Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
MARLOWE
A blast of cold air startled the baby. Holly began to wail. What was Marlowe supposed to do now?
“What's this?” A frisky breeze lifted the architect’s thick dark hair, streaked with gray. He had a roll of drawings tucked under one arm. “Did I scare you? Didn't mean to,” he said in a voice that seemed used to dealing with children. “Sorry, guess I'm early.”
“No problem.” She waved him inside with one arm while bouncing Holly in the other. At least she’d get to see the drawings.
“I finished my earlier appointment and thought I would just come over.” He was eyeing the baby with questioning eyes as he toed off his boots. “For some reason I thought this precious little thing belonged to Izzy, the young woman I met before.”
Young? Did he mean that Marlowe wasn’t young ? She turned to lead him into the living room. Holly was still crying. “And you'd be right. Holly is my niece. Please follow me.” The living room had not been picked up and she really didn't care. Stepping carefully over the Fisher Price toys, she winced when she felt one crunch underfoot. Her main concern was that the kitchen island might have this morning's breakfast all over it. Sam and Aunt Cate had been busy dealing with that when Marlowe dashed upstairs to change.
“Why don't you have a seat. I'm Marlowe Quinn, Izzy’s sister.” Holly had found Marlowe's ponytail, now slung over one shoulder. The baby’s hands must be sticky. Marlowe could smell the syrup. Her cute little niece began to tug.
Sitting down in the big blue and white striped chair with the fraying arms, he perched on the edge. “I'm Seth. Seth Barrett. The family asked me to bid on the renovation project.”
“Yes and thank you for coming.” Holly’s cries had turned to hiccups. Where was the rest of the family? Certainly they'd heard the bell, which still played “We wish you a Merry Christmas.” Once she’d disentangled Holly’s tiny fingers from her hair, Marlowe tried to concentrate. Her niece kept fidgeting and Marlowe took a seat on the sofa. The last thing she wanted was to drop Holly. If there was a confidence scale of one to ten in childcare, she was feeling like a two. “I'm looking forward to seeing those sketches.”
“Hope you like them.” Seth bounced the roll of plans against one knee. “You must be the niece from Florida. The one who's in real estate?”
He was trying to make conversation and Marlowe was working on her deep breathing. At least Holly had stopped crying. “Right. I guess someone from the family told you that.”
“When your aunt called to ask me to come early, she mentioned you as the niece from Naples, Florida, who had seen a lot of great renovations in her real estate work.”
Thank goodness Aunt Cate appeared in the doorway, looking pert as ever in her khaki wool slacks and a sky blue cashmere sweater. Her hair was perfect but her signature red lipstick looked a bit crooked. She must have dashed upstairs to change when the doorbell rang. “Well, did you two have
a chance to chat?” The cheery note in her aunt's voice deepened Marlowe's suspicions.
Holly had decided that she wanted to stand up on Marlowe's lap. Once she got to her feet, the little thing began to bounce with impatience. “She probably wants to be in that runabout thing,” Aunt Cate said, pointing to the corner.
“Oh, right.” Would she ever get the hang of this? With the baby in her arms, Marlowe got up, kicked the runabout out of the corner with one foot and slid Holly into position.
“Happy now?” Marlowe asked, smoothing the top of Holly’s head.
“You bet,” she said, clear as could be.
“You’re so good with children,” Aunt Cate said with way more confidence than Marlowe felt at that moment. Thank goodness Holly pushed off with a delighted yelp.
An embarrassed chill ran up Marlowe’s spine. Standing, she turned to give her aunt a pointed look. What was this about? Her hair smelled like syrup and she'd have to rinse that out later.
Aunt Cate’s attention had turned to the poor architect. “Are you good with children, Mr. Barrett?”
Oh my word, what question would come next? His shoe size?
“I guess so, although it's been a long time since I’ve had one that small. Tyler's in college now.” Seth's brown eyes lit up when he mentioned his son.
“College. Oh my goodness.” Her aunt looked surprised but her smile stayed put.
“Yep, the years go fast,” Seth said with a touch of nostalgia.
“They sure do,” her aunt agreed. “Have to make the most of every moment.” Marlowe fought a chuckle. By mentioning an older son, Seth may have slipped as a breeding candidate for her niece.
Time to get the show on the road. Her appointment with Gabby was for noon and it was almost eleven o’clock. How long would it take to get up to Petoskey? Stepping back into the hallway, Marlowe called up the steps. “Izzy, Sam! Are you coming down?”
Bedroom doors opened upstairs. “In a second!” Izzy called out.
Wanting to move things along, Marlowe poked her head back into the living room. “Why don't we lay the drawings out in the dining room?” She motioned toward the spacious room on the other side of the hall. The kitchen was probably a mess and she didn’t want syrup and marmalade all over the drawings. She had to get this process going. Marlowe wanted to see the plans before she took off.
Her aunt was the first one through the door, with Seth behind her. Marlowe pinned her with a glance. “No funny stuff now.”
Her aunt threw up her hands, as if she were innocent of all wrongdoing. “Wouldn't dream of it.” That stinker. Marlowe wasn’t buying her aunt’s innocent expression. Going back to the living room where the baby was ramming the runabout into the coffee table, she picked up the whole contraption, child and all, and brought it into the long hallway. That should keep Holly busy for a while. By the time she reached the dining room, Sam had joined them.
Stepping to the wall, Marlowe flipped on the chandeliers and the sconces on the walls. The spacious room with its ancient red fleur-de-lis wallpaper and brocade chair cushions to match came to life. Well, as much life as they had left in them. It was as if they had stepped back into Henry VIII’s time, when lords and ladies would gather around a long table with the heavily carved legs.
The day was sunny and Marlowe was glad that the room wasn't as dark as it could be in the late afternoon. She felt strangely protective about Sunnycrest. And she wanted this guy to feel the same. Granted the place was dated in so many ways. She hoped that Seth Barrett had some ideas that would get them on the right path.
“Great room. Now let’s see what you think.” Seth rolled off the rubber band that held the drawings and spread them out on the table. The crystallized light from the chandelier caught the silver streaks in his dark hair. Her aunt was gazing at Seth as if he were the second coming. Was this going to get complicated?
“I've tried to respect the beautiful bones of Sunnycrest. The two areas I've settled on are the living room and kitchen. And then of course one of the bedrooms. I didn't choose the master bedroom since the other three all need attention first.”
“The wall is out.” Aunt Cate gasped, gazing down at one drawing. “Will you just look at this?” Marlowe took a peek. It was amazing how large the space looked when the wall was taken down between the kitchen and the living room.
“If this is too modern for you, just say the word.” Seth held up a hand. He had capable hands, with a bandage on one finger. Marlowe suspected that this was a guy who worked with his crew. He didn’t just create drawings on a computer. “I think the open concept idea is here to stay for a while.”
The pantry was gone and he'd added a powder room under the stairs that was accessible from the hall and the kitchen. The counter between the kitchen and the living room was broad and lined with stools. Marlowe wondered if Gabby had any input on these drawings. In one corner was a spacious breakfast nook right below some of the windows. The kitchen cabinets had been expanded and replaced the pantry.
“What’s this?” Sam asked, pointing to an area that right now held a small door and mud room.
“You have a beautiful back yard but no access to it,” Seth explained. “I’m suggesting sliding glass doors and an expanded deck that make the most of your view. The firepit in the back can be as large and as functional as you want it to be.”
“I love that idea,” Izzy said. A stone path led to the trees where they often slipped through to go down to the beach.
“So do I,” Aunt Cate said, her eyes wandering to Sam and Marlowe, who were both nodding.
“Maybe I could have a garden back there,” Sam said wistfully. Right now, the yard was full of tenacious perennials their mother had planted long ago. In the summer, the hydrangeas clung to any shady patch, with bright pink British guineas springing up here and there.
Sam was treating Sunnycrest as her home. Certainly the future held more than that for her. But Marlowe pressed her lips together. They had a lot of time to work through their futures. As they stood there, Seth had unrolled a drawing of a reworked dining room.
“I know this is different, but you are a family that loves books,” Seth said pointing to what looked like bookshelves in a corner of the dining room drawing.
“How did you know that?” Sam asked.
“All I had to do was look around.” Seth chuckled. He was right. Books were strewn on any surface. A landscaping book here, a copy of Little Women there.
“And so as you can see, I've added a sitting area in the dining room. So that you will have a quiet space on the first floor in addition to your living room area.”
“Brilliant.” Marlowe had seen dining rooms in magazines that were outfitted with bookcases. This was a terrific addition. One look at her siblings and Aunt Cate told her they agreed.
While they studied the plans, she checked her phone to make sure that she was not going to be late for her meeting with Gabby. Although she loved the plans, Marlowe was getting antsy. Just as she was considering taking off for that meeting, Seth unrolled the plans for the bedrooms upstairs. From what she could see, he had taken out the small, old-fashioned closet. Now that side of the wall held a private bath next to a walk in closet with plenty of dressing room space.
“Oh, my. Isn’t this wonderful?” Aunt Cate was positively glowing. “Girls, what do you think?”
“Fabulous,” Sam said. “That upstairs area is going to be positively luxurious. And all the window seats and bookcases stay?”
“Yes, I figured I’d be shot if I crossed that line,” Seth said with a gravelly chuckle. “The bookcases stay in the bedrooms. Window seats too. You can stretch out and read.”
One more glance at her phone told Marlowe that she should really hit the road. “This all looks great to me. I'm sure we might have some tweaking to do. Sorry, Seth, but I have to leave now for another meeting.”
Her aunt threw her a frustrated look. But when she glanced at her Patek Philippe watch, she shrugged.
“It was so nice meeting you, Seth.” Marlowe turned back to smile.
“Same here.” Seth glanced over, nodded and then went back to explaining. Izzy was pouring over the drawings and asking questions in a low voice. Marlowe was glad to see the two of them getting along since she would probably be the lead person.
Well, she had to get going. She’d left her portfolio in the hallway and after shrugging into her coat, picked it up to leave.
“Before you go…” Aunt Cate had left the dining room. “Do you have one of your cards for Seth? You know, just in case he has some questions?”
Marlowe dug her kid gloves from her coat. “Why can't he ask you or Izzy if he has questions?”
“We'd appreciate your expertise, Marlowe.” She didn't miss the stern tone of her aunt’s voice. During the year following their parents’ deaths, Aunt Cate had used that tone when it was Marlowe’s turn to take out the trash. While she stood there, eager to leave, her aunt leaned back into the dining room. “Seth, do you have a card for Marlowe? She has to leave for an important meeting. I think I mentioned she might be moving here permanently.”
Oh shoot me now.
If Seth was aware of her aunt’s obvious matchmaking efforts, he gave no indication. Leaving Izzy and Sam with the sketches, he came out into the hall. “Sure. No problem.” With that Seth reached into a pocket of his jacket and pulled out his business card. The design was clean and masculine. It was hard not to give Aunt Cate a withering look as Marlowe took the card.
“I'll leave mine on the hallway table if that's all right with you.” Marlowe didn’t know why she said that, except that she was rooting through her handbag to find a card.
Without another word, Seth disappeared back into the dining room. Marlowe finally found a card nestled under her french purse and some makeup. She flipped it onto the hall table and escaped outside. At last. She welcomed the brisk breeze that stung her cheeks. Although she loved her aunt dearly, she did not like these clumsy overtures.
Having a job was the only thing on her mind right now. Men? Not really. Sure. Seth seemed like a nice, easy-going guy, but she wasn’t there. However, her aunt didn’t seem to get the message.