A Haven on the Bay - Nicole Ellis Page 0,74

manager of renovations. Her blood ran cold. Had she done something wrong?

“Yes.” Celia smiled peacefully at her. “He asked for you to meet him at Cottage Twenty.”

“Okay…” This was getting more and more confusing. Why would he want to meet her at one of the abandoned cottages? It was about as far away from the event areas as she could get.

Meg seemed to sense her confusion and jumped to her feet. “I’ll come with you. I wouldn’t mind a walk before I get started on all the tasks Zoe’s assigned to me for the day.”

“Thanks.” Tia shot her a grateful smile.

“I’ll see you girls later,” Celia called over her shoulder as she pushed her walker across the kitchen floor in the direction of the sink.

Tia and Meg left the kitchen and walked out the front door of the Inn. Earlier that morning there’d been a hint of the chilly autumn to come, but since then the sun had warmed the air to a pleasant temperature. Tia was quickly learning why the locals considered September to be one of the nicest months in the Pacific Northwest.

On the way to the cottage, the two of them chatted about the journal Meg had found and the recent flood at Tia’s apartment. As they drew close enough to see the twentieth cottage at the end of the lane, Tia stopped. Meg paused as well, giving her a look that Tia couldn’t quite interpret.

Tia stared at the cottage steps. Both Shawn and Zoe sat on the second step, with Shawn’s toolbox nestled between his feet. A brand-new board had been nailed into place on the bottom step, the pale wood a sharp contrast to the weathered materials on the rest of the cottage. Ordinarily, Tia wouldn’t have been surprised to see Shawn working on a project around the resort, but she knew they didn’t plan to renovate the cottages until next spring. Why would he have taken the time to replace this step?

She turned to Meg. Her co-worker’s lips quivered, like she was fighting to keep from smiling. Tia narrowed her eyes. “Am I missing something?”

Meg couldn’t maintain the poker face anymore, and she chuckled a little. “Nope. Not missing anything.” She gestured to Zoe and Shawn. “Maybe you should ask them.”

“Are you just going to stand there?” Zoe called out. “Get over here!” Both she and Shawn wore huge grins.

Tia approached them, still fixated on the new step. She pointed at it. “Why are we meeting here? Did you need something from me?”

“Not at all,” Shawn drawled.

“I don’t understand.” Tia couldn’t do anything but stare at them.

Meg finally took pity on her. She came up beside Tia and put her arm around her shoulders. “How would you feel about moving into this cottage?”

“Uh.” Tia eyed the peeling pink paint with a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. Did Zoe want her off her couch that badly? “I’m not sure.”

The building wasn’t in great shape, but she hadn’t seen the inside. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as the exterior. Still, it would take a lot of work to make it inhabitable. She looked it over again and felt her excitement start to build.

What would it be like to live here? She’d always loved this cottage, with its peekaboo view of the water through the trees and private location at the end of the lane.

Shawn stood from the porch step and held out his hand to help Zoe up. They walked closer to Tia, stopping about two feet away.

“We really appreciate how much help you’ve been at the Inn.” Zoe’s gaze shot over to Meg, who nodded. “If you’re interested, we’d like to start renovating the cottages next, starting with this one. As soon as it’s done, you could move in.”

“Really?” Tia asked. They barely knew her. Why would they do that for her? A little voice in her head told her just to be happy and not question it.

Zoe laughed. “Yeah. Really,” she said. “Besides, if you live here, you’ll be able to work more.” She winked at Tia to show she was kidding.

Tia let herself give in to the dizzying happiness spreading throughout her body. But then a thought popped into her head that drenched her elation as if someone had thrown a bucket of cold water over her.

“What about the barn renovations?” She turned to face Meg. “I thought those were next on the list.”

Meg gave her a small smile. “We’ve decided to postpone the barn renovations until we’re done with