Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Saylor
T oday, we were going to Shepard's to see the progress on the renovation of his house. I gathered it was important for Marshall to show Hayden their history since it was his grandmother's home.
We pulled through the gated driveway and parked next to Shep's Kingston Construction truck. Shep met us at the door with a sheepish expression. "It's a bit of a mess."
There was no work being done in the formal living room or dining room, but a wall had been removed in the kitchen, and a row of cabinets was gone.
"You're living in a construction zone," Marshall said as he walked around the space.
Shep shrugged. "It's just me living here. I don't mind the mess."
Shep pulled out his phone. "The gates buzzing again. It's probably Kinsley. I asked her to come over to see the place. I need her advice on design elements, and this was the only time she was available."
A few seconds later, there was a knock on the door, and Shep went to answer it.
"I didn't realize Kinsley was coming over too," Marshall said as I wandered around the kitchen, taking in the dated countertops and scuffed floors.
Shep came into the room with Kinsley and a little girl trailing her. "Marsh, this is Kinsley and her little girl, Maya. Kins works in the front office."
She held out her hand to Marshall. "It's nice to meet you."
"This is my daughter, Hayden, and my roommate for the summer, Saylor."
Hayden gave Kinsley a little wave, and I smiled.
When the introductions were complete, Marshall asked Kinsley, "You're helping Shep with the design?"
"He asked me to take a look. I don't know how much help I'll be." Kinsley looked around with wide eyes. "This seems like a huge project."
Shep grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and twisted off the cap. "You're good at what you do."
She gave him a look. "I'm an administrative assistant."
Shep shook his head. "You're always pouring over design choices. You can do a better job than I'd be able to. Cooper suggested that we film the renovations and add it to our social media pages."
"That would be really cool," Hayden said.
Shep exchanged a look with Kinsley. "I told you it was a good idea."
"I don't know if I want to be involved in that, especially since I'm not a professional," Kinsley said hesitantly.
Maya sidled next to her mother, peering around her to see Shep.
Shep squatted down to her level. "You want a juice?"
The girl looked to her mother who nodded. "Yes, please."
Shep stood to his full height, grabbing a juice box from his fridge.
"You keep juice boxes in your fridge?" Marshall asked.
Shep shrugged. "I knew Maya was coming over, and she likes juice."
Shep slid the straw into the slot and handed Maya the box. "You want to see the pool?"
"You have a pool?" Maya asked, her eyes wide.
"I sure do." Shep took her hand, guiding her to the French doors that led outside. "It's a little too big for me. Maybe you could bring your suit next time and swim in it."
"Oh, yeah," she said.
Hayden followed them outside, closing the French door behind her.
"Maya loves Shep," Kinsley said. "He's like a big kid."
"I didn't realize he was good with kids," Marshall said, as if he was trying to figure something out.
"He's good with her," Kinsley said softly.
Marshall raised a brow. "Do you know what you're getting into with this place?'
"Shep's been talking about renovating for a while, and he asked for my help, but I didn't think he was serious."
"He seems serious about it now."
"I don't know if I can do this place justice. Shouldn't he talk to someone who has experience with older homes like this?" Kinsley asked.
"He must value your opinion," I said to her.
Kinsley looked through the expanse of windows, watching as Shep held her daughter's hand. Maya looked up at him, and the sight had my heart clenching. He was sweet with the little girl, even if she wasn't his. I wondered if his interest in Kinsley went beyond just design.
Shep came back inside by himself. "Hayden offered to watch Maya for us while I show you around."
Outside, Hayden and Maya were playing with a ball that Shep must have had on the patio.
Marshall nodded. "I can show Hayden around later. They seemed to be having fun."
"I told Hayden not to let Maya in the water."
Kinsley's shoulders lowered. "Okay."
Shep led us around the house, telling us which features were original to the house. It turned out that most of the furniture had been here for generations.
Marshall and Shep shared memories of coming here as kids, worried about breaking the delicate vases and other items that sat on the tables.
"The pool was the only place where we could be ourselves. Remember how we'd jump off the brick wall into the pool?" Shep asked Marshall.
Marshall nodded. "I thought Mom was going to have a heart attack."
