The Stroke of Winter(14)

Tess pushed her chair back from the table and led Wyatt up the back stairs to her bedroom, silently grateful for the advice her grandmother had given her long ago, when she was just a child.

“Honey, always make your bed first thing in the morning,” Grandma Serena would say. “That way, you’ll start the day accomplishing something. One small thing. Then you’ll build on that.”

It wouldn’t do to let this stranger see her bed rumpled and unmade. Tess didn’t know quite why, but the sight of it would have felt too intimate, too personal. As it was, her bed was as tidy as any would be in the B&B she intended to turn this house into.

After her room and bathroom were handled and Tess could hear the heat hissing in the radiators, she thought it was a good time to talk about her other to-dos with this man.

“So . . . I have a couple of other projects that I need done sooner rather than later, and I’m wondering—can I show you what they are? Maybe you can take them on, or if not, maybe you know someone who can?”

Wyatt smiled, leaned against the doorframe, and ran a hand through his hair. “Sure,” he said. “What kinds of projects?”

She stepped through the doorway. “I’ll show you.”

They made their way down the hall to the shuttered door.





CHAPTER SIX



“This door leads to the back part of the second floor,” she said, as they stood in front of it. “I had the idea of renovating it into an owner’s suite, for me to live in when I open this place up to guests.”

“Oh? You’re making it into a B&B?”

Tess nodded. “That’s the idea,” she said. “I’m hoping to have it ready for summer, but I really don’t know what the renovation is going to entail.”

“So, you don’t know what condition it’s in?”

She shook her head. “I’ve never been back there,” she said. “It’s been closed off as long as I can remember. My grandmother had said something about it being too expensive to heat or maintain or something, and when my parents inherited the house, they just never bothered with it. We used it as a vacation home, so there was really no need.”

Wyatt ran his hand along the wooden door. “No knob, even,” he said. “It’s completely shuttered, then, not just locked.” He glanced back at her. “We could break it down, but that would be a shame, this beautiful old door.” He touched the doorframe and the hinges. “We could take this off entirely. Or—is there a back way in? Windows?”

She nodded. “There’s one room that looks like it was a sunroom or even a greenhouse. It juts out and has big windows on three sides. But they’ve been shuttered, too.”

“Hmm,” Wyatt said, still staring at the door. “Now that I think about it, those windows would have one-hundred-year-old glass, if I’m estimating the age of this house correctly. Maybe older. You don’t want to break that, either. Easiest way in will probably be through this door.”

“Ideally, what I’d like in the end, when all the renovations are complete, is to be able to lock this door when I have guests in the house,” Tess said. “Not that they’d . . .” Her words trailed off.

“Oh, no, I get that,” Wyatt said. “You need your privacy and protection from people who are, really, strangers under your roof.”

The two of them walked down the back stairs together, into the kitchen.

“Another cup of coffee?” Tess offered. “Or water? I’ve got some sparkling.”

“Water would be great, actually,” Wyatt said.

“Please, take a seat.” Tess motioned to the kitchen table as she opened the fridge and pulled out two cans of sparkling water. She handed one to Wyatt and joined him at the table.

“I can get the door opened up for you,” he said, taking a sip, considering it. “Not a problem. I have a crew of guys who can help with the renovation, too, depending on what you need. That is, if you want me to do it.”

“Are you sure it’s not too much?” she said. “I was hoping you might have time, but . . .”

“Absolutely,” he said, smiling. “Things slow way down in Wharton in the winter, so I’ve got plenty of time. And I’m sort of anxious to see what’s behind that door, too, now that I know you’ve never been back there.”

Tess winced, knowing what she was about to say next. “There’s something else you need to know, before we open the door,” she said. “It’s the other project I need help with. I meant to mention it to you earlier.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

She took a deep breath. “I think there’s an animal living back there,” she said with another wince.

His eyes grew wide. “An animal? What makes you say that?”

Tess glanced at Storm. “I’ve been hearing scratching noises at night,” she said. “And last night, Storm was very upset and stood at that door, growling.”

“Oh yeah,” Wyatt said, nodding. “Dogs know. No doubt. You’ve got a critter. Maybe a few. What does it sound like? Mice? If so, that’s an easy fix.”

Tess shook her head. “I’m not sure, but I think whatever it is, it’s bigger than a mouse. Or mice. I’m thinking, like, a squirrel or, God forbid, a raccoon.”