“Ethan? It’s Autumn.” Standing in the now cold and drafty living room, Autumn was waving her jacket in the direction of the window, trying to chase out the smoke.
“What’s up? You sound as if you have laryngitis.” Ethan Stone’s deep voice held a note of concern for her that she hadn’t heard there for a long time.
“I don’t have laryngitis. I’m suffering from smoke inhalation,” Autumn croaked, clearing her throat. “There’s something wrong with the chimney.”
“Of course,” Ethan agreed. “There would be, seeing I’m on the other side of the island. I guess it’s urgent?” A resigned tone to his voice told Autumn that hers wasn’t the only urgent job he was dealing with right now.
“It is sort of urgent,” she admitted. “I had to put the fire out, and the living room’s still filled with smoke, and getting colder by the minute.”
There was a brisk, wintry wind blowing now. It was coming straight through the open window and prickling Autumn’s skin into goose bumps, even under her long sleeved top. Her guests were all out for the day already, thank goodness. But when they came back, they’d appreciate a warm living room and a crackling fire whose smoke was going where it was supposed to.
“Okay. I need to get a long ladder. They’ll loan me one from the harbor,” Ethan said. “I’ll try and come to you on the way to my next job. Fixing a chimney’s gotta be quick, right?”
Autumn’s doubtful silence made Ethan chuckle. Nothing was ever guaranteed with Harbor View.
“Thanks,” she said. “I’ll look out for you.”
In the meantime, she rushed upstairs to do a basic tidy of the guests’ rooms, make their beds, refill their in-room tea and coffee supplies, and put a few more home baked cookies into their jars. There was never, ever time to be idle in a bed and breakfast, that was for sure.
And at least she was keeping her parents’ legacy alive.
When Autumn’s parents had been killed in a car crash a few years ago, together with her younger brother Luke, it had left her and her sister Willow alone in the world. At that stage, Harbor View had been the family’s vacation home. Autumn had inherited the house, and Willow had inherited her parents’ savings.
Autumn had thought of selling up – for a short while, anyway. Then she’d remembered how much delight her mother had taken in maintaining the old home, one of the first to be built on the island, and how special their family vacations had been. The island was full of memories, and so was Harbor View itself. So she’d decided to take the plunge and turn it into a hospitality business.
So far, so good – apart from the odd misbehaving chimney.
Hearing the horse hooves from down the road, and guessing this would be Ethan, arriving on a buggy, she hurried downstairs again.
Sure enough, her strong-jawed ex, with his twinkling eyes, and golden brown hair, was at the door, a ladder over his shoulder and his toolbox in his hand.
With an excited bark, Max ran over to greet his old friend, pushing his nose into Ethan’s hand. Ethan, who loved Max, bent down and scratched him on his chest in just the place where he enjoyed it.
“Thanks for getting here so fast,” Autumn said.
By mutual consent, they didn’t hug or kiss or anything that could possibly complicate the fragile friendship they’d now achieved after a very stormy relationship. They’d been each other’s Mr. and Ms. Wrong, that was for sure, and the sparks could still fly at a careless word.
Autumn tried to be very careful what she said. She preferred a quiet and peaceful life.
“Okay, okay, let’s take a look at this,” Ethan muttered to himself, striding across the living room, clearing his throat as he approached the still-smoldering fireplace.
He stuck his phone in with a flashlight, shining up into the chimney shaft, and took a photo. Then, he took the phone out and studied the photo.
“No blockage down here,” he said. “Must be up on the roof.”
“What if it’s a bird’s nest?” Autumn said. “Will you be careful removing it?”
Ethan sighed impatiently, as if he didn’t like Autumn telling him what to do. “This time of the year, if it’s a nest, it’ll be abandoned. Could be an old nest, that caught a buildup of leaves from the fall. I’ll go up the ladder and take a look.”
He headed outside. Supportively, Autumn grabbed her coat, shrugged it on, and headed out. The least she could do was stand out there with him.
“Shall I hold the ladder?” she asked, as he opened it up to its full length.
“You can do.” He didn’t seem as grateful for her company as she’d expected. That didn’t matter, though, Autumn decided. People should help because it was the right thing to do and not because they expected a thank you.
