renovated. “I think Zoe plans to do the same with the Inn. I know she’s really curious about the resort’s past.”
“What about this?” Taylor rested a gloved hand on the scratched top of a chest of drawers hiding behind a few round tables leaning up against it. “This might be nice to have in one of the