Chapter 7
Something changed in Todd’s behavior after Simona interrupted their flirtatious conversation. It had been years since she’d used her skills to lure a man into liking her. At least that’s how she thought of it.
He’d been laughing and having a good time while he continued to try and help her fix the broken galvanized pipes. She had suggested that he get the rest of the old plumbing in the house checked out and replaced. He’d taken down the name and number of the plumber that had updated her house.
When he’d come back into the bathroom after Simona returned to watching her movie, he’d seemed… off. Distant. Worried somehow.
“Problems?” she asked him.
“Hm?” He sighed and shook his head. “Nothing that I can’t handle.” He turned and motioned to the wall. “Think she’s going to hold up?”
“This one will, but like I said, you’ll want to get the rest of the old pipes checked out. The electricity too.” She reached up and tightened a light bulb that had gone out and smiled when it turned on after she screwed it in all the way. “What else can I help you with?”
“That was it for today.” He leaned against the door frame.
Her mind flashed to the image of how sexy he’d looked shirtless earlier. She couldn’t remember ever seeing a more perfect six pack and pecs, even at the gym she worked out at two times a week. The man was full of lean, toned muscles that she itched to explore.
“Want to show me around your home? I’ve been dying to see what one of these places on Widow Reed’s Point looks like on the inside,” she said.
“Widow Reed?” He shook his head. “I thought it was called Rocky Point?”
“Oh, it is.” She smiled. “But a legend has the locals calling it Widow Reed’s Point instead.”
He smiled again. “Oh?” He motioned for her to step out of the bathroom. “While I show you around, why don’t you tell me all about it.”
For the next half hour, Todd walked both her and Simona around the massive six-bedroom home.
There was the smaller bedroom downstairs, which Todd was currently using, and four larger bedrooms on the second floor, plus a massive master bedroom that sat on the third floor along with an equally large office.
The master bedroom had four wide windows that overlooked the blue waters of the cove.
She could just make out Silver Cove Harbor from that side of the house.
The other side of the house, the one with the office, overlooked the darker waters of the Atlantic.
As they made their way through the older home, she told the story of the young bride back in early nineteen hundred who had fallen in love with a young captain in the navy.
The young man had risked his life and that of his shipmates to save the entire town of Silver Cove by fighting off pirates and trying to lead them away from the newly formed town.
“The ship, Emma Bella, fought off two pirate ships for more than two days, until all three ships sank to the bottom of the cove one stormy night.” She finished the story, one of her favorites about the town.
“Is this a playroom?” Simona asked, rushing over to stand next to an old wooden rocking horse.
They had just stepped into a long narrow room with multiple windows overlooking the fenced yard areas that sat on the sides of the home.
“This is my old schoolroom,” Todd said as Simona rushed around the room, trying to sit in one of the two classic wood and iron school desks.
The room could have easily schooled a small group of kids. There was even an old black chalkboard hanging on one wall.
“Schoolroom?” she asked Todd.
“Yeah. We only came up here in the summers, but my father wanted me to be ahead in classes, so most summers I had tutors,” he answered with a shrug.
“Kids should be able to be free during summers.” She thought about Simona being stuck indoors all summer long.
“It wasn’t that bad. Normally, I only spent an hour or two inside each day. Some of the classes I rather enjoyed. I had a French tutor…” His smile grew. “Miss Sonya. She was my favorite.”
Olivia’s eyebrows shot up. “Adam’s grand-mère?” she asked.
He frowned. “Adam… Carriveau. I hadn’t put it together.” He laughed. “Yes, I suppose so.” He nodded.
“She’s still around. Last time Adam took us out on the boat, Miss Sonya tagged along. Simona’s learning some French from her as well and loves her.”
They both turned and watched Simona rush around the room as if it was the best thing in the world.
“She wants to be a teacher when she grows up,” Olivia explained when her daughter started writing on the chalkboard.
“Well, she can come over here and play anytime she wants. I was going to turn this room into a home gym.”
“Oh,” she said. Thinking about turning the charming old schoolroom into a home gym made her heart sink slightly. But she figured he had the right to do whatever he wanted with his space. Besides, she did like the benefits of him working out.