“So,” Ethan said as he climbed up the ladder, with Autumn gripping the base. “So, tell me, you seeing anyone else right now?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Autumn stared up at him as the rungs creaked rhythmically. Not that there was much to see, apart from his admittedly firm backside, clad in a pair of faded jeans.
“I mean, are you dating anyone else?”
“Why do you ask?” Frowning, she stared up.
“Just wondering,” he called back.
“Why would it matter to you?”
“I’m just making conversation. Are you moving the ladder?” he asked in an outraged voice. “It feels like you’re shaking it.”
“No!” Autumn heard equal ire in her own voice as she replied. “Why would I do something like that? I’d never risk your safety. It must have been the wind.”
“Hmmm,” he said darkly.
“You seriously think I would rattle a ladder when you were climbing up it to fix my chimney?”
“Depends what question I was asking at the time.” The ladder clanked and shifted as he took one foot off it, placing it on the roof.
Autumn swallowed down her rising annoyance. It wouldn’t have mattered, except that this was a sensitive topic for her at the moment. She didn’t know where she stood with Ben. Was she his girlfriend? Or was the attractive veterinarian, Dr. Hartley, playing the field? With an island full of animal lovers lining up for his services – some of whom had newly discovered their passion for animal ownership after he’d moved to the island – she felt unsure about the dates they’d been on. Maybe he’d thought of them more as outings than dates.
And the kisses they’d shared – they had been passionate, enough to make her weak at the knees, but did that necessarily mean commitment?
“You can ask me any questions you like,” she said to Ethan.
“I just did, and you got mad and didn’t reply,” he retorted.
Autumn heaved a sigh. Her ex brought out the worst side of her. Since the ladder was clearly stable, there was no point in her holding it anymore. All she was doing was getting wrongly accused of shaking it.
She’d never shake a ladder when Ethan was in a precarious position atop it. Yes, she might be tempted to, but she wouldn’t actually ever do it.
Turning, she headed inside, just in time to answer the ringing landline. If she hadn’t gotten to it in time, it would have forwarded to her cell phone, but even so, grabbing up the call made her feel as if it had been a good decision to come back in.
“Harbor View, good morning,” she said.
“Ah, good morning. It’s late notice, I know, but we heard about the coffee festival on the island, and was wondering if you might have a room available for two nights, starting tonight?”
“We have an upstairs double room available, with a bathtub and shower, the Cedar Retreat,” Autumn said, thrilled that she was getting more business at this time of year. “I can book it for you. The price includes breakfast, and the room has a beautiful, panoramic view over the forest.”
“Sounds excellent. Please reserve it.”
Just like that, another room occupied? And no Jasmine. Autumn hoped that she’d manage on her own. Having taken down this guest’s details, and sent him through the information he needed, she rushed upstairs to get the room ready.
Luckily, it was in a neat state, with fresh bedding on the bed. All she had to do was plump he pillows, give it a quick dusting, and rush down again to the kitchen for cookies and a vase of flowers. Then, it was all ready for the guest, who’d be arriving at four p.m., he’d said.
Thanks to the coffee festival, she thought. This late fall surge of business was very welcome. At least her worries about the roof would be a thing of the past if she could afford to get it fixed up this winter.
She rushed down again, hearing the clank of the ladder outside, which meant Ethan must be folding it up again. What had he found?
Hurrying out, she saw him approach, holding a trash bag, as well as his invoice book.
“Old bird’s nest, with leaves stuck in it, and I think it got damp and jammed in the chimney when we had that rain shower yesterday,” he said. “I’ve fixed it up and replaced the chimney guard. It was loose, which allowed all this to happen.”
He spoke as cheerfully as if they hadn’t just had a near argument out there in the chilly morning, so Autumn did her best to reply in a similar tone.
“That’s great. Thanks,” she said.
“There’s your bill.” He leaned forward as he passed the handwritten invoice to her, speaking in a low voice. “And, Autumn, I’m only asking you if you’re dating anyone because I don’t want your heart broken.”
“There’s no likelihood of that,” she protested, but he shook his head.
“I know you’ve been out and about with that new vet, Dr. Hartley. I’ve seen you at restaurants with him. And just so you know, I saw him out last night, having drinks in the harbor bar with some other woman I don’t know. Some blonde. So – be careful.”
Having delivered that blow, he turned and shouldered his ladder, heading for the road.