"I wouldn't want Maya doing that. So I get it now. Not that I'm a parent or anything." Shep led us into another bedroom with a four-poster bed. This one had dark, heavy-looking furniture. The comforter was a light blue, and the wallpaper was gold and blue.
"This room is actually gorgeous. I wouldn't change a thing in here." Kinsley opened the blinds, letting in the light. "The bedrooms are in good condition. I'd focus on the bathrooms and the kitchen."
"That's what I'm in the process of demoing."
"Pick one room, and finish the demo. Then move onto the next," Marshall suggested.
Shep shrugged sheepishly. "You know how it is? I get a call or have to go into work, and I lose track of what I was doing."
"I can write out a plan of action for you if you'd like," Kinsley suggested carefully, as if she was afraid of offending him.
Shep stuffed his hands into the pockets of his worn jeans. "Why not?"
Marshall exchanged a look with me that made me think him accepting help wasn't usual.
I hoped it helped him. "Your home is beautiful. I'm sure your grandmother would be happy to know you're taking care of it."
Shep smiled softly. "Grams was the best. We had a lot of great memories here, and I want everyone to enjoy it again. I can see huge parties outside on the pool deck and dinners in the dining room for the holidays."
"So you'll want to open up as much of the space as possible downstairs. But I wouldn't touch the formal living room or dining room. Keep the historical elements in those."
Shep threw his arm over her shoulders. "I told you you'd be able to help me. I need you, Kins."
The surprised expression on her face told me she wasn't used to the easy affection.
She finally sighed. "Fine. I'll help you."
He pulled his arm from around her shoulders and pumped his fist. "Yes. We can finally get this renovation job moving forward."
Kinsley sighed. "You know my time is limited because I have Maya."
"You can bring her with you. I'll be happy with any help you can give me," Shep said.
A smile tugged at Kinsley's lips. "I hope I'm not going to regret it."
"You'll see. This is going to be a great partnership."
Hayden appeared with Maya. "She says she's hungry."
Shep clasped his hands together. "Let's eat and talk shop."
We went downstairs where Shep put a charcuterie board together along with deli-meat sandwiches for the girls.
He set a juice box, sandwich, and a bowl of grapes in front of Maya. Then he sat next to her while the rest of us filled out plates.
Shep didn't seem like the domestic sort, but he was a good host and catered to Maya.
Hayden sat at the table along with Kinsley. Since the kitchen table was small, I sat with Marshall at the counter.
When Maya was finished eating, Shep pulled out a coloring book and crayons from a drawer. Maya immediately returned to her seat and opened the book. "Will you color with me?"
"I love coloring," Shep said with enthusiasm.
Kinsley's lips twitched. "I wondered why you had a coloring book in your drawer."
"It's mine." Shep turned to a page in the middle of the book where he'd already colored it.
Maya raised her brow. "You colored this?
"Yeah, coloring is cool and relaxing. This book is great because it tells you which color to use." He pointed out the key, and then the corresponding crayon. "Each one says what color it is."
"I can see the color, silly," Maya said, kneeling on the kitchen chair.
"I have trouble seeing colors," Shep said softly.
Maya lifted her head, gripping the blue crayon between her fingers. "You do?"
He nodded. "I can't always see what color it is."
"I didn't realize that," Kinsley said.
"That's why I need your help," he said with a wink, and Kinsley shook her head. "I already said I'd do what I can."
We finished eating and cleaned up while Shep continued to color with Maya.
"I'll show you around," Marshall said to Hayden, and I tagged along. The scene between Shep, Kinsley, and her little girl felt a little too cozy. I didn't want to intrude.
Marshall walked us through the formal dining room, telling the story of each set of china in the room. "I think each one was a wedding gift. This one was my grandmother's, this one my great-grandmother's."
"That's actually really cool."
Marshall exchanged a look with me, as if he was surprised that anything impressed Hayden at her age, and I smiled.
"The table has been in our family for a long time.
I can remember having formal dinners here when we were little.
Mom would make us dress up in white, short-sleeve button-downs and khaki shorts.
The island version of formal. We were expected to eat with the adults and be respectful. It was hard for us."
