Starting Over in Maple Bay by Brittney Joy
CHAPTER THREE
You are just taking a look, Hazel reminded herself as she walked with Frankie to the adjoining property. Grace walked behind them on the dirt road surrounded by woods. She was dragging her feet because Hazel hadn’t allowed her a few more minutes to brush the pony. Daniel and Jesse stayed at the farmhouse with the boys.
“What’s a carriage house?” Grace asked, breaking the strained silence. “And why are we going to look at it?”
Hazel didn’t answer. Not because she didn’t know what a carriage house was. Her tongue was tied because she wasn’t sure how to answer Grace’s second question. Hazel was still trying to comprehend what was happening. She should be on the road by now, headed back to the city, back to Haven Hills.
“It has to do with horses,” Frankie said, and Grace perked up.
“It does?”
“Yep.” Frankie gave Grace a soft smile. “Before cars were invented, everyone got around using horse-drawn carriages. A carriage house is a building where the carriages and the harnesses were kept. It’s like an old-timey garage.”
“Oh,” Grace said thoughtfully. “Did they keep horses in there too?”
“Sometimes.”
Grace pursed her lips, looking more interested in what they were about to discover.
Frankie pointed ahead. “There it is.”
They hadn’t walked far. The narrow dirt road to the carriage house split off from Frankie and Garrett’s driveway. Hazel could still faintly hear Frankie’s boys squealing and laughing in the distance. The road curved through tall oak trees and delicate maples, ending at a two-story white building that looked like a cross between a stable and a garage. It boasted a sloping roof and dormer windows. A cupola sat on the roof peak with a metal weathervane. The front featured a huge wooden door. It was big enough to drive a horse and carriage through.
“What do you use it for?” Hazel asked honestly. It didn’t look like the carriage house had been inhabited in quite some time. Thick brush edged the building and ivy crawled over much of its grimy siding. The carriage house was in dire need of some TLC.
“Mostly storage now,” Frankie said as they reached the door. She grabbed one of the metal handles on the wide wooden door, gave it a yank, and the door split open like shutters.
Hazel didn’t know what to expect inside, but when she entered, her sandals clicked against a wood floor and the open space was tidier than she expected. Stacks of tarped boxes took up one wall. The opposite side of the building had a few closed doors and a staircase that went to a second story, but it was the view out the windows on the backside of the building that captured Hazel’s attention. There was another large barn door accented by two huge windows that framed Maple Leaf Lake like a painting.
“Wow.” Hazel walked over to a window and gazed out at the dark blue water. The shore was maybe a few hundred feet down a sloping hill. A dock and an attached paddle boat swayed gently in the water. An old willow tree draped the base of the dock.
Grace walked up beside her. “You guys have a boat too?” she asked Frankie with pure wonder. “Horses and a boat?”
Frankie smiled and nodded at Grace’s enthusiasm.
Hazel moved toward the door on the backside of the building. “Can we go outside?”
“Absolutely,” Frankie replied, seemingly happy with Hazel and Grace’s initial reaction.
Hazel grabbed the handle and pressed her shoulder against the heavy door to slide it open. As she did, a stone patio was revealed. It looked to be occupied much more recently than the inside of the carriage house. Colorful Adirondack chairs were scattered across the patio and pointed toward the lake. Well-worn life jackets hung from chairbacks. A set of oars laid on the flat gray stone. A metal fire pit sat in the center, displaying ash and charcoaled logs.
“The boys love the lake. They spend a lot of the summer swimming and fishing,” Frankie said.
“I can see why,” Hazel said, taking it all in—the fresh lake air, warm summer sun, and the looming sense of a life-altering decision. “Why wouldn’t she leave this to you?”
Hazel specifically left out Rose’s name, but Grace’s face still scrunched up inquisitively. Sometimes Hazel wished she could go back to the days when Grace was a toddler and she couldn’t understand every conversation she could hear.
“Who?” Grace asked.
Hazel deflected. “Do you want to go checkout the dock while Frankie and I talk?”
Grace bobbed her head. As she meandered off, Hazel reminded her to stay out of the water.
Frankie rested a hand on the back of an Adirondack chair and took a deep breath. When Grace was halfway to the lake, Frankie said, “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?”
“Not exactly.”
“But you knew about the clause?”
“Daniel gave me and Garrett a copy of the will a few weeks ago. I knew Mom wanted to leave some things to you. I just didn’t know the details of her will until I read it.”
“I see.” Hazel watched Grace as she stepped onto the dock, kneeled, and dipped her fingers into the lake. Hazel honestly didn’t know what to think of Rose’s will.
“Are you married?” Frankie asked, abruptly pulling Hazel from her thoughts.
Hazel looked at Frankie out the corner of her eye, a little sensitive to the question. “Divorced.”
“A boyfriend?”
Frankie’s questions felt a little invasive, but Hazel answered with a simple “No.” She wasn’t ready to add a man to her life. Not after the debacle Bill put her through.
“Do you have a job to get back to?” Frankie pressed.
“Yes,” Hazel replied, seeing what Frankie was getting at. “I’m a secretary at Grace’s school.”
