Chapter Nine – Kian
Kian
Opal had helped me convince Cadie that staying at my parents’ house was a much better idea than the inn or a blow-up mattress in the cabin for three weeks. I had given Cadie the address to the house last night before we left Opal’s, and I dropped her back off at the cabin. I followed her back into town and to the motel, ensuring she got into her room safely. Not that I was truly worried; Moose Village was a safe town, but you never knew. After living in New York City, I didn’t trust anyone.
“You’re going to wear out that part of the floor if you don’t stop pacing.”
Sally had entered the room without me hearing her. I wasn’t sure why I was so damn nervous. It wasn’t like Cadie and I would be roommates or anything. She was staying at my parents’ place for a few weeks while I was at the guest house, but it was no big deal. Of course, I didn’t know much about Cadie, but something told me she could be trusted. Yet, I knew she was trying to start a new life, and so was I. Was it a good idea to have her here?
“Once one person finds out she is here…the gossip mill wi ll explode.”
Setting a cup of hot tea on the coffee table, Sally motioned for me to sit. “I think the gossip mill started the day you walked into Batter Up, and Ashtyn and Jayme saw you. I ran into Betty Lou yesterday, who informed me that you were seen with, and I quote, ‘That mysterious woman who works for Opal’ twice now.”
“Twice?” I asked, confused, taking a small sip of the tea.
Sally shrugged, but I knew she was holding back. Betty Lou was the town gossip, and in some strange way, she knew everything that happened with everyone. I wouldn’t be surprised if she knew we went into Lake Placid and what kind of furniture Cadie bought. And when it would be delivered.
“She said she thought it strange that Cadie was moving into your cabin now that you’re back from New York City.”
“Well, next time you see her, tell her I thought it was strange as well, considering I asked them not to rent out my cabin.”
Sally grinned and took a seat in a chair. “Why are you so nervous, Kian?”
“The very reason you’re talking about Betty Lou. I wasn’t thinking clearly when I offered for Cadie to stay here.”
Folding her hands in her lap, Sally tilted her head slightly and asked, “Are you wishing you hadn’t offered it?”
“Yes. No.” I ran a hand down my face as I stood and started to pace again. “I don’t know. I hate the idea of her living at the Moose Village Inn, but I hate the idea of her sleeping on a blow-up mattress in an empty cabin even more. It was a knee-jerk reaction. I didn’t care at the time how it would look to everyone else.”
“And now you do?”
I stopped and looked at her. “I guess. I came back to Moose Village to start over, begin a new life, and the last thing I want is to be part of the gossip chain. I like Cadie, I don’t know her, but I trust her.”
“Why are you frowning?”
A million different things were running through my mind, and I felt like I couldn’t separate them all. “I don’t know her, but it feels like I’ve known her forever. How does that even make any sense, Sally?”
Standing, she smoothed out her dress. “Sometimes we have a sixth sense about people, Kian. So she hasn’t shared much about her past, and at first I was bothered by that. But, in truth she seems very kind-hearted, and Opal trusts her. That’s good enough for me.”
“Opal does trust her. Something changed between them last night.”
Confused, she asked, “What do you mean?”
I held up my hands. “Nothing bad, they sat on the front porch for a bit and…well, when they came back in, it felt like they were more…”
“More?” Sally asked.
“It felt like they were more like kindred spirits. I don’t know any other way to describe it.”
Sally nodded. “Maybe Cadie opened up to Opal a bit more.”
I nodded as my thoughts became distracted again. “Maybe.”
The doorbell rang, and I jumped.
Clearing her throat, Sally said, “She’s here!”
“Um, Sally, do you mind if you give her a tour of the house?”
“Me?” Sally asked with a surprised voice. “But I figured you would want to give her a tour. ”
Shaking my head, I replied, “I just remembered I’ve got somewhere I needed to be.”
Before I had a chance to leave the room, Sally stepped in front of me, folded her arms, and gave me that look that said she was two seconds away from putting me in time-out.
“Kian Mitchel Carter.”
“Not the middle name,” I teased but quickly sobered when I saw she wasn’t having it.
