Ginny had come up with the perfect meal for the Teal Scarf Ladies luncheon, which was only a few weeks away.
Reece would prepare the Lane Cake and had already put together the West Indies Salad. Everything would be ready in a couple of days, so she picked up her phone to call Mrs. Travis to schedule a time for the tasting.
“Yes, Mrs. Rigby?” Mrs. Travis said when she answered.
She didn’t know why, but the old woman made her nervous. Ginny clutched the phone hard as if it would steel her composure. “Good morning, I’m calling to arrange a time for the menu tasting.”
“I’ll come to you. How’s that?”
“Great. We can do the tasting at the café. Does a couple of days from now work?”
“It’s fine. I’ll see you about two in the afternoon? Will that give you time to finish your lunch service?”
“Yes, it will.”
Click. The old woman hung up without saying goodbye, which didn’t surprise Ginny in the least. She chuckled to herself and stepped outside to take in the sunshine.
A warm breeze whipped through her hair. Late mornings weren’t as hot as they’d been when she’d first arrived in town. Though it was autumn as far as the calendar was concerned, no one had told the beach that yet. It wouldn’t truly turn cold until they were well into winter, and that was okay with her. She liked the warmth, though it might make planning her Thanksgiving meal a little different from usual. She couldn’t see everyone wanting turkey and heavy cornbread dressing. Perhaps they’d do a simpler menu, something lighter that resembled the local food options.
Which reminded her—she needed to put together a holiday menu for the café. She couldn’t exactly ignore Thanksgiving with her customers. Surely Reece would help her come up with the perfect meals for the holiday week.
A truck pulled up and she recognized it as Aiden’s. What was he doing here? Not that she didn’t like seeing him. She did. But they didn’t have plans.
She waved and made her way down the old wooden steps as he got out of the truck. The stairs creaked in protest. It was when she was halfway down that she heard a loud crack.
Her foot plunged through the wooden step, and Ginny tumbled forward. She threw out her arms, bracing herself for impact. But before she hit the ground, strong arms circled her.
“Steady now,” Aiden murmured in her ear as he settled her onto the ground. “You okay?”
Her heartbeat was in her throat, but she was okay. She glanced into his blue eyes and her breath hitched. His salt and fresh pine scent filled her nose, and she wanted to wrap herself up in it.
“Are you okay?”
Was she okay? Why was he asking? Then she realized that he was still holding her. His arms were around her shoulders. One of his hands was clutching her waist, and those eyes…
She swallowed a lump in her throat. “Yes, I’m okay.”
His lips were only inches away, but no kiss came. Instead he made sure that she was steady on her feet before letting her go.
He surveyed the stairs, and Ginny watched as his eyes narrowed. “Those need to be replaced.”
Her neck felt hot from the closeness with Aiden, and her hand flew to cover it. “I didn’t know that they were in such bad shape. They’re old, but I didn’t realize that the wood was so rotted.”
He nodded firmly. “All of them need to be replaced.”
“All of them? Do you know someone who can do that?”
He smiled at her. “Me.”
She laughed. “You?”
“Yes, me. I can replace them.”
“No, no. You don’t have to do that.”
Aiden shrugged. “I know that I don’t have to, but I want to.”
Arguing wasn’t going to get her anywhere with him. “I’ll pay you.”
“You won’t pay me,” he said sternly. “Absolutely not.” He took a few steps back. “I’ll return in a bit. Don’t walk on them before then.”
“Where are you going?”
He splayed out his arms and smiled. “To get lumber and my tools.”
“I can’t talk you out of this, can I?” Did she even want to?
“Nope. I’m already on it.”
With that, he hopped into his truck, fired it up and left, leaving Ginny wondering what he had been doing at the café in the first place.
* * *
A couple hours later he was back with lumber, a saw, two sawhorses and a steel box filled that must’ve housed the rest of his tools.
“That was quick.”
He grinned at her, causing warmth to spread across her chest. “I’m efficient.”
She laughed. “So it seems. Can I get you anything?”
“No, I’ll be fine.”
“Well, can I at least help?”
“No, ma’am. I’m going to do this all by myself.”
“Okay,” she replied with a roll of her eyes. “I’ll just be inside if you need me.”
“Reading Emma Grace’s diary?”
“I wasn’t planning on it.”
He placed a stair-width piece of wood across the two sawhorses before pulling out his measuring tape. “Well, maybe you should consider it. How else am I ever going to find out what happened to her?”
