Coming Home: Family Bonds Four by Aarsen Carolyne

Author:Aarsen, Carolyne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Misty Ridge Publishing
Published: 2020-01-07T16:00:00+00:00

Nine

“So for today I’ve got Hailey in the yellow room and Sabine and Tanner doing one of the blue rooms. Alanna and I will be doing the green room and Kerry and Evangeline are in the gray room. Tricia said she might come and so did Summer.”

Garret looked over Larissa’s chart, nodding as she showed him her plan, the smell of fresh paint filling his nostrils. “Looks like we’ll get done by today if all goes well,” he said. The panic that had gripped him since he made his rash promise to Pete was slowly easing with each day of progress. “I still can’t believe you got all this done so quickly and with minimal interference to our other guests.”

Larissa nodded, her head down, but to Garret’s surprise he saw a flush working its way up her neck. Was she embarrassed by his praise?

“It took a bit of organizing, but your family has been a great help.” She looked up at him then and her smile dove into his soul. “And thanks for helping as well.”

Her hair was held back by a paint-speckled bandanna and smudges of paint decorated her cheek and the oversize shirt she wore over her clothes. And still, she looked beautiful.

“Hey, I’ve got a vested interest in turning this place around. It’s been kind of exciting to see the changes the past few days.” He held her gaze, the warmth of her smile creating an answering warmth deep in his soul. “Sort of like seeing this place rising up and being restored to its former glory.”

Her smile grew, her expression softened. “I’ve always gotten the impression that the only reason you wanted to do anything to this inn was to make it profitable for profit’s sake.”

“It’s a business, of course that’s a priority, but at the same time I have to think of what you said about this being a place of refuge for travelers...” His voice trailed off as he looked past her to a room that had already been painted, trying to imagine what it would like when it was all completed. He turned back to her, feeling a bit embarrassed at his little outburst. “Anyhow, it’s looking good.”

“That means a lot to me,” she said.

Their gazes held and once again old emotions laced with newer ones arced between them. He let his gaze rest on her face so familiar, and yet so different.

Older. More mature. More confident.

More beautiful, if that was possible.

He had to fight the urge to reach out and tuck a stray strand of hair back under the bandanna.

He felt his hand rising up.

“Just the people I need to talk to.”

Garret groaned as Mrs. Rochester’s voice broke into the moment.

He turned to face the housekeeper, dredging up a smile. “What can we do for you?”

“I can’t work around this,” she said, waving her hand at the plastic-covered hallway. “I can’t possibly do what needs to be done each evening up here. It’s a disaster.”

“Why don’t we talk about this downstairs?” Larissa said, taking Mrs.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.