“You will give that girl a tour of this house since you were the one who invited her to stay. I’m sure she’s already a ball of nerves. How would it look if you weren’t even here to greet her and make her feel welcome?”
The doorbell rang again, and we both turned and looked at the doorway that led out of the study.
“I’m going to go answer it, and I expect you to be right behind me.”
All I could do was nod and dutifully fall in behind her.
Sally opened the door, and I saw Cadie standing there, with a single packed suitcase and a smile. Was that all she had was one small bag? Maybe she had already brought some things to the cabin.
“You must be Ms. Waterford!” Sally exclaimed as she stepped aside and motioned for Cadie to come in.
“And you must be Sally. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
The second she walked in, I took the luggage from her. “Find the place okay?”
Cadie’s eyes were wide as she took in the massive foyer. “Um, yes. No problems at all.”
“Well, welcome to your temporary housing,” I said as I walked farther into the house.
“Wow, this house is stunning! ”
Sally walked up and motioned for me to give her Cadie’s luggage. “I’ll take that, Kian, while you show Ms. Waterford around.”
Spinning around from where she was staring up at the ceiling, Cadie said, “Please, call me Cadie.”
Sally nodded with a twinkle in her eye and a wink, then quickly left.
Cadie smiled. “Kian, this is beautiful. Look at those steps!”
When you first entered the house, you were greeted by the back of a large rock fireplace that extended up to the third floor. Each floor had its own fireplace. To the left were the steps that led upstairs. They were made from full logs cut out to make the steps.
“Let me take your coat, and I’ll hang it in the coat closet.”
Cadie slipped out of her coat and handed it to me.
After hanging up her coat, I pointed to a door. “Um, to the right is a half bath,” I said as I opened the door to show her the bathroom. “This hallway will take you to the first guest bedroom.”
We walked down a small hall and into the first bedroom. It was decorated like the main part of the house, with exposed wood from floor to ceiling. There was a queen-size bed, and the large picture window had a view of the lake.
“This door is a bathroom. It’s not connected to the bedroom, so my mother always called this the backup room.”
“The backup room?” she asked.
“Yeah, if someone showed up late or came to visit last minute, they went into this room.”
She nodded and followed me into the bathroom. It was my least favorite bathroom, and I felt my mother made it that way on purpose .
“Back out here is the living room.”
“Wow, look at that fireplace! It is massive!” She gasped when she looked up. “You have a moose head on the fireplace!”
I laughed. “We do.”
Turning to look at me, she asked, “Who killed it?”
I studied the moose and replied, “I think my grandfather, or maybe one of my father’s brothers, I don’t remember. It wasn’t my father. He hates to hunt.”
“And you?”
With a shrug, I said, “I like to sit and watch them. Not much of a hunter myself.”
Cadie looked around. “All the wood. It’s breathtaking.”
“Yeah, this room is mostly for show, as you can tell by the furniture. It’s not very comfortable to sit in.”
She pointed. “That nook looks comfortable.”
I laughed. “Macy used to love to sit there and read.”
“I can see why. Look at that lake view!”
“Those doors slide open so you can walk out onto the deck. Kind of feels like it brings the outdoors in.”
“I bet,” she replied.
I nodded and started toward the kitchen. “You have to walk through the dining room to get to the kitchen if you’re in the living room; otherwise, just turn to the left once you walk in, and the other entrance is near the steps that lead upstairs. It’s not an open floorplan like most of the homes today. My grandfather built this in, I think, 1947, maybe.”
She nodded and took in the dining room. “The table is huge!”
“Yeah, too bad we hardly ever sit at it.”
Cadie frowned. “That’s a shame. ”
“This is the kitchen.”
We walked into the large open kitchen. “We spent much of our time in this area of the house.”
“The wood on the ceiling! And those beams!”
I glanced up to the tongue and groove wood ceiling. Large beams ran crisscross across the length of the kitchen and small family room.
“The island seats a lot as well,” Cadie noted.
I nodded. “Through these doors, you can head out to the deck. It has a beautiful view of the lake as well.”
Cadie opened the doors and stepped outside, taking a breath at the view before her.
“Oh, wow. It’s just beautiful.”