"I can't imagine growing up with so many siblings close in age. My brothers are so much younger than me, we don’t have much in common,” Hayden said.
"We preferred to build forts on the beach, and wrestle on the ground. As long as we did it out of my mother's sight, we were usually fine. And we learned early on not to involve Luna. Mom was always worried we'd corrupt her."
"That's actually kind of sweet."
"You don’t have older brothers but have me and all your uncles looking out for you," Marshall said.
"I hadn't thought about it like that," Hayden said.
"Let's go see the bedrooms. Each one is grander than the last. You'll love them."
Hayden gushed over each one, attempting to choose which one she'd prefer if she lived here. "This place is like a dream. I can't imagine actually living here. Why did Uncle Shepard inherit the house and not you?"
Marshall sobered. "He had a special relationship with our grandmother."
Hayden frowned. "You weren't upset that he got the house?"
"None of us were. Hopefully, he can do justice to the house with the renovation, keeping the old and marrying it with the new."
"It will be fabulous once it's done," I said, running a hand over the wallpaper.
"Then we can have a huge family party. I haven't been to one here in a long time," Marshall said, seemingly lost in his memories.
Hayden wandered into the bathroom. "These could be updated."
Marshall poked his head in. "Shep hasn't gotten to this one yet. There's a lot of bedrooms and bathrooms in this place."
The primary bedroom faced the water with an expanse of windows that showcased the view. Shep's things were neatly placed on the dresser.
We didn't spend much time in there because it was his personal space. It was the only room that looked like he lived in it. Everything else was a shrine to Kingston family history.
We made our way downstairs to the kitchen where Shep's and Maya's heads were still bent close together.
Marshall cleared his throat. "Hayden needs to go to the center, so we'll leave you to it."
Shep stood and gave him a brotherly hug. "Thanks for coming over. Maybe the next time you can get your hands dirty."
Marshall nodded. "I'd love to work on something besides flower beds."
"Dad said you might be coming back to work with us," Shep said, walking us to the front door.
"I'd like to."
Shep paused at the front door, considering Marshall. "You work things out with Hudson yet?"
Marshall grimaced. "I need to talk to him."
Shep nodded. "It would be nice to have our family all back together."
"I want that too," Marshall said before opening the door.
"Glad to have you back," Shep said as we walked out the door and said to me and Hayden, "Nice to see you again."
"Thanks for letting us see your beautiful home," I said to him.
"Hopefully the next time I see you, we'll be having a party to celebrate a newly renovated home," Shep called after us.
Marshall got into the cab. "It'll be a while before he can host anyone in that house."
"Is it because it's hard to do most of the work himself?" I asked.
Hayden slipped on her earbuds and closed her eyes in the back seat.
Marshall threw the truck in reverse. "It's because he has a hard time executing plans. He gets overwhelmed with the details. He starts one thing and doesn't finish it. Then starts another. You saw all the projects he had going on in there at once."
"I did."
He looked over at me. "That's not usually how we renovate a house."
"Maybe that's why he wants Kinsley's help?" I asked.
"He should be able to plan a project by now. He's been renovating houses for years." Marshall turned left onto the main road that connected Captiva to Sanibel.
"Is he handling it differently because it's a personal project?" I asked.
"I would think he'd have more accomplished by now. The entire scene feels chaotic to me."
"You prefer order. That makes sense, given your history in the military."
"Is that why?" Marshall sighed. "Shep's always been disorganized."
"It sounded like he knew that was a challenge for him, and that's why he asked for Kinsley's help."
"Hopefully, she'll make the difference for him. I'd love to see that old house brought back to life. It holds so many memories."
"It was gorgeous." The homes were large and surrounded with fences and wrought iron gates. "Everything inside told the history of your family."
"It's a special place. I'm glad I could show it to you guys."
"If Shep is smart about the renovation, it will be a place you can enjoy for many more generations." It was sturdy enough to survive any category of hurricane that could come ashore.
"I hope you're right. I'd hate to see it sit there and collect dust. It's a home that's meant to host parties and family events."
That reminded me of the beach cottage we were sharing. It seemed destined to create memories for anyone who inhabited it. Would I be okay if Grandma sold it one day to someone else?