Chapter 23
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Audrey leaned over the soup pot that bubbled on the stove of The Birchwood House. A hearty, herbal aroma wafted up from the stew, and Audrey took a deep breath and smiled.
“Smells amazing,” Evan said, looking up from where he was slicing the fresh bread that Shep had dropped off for Elaine for free. “I can’t wait to taste it with this bread, which seems perfect, by the way. Crunchy crust on the outside and springy white fluff on the inside.”
“You make it sound like cake,” Audrey teased, coming over to him and giving him a kiss.
She looked down at the slices of bread and whistled.
“Okay, wow, that does look really good. You know, I don’t think I’ve ever had plain old sourdough bread from Townsend’s before.
I should have known it would be incredible. ”
“Especially with this stew we’re making. You know, I think I can tell just from the smell alone that those red potatoes are going to be better than russet potatoes.”
“My grandmother always swore by them,” Audrey said cheerfully as she sprinkled more pieces of minced garlic into the soup pot. “For mashed potatoes and meat pies as well. They take longer to peel, but they taste that much better.”
She hummed as she stirred the warm and cozy stew. There were pieces of steak, sliced carrots, pieces of celery, and the potatoes—as well as a sprinkling of minced bacon and a scrumptious blend of spices.
“Here,” Evan said, picking up the tiniest slice from the end of the loaf. “Catch.”
Audrey squealed and dropped the ladle as the bread came flying through the air toward her. She just barely managed to catch the slice, but she did, and held it up triumphantly, giggling.
“A champ!” Evan teased. “She’s ready to enter the bread-catching Olympics.”
“Oh, stop.” She laughed and dipped the slice into the stew, blowing on it a couple of times before bringing it to her lips. “But I might enter a cooking competition with this stew. Taste this.” She dipped a spoon into the stew and carried it over to Evan. “Amazing, isn’t it?”
Evan carefully sipped on the spoon, and his eyebrows lifted a moment later. “Wow, it really is. I can’t wait to dig in to all this.”
“Should be any minute now,” Audrey announced cheerfully. “We should set the table.”
Evan carried the plate of sliced bread over to the kitchen table and Audrey started to set out the water glasses. By the time she returned to the kitchen cupboards, Evan was already there getting out the bowls.
“I love how well we work as a team,” she said, laughing and touching his arm. “It’s like every time I turn around, you’re taking care of something so that I don’t have to.”
“I feel that way about you,” he said, nuzzling her nose with his.
Audrey took the bowls out of his hands and set them down on the counter.
She wrapped her arms around Evan, hugging him tightly.
“Your love makes me feel like I can actually get through anything that this world—or even Clark—can throw my way.” She laughed.
“Knowing I don’t have to handle everything by myself makes me feel so safe.
I know things won’t be perfect, and that trials will come and go, just like this situation with Clark, but I also know that it’ll all be okay.
I’m not afraid of the future the way I was a little while ago. ”
Evan kissed the top of her head. “I’m so glad. I want to make sure that you feel safe and protected. It’s my honor to be there for you, for whatever you need. I truly meant what I said to Clark, about how much I admire you. I think you’re absolutely incredible—so hardworking, and such a visionary.”
“Oh, Evan,” Audrey said, as tears filled her eyes.
They shared another tender kiss. A few seconds later, they heard the sound of the kitchen door opening, followed by a squeal.
“Gosh you guys,” Michelle said as she burst into the kitchen. “Don’t you know that it’s unsanitary to be kissing in the kitchen?”
Audrey rolled her eyes, laughing. “Oh my goodness. I would say that your timing is terrible, except it’s not actually too bad. Dinner is ready.”
“I thought so,” Michelle said. “I could smell this glorious stew all the way over at my desk in the front entryway.” She went over to the pot and sniffed it eagerly. “Wow, I can’t wait to eat this.”
Michelle helped Evan and Audrey finish setting the table, which had a bouquet of wildflowers resting in the center of it.
“Isn’t this charming?” Audrey said happily, looking over the lovely table. “Stew, homemade bread, and wildflowers. Somebody call one of those magazines and have them take a picture.”
“I don’t think Townsend’s bread counts as homemade,” Michelle teased.
“Why not?” Elaine said, stepping into the kitchen and joining their conversation seamlessly. “Shep makes all his bread from scratch. He doesn’t use a lot of machinery the way they do in factories where bread is made. He also uses real ingredients, not processed nonsense.”
“Okay, I stand corrected.” Michelle laughed. “Leave it to Grandma to appear right in time to clear Shep’s good name.”
“Oh stop,” Elaine said, but she was blushing.
They had just sat down at the table together when Audrey’s phone began to ring. She pulled it out of her pocket, feeling worried that it was Clark.
If it is, I’m just going to send him to voicemail and enjoy this lovely meal, she thought. I’m not letting him disrupt my life anymore.
The caller wasn’t Clark, however. It took Audrey a second to recognize the name on her phone screen, but a moment later she realized with a jolt that it was Evan’s lawyer.
“It’s your lawyer, Evan,” she blurted. “Should I answer it?”
“Yes,” Michelle said immediately, and Evan nodded.
“I would,” he said. “And don’t look so nervous. I’m sure it’s good news.”
Audrey offered him a weak smile and answered the call.
“Hello?” she said, and beside her, Elaine squeezed her hand.
“Hi, Audrey, this is Jim Donaldson,” said a cheerful voice on the other line. Audrey could just picture a large handlebar mustache and a face with deep laugh lines. “I’m Evan McBride’s lawyer. Do you have a minute?”
