Chapter 7 #2
Faith knew what it was like to put work first, and now, she here was proof that doing that ruined relationships.
Even Casey, who’d always seemed to get everything easily had let work get in the way of her family, and now she had to face the consequences.
“I’m trying to have a fun time while I’m here, but life keeps getting in the way,” Faith admitted.
“We all need a break. Remember when we used to come here to the cottage as kids? Nothing mattered for that week because we were going to eat Mom’s homemade trail mix, stay outside until our skin hurt from too much sun and turn in after playing board games so late that we could hardly see straight.
That was it. That was the expectation for the whole week.
” Faith fell silent. She missed those times with her sister. And she worried for Casey.
“What should we do for Nan’s birthday?” Casey asked, clearly trying to spin the conversation to a more positive subject. “Has she asked for anything in particular?”
Faith shook her head. “Nope. We should probably see if she wants to do something special. We should definitely look for somewhere to buy a cake. Maybe Jake would know.”
Isabella came up to them, swinging her empty bucket, tiny droplets of water flinging from it as she walked.
The ends of her hair were darker, wet from leaning forward to fill her bucket as the tide came in.
Her knees and the backs of her hands were sandy.
“Mama,” she said, pushing runaway strands of hair away from her face, “I’m ready to go inside. ”
“Maybe we can get cleaned up and get some ice cream or something,” Casey said, her adoration for her daughter clear on her face. She leaned toward Faith. “Wanna go with us?” she asked.
“Absolutely,” she said, standing up and folding her chair.
She slipped her beach bag over her shoulder and helped with Casey’s things as her sister wrapped a towel around Isabella.
The little girl slid her sandy feet into a tiny pair of flip-flops that had pink ribbons tied in little bows cascading down each side.
Isabella grabbed on to her towel, keeping it around her shoulders, and shuffled over to them as they lugged their belongings back up the dune to the cottage.
Once they got to the cottage, they rinsed the sand off their feet in the outside shower.
“What is that noise?” Casey said, tilting her ear upward toward the door of the cottage.
The door sat at the top of the long flight of stairs that led from the driveway where they were now standing as they allowed their feet to dry.
Jake’s work truck was in the driveway with large pieces of wood now tied to the rack at the top.
Faith sharpened her hearing, attempting to make out a foreign sound over the wind in her ears.
The house sitting on stilts caused the ocean breeze to whip underneath it like a wind tunnel.
She could just make out a shrill whine. “I don’t know,” she said, following her sister up the stairs.
Isabella was sandwiched between them, which she was glad for because the stairs were steep and open, and Faith worried for her niece as she climbed those giant steps.
Her tiny legs were working overtime to get up each one.
The whining noise seemed to be getting worse the closer the got but stopped just before they opened the door.
When they got inside, Jake was on his knees, wiping dust from the bottom of a giant, rectangular hole in the living room wall.
“What is that?” Faith said out loud by accident.
She’d meant to keep it to herself, but the sight of the hole sent the words tumbling out of her mouth.
Jake turned around. “Hey,” he said, flashing that smile.
He had sheetrock dust in his hair, and a pair of safety glasses pushed up onto his forehead.
Unbelievably, he still looked good. “I’m putting in a built-in.
Your grandmother came up with the idea, and she was absolutely right since there’s no storage in this room.
Don’t worry. It won’t take me long. I’ll have it all cleaned up by tonight. ”
It was a good thing he was charming, because anyone else with a buzz saw and a hammer, would not be welcome during her beach vacation.
But on the other hand, there was something very sweet about Jake and how he took Nan’s suggestion so seriously.
What in the world was Nan thinking, offering her suggestions anyway?
Even if she was right, it wasn’t her place to tell the man what to build and what not to build.
Faith looked for her sister to see her reaction, but Casey must have headed off to the bathroom with Isabella, probably helping her change out of her wet suit and into some clothes.
Nan and her mom were nowhere in sight. They probably couldn’t stand the noise.
Faith was dying to know more about Jake. She had so many questions. If she could ever fit those questions into a conversation, she would. Nan would just ask them outright, no matter what they were saying. Maybe she should be more like Nan, she thought with a grin.
Nan seemed to always have it together. She never faltered.
She was strong, elegant, wise, and, even though she didn’t wait for pleasantries to get across what she wanted, she was careful with her words.
She could make anyone do anything she liked, but she never seemed to take advantage of it.
Even as she aged, and her body wasn’t as agile as it once was, she was graceful with her movements.
She took tiny steps, kept her shoulders strong, and took her time.
But she never let on that anything was a struggle. Faith looked up to Nan so much.
“How was the beach?” Jake asked. He slipped his safety glasses down over his eyes and began sanding out the rough edges of the wall.
“It was nice,” she said, walking a little closer to get a good look at the damage to the wall. That perfectly white wall. “Isabella wanted to come in. We’re going to take her for some ice cream.”
“You should take her to Surfin’ Spoon,” he said. “It’s a cool place.”
She was willing to bet that Jake knew all the cool places in town. “Have you lived here long?” she asked out of the blue.
“I grew up here.” He stood up and took off his glasses, letting them dangle from his fingers.
“I bought my first house down here after college.” There was a look in his eyes.
It felt like… affection. It was hard to tell, as she hadn’t known him that long.
She’d never met anyone as personable as Jake Buchanan and it was difficult to read what was true fondness and what was part of his general personality.
Perhaps she was just overthinking his friendliness.
“I figured you’d been here a while. You seem to know the area so well.”
He turned and faced the rectangular hole, stretching a measuring tape across the width of it.
“So, what would you suggest for something fun to do this evening?” she asked.
“Hmm.” He measured from top to bottom, a small crease forming between his eyes as he read the length. “Have you ever been to the top of Bodie Island lighthouse? It’s got a great view.”
“No, I haven’t. It sounds nice.”
He turned around and looked at her, pocketing the tape measure. “Wanna go? I could come back at around five and take you over.”
“I’d love to,” she answered honestly, feeling much more excited than she let on. She couldn’t wait.