Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Layne headed to the grocery store, thinking how a mundane task such as stocking their kitchen appealed to her.
Her mother would have had a good laugh, knowing Layne had always lived on take-out, ordering the few groceries she needed, such as coffee and creamer.
It was nice she could think of Mom and not tear up.
Her life had changed for the better. Although she missed her parents deeply and wished they could have been able to get to know Keaton, she knew she was better off now with the life she was building with him in the Bay.
Moving yesterday to the house sitting on the water, it felt as if she had truly come home.
With Mila living here and Piper returning soon, Layne had her chosen sisters for life nearby now, and their support would be invaluable.
She entered the grocery store, snagging a cart and moving up and down the aisles.
She was already familiar with the store’s layout, thanks to the trips she had made here with Keaton.
She liked how he was teaching her how to cook.
Already, Layne could make several of the dishes Miss Peggy had been known for, as well as basic meals such as spaghetti and meatballs and fried chicken.
If it turned out that she wasn’t able to find a breakfast cook for the Bay Breeze, she would be able to take over that task herself.
Grinning, she thought maybe she could pass along her new knowledge and teach Piper how to cook.
Her friend was even more helpless in the kitchen than Layne had been.
As she moved through the store, loading her cart, she stopped and chatted with a few people she knew.
It was funny how all she had wanted to do was leave the Bay when she graduated from high school, tired of seeing people she knew everywhere she went and feeling as if everyone knew her business.
Now, she embraced the small town and its atmosphere of friendliness.
When she reached home, she punched the remote Keaton had placed in her rental to pull into the spacious, four-bay garage, where she made numerous trips back and forth between car and kitchen, toting in groceries. She placed items in the freezer first and then the perishables in the fridge.
Then she heard the doorbell ring and wondered if Keaton might have actually forgotten his key.
She had remembered to put the new key on her key ring, but she hadn’t asked if he had done the same.
Layne headed to the front door and opened it, only to find Mrs. Perry standing on the porch.
Mila’s mom held a vase filled with beautiful Gerber daisies and tea roses.
“Hi,” she greeted. “Won’t you come in?”
“I was hoping to find you at home, dear. I just wanted to stop by and drop off these flowers for you and Keaton.”
“That was so thoughtful, Mrs. Perry. Come back to the kitchen. I’m putting away some groceries.”
The two women went to the kitchen, and Mrs. Perry set the flower arrangement on the kitchen table.
“Tell me how I can help, Layne.”
“Just have a seat. I’m still finding my way in the kitchen, trying to figure out where I want to put everything.”
They chatted about the updates which had been made to the Bay Breeze as she put away the final groceries, and Layne said, “We’ll be doing a final walk-through today at noon with the contractor who did a good deal of the work.”
“I heard Joe and Keaton talking. It sounds as if Keaton had quite a hand in the remodeling process himself.”
She nodded. “Keaton worked for a contractor before he began painting full-time. He refinished all the floors in the inn, upstairs and downstairs. Put in new kitchen and bathroom countertops and pulls for all the drawers. He even got me involved in some of it. I helped wallpaper the guestrooms. Joey and his crew handled the plumbing and installing of new toilets throughout the inn, and they also put in a new HVAC system. You’ll have to come by and see everything we’ve done. ”
“I checked the website and know you’ll be putting up new pictures on it soon.”
“As a matter of fact, Stacy Reed has already taken the exterior photographs. She’ll return today to shoot the interior, and then I’ll put those up.”
“You know, Layne, it might be smart to hold an open house at the Bay Breeze to let others see the makeover. That could generate some good buzz. Don’t ever underestimate word-of-mouth in a small town.”
“That’s a wonderful idea. I can’t believe I didn’t think to do that.”
Mrs. Perry smiled. “You’ve had so much on your plate, honey. Losing your parents and your job. Moving back to the Bay. Finding Keaton. By the way, I think the two of you are wonderful together.”
“I wasn’t looking for a relationship when I arrived here—much less love—but Keaton has saved me in every way. I didn’t realize how broken I was until I begin to heal under his gentle touch.”
Mrs. Perry stood. “Jack and Lark would have adored him. And they would be so proud of all you’ve accomplished. Well, I’m not going to keep you. I know you have a thousand and one things to do. I simply wanted to drop by and say hello.”
