Starting Over in Maple Bay by Brittney Joy
CHAPTER FOUR
Frankie stood in her kitchen—alone, dirty, tired, and not wanting to scrub the frying pan that sat in the sink. She stared down at a mysterious stain she’d just discovered on her t-shirt and wondered how long it had been there. Got to be dirt, poop, or chocolate, she told herself. All three had been part of her day.
The door that led to the garage clicked open. Frankie looked up from her shirt, deciding the stain was a smear of chocolate. She’d dipped into her secret stash today, desperately needing the sweet rush of happiness. Apparently, she hadn’t been that sneaky.
Her husband, Garrett, stepped through the door and into the kitchen, finally getting home from work. “You’re still up?” He quietly closed the door behind him.
Everyone else in the house was already doing what Frankie wished she was—sleeping. After a surreal day in which she met her long-lost sister, Frankie still had all her usual chores to do. This evening, she’d cleaned the stable, fed the horses, tucked her boys into bed after dinner and showers, and she made sure Hazel and Grace were comfortable in the guest room. Frankie started her day well before the sun was up. Now, it was nearly eleven o’clock at night and she had yet to take a shower.
Frankie pulled a chair out from the kitchen table and sat. She put her head in her hands.
Garrett set his lunch cooler on the counter and walked over, taking a chair himself. He looked just as dirty as she was. “I tried calling you this afternoon. What happened? What did Hazel say about the will?”
Frankie peeked at Garrett through her fingers—at the face she’d known since they were kids. His brown eyes were concerned, but she was still mad at him. She wished he’d been here with her today, to support her when she finally met Hazel. But no. He had to work. He always had to work.
“If you’d taken a day off, you’d already know,” Frankie replied, knowing she’d sent his calls to voicemail on purpose.
“Baby,” Garrett started and reached for her, touching her elbow. She didn’t offer him her hand. “You know how hard I’ve been working on this project. Fred put me in charge of it, and I need to show him I can handle it. It would’ve been different if we’d gotten more than a day’s notice of the meeting with Hazel.”
Garrett had been working for his uncle Fred’s excavating business since he was eighteen, and Fred was a hard man to work for. Frankie knew it. He was fickle and stubborn, but he taught Garrett everything he knew about the construction business. A few months ago, Fred told Garrett he was planning to retire in another year and that he’d consider selling the business to Garrett, if he could handle it. Frankie knew what that meant to Garrett, what it would mean to their family, but she also didn’t like all the long days he’d been putting in. Especially with what she’d been through recently, with losing her mother. Rose had been Frankie’s best friend, her righthand woman. Now Frankie felt like she was running a household, a family, her stable, and her riding lesson business all by herself.
“I know it was last minute, but I wish you would’ve made time.” Hazel closed her fingers over her face like shutters.
“What did she say about the will?” Garrett prodded, avoiding her last comment.
“She’s going to do it. She’ll stay for the summer.”
Garrett sighed, like he’d been waiting all day to do so. “That’s great news.”
“Not really.” Frankie let her hands fall to the table. “She’s going to sell the property this fall, after she meets the clause.”
“How do you know?”
“I can tell.” After Daniel read Rose’s will, Hazel had nearly run out of Maple Bay without looking back. She didn’t seem to care about her inheritance one bit. Panicked, Frankie did and said everything she could to make Hazel stay, but at the end of the summer Hazel would surely leave. She’d sell the family property and Frankie would have to say goodbye to all the memories that filled the carriage house and the lakeshore. Hazel didn’t have a reason to stay in Maple Bay beyond the summer.
“Your mother was a very smart woman,” Garrett offered. “You know she did this for you, right?”
Frankie wasn’t mad at her mother. She knew Rose had setup the will to make Frankie happy, to allow her time to get to know her sister. Rose knew how difficult her passing would be for Frankie. Especially because it hadn’t been that long since they lost Sarah. In a very short period of time, God had taken two beautiful souls out of Frankie’s life. Now she felt lost in a world she once loved.
“I know.” Frankie looked over Garrett’s shoulder and into the living room where a framed photo hung above the couch. It was a picture from a few years ago—of Frankie, Garrett, Rose, and the boys. It was a warm summer day and they were all sitting on the front porch, indulging in root beer floats that Rose had thrown together with her homemade vanilla ice cream. Noah had most of the float down the front of his shirt, Wyatt had some in his hair, and Tommy was sporting a frothy mustache. The whole family was smiling. All six of them.
God, I miss her, Frankie thought, but she wouldn’t say the words aloud. If she did, she would certainly cry.
Garrett put his hand on Frankie’s. “She did this for you. Rose wanted you to have your sister in your life.”
Frankie nodded, knowing her mother’s intensions were good, though Frankie wasn’t sure how a stranger could possibly fill the hole in her heart. Especially since Hazel would only be around temporarily.
“I’m tired,” Frankie said, and closed her eyes, letting her husband’s touch and the quiet of a sleeping house cradle her.
“Go take a hot shower and get in bed,” Garrett said. “I’ll take one after you’re done.”
Frankie rose from the chair, knowing that wallowing in her pain only made it worse. The morning would come fast. It always did. And she needed to wash away her worries and get some sleep.