Their Last Second Chance by Shirley Jump

Author:Shirley Jump
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-05-14T15:21:35+00:00

Chapter Eight

Harris grabbed a bottle of beer out of the fridge, then headed down the hall of the inn. The long day clearing away the wreckage had drawn to a close when the sun set and working on the site became too dangerous. Harris had gone back to his room and set to work ordering plywood, insulation and windows and scheduling a concrete pour. His attention wandered a thousand times.

Probably because he’d been listening for Mellie’s steps in the hallway. She must have stayed late after dinner at her sister’s house, because the clock ticked past ten and she still hadn’t come back to the inn. Finally, he’d given up on his work and gone downstairs to enjoy the evening air. Or at least, that’s what he told himself.

Mavis was asleep in the back bedroom of the inn, and the other guests had checked out earlier today, leaving the building mostly empty. So when the front door finally opened a little after ten thirty, Harris’s heart skipped a beat.

Why did he torture himself like this? They had ended things long ago, and each of them had a life in a different state, a different world. And yet sometimes, the part of him that remembered an impatient, more immature self at eighteen thought perhaps the past could be rewritten. Lord knew he’d made enough mistakes in his younger years—and a few as an adult—that he would do over if he could. He’d been given a chance to fix things with Mellie—could he really let that opportunity go?

He turned and saw Mellie in the doorway. Her gaze caught his, and for a second, he worried she would go straight to bed and not talk to him. She leaned toward the stairs, as if she’d decided to avoid him.

“Want a beer?” he said, too fast. “And then you can tell me the secrets to long life. You interviewed the town’s oldest living resident, right? I’d love to hear about it.”

Too much? Too desperate? Too insane? Damn. What was it with this woman, that all his thoughts became a jumbled mess whenever she was around? He forgot about the past, forgot about their broken history, and couldn’t think about anything other than being with her.

Mellie came down the hall, depositing her purse and notepad on the hall table. She looked tired, as if the long day had had more challenges than just an interview and a family dinner. “I’d love a beer.”

He headed into the kitchen, grabbed a second one, opened it and handed it to her. She took a long drink, then gestured toward the back porch. They went outside and sank into the twin Adirondack chairs.

“Cheers,” she said and clinked her bottle with his. The faint chitter of crickets came from the shrubs. Mellie sipped her beer, and the tension in her shoulders relaxed by degrees. “So, did you guys get a lot of work done on the house?”

“More than I expected. All the demo is done, and tomorrow we get to start building.

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