When Hazel was married, she was a stay-at-home mom. After the divorce she needed to jump back into the work force to keep her head above water. She’d been volunteering at Grace’s elementary school since Grace was enrolled and when a position opened in the front office, Hazel immediately applied. Hazel was delighted when she was offered the job, and it wasn’t just the paycheck she was excited about. Her job at Haven Elementary helped Hazel out of her post-divorce slump. Interacting with the kids brought her daily cheer and gave her a new purpose. Plus, Hazel liked being close to Grace during the school day, and she enjoyed the co-workers she’d gotten to know over the past year. It was the perfect job for Hazel, and she didn’t want to lose it.
“So, you have the summer off?” Frankie prodded. “While school is out?”
“I start again at the end of August,” Hazel replied, remembering her boss’ face when she’d asked for hours over the summer. Her boss wanted to give Hazel the extra hours, but there simply wasn’t room in the budget. Hazel was still searching for a job to fill the gap.
“So, what’s keeping you in Haven Hills?” Frankie’s brow rose and Hazel thought through all the reasons she couldn’t just pick up and move, even temporarily. Hazel and her daughter were just getting settled in their new life. They were finding routine again. Grace’s last day of fourth grade was a week ago, but she had cheer camp at the end of June and swim lessons scheduled after that. Hazel had gotten acquainted with a few of the women from work and finally had some mommy-friends to hang out with again. She’d lost quite a few of those when Bill and her split. Not to mention, Hazel didn’t know how Bill would feel about his daughter being four hours away from him for an entire summer.
Frankie was staring at Hazel in anticipation of an answer.
“I live with my parents.” Hazel’s response was meant to encompass something she had to get back to. Instead, it came out a little pitiful. Hazel was going to say that her parents needed her help, but they didn’t. She loved Sandy and Peter immensely, but she’d moved in with them because she was dead broke. She didn’t have any other choice. Her parents loved having all the extra time with her and Grace, but they also had their own lives to live. Sandy played bunko, ran a book club, and taught a silver-sneakers-dance class at the YMCA. Peter was still teaching environmental science at the local college, convinced he would die if he ever stopped working. Furthermore, they just bought a camper and planned to tour as many national parks as possible this summer. They didn’t need her to live with them. “Grace needs stability. I can’t just hop around, moving her from place to place. I’ve already done that once this year. After the divorce.”
Frankie nodded, like she was mulling over Hazel’s excuses instead of accepting them. “You don’t think Grace would love living here for the summer? Living on a lake? With a horse stable in her backyard? It would be like a vacation. For the both of you.”
Hazel surprised herself as the idea of conceding to Rose’s will slipped into her head. It was just a couple of months. “Where would we live?” she challenged Frankie. Hazel turned back to stare at the carriage house. “This needs some work. We can’t just move in here today like the will says.” Or, rather demands.
“It’s really not that far from being livable. The second story originally was a hayloft, but Mom started converting it into an apartment. It’s even setup for a small kitchen. Just needs the appliances. Mom wanted to convert the carriage house into a bed-and-breakfast. She was going to live in the hayloft. She also planned to make the feed room, tack room, and the two stableboy rooms into rentable bedrooms.” Frankie paused. “That was her plan anyhow. Before she got sick.”
Hazel could see that Frankie was hurting. “I’m sorry for your loss.” Regardless of how Hazel felt about Rose, the woman standing before her was dealing with the loss of a parent.
Frankie gave her a quick smile and changed the subject. “As I said, we’ll help you fix it up. Both Garrett and I are handy. And until it’s livable, you and Grace can live with us. We have a guest room on the third floor. Used to be an attic. It’s nice and quiet up there and away from the boys’ bedrooms.”
Hazel wasn’t sure what to think of that. “I couldn’t impose—”
“You wouldn’t be. You’d be doing me a favor by honoring the clause.” Frankie bit her bottom lip, looking worried.
Hazel was running out of reasons as to why she couldn’t move to Maple Bay. Her parents would be fine. In fact, they’d probably encourage the change—especially since it was just for the summer. As for her job, Hazel figured her boss would work with her. She’d only miss a week of work and could use vacation-days, if needed. Plus, Hazel stood to make a significant profit by honoring the terms of Rose’s will. She’d also be helping Frankie and her family keep their home.
Lost in her wavering thoughts, Hazel looked toward the lake. Her daughter was gleefully spinning on a tire swing that hung from the willow tree. Her giggle carried up the hill and Hazel reveled in it. Grace had always been a shy child, but the divorce had pushed her even further into her shell. She rarely was this outgoing around strangers. Maybe they both needed a break from Haven Hills—from the gossip and pitiful glares they’d been receiving since Bill ran off with a woman half his age. Not to mention, this could be the opportunity Hazel needed to make a fresh start. With some hard work and elbow-grease, the carriage house could be brought back to life. It could be converted into a home, or even an inn like Rose had intended. Then, come September, Hazel could put the property on the market and use the money to buy a home back in Haven Hills. This place could be the start of a fresh, new life for her and Grace.
It was just a summer. Just few months.
What a day, Hazel admitted to herself. She turned to Frankie. “We’ll stay. I just—”
Frankie snatched Hazel into a hug, hushing the rest of Hazel’s sentence. Hazel stiffened at first, but then hugged Frankie back, hoping she hadn’t spoken too soon. Obviously, Frankie was happy with her choice, but Hazel still had one hurdle to jump. She wasn’t married to Bill any longer, but he still had a say in any decision that involved Grace. They shared custody. Hazel hoped she could convince Bill to allow Grace to stay with her in Maple Bay. Because there was absolutely no way Hazel would be apart from her daughter for the entire summer. There was no amount of money that could make that happen.