Audrey cleared her throat, feeling more nervous than ever despite the cheerful tone of Jim’s voice. “Yes. I have a minute.”
“Great. I reached out to your ex-husband, Clark Lowe, at the request of Evan. And it was a good conversation, I’d say. He’s dropping his demand for the grandfather clock.”
“What?” Audrey felt disoriented, as if she’d just stumbled into a new world that felt a great deal brighter. “He’s—really? Are you sure?”
Jim laughed. “I’m positive. I presented reality to him in a way that scared him pretty badly, I’d say. He’s leaving town and he’s not going to have the audacity to demand that clock—or anything else—ever again.”
“What?” Michelle whispered, squirming with suspense. “What’s he saying?”
“That’s wonderful news, Jim,” Audrey said, hardly able to contain her excitement.
“Glad to be of service. If you have any questions for me, be sure to let me know.”
“I will. Thank you.”
“Of course. Bye now.”
As soon as she heard the click of Jim hanging up his phone, Audrey turned to the table with a radiant grin.
“Clark’s not demanding the clock anymore!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “He’s leaving town. Everything is fine!”
As she said the words, tears of relief sprang into her eyes.
Michelle let out a whoop and stood up to hug her mother, and then Elaine wrapped her arms around both of them.
From the middle of the group hug, Audrey looked across the table at Evan, who was gazing at her with an expression that made her heart skip a beat.
She laughed and let a few of the tears spill out of her eyes, feeling blessed beyond measure.
I’m almost glad all that happened, she thought. Now I feel that much happier to get to experience my regular life again. It’s going to be even sweeter now.
They all started talking and laughing, thanking Evan and congratulating each other on being out from underneath Clark’s shadow.
Elaine dished out generous portions of the steaming stew, and Audrey started to butter her slices of bread, still feeling too stunned and overjoyed to eat right that second.
A moment later, Elaine’s phone, which was resting on the table, lit up with a notification.
“Hey, Grandma,” Michelle said, picking it up. “You should click on this. It says we got another Google review for The Birchwood House.”
“We did?” Elaine took her phone from Michelle hurriedly, looking a touch nervous.
You’d think by now she wouldn’t feel as jittery over a new review, Audrey thought with a chuckle. I have to admit, I feel fluttery myself about it though.
Elaine clicked on her phone screen a few times, and then her face lit up with a grin. “It’s five stars,” she said, looking elated.
Michelle cheered and gave Evan a high-five.
“Don’t look so surprised, Mom,” Audrey said, wrapping her arms around her mother. “Our guests are always telling us how much they love to be here.”
“Oh, I know,” Elaine said, hugging Audrey back tightly. “But people say things in reviews they might not be willing to say in person. Like, what if they were really cold in the middle of the night and didn’t tell us but then left a three-star review?”
Evan shook his head, chuckling. “You made sure all the rooms were well-heated before you opened. You always make sure the hot water is working. You make sure all your guests have toiletries and extra blankets and snacks. The Birchwood House is going to keep on getting wonderful reviews because you’re so well-prepared and such thoughtful, hard-working hosts. ”
“Hear, hear!” Michelle clapped.
“Even if we do get a not-great review soon,” Audrey said, “we can take it. We’ve got so many good reviews now, it’s abundantly clear this is a great place to stay. I think you can officially stop worrying, Mom.”
“You’re right.” Elaine grinned.
“Speaking of our guests having a wonderful time here,” Audrey said with a sly smile. “Do you remember the bottle of champagne that couple from Hawaii gave us as a gift? I think we have two perfect reasons to pop it open—Clark is admitting defeat, and we just got another five-star review.”
“Sounds perfect,” Michelle said. “Two fantastic reasons to celebrate.”
“I agree,” Elaine said. “Where did we put that bottle? Is it up here in the kitchen?”
“No, I’ve got it down in the cellar,” Audrey said, standing up. “I’ll just run and grab it.”
She smiled as she closed the door to the kitchen.
She could hear Michelle chattering eagerly, and Elaine laughing.
Although she couldn’t see Evan anymore, she could perfectly picture the gleam of happiness in his eyes.
She knew it meant a great deal to him that he’d been able to fix her troublesome situation for her.
Not nearly as much as it means to me, she thought with a sigh, pausing in the middle of the hallway.
The door that led to the cellar was underneath the grand staircase.
It was painted the same white as the walls in the hallway, and despite being graced with a bit of carving was generally inconspicuous.
The only thing that really gave it away was the gold doorknob, which was delicately small because it was an antique.
Before opening the cellar door, Audrey looked around the hallway, enjoying the sight of everything around her.
The art that she and her mother and daughter had hung on the walls was colorful and imaginative, while also sparking feelings of peace.
She could see traces of the sunset through the glow that lit up the stained-glass windows that surrounded the front door.
In the parlor, guests were talking and laughing, and one of them was playing the piano with artistic brilliance.
I love this house, Audrey thought. And I feel totally safe here again now.
She walked down the hallway toward the grandfather clock and stopped in front of it.
She smiled, admiring how beautiful the clock was.
It was polished and dust-free, and it gleamed in the light.
She loved the persistent ticking sound it made, always steady, never wavering.
She found it comforting, and she had ever since she was a little girl.
It had been her favorite thing in the house with Clark, and it was her favorite thing in The Birchwood House now.
She inhaled, feeling grateful that it would be staying for good, now. It would continue to welcome guests into the beautiful old house—a place where both visitors and owners would thrive and find peace and happiness.