Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Hazel finished washing the last pot and tucked it into the dish drainer. She paused to stretch and yawn, thinking to herself that it had been a good, productive day. She glanced over her shoulder at her kitchen table with a smile, looking at all of the Christmas decorations that she’d gathered for the pub’s Christmas event.
I can’t wait to start decorating in there, she thought. The Christmas decorations we always put up at the pub are cute, but this year the place is going to look absolutely magical.
She dried her hands off with a Christmas-themed towel that she and Samantha had picked out together earlier in the month, and then walked over to the kitchen table. She felt energetic, even though it was nearly ten o’clock at night.
I don’t feel ready for bed yet, she thought. You know what? I’ll take this stuff over to the pub now. I have a key. I’ll just drop it off in storage and come back home.
She began to whistle, liking her plan. It was possible that some staff members would still be at the pub, but she guessed that the place would be dark when she arrived. It didn’t really matter, however, since she had a way of getting inside. There were perks to being part of the Owens family, that was for sure.
She tiptoed up the stairs and went to check on Samantha. Her daughter’s bedroom door was ajar, and through it she could see Samantha lying in bed, sound asleep. A book was lying open on her stomach, making it clear that she had fallen asleep reading.
Hazel crept into Samantha’s room and picked up the book. She placed a bookmark that was resting on Samantha’s bedside table inside the pages and glanced at the cover of the book. She chuckled when she saw that it was some fantasy adventure story involving fairies and ponies. Even though Samantha was rapidly growing up, at a pace much too quick for Hazel’s liking, she was still very much a little girl.
She set the book down on the bedside table and turned out the light. Smiling at her daughter one more time, she closed the door and tiptoed back down the creaky old staircase.
Once she was back in the kitchen, she began to bustle about with a will. She felt excited about getting more work done for the community event, an evening which she felt sure was going to be a great time for everyone.
She packed up the Christmas decorations into several plastic shopping bags, and then made her way out to the car. She piled the bags into the back seat and then returned to the house to lock her back door. Ordinarily, she didn’t bother to lock her doors in Rosewood Beach, but when her daughter was home alone, she liked to take extra precautions.
She walked back to her car, looking up at the silvery moon and taking a deep breath of the frosty air. The stars glittered magnificently in a velvety navy sky, and she felt a rush of contentment and peace. So far, the Christmas season had been even more wonderful than she’d anticipated.
She drove to the pub, feeling pleased about getting ahead on the work that needed to be done for the Christmas event. When she arrived at The Lighthouse Grill, she was surprised to see the lights still on in the dining room. She shrugged as she got out of the car, thinking to herself that maybe the cooks were staying late to play cards together before going home, something that they liked to do on occasion.
She grabbed the bags and made her way to the front door, which was still unlocked. When she stepped inside the dining room, she was surprised to see Jacob standing in a corner of the room. It was clear that he was still working on one of the air vents.
He turned around and grinned at her when he heard the front door open.
“Hey, Hazel! This is a nice surprise.” He hurried over to her and took some of the bags out of her hands.
“Jacob! I didn’t expect to see you here.” She returned his friendly grin. “I thought you would have been done hours ago.”
“Are you calling me slow, Owens?” He laughed, but she could tell that he was genuinely frazzled. His hair was messier than usual and there were circles under his eyes.
“Is there a problem?” she asked him.
“Yeah, there seems to be. And I’ll figure it out, don’t worry, but I want to make sure I get it figured out before I leave.”
“What is it?” Hazel set her bags down on the floor and took the bags that Jacob had grabbed from her out of his hands. She set those on the floor as well.
Jacob smiled at her gesture. “Something isn’t right as far as the vents go when the heating is turned on. The hot air coming out is fluctuating in temperature too much. I don’t want to just leave it, because a big enough heat surge could cause a fire.”
“Oof, we don’t want that.”
Jacob shook his head. “Definitely not. And don’t worry, I’ll make absolutely sure that won’t happen, but unfortunately that means I need to take apart some of the work I’ve already done so I can look deeper in the vents.”
“Are you sure it’s not an issue with the furnace?” Hazel asked.
A corner of Jacob’s mouth turned up into an admiring smile. “No, I already checked the furnace. It’s something to do with the vents.”
“Well, I’d like to help you if I can. What’s something I could do?”
