Hometown Love (Love on the North Shore #2)(42)
Mack tossed the thought around and watched as Jessie pulled her shirt back on, his gaze drawn to the scar that started on her side and wrapped around to her back. “What happened there?” He pointed to the faded mark.
Jessie yanked down her shirt, covering up the scar. “I tripped and fell. Rather than land on the floor, I landed on a wine glass I left on a coffee table.”
Her explanation sounded plausible yet his gut told him it wasn’t the truth. Or, at least, not the whole truth. “That must have hurt.” Despite his misgivings with her explanation, he accepted it. Maybe he spent too much time around criminals who lied all the time. After all, there was no reason for Jessie to lie now. “Do you want anything before we restart the movie?” He ignored the questions her words and actions created. Tonight, it was only the two of them, and he planned on enjoying their time together.
When Jessie shook her head, he grabbed the remote control. “Let me know if you change your mind.” Restarting the movie, he put his arm around her and pulled her close.
He’d seen the classic sci-fi movie so many times he could quote it scene-by-scene, a habit that had driven his ex-wife crazy on the few occasions they’d watched the film together. Tonight, with Jessie, he made an effort not to recite a single line.
When they reached the movie’s first real memorable scene, however, Jessie did the one thing he’d avoided all night and repeated the heroine’s lines word-for-word. Since that particular scene was so well-known, he chalked it up to a random event. The third time she did it, repeating a much lesser-known line, he broke the comfortable silence around them.
“How many times have you seen this movie?”
“As an adult or all together? Because if we’re counting when I was a kid, it would be over thirty.”
“I think I have you beat. I was obsessed with this movie as a kid. Had every toy they came out with and a lunch box.”
Jessie beamed back at him. “Me, too. I think my grandmother still has a few of my toys tucked away in the attic.”
Pleased to learn that they had something else in common, they fell into a discussion about which movie in the Star Wars series was best and why. Soon the misgivings Jessie’s earlier explanation evoked, disappeared.
***
Since Sean had helped with his move, Mack felt obligated to return the favor. So rather than spend Sunday morning at home, he found himself at Sean’s after breakfast. Even from the outside, he noticed the improvements to the old Queen Anne style house. Although it still needed a fresh coat of paint, the house had all new windows and a roof. The shrubs, which had become overgrown from years of neglect, were gone and a new mailbox stood near the street. Even with all the improvements, a lot of work remained, according to Sean. When Sean had filled him in on some of what he’d already done and what he still had planned, he’d questioned his friend’s sanity.
Walking past Tony’s truck, Mack started up the paved walkway and glanced over at The Victorian Rose, another Victorian era home that Sean had kept in prime condition for years. Today, like always, a No-Vacancy sign hung out in front and several cars remained in the parking lot. Even before Charlie’s marriage, the bed and breakfast had done well with a steady stream of guests. Since her marriage, though, he didn’t think the No-Vacancy sign ever came down. If anyone deserved that kind of success, it was Sean and his family.
“Now that you’re here, we can start,” Sean said when he answered the front door. “Hope you’re up for some demolition.”
“Always up for that.” Mack followed Sean inside, impressed at the home’s interior. Although a bed and chest of drawers sat in what should be a living room, there was no missing the improvements made inside. All the rooms they passed had a fresh coat of paint. Brand new light fixtures hung from the ceiling, and with the exception of the stairs, the hardwood floors gleamed.
“Off your ass, Tony. Time to get to work,” Sean said when he and Mack entered a well-thought-out kitchen with brand new appliances.
Tony stuffed the last of his muffin into his mouth. “I should ask your mom to send me baked stuff. My mother’s too busy traveling now since she retired.”
“Good luck with that.” Sean led them up a back stairway. Unlike on the first floor, old wallpaper covered the walls and the floors showed their century-plus of use.
“What’s the plan for today?” Mack asked as they passed a gutted bathroom.
“Tearing down a wall to start.” Sean opened a door. “I want to turn this room and the one next to it into a master suite.”
Mack grabbed a sledgehammer from