Chapter Twelve
Sierra drove back into Misty Harbor in the early evening. Austin was safe with his father, and they had already reached Aunt Jean's place hours ago. While Jake had driven directly to his sister's house, she had taken the scenic route back to town. She had gotten off Interstate 95 in Brunswick and traveled north on Route 1 through Rockland, Camden, Belfast, and up into Ellsworth. There had been plenty of stops along the way.
She had even taken Route 176 south into Blue Hill and then continued along the coast into Sedgwick searching for that perfect place. She had seen many beautiful and scenic pieces of property, but none had been for sale. Matt had called her once and she told him she was shopping and that she would meet him over at his parents' after dinner.
It was the truth.
She was shopping for a parcel of land, right on the coast, that was big enough to meet her father's requirements, and then some. If she told her father, Jake, and the rest of the board that Misty Harbor wasn't the right town to build their hotel in, she'd better have an alternate site in mind, one that would knock their socks off.
Millicent Wyndham hadn't been pulling her father's leg or trying to up the price. A fancy resort hotel like her father planned would in fact change quaint and relatively quiet Misty Harbor. Sure, she didn't know of one business in town that wouldn't appreciate the extra tourist dollars. The hotel would create jobs and add to the tax base. Other hotels would follow, all wanting a piece of the action.
Property values would start to soar, which would also increase the residents' taxes. Community services would have to be added too, both in employees and budgets. Traffic would start becoming a problem. Driving on Route 1 through Camden had been a challenge, and her one trip into Bar Harbor had been a nightmare. Austin complained about how far they'd had to park away from anything and all the walking he had to do. The main streets had restaurant after bar after gift shop after bar after hiking-gear shop. Austin and she had left after dinner and some shopping, but she could see the signs of the partygoers starting to come out for the evening.
There was nothing wrong with having a good time while on vacation. She vaguely remembered a three-night stay in New Orleans with Jake when they first had been married. “Vaguely” being the crucial word.
Misty Harbor was the quaint coastal fishing village that everyone wanted to see when they came to Maine. It was a working town, with working families. People like the Porters were raising their children there. It was home, not a fancy hotel with a concierge.
The town didn't need an elegant hotel to bring in the tourist dollars. There were plenty of towns in the surrounding area that had, or could handle, a large resort hotel. If Misty Harbor did some promotional advertising for its shops, restaurants, and whale-watching tours, then the town could benefit from nearby hotels. People coming to the coast of Maine for a vacation didn't want to sit in their hotel rooms all day. They needed places to go and things to see and do. Misty Harbor was more than equipped to handle a couple hours' worth of sightseeing without changing the structure of the town.
Once the hotels started going up, the tourists would come, and come, and come until all the quaintness had been squeezed right out of the town.
Sierra parked the SUV in the Alberts' driveway. She knew from experience the traffic jam of pickup trucks and SUVs over at Matt's parents' house. She would walk over and see how it was going. Matt had said they were painting the arbor and hanging some lights tonight. Tomorrow all the rose bushes would be delivered. It was Wednesday evening, and the weather forecast for Saturday looked perfect. Not a rain cloud in sight.
Ten minutes later she had changed into jeans and was approaching Matt's parents' house. It sounded like a party was going on in the backyardsâa very noisy party. She stepped between the two yards and shook her head in amazement.
The arbor was gorgeous. How did they build that in less than a week? It was already painted white, and Norah and Ned were both standing on stepladders stringing lights on it. Paul was cutting his parents' grass, while John was cutting Norah's mother's grass. Flower gardens were packed with blooming plants and a fresh layer of mulch. Joanna and her new husband were stringing lights on her back porch, and Kay and Jill, with the help of the kids, were raking up the grass. The one person she didn't see was Matt.
“Hi, Sierra,” called Kay. “How's it looking?”
“Absolutely fabulous.” It was the truth. The gardens looked like they had been there for years.
“Where's Austin?” called Hunter.