“Really? Thank you so much, Hazel. Are you sure? I mean, it’s late, and I’m sure you have to be up early tomorrow?—”
“Hey, so do you. It’ll go faster if I help you, right?”
“Definitely.”
He smiled at her in a way that was so sweet, she had to remind herself in a hurry that he had a girlfriend, because her heart was starting to beat faster.
They set to work on the vents. Hazel stood next to Jacob’s ladder and handed him tools whenever he needed them. She felt a little silly doing such a basic job, but he assured her that she was cutting his work time in half.
“I don’t like to bring too many tools up the ladder with me at once,” he explained, peering into the vent with a flashlight. “And having to go down the ladder and then come back up all the time takes a while.”
“And it’s tiring, I’ll bet.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, that too.”
Jacob continued to work for a while, but it was clear that he was struggling to diagnose the issue.
“Hey, Jacob?”
“Yes, Hazel?”
“I don’t want you to feel rushed or pressured or anything, but if we don’t start making progress soon, I think I’m going to call my mom, okay? I think she should know about this.”
Jacob sighed. “No, you’re right. That’s the right thing to do. Give me a few more minutes here, and if I don’t get it fixed, let’s call Vivian and tell her what’s going on.”
Jacob was staring intently into the vent, and Hazel was staring intently at Jacob, when there was a knock on the front door of The Lighthouse Grill. In the next moment, both Jacob and Hazel were staring intently at the door.
“Who could that be?” Jacob asked. “It’s pretty clear from the sign that the restaurant is closed. Besides, it’s got to be after ten o’clock. Who would be out and about this late on a weeknight in Rosewood Beach?”
“Only one way to find out,” Hazel said cheerfully, and walked across the room to the front door.
She opened it, and blinked in surprise when she saw Terrence Rawlins, the health inspector, standing there. He was bundled up in a coat, hat, and scarf, and frowning as if something was the matter.
“Mr. Rawlins!” Hazel cleared her throat, wondering if the pub was in trouble for some reason. She felt surprised and a bit apprehensive to see the health inspector since her mother had made it clear that he was very particular about things being done correctly. “Hi, can I help you? The pub is closed for the evening.”
“I know,” Terrence said gruffly. “That’s why I stopped to knock. I was just walking past, and I saw that the lights were still on. I wanted to make sure that everything is all right.”
“Well, it’s not really.” Hazel bit her lip and glanced at Jacob, who still looked as though he was trying to burrow into the vent. “I was about to call my mom, actually. Vivian Owens. I’m her daughter.”
Terrence nodded. “That sounds like a wise move. Mind if I come in?”
“Um, sure. Of course.” Hazel cleared her throat, feeling worried that the health inspector was suspicious that Jacob was repairing the vents in a way that wasn’t above-board. “Come on in.”
Terrence smiled at her as he stepped inside the pub. “I’m not here to get you in trouble. I just want to help.”
“Thank you.” Hazel smiled back at him as she shut the door of the pub. “We appreciate the help, for sure. Let me just step to the side quickly to call my mother and let her know what’s going on.”
“Sure thing.” Terrence nodded, and Hazel watched him with interest as he went over to Jacob and began to talk to him in a friendly manner.
He doesn’t seem nearly as ogrish as the way Mom described him , she thought. He actually seems really nice. I like that twinkle in his eyes—I bet he’s a really kind man under that stiff exterior.
She sat down in one of the booths and dialed her mother’s number, wishing she didn’t have to be the bearer of bad news.
“Hello?” Vivian sounded a little sleepy.
“Hey, Mom! I didn’t wake you up, did I?”
“No, don’t worry, dear. I was just reading in bed, about to turn out the light.”
Hazel sighed. “I’m afraid I’m about to disrupt your sleeping plans. I stopped by the pub to drop off the Christmas decorations I bought, and I found Jacob still working here on the vents. I guess there’s an issue with the way they’re heating up, and he wants to address it tonight to make sure there’s no chance of a fire.”
“Of a fire? Oh my goodness. Should I come down there, do you think?”
“Yeah, probably. If you?—”
“Okay. I’ll change back into street clothes and be back there in a few minutes. I’ll see you soon, sweetheart.”
Vivian hung up hurriedly, and Hazel bit her lip. She hadn’t gotten a chance to warn her mother about the fact that Terrence was there, and she hoped that Vivian wasn’t too perturbed when she showed up and found him there.