When you first walked out to the covered deck, there was a table where we had eaten most of our meals when our parents were home. My mother loved to be outside as much as she could when she was home. I figured it had to do with living in New York City and wanting fresh, clean air. A large stone fireplace with a love seat and oversized chair sat in the corner.
“Let’s head inside, and I’ll show you the second and third floors.”
“Three floors?”
“There’s a basement, too, but it’s the game room. If you like to play pool, we have a pool table down there.”
She smiled. “I love to play pool.”
“You do?” I asked, my brows raised. “We’ll have to play a few rounds.”
“I’d like that.”
We walked upstairs and stopped at the landing. “My parents’ room is here to the right. They keep it locked for whatever reason; just know it’s decorated in the most obnoxious display of their wealth.”
Cadie laughed.
“There is a bathroom here, then two bedrooms down this hall.”
We peeked into each room and then went to the other side of the house. “This area is above the foyer downstairs. My mother didn’t like that it was just a large open area, so she added this fireplace to the existing fireplace and put a piano up here.”
Cadie sat down at the piano and played a few keys.
“You play?”
She smiled. “I do, but I haven’t played in years.”
“No one ever uses it, so please feel free to play it. The only person who knows how is Macy.”
Cadie stood, walked around the fireplace, and looked down over the railing to the living room below. “Great use of this open space up here.”
I nodded.
“This is the bedroom Sally and I thought you would like. French doors open to a balcony with a killer view of the lake. You can see the boat house from up here as well.”
We stepped inside, and Cadie let out a small breath of air. “It’s so light and airy in here.”
“It was my bedroom.”
She turned and looked at me. “Really?”
I smiled. “My grandmother hated all of the dark woods throughout the house, and when she designed this bedroom, she wanted it to be lighter. So she put the white tongue and groove boards up, and the floor is a bit lighter than the rest of the house. She did keep the knotty wood tongue and groove on the ceiling. ”
Cadie looked up and nodded. “It’s a beautiful room, Kian.”
“If you like the bedroom, you’ll love the bathroom.”
Cadie entered the large bathroom and turned to look at me. “It’s like a spa in here!”
The black and white tiled floor led to a large double sink. The cabinets were all white, and the countertop was poured concrete. The large, claw-foot tub sat opposite the sinks.
“This looks like old clapboard,” Cadie said as she ran her hand along the wall.
“You’re right. It came from an old cabin that was on the property that my great-grandfather also built. My mother remodeled this bathroom a few years ago and upgraded the sink, floor, and tub.”
“Just beautiful. I’m going to feel like I’m on vacation.”
“Good! I’m glad you like it.”
We headed upstairs, and I showed Cadie the large entertainment room and two more bedrooms. One of the rooms was Sally’s room, and I showed Cadie which one it was in case she needed Sally.
“There are two more bedrooms down in the basement. I’ll let you explore that area on your own.”
“Sounds good,” Cadie said as we made our way back to the kitchen, where Sally had prepared a basket of food for lunch.
“I thought you might like to take this to the guest house and sit on the deck. It’s a beautiful day today, and you can light one of the heaters.”
Facing Cadie, I asked, “How does that sound to you?”
She nodded. “Sounds lovely. Thank you, Sally, for making us lunch. ”
“It was my pleasure. It is normally me here by myself, so it will be nice to have someone else to cook for.”
“Oh,” Cadie said, holding up her hands. “I do not expect you to cook for me.”
“I know you don’t,” Sally replied. “I want to do it.”
“Well, only if I can make you some banana nut bread in return. I hear you like it.”
“You have a deal,” Sally said as she smiled at each of us.
I picked up the basket. “Let’s grab our coats, and I’ll show you my digs, and we can eat.”
Cadie nodded but chewed on her lower lip. “I don’t want to keep you, Kian, if you’ve got something to do.”
Seeing Sally out of the corner of my eye, I tried to ignore how she was still grinning like a crazy fool. I cleared my throat. “I don’t have any plans.”
“Great!” Cadie said as she smiled at Sally and then at me. The way that smile made my heart feel like it was on a rollercoaster made me instantly want to erect a wall around myself. Instead, I said, “Let’s go.”