“Where's Austin?” asked Tyler, who had stopped raking and was looking for his new friend.
“Sorry, guys, he's visiting with his dad. He'll be back Sunday night.” It felt so good to hear other kids asking for her son. When she had left Austin with Jake, he had been talking his dad's ear off about all his new friends, and Matt, and the birdhouse he built, and the whales. Jake had noticed the change in their son right away. Austin was more outgoing and talkative.
It was a good change, one that made her more determined than ever to settle down somewhere and make a home with her son. A real home, with excellent schools nearby, lots of friends for Austin, and maybe even a dog. Austin loved animals.
“Hey, Kay, where's Matt?” She still wasn't able to see him, but his truck had been parked out front.
“In the garage.” Kay pointed to the Porters' garage.
She chuckled as the sound of a power tool reached her ears. “Figures.” Matt was never far away from the tools. She headed for the garage.
Standing in the shadows of the wooden garage doors that opened outward instead of up, she watched Matt. She had no idea what he was making, but it was big. Every time he moved it around to get a better angle, the muscles in his shoulders and back flexed and strained beneath his T-shirt. She wondered if they were as hard as they looked.
Matt made one more cut and then turned off the saw. He glanced up and gave her a smile that was pure wickedness. “Hi. I didn't see you standing there.”
“I didn't want to startle you when you were playing with a saw.” She had been more than willing to stand there well into the night watching the play of muscles beneath his shirt. She stepped into the garage, away from prying eyes, and closer to him. She missed Austin already, but there was something tantalizingly naughty about not having him underfoot right at this moment. “I didn't want you to cut off anything”âshe gave him a teasing smileâ“important.”
Matt brushed off some of the sawdust coating the front of his shirt and jeans as he rounded the object he was building. Desire burned in his gaze. He wiggled his fingers. “Got all ten fingers”âhe shuffled his feetâ“all ten toes”âhe grinnedâ“and anything else you might deem important.”
She leaned against a shelving unit holding all sorts of tools and junk. “Austin wanted me to tell you goodbye again.”
Matt closed the space between them and chuckled. “He said goodbye three times last night before he went to bed.” The tips of Matt's fingers traced the curve of her jaw. “I missed you today.”
“You were on my mind a lot today, too.” Half the time she had been worried about his reaction once he found out who she was, and what her father's company was after. The other half of the time she was thinking about tonight. She was a thirty-one-year-old woman who knew what she wanted.
She wanted Matt. It was as plain and as complicated as that.
Her arms circled his neck and she tugged him closer. Austin was going to be away for only four nights. She intended to make the most of them. “What did you miss most about me?”
Matt chuckled as his arms slid around her back. “That's a no-win question.” His lips teased her ear. “No matter what I answer, you'll twist it around to make it sound like I don't like what I didn't say.”
She playfully nipped at the lobe of his ear. “In a strange way, that made sense.” With the tip of her tongue she traced where her teeth had bitten. “Can I tell you what I missed most about you?” One of her hands was buried in the thick hair at the back of his head. The other was stroking his back and the muscles she had been admiring earlier.
“You can tell me anything you want.” Matt's mouth was skimming her jaw.
“Your mouth.” She turned her head, and this time she playfully nipped at his lower lip. “I love how your mouth makes me go all hot inside.”
Matt groaned and kissed her.
The shelf behind her shook as her weight shifted. One of Matt's hands steadied the shelf while the other cupped her bottom and brought her in contact with the growing evidence of his desire. The hot feeling she had told him about exploded into molten desire. This was passion, need, and want all rolled up into one powerful kiss.
But was it love?
She didn't know, and at this particular moment, she didn't care. Her tongue mated with his in a rhythm that matched the tempo of her body.
The shelving unit shook as Matt's hand lost its grip.
“Aw, jeez, would you two get a room,” groused Paul with a laugh. “There are kids around.”
She jumped back so fast, her head whacked into one of the metal shelves.
