Chapter 6 #2
Gus chuckled and tucked an elbow into Jack’s side. “I like to give this guy shit as often as possible.” He grinned at Charli. “And it looks like I have a new partner in crime,” he added, giving her a wicked wink.
Gus pointed toward the far section of the garden. “I was just telling Jack that we have to be careful because we’ve found a small banyan tree that we may need to keep. We’ll have to contact the forestry manager to determine what we’ll do.”
Charli wrinkled her nose. “The forestry manager? They have those in Key West?”
Jack snorted and turned his head to follow the clearing process. “They regulate everything in Key West. Just wait until we start working on the main house. Any change to the structure will require approval.”
“Huh.” Despite wearing her darkest sunglasses, the sun’s brilliant glare was still blinding. Charli shaded her eyes and looked over the wall. She was pleasantly surprised at the progress the workers had made. “Wow, it looks better already.”
Jack leaned both arms on top of the wall.
“Yeah, we have the best crew in the Keys.” He glanced back at her and dug his phone from his pocket.
Pulling up a photo he’d taken yesterday in Art’s office, he magnified a section and showed her.
“Based on this plat map, we’ve already found the majority of the markers for the original garden.
We shouldn’t have any problems recreating the design. ”
“Plus we plan to add a few elements that are documented in other historic gardens,” Gus added. “We have people searching antique stores up and down the keys for a few items.”
Charli nodded absently then peered up at Jack. “Did I hear you fighting with George this morning?”
Gus cackled, and Jack gave her a look of disgust. He held up his right arm that sported several long, red scratches. “The little bastard was not happy that we were moving his brood.”
Charli chuckled. “I’m glad I’m not the only one he’s pissing off. Do you know he crows at 6 AM every morning?”
Jack grinned. “Yeah, I do. He’s a real asshole, isn’t he?”
“Mmmmm,” Charli hummed in agreement. “Did you put the chickens in the back?”
Jack gestured over his shoulder. “You wanna see?”
“Sure,” she replied, being careful not to move her head too much.
Jack gave her a soft, sympathetic smile and placed his hand lightly on her middle back, sending shivers shooting down her spine and heat blooming through her core.
What was it about this guy that made her tingle?
“Come on,” he urged lightly. “George isn’t around right now—I’m sure he’s out terrorizing some poor tourist. But Henrietta and her babies are all nice and cozy by the old pool.
We won’t have to worry about them moving through the front garden while we’re cleaning out the area. It’s too much noise and activity.”
Charli waved a goodbye to Gus as Jack led her away.
She glanced over the wall several times as they walked to the entrance toward the rear of the compound, taking in the weathered wooden gate doors.
“I can’t believe how run down it all seems now.
” Her heart sank at the thought of her aunt being overwhelmed by the property that she had loved so much.
Charli looked up at Jack as he stopped to open the gate, emotion clogging her throat.
“Why didn’t she ask for help?” she choked out. “I would have been down here in a heartbeat if I had known it was this bad.”
Jack reached for her hand and gave it a light squeeze. “She didn’t have to ask anyone—we offered several times, but she refused.” He shrugged. “Like I said, she would say it wasn’t the right time. That it wasn’t ready.”
Charli cursed under her breath, tired of the cryptic postmortem messages from her aunt. She looked up to the sky and nearly shouted, “But why?” The question was rhetorical, of course—she knew Jack didn’t have the answer. “Why waste all this time and let it get like this?”
Jack’s lips pressed together as if he were holding his answer back, and then he released a deep breath. “I asked myself that a thousand times. But it was her choice to make.” His hand landed on her arm and rubbed up and down, soothing her. “Come on. Let me show you what we set up this morning.”
As they walked on the gravel path between the buildings, several chicks scampered along the edges looking for bugs, bringing a smile to Charli’s face. “Aww...they’re so cute and fluffy.”
“Mmmhmmm,” Jack responded. “For now. Then they grow up to be little assholes like George,” he added sarcastically.
Charli laughed. “How many are there?”
Jack pursed his lips. “There’s no telling. I haven’t counted how many chicks are running around in here right now. But George and Henrietta have progeny all over the island.”
“Really? That’s amazing.”
Jack snorted. “This island is crawling with chickens, and they’re protected, so they tend to stick around.” He pointed to what looked like a large wooden dollhouse with several openings and numerous little ramps located around it.
