Since she returned, he’d been so distant, so distracted, that she’d called Bob and asked if he knew what was going on.
“Nate’s staying with Brody Rayburn and I think there may be a problem about the office you got him. And the house,” he added in a low voice.
“What kind of problem?”
“That’s for him to say, not me. Want to hear about this girl I met?”
“Sure,” Stacy said. She knew when Bob didn’t want to talk about something.
Today had been the last day of preparation for Widiwick. Tomorrow the booths would be open and people would be coming to look and to buy. Stacy had high hopes about showing what she could do in terms of design. She’d prepared a big binder full of rooms she’d done. That they had all been in her parents’ house at their expense didn’t count. She just wanted to show people what she could do.
In DC she and Nate had talked a lot about their futures. That he was willing to move to Summer Hill had been tremendous. They’d talked about getting clients for his business. Between his uncles and her father, he’d have many people to do work for.
Nate had taken an interest in her business, even getting her a job decorating an apartment for his cousin.
Everything had been perfect. All that she’d ever hoped for. But now it was like something had happened while they’d been separated. She desperately wanted him to talk about whatever was bothering him. If, as Bob said, he didn’t like his beautiful new office in the Thorndyke house, he should tell her. She’d make him tell her!
As for the Stanton house, he couldn’t possibly not like that grand old place, could he? What was not to like? Spacious rooms. A large garden area. Located near everything. He could walk to work. No, that house was gorgeous—or would be after she restored it to its original magnificence and filled it with beautiful furniture. She was thinking of white silk for everything. Damask, raw silk, jacquard, duchess. She’d use a lot of texture and just a little color. Yes, that would be nice.
She looked back at the picnic basket. After she’d at last finished with the tent this afternoon, she’d driven out to a nearby restaurant and bought everything for this picnic. She especially liked the green eggs. They’d steamed them in kale-infused water. She knew Nate would love them! In DC they’d always eaten healthy and fresh. Besides, she wanted to get his weight down. He really did look good nude—if she remembered that far back—but enough was enough! If he packed on another pound of muscle, she’d have to shop for him at one of those dreadful big-and-tall shops.
Again, she thought of trying to get him to join her in yoga classes.
She looked through the basket. Everything was ready and she looked forward to this evening. Considering Nate’s mood, she was glad she’d invited Terri.
While she was in Italy, Nate had asked about Terri, and she’d told him why Terri had been suspended from high school. What she didn’t tell him was that she had been one of the cheerleaders who had come down the stairs to see Hector and Jay crumpled on the floor. Jay had a black eye and Hector’s lip was bleeding, and they could hardly stand up.
Some of the girls helped the boys while the others ran and called for help. The boys were in such bad shape that they’d left the school in an ambulance.
Over the years, the memory had faded until she hardly recalled it, but Nate seemed to think Terri got a raw deal. And maybe she had. Maybe Billy and his family leaving town hadn’t been all Terri’s fault, just some of it.
Whatever the truth, Stacy was glad that Nate was trying to iron out the problems between the lake and the town. Her father had tried to do that but he’d had no success. He said that Brody Rayburn ran the lake like his own fiefdom and no one could penetrate his rule.
If Nate could, Stacy thought, well maybe he was suitable to become mayor of Summer Hill as she and her father had talked about.
At the thought, her frown was replaced by a smile. She grabbed the basket of food, then remembered to get the notes she’d taken when Billy called. She was curious as to how Terri was going to react to hearing about that. Like the rest of the town, Stacy was very curious about why Terri had dumped a lovely man like Billy Thorndyke.
Oh yes, she was very much looking forward to this little get-together.
Chapter 14
Nate was outside, waiting for Stacy beside his car. He had on baggy shorts, heavy leather sandals and a blue T-shirt that looked like it had been washed on a rock. She made a mental note that she needed to go shopping for him.
He gave her a kiss on the cheek and took the big basket, a tablecloth and a couple of aluminum chairs. “Don’t like to sit on the sand?”
“Certainly not my favorite thing to do.” She smiled, but as he’d done since she returned, he looked distracted. Deliver me from moody men! she thought.
He opened the car door for her, then got into the driver’s seat and pulled away from her parents’ house. “When your father had his law office, did he do any work for the man who used to own the lake?”
“Dad was Mr. Kissel’s attorney. He set up all the contracts.”
Nate glanced at her with sparkling eyes. “What do I have to do to get him to tell me about what happened back then? At least I think that’s when this lake-town feud started.”
“I can tell you whatever you want to know.”
Nate gave her a sweet smile, picked up her hand and kissed it. “You can? Tell me every word of it.”
Stacy pulled her hand away. “Oh no, you don’t. You don’t get what you want until I get what I want.”