Kelsey managed not to think about her neighbor again as she unpacked her carryall and placed a few of her possessions around the cottage to make it her own. She would stay for a while.
Three hours later, Brian showed up again, this time with his wife, a sunny woman called Sarah. They each carried bowls of food, and Sarah had a basket hanging from her right arm.
"We came to welcome you properly, love." Sarah grinned. "We also brought you your first meal in Dreara."
"That's very kind of you. Please come in."
They did, and then they took over. Before Kelsey knew what was happening, Brian and Sarah had laid the dining table with serving bowls of potatoes, stew, rice, and green salad.
"Let's eat." Brian pulled a chair out for his wife and waited for her to sit before he did.
Kelsey was at a loss for words. They were completely at home in her cottage. But she had to admit she liked the company. She had been wondering how she would occupy herself for the rest of the day.
Brian picked up a serving spoon and handed it to her. "Why don't you start."
"Okay." Kelsey reached for the bowl of potatoes.
"Bread, love?" Sarah pushed the basket in Kelsey's direction.
"Thank you." The bread was warm and spongy between Kelsey's fingers, and it smelled wonderful.
"Our daughter, Maeve, is desperate to meet you. She will be arriving any moment,” Sarah said. “She just started working at the new hair salon on Darcy Street and puts in a lot of over hours. At that moment, the doorbell rang. "That must be her. I'll go and let her in."
Sarah returned a few moments later, followed by a beautiful, fresh-faced woman in her late twenties with auburn hair in a loose ponytail on top of her head. She wore a tight tank top under a black cardigan, skinny jeans, and high-heeled boots. And she was chewing gum as if it had just come into fashion.
Her green eyes twinkled when she saw Kelsey. "It's so lovely to meet you." She kissed Kelsey on both cheeks like an old friend. "You and I are going to have so much fun." She snapped her gum and moved on to her father and hugged his shoulders. "Hi, Daddy."
"Hi, angel." Brian patted her hand.
Taking a seat, Maeve eyed Kelsey. "You have such pretty hair. It's so healthy, but it doesn't do much for you. A nice cut would make your beautiful blue eyes come alive. The long hair hides too many of your great features."
Brian glared at his daughter. "Angel, you haven't met Kelsey for more than a minute and you're already trying to get your hands on her hair?"
"A drastic hair makeover is like magic, Daddy. She'd look even prettier with a nice layered bob." She picked up a spoon and put a potato on her plate. "Whenever you need a makeover, Kelsey, come to the salon."
"I'll do that," Kelsey said, just to be polite. She doubted she would. She had never seen anything wrong with her hair before. But she did appreciate Maeve's offer.
"So." Maeve leaned forward. "Have you met your sexy neighbor yet? He's an author. Shaun's his name. He's in town to write a novel."
Kelsey swallowed her food. "Kind of. I saw him come home a while ago."
"By the way." Brian refilled Kelsey's glass with apple cider. "We also own the cottage next door. He's a good tenant."
"Oh? Okay." Kelsey picked up her glass and sipped. "Is he from around here?"
"No," Maeve said between bites. "He's from the United States. Some town called... Serendipity, or something like that. Weird name for a town. But he's been here for six months now and the ladies around here are going crazy about him. No surprise there. I'm sure you've noticed how hot he is."
Kelsey blushed. "I... well. I guess he looks... nice." Liar, scoffed a voice inside her head.
"And he's quite mysterious," Brian said, refilling his plate with rice and stew. Apparently girls nowadays like that sort of thing."
"Why mysterious?" Kelsey's curiosity was peaked.
"He doesn't say much about himself. I think he's hiding something. I'm a pretty good judge of character." Sarah nodded, as if she agreed with her own statement.
"Maybe he's just not a big talker," Brian said. "I don't see anything wrong with that."
"Well, he does communicate... with the women who come and go out of that cottage." Sarah's lip curled in disgust. "I saw two this week. A nurse and a policewoman. What kind of man sleeps with more than one woman a week?"
Maeve shrugged. "So he likes variety. To each his own."
"I don't care much about what he does in his free time." Sarah's voice was soaked in disapproval. "But those poor women. Being used like that. It's not right. Is it, Brian?"
"What he does behind closed doors is his business,” Brian said. “At least he pays his rent on time. And he's done a lot of repairs at his own cost. And he's always polite."
"I guess you're right," Sarah relented. "More potatoes, Kelsey?"
Kelsey nodded, and Sarah served her, leaning close to whisper into her ear. "If you do get talking, do let us know what he's hiding. Due diligence, you know."
Maeve laughed. "Weren't you supposed to do that before renting out the place?"
"We were desperate,” Sarah admitted. “The place had been empty for months. He had the money and offered to fix the leaking roof. We had to take the offer before he took his money someplace else."
"You just want Kelsey to go sniffing around on your behalf so you can pass on the gossip to Mary Sue." Maeve reached for her father's glass of water and took a swig.
Sarah shook her head and laughed. "Fine, let's talk about something else."
Conversations expanded and plates emptied. Most of the questions were directed at Kelsey, and she answered them all, but didn't go into too much detail.
At last, Maeve stood. "I need to leave. I'm meeting someone in fifteen minutes."
Sarah looked up, excitement written all over her face. "Will you introduce me to this someone?"
"No, Mom, I won't. When I meet the right guy, you'll be the first to know." Maeve kissed both her parents and waved at Kelsey. "Kelsey, we should go out sometime."
"Sure," Kelsey said to her retreating back.
Twenty minutes later, dinner was over, and Kelsey discussed the rent with Brian and Sarah. With a small smile, she pulled out her purse and paid them for three months.