She hugged the woman who’d been a second mother to her. “Thank you for the idea regarding the open house. We probably should do the same here once we get a little more furniture and are more settled.”
“Take your time. There’s no rush on that. You’re back in the Bay now, dear. We’ll help take care of you. And Keaton.”
Once Mrs. Perry left, Layne checked her phone and saw that Stacy had texted and was already at the B&B. She drove over, seeing Stacy’s car was the only one at the inn.
Layne went inside, hollering, “I’m here!”
Stacy appeared, camera in hand. “I just beat you here by a few minutes. I’ve been playing with opening blinds and testing light levels with and without overhead lights on.”
“We’re going to meet with Joey later, but come with me now. I want to see everything that you and Sullivan did yesterday.”
They went through the entire downstairs and then moved upstairs.
“I can’t thank you and Sullivan enough for helping pull things together yesterday. This has saved me so much time, and it’ll allow you to take your photos sooner, as well.”
“It was a pleasure to have a small part in bringing the Bay Breeze back,” Stacy said. “I love everything you’ve done to it. Jack and Lark would be thrilled at how things have turned out.”
“I think they would embrace the changes and updates. Hopefully, it’ll draw more guests than previously. I also still feel I have a part of Dad with me, seeing his paintings hanging on the walls throughout the place.”
“I’m going to start downstairs if that’s okay with you,” Stacy said. “Hopefully, I’ll wrap things up before Joey shows up and be out of your hair.”
Layne pulled her tablet from her purse. “Meanwhile, I’ll try to be productive and work on copy for the website to accompany your photographs.”’
“I think that you should create a tab about your father’s paintings. I can photograph each one for the website. It would be something nice to spotlight, and it makes the Bay Breeze more unique than the average B&B.”
“Oh, that’s a marvelous idea, Stacy. Yes, please do so. Dad wrote the title of each painting on the back side, so I know how to refer to each one.”
Layne waited while Stacy took pictures of the common room first from several angles, then she took a seat and opened a new document, working on the wording for the website.
She described the various guestrooms and wrote a few stories about each, as well as writing copy for each of her dad’s paintings and what they depicted.
She also thought to include a tab for the history of the B&B, but she would have to do a little research on that.
It also wouldn’t hurt to have information about the history of Driftwood Bay, as well as make a few recommendations for activities in the area and restaurants to dine in.
An hour later, Stacy entered the common room again. “I’m all done, Layne. I’ll review everything at home. I shot way more pictures than you’ll need, but I was trying to get the rooms from every angle. I’ll choose the best ones and send them to you.”
“Forward all of them if you would. I’d love to see every one of them.”
“Then I’ll create a master folder with all the photographs I think you should use, with sub-folders of each room. There’ll be another folder for the leftovers.”
“That sounds good to me. Thanks again for taking on this project, Stacy.”
“It’s been a pleasure. Photography used to be a hobby of mine, before teaching and my family. It felt good to be back behind the camera’s lens.”
“I’ll definitely credit you on the website for the photos. If you’d like, I can include your email address so that people have a way to contact you if they like your work. Or do you have a website?”
“Keaton encouraged me to claim my domain name when I started up my artwork again. I do have a basic website, which is in its infancy. It would be a good idea if I did have information about my photographs on it, though. You never know if someone else might be interested in hiring me. I’ll text you my info. ”
“Do you have a day in mind for the dinner we owe you?”
“I’m pretty open. With both the kids tied up with school and extracurriculars, they’re rarely home. Just look at your schedules and let me know what’s convenient for the two of you. And despite being a guest, I’ll definitely bring the wine.”
After Stacy left, Layne went back to writing her descriptions.
She fleshed out more of her brief history of the Bay Breeze, as well as noting something about each of the guestrooms. She opened a new document and listed information about her dad’s background and the artwork he had created which filled the inn.
She listed the names of the landscapes hanging on the wall, already knowing each of them by heart.
Deep in thought, she suddenly sensed a presence nearby and looked up, thinking Keaton or Joey had arrived.
Instead, Jeremy Riggs stood in the doorway.
Shock reverberated through her, followed quickly by anger. “What are you doing here?” she hissed, the sight of him sending chills through her.