“But then again, I still have the room above the garage I could use as a gym instead.” He tilted his head. “Which would be better actually, since there’s a small kitchen and bathroom over there.”
“You have a garage with more rooms above it? Where?” she asked.
He walked over to a window and motioned.
“The garage sits across the one-lane street. Because of the makeup of the point, most homes have their garages on the other side of the lane.” He pointed to the four-car garage.
Sure enough, there was a second story to the smaller building that matched the main home’s design.
If this was his family’s summer home, she wondered what kind of place he’d grown up in?
“Where did you live when you weren’t here?” she asked.
“A brownstone in New York. My mother remained there after my father’s death. It was the first place I sold after her death.”
“First place?” she asked.
“All in all, they had five properties.” He shrugged. “The brownstone was the first to go.”
“Bad memories?” she asked softly.
“Too many. Besides, I could never really see myself settling in the city. As a kid, I spent my winter months dreaming of coming back here.” He glanced around and she saw his eyes soften.
Even though she’d first believed the room had been a summer prison for the young Todd, she now realized he’d been happy here.
She couldn’t remember ever being that happy anywhere.
She thought about her childhood home just outside of Chicago, which her parents still lived in.
She’d never really seen herself staying in the city either.
It was one of the reasons she’d remained in Silver Cove after the divorce.
It had been everything she’d hoped for in a home.
The small town was a perfect setting to raise Simona.
“When was the last time you visited here? I mean, after your father passed,” she asked. Since Simona was enjoying herself, she sat down in one of the desks.
“I didn’t,” he admitted. “Until about a month ago, I hadn’t stepped foot in Maine since I was nine.”
“Yet you remember it fondly enough to move back here? What if you end up not liking it?”
He shrugged and sat in the other desk next to her. “I guess I’ll fix the place up and sell it, then.”
“Just like that?” she asked as she started wondering what she and Simona would do if they didn’t live in Silver Cove. Where would they go? She couldn’t think of any other place she wanted to be.
He shrugged. “In the past ten years, I’ve lived in a dozen different countries,” he said casually.
She turned and watched Simona writing her name on the chalkboard, just like a teacher would have, and her heart sank at the thought of allowing her daughter to grow close to a man who wasn’t committed to sticking around.
She’d done that once before with Brock. She doubted Simona’s heart could bear being broken again.
It was the reason she’d avoided dating in the past two years.
She didn’t want to be the reason her daughter got another broken heart.
It had taken months for Simona to stop crying over Brock not returning for her.
In the end, it had been the support that her friends had given them that allowed her to recover.
They had kept Simona so busy and entertained that she’d stopped asking when Brock was going to come back for her.
“What about you?” Todd asked her, shaking her out of her thoughts.
“Me?” she asked.
“Have you always lived in Silver Cove?”
“Oh, um, no, I’ve been here for almost eight years. We moved back to Brock’s hometown when we found out I was pregnant with Simona.” She glanced over at her daughter who was now quietly reading a book in a corner filled with bookshelves and old books.
“Before that?” he asked.
“Chicago.” She glanced over at him. “My parents still live just outside of the city.”
“After the divorce, you stuck around here?” It was more of a question than a statement.
“Yes.” She smiled. “I came into town for Brock and stayed for the people I’d grown fond of.” She sighed. “I had a great job, an amazing boss, and people who helped me through a really rough time.”
He reached over and took her hand gently.
The same hand that had been shattered by the last man she’d trusted.
Looking into his eyes, she somehow knew that Todd was nothing like Brock.
The man sitting across from her was more responsible than Brock had ever been.
Better looking by far. More muscular, kinder, and more patient with Simona.
And that was just the few things she’d noticed about him so far.
“What sort of things did you do for the Special Operations Forces?” she asked. His face changed, somehow growing sadder and more distant. His hand dropped away from hers.
“Jobs that no one else could do. Covert missions in places I’m not allowed to admit to being.” He shifted.
She’d heard about special teams of people who did some of the most dangerous jobs the military had to offer.
“I understand,” she said suddenly. “You probably can’t really talk about any of your experiences.”