“I’ve got other things to do this morning.”
“Suit yourself.”
Ginny slipped into the house. There was cleaning to do, so she kept herself busy dusting surfaces until Reece came home with an armful of groceries.
“Can I help you?”
“Nah,” her daughter said, settling the paper sack on the kitchen counter. “This is it. Hey, what’s Aiden doing outside?”
“Fixing our back stairs.”
“Why?”
She sighed. “Because one of them broke when I was walking down it.”
Panic laced Reece’s voice. “Are you okay?”
“Physically I’m fine. Only my pride was wounded.” She cocked her head to the bag. “What’s all that?”
“This,” her daughter said proudly, “is supper—fresh snapper, plus all the ingredients for the Lane cake.”
“Is that all we’re having? Fish and cake?”
Reece laughed. “Isn’t that all we need?”
“For me it is.” They both laughed and when it died, Ginny eyed her daughter. She was so pretty and talented. Which reminded her— “Care to tell me about Ted?”
Her back stiffened. “There’s nothing to tell.”
A faint memory tickled the back of her mind. “Isn’t that the guy with the daughter, the one you like?”
“Yep. That’s the one. Shelby’s got the crush on him.”
“Right. Well, what was he doing here?”
“I think he wanted to eat lunch but wound up helping me instead.”
“Did you give him anything?”
She grimaced. “No, I didn’t.”
“Reece—”
“In my defense, he wouldn’t take anything.”
Ginny crossed her arms as Reece gathered the ingredients to make the cake. “Call and offer him a free lunch. It’s the least we can do.”
Her shoulders sagged. “What if I don’t have his number?”
“Do you?”
“Maybe.”
“Then call him. Keep it light. Don’t overstep, and you should be fine. But it’s the best way to repay him, and he needs to know that we’re grateful for his help.”
“Fine,” she muttered. “I’ll do it.”
“Good.” Ginny stared at her. “Well?”
Her daughter’s eyes widened. “You want me to do it right now?”
“Sure I do.”
“You’re joking.”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
“I’ll do it after I bake the cake.”
The two women studied one another until Ginny caved. “Fine. Call him later—but do reach out.”
“I will,” she replied in a prickly voice that made Ginny smile.
Shelby or no Shelby, that man liked Reece. Life was too short for her youngest daughter not to love the man she wanted—if the relationship would ever get that far. Not that she wanted Shelby to get hurt. But if Ted hadn’t asked the redhead out yet, that meant he probably wouldn’t, which also meant there was a reason for it.
She smiled secretly to herself while Reece worked on the cake. After an hour the comforting smell of vanilla filled the house. If Aiden was still around when it was finished, she’d invite him in for some. Better yet, perhaps he could stay for dinner.
But until then, there was more cleaning to do.
A couple of hours later the back door opened and Aiden walked inside. “All done,” he announced.
Ginny’s hands flew to her face. She was so embarrassed. She hadn’t even checked on him once to see if he needed anything. She had been so busy cleaning and enjoying the smell of the cake, which was done, that she’d lost track of time.
“It’s finished?”
“Come see,” he told her with a smile.
When she stepped outside, a brand-new stairway with fresh blond wood that smelled like newly cut lumber greeted her.
She covered her mouth in surprise. Ginny couldn’t believe that he’d done this for her, and he’d done it simply because she needed it. He hadn’t called anyone to do it for him, like Jack would’ve done. Her previous husband had always been too busy to tackle hands-on issues in their home. Even plumbing emergencies required calling a twenty-four-hour company.
But Aiden…he’d built stairs because it was what was needed.
“Thank you,” she whispered, joy flooding her bones. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome. I’m happy to help, happy to have someone to help.”
A fissure of energy zapped Ginny all the way to her toes. Her breath caught as she peered into his eyes, and as they fell closer and closer to one another.
This was it. They would kiss here, with the sun sinking in the horizon and while the smell of the ocean mingled with the scent of fresh pine.
Her face tipped up toward his, and their lips were about to touch—
“Mama!”
She jerked back and whipped her head around. Reece stood in the doorway. “You ready for me to put the snapper on?”
“Sure!” She turned to Aiden. “Would you stay for dinner? It’s the least I can do to repay you.”
He smiled down at her. “I’d love to.”
As they walked inside, Ginny’s heart ballooned with happiness. The only thing that would’ve made that moment any more perfect would’ve been a kiss.
She was beginning to wonder if it would ever happen, or if they would forever be interrupted.