Charli’s brows shot up. “You made that?”
He gave a sharp shake of his head. “Gus had the guys pull one together for us. This and all the noise we make should keep most of the brood from wandering near our construction areas for now. They’ll like all the bugs in this spot.
” He gestured behind them at the other buildings.
“When we start working back here, we’ll move them up to the front section. ”
Charli hummed. “Looks like you’ve thought of everything.”
Jack grunted and gave her a wary expression, as if hesitant to say something. “There is something else I wanted to talk to you about today.”
“Yeah? What about?” she asked, shading her eyes as she looked up at him.
He cleared his throat. “It’s about spreading Dottie’s ashes.” His tone was soft as he reached out a hand and rubbed her arm. “We should probably plan that out soon. Get it over with so we can focus on this place.”
Charli’s stomach twisted at the subject, but she reached down to grasp his hand and give it a light squeeze.
“You’re right. Thank you for helping with this.
” She swallowed the lump that was clogging her throat.
“I know there’s a three-hour ferry ride we can take out there. Is that what you’re thinking?”
“No,” Jack responded, his voice sharp. “No, we’re not taking a miserable ferry ride out to the Dry Tortugas that’s full of drunk tourists and vomiting kids.
” He shook his head gently, his voice losing some of the edge it had contained.
His fingers held on to hers and tightened briefly. “No, I have a better idea.”
“Okay. What were you thinking?” Her heartbeat quickened at the intensity on his face. It was obvious he took this last request of Aunt Dottie’s as seriously as she did.
“We’ll take my seaplane out, scatter her ashes, have a picnic, enjoy the island, and then we’ll fly back. Make it a real celebration of her life. It feels like something she would want us to do.”
Charli stared at him for a moment, her mouth hanging open. “That sounds amazing, Jack. But...” She scrunched her nose. “You have a seaplane?”
“Well,” he answered as he scratched his head, “my family has a seaplane and since I’m one of their best pilots, I can use it anytime it’s available. We keep it over on Stock Island.”
Her jaw dropped even further. “You’re kidding. I didn’t know you were a pilot.” She huffed. “Geez, Jack, is there anything you can’t do?”
He gave her a silly grin, his dimples popping out. “I can’t argue a case in court, if that makes you feel better.”
Charli chuckled. “Yeah, that actually does make me feel better.” She pressed her lips together and considered him thoughtfully. “Are you sure your family won’t mind if you take me out there? I mean, gas isn’t cheap—and I’ll totally pay for all of it. I really don’t want to impose.”
His hand sliced through the air. “It’s not something to worry about. My family runs a tour and guiding company, so we own several boats, a plane, and a seaplane.”
“Wow, that’s really impressive, Jack.”
He shrugged again. “It’s not a big deal. And tourism is the biggest employer in the Keys. It would be crazy not to cash in on that and my family has been doing it for generations.” He tilted his head and his chocolate eyes warmed. “So what do you think?”
Charli sighed and smiled. “It sounds perfect. Thank you.” She pulled her fingers from his grasp and leaned up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, feeling a slight tingle as her lips touched his stubble. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Jack. You’ve been amazing.”
Holding a hand over the spot where her lips touched, he gave her a roguish grin, his eyes twinkling. “Just face it. You’d completely fall apart without me.”
Charli laughed. “I don’t think you’re wrong about that, Jack.” She sobered. “When do you want to go?”
His brows rose as he tilted his head. “When can you go? What’s your schedule look like?”
Charli snorted and held up her hands. “Other than Annette stopping by on the cruise ship next week, my schedule is wide open.”
His lips twisted to the side. “Okay. Then I think the sooner the better. Let me see when I can take the plane, and then we’ll figure out when we can get this mission completed.” He put his arm around her shoulders and gave a light squeeze. “I think we’ll both feel better when it’s done.”
“Okay.” Charli smiled up at him. “Thanks, Jack.”
“No thanks are necessary. I’m honored to help you with this. Dottie was important to me, too.”
Looking toward the main house, Charli walked over to the old, dilapidated porch and glanced up at the balcony. She took a sip of her coffee and considered the structure. It looked so different from what she remembered. “When do you think we’ll get started on the main house?”
Jack pursed his lips and stared at the building for a moment. “Maybe next week if we can get all the permits in. That’s usually the biggest hang up. Or if we run into any unexpected problems.”
“Unexpected problems?” The thought made Charli pause.