Matt moved in the other direction and nearly fell onto a green fertilizer spreader. Matt glared at his brother's retreating back. “Paybacks are hell, Paul.” He quickly gathered her into his arms and gently rubbed the back of her head. “Are you okay?”
“I'm fine.” She looked at the lawn mower sitting in front of the garage doors. Paul had finished cutting the grass and was returning the mower to the garage. She hadn't even heard him. “I'm also embarrassed.” Thankfully it hadn't been one of the kids who had found them kissing.
“You're embarrassed because you were caught kissing me?” Matt cupped her chin and tilted up her face.
“No.” She knew her cheeks were roughly the same color as the lawn mower sitting eight feet away from them: candy-apple red. “We were doing a bit more than kissing.” She had been melting in his arms and on the verge of being totally seduced. More important, she hadn't cared where they were. That in itself was a first.
“No, we weren't.” Matt took a deep breath. “Don't be embarrassed. Paul's not going to say anything to anyone.”
“How do you know?” Okay, maybe she was making this into a bigger deal than it really was. This was the twenty-first century. People kissed all the time. That was all it had been, too. Their clothes were still in place, with nothing undone. Hands had been visible.
“Because I caught him doing a lot more than kissing once.” Matt grinned and gave her a quick kiss.
“I'm sure Jill appreciates you keeping your mouth closed on the matter.” She didn't even want to think about that one.
“Jill doesn't know.” Matt grinned.
Her eyes widened in shock. “It wasn't Jill?” Paul and Jill had seemed so in love. How could he do that to his wife and mother of his children? How could Matt smile about something like that?
“Relax, Sierra.” Matt glanced around to make sure they weren't being overheard. “Paul was eighteen at the time, and Jill was nowhere in the picture. Our parents were out at sea and had left John in charge. John had a date, so he left Paul in charge of me and our younger brother, Ned. Paul, being Paul, invited a girl over to our house and then promptly gave me the keys to his truck and told me I could have it for the night if I took Ned along. Considering I had gotten my license the month before and I still didn't have a car, we were out of there before I even thought about grabbing my wallet. Needless to say, half an hour later we were getting low on gas, and I needed some cash.”
“So you went back home.” She tried not to laugh. “And walked in on Paul and his date.”
“Oh, yeah.” Matt tugged her over to the project he had been working on. “I've been hanging it over his head since the day he met Jill.”
“Why? I'm sure she'd understand if he was only eighteen at the time.”
Matt slowly shook his head. “Jill's not that understanding.” Matt planted a loud kiss on her lips. “Have you ever used a sander before?” He handed her a power tool.
She knew it was a power tool, because it was plugged in. “No, but how hard can it be?” She could tell Matt was trying really hard not to roll his eyes.
Matt's eyes twitched. “Okay, it's pretty easy.” Matt got behind her. “Put your hands here and here.” His hands covered hers as he placed them on the sander. “All we need to do is smooth the wood a little before I paint it. You're going to move the sander back and forth over the sides.”
“Okay, but what is it?” It looked like a rectangular box that stood four feet high, about seven feet long, and two feet wide. The sides were plywood, but there was a nice piece of pine across the top.
Matt looked at her and blinked. “What is it?”
“Yeah.” Why was he building a box when there was a wedding to get ready for?
Matt took the sander out of her hand and tugged her around to the other side of the box. “Now do you know?”
The back of the box was open, and it had three shelves built in. “It's a bar!” She smiled in amazement. “You built the bar. Just like that?”
“We needed one.” Matt handed her a pair of safety goggles and the sander. “Now get to work. We need to prime it tonight.”
She pulled on the plastic glasses and was about to turn on the sander when Tyler came running into the garage.
Tyler looked at her, then at Matt. “What'ya doing?”
She held up the sander and grinned. “Matt's letting me sand the bar.” She never used a power tool before, unless a blow-dryer counted as one. “Want to watch?”