“I was hoping for a friendlier greeting from you, Layne,” he said, entering the room.
She shot to her feet. “Why would you come here? I suppose you want to scrawl more obscene graffiti.”
Guilt flooded his handsome face. “That was pretty childish of me. I was angry with you. You had blown up our entire relationship. And you blocked me everywhere. You didn’t even respond to my email.”
“I believe you are the one who ruined things between us. You need to leave, Jeremy. We have nothing to say to one another. I don’t want you here.”
He glanced around. “You’ve done a lot of work to the old place.
I barely recognized it when I pulled up.
” His gaze met hers. “I’m here to apologize, Layne.
I was a world-class ass to you. We had something good together, and I ruined it.
I’ll freely admit that I’m the one who screwed things up.
Yes, I called you out for working so much and never being around, but I know you were doing everything for us. ”
Jeremy gave her his heart-stopping smile. “I’ve missed you, Layne. And I still love you. That hasn’t changed.”
She glared at him. “You think you can waltz back into my life and speak empty words which you don’t mean?
You don’t love me. You only love yourself.
I’m thinking you want me back because you don’t want to have to pay for everything.
I was your golden ticket. Well, this goose isn’t laying anymore golden eggs for you. Get out. Don’t bother coming back.”
He strode across the room, quickly closing the distance between them, grabbing her upper arms and squeezing tightly.
“Let go,” she said through gritted teeth. “If you don’t leave now, I’m calling the police. You’re trespassing.”
“The door was open. It’s a public place. I just came in to find out about a room.”
Before she knew what was happening, his mouth slammed against her. Disgust rose through Layne, and she kneed him hard in the groin. He yelped, stumbling back, a stream of expletives coming from him.
Then Keaton was there. She saw him quickly assessing the scene. He spun Jeremy around and landed a solid punch to the center of his face. Blood spurted immediately from her ex’s nose, giving her immense satisfaction.
Jeremy’s hands flew to his face. “Who the hell are you?”
“I’m the man who loves that woman. If you don’t get out now, you’re going to find yourself with more than a broken nose.”
Layne saw the wild look in Jeremy’s eyes, and he threatened, “I’ll press charges against you. You assaulted me for no reason. My nose is broken.”
“And I’ll let the police know that Keaton was protecting me,” Layne said. “That you sexually assaulted me.”
“It was one kiss, Layne,” Jeremy protested.
“One unwanted kiss,” she retorted. “One uninvited kiss. You forced it on me. I didn’t want it.
I don’t want you here in the Bay. You better leave now before we call the police.
In case you don’t remember, one of my best friend’s dad is the chief of police.
I’m like a daughter to Chief Roberts. He’ll know I’m telling the truth and that you’re a creep and a liar. ”
“Bitch,” he said menacingly, wiping his forearm against his bleeding nose. Jeremy looked to Keaton. “You’re welcome to this cold fish. She’s worthless in bed.”
Jeremy stormed out of the room—and hopefully from their lives.
Keaton hurried to her, throwing his arms around her and drawing her close. Layne realized now just how upset she was, but his presence had a calming effect on her.
He stroked her hair. “Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”
“I’m fine. Just a little shaken.” She looked up at him. “I did get in one spectacular knee thrust to his balls, and that felt amazing.”
“You aren’t the only one to have an unwanted visitor from your past this morning.” He kissed her brow.
“Who on earth would’ve come to see you?” she asked.
“The woman who gave up her parental rights to me. Honey. Frankly, I thought all the drugs would have killed her by now.”
“What on earth did she want?”
“What do you think? Money. I don’t know how she knew what I was doing or where I lived, but she showed up at the gallery, looking for a free ride.”
Layne kissed him softly. “Well, we’ve had quite the morning, haven’t we?”
She heard the front door opening and tensed. Then Joey appeared in the doorway.
“Hey, you two. Ready to do that walkthrough?”
Her gaze met Keaton’s, and they both smiled.
“Ready whenever you are,” she told the contractor.
“Then let’s start at the top and work our way downstairs,” Joey said cheerfully.
They followed him up the staircase, Keaton threading his fingers through hers. Ghosts from their past had confronted them, but Layne knew they would always stand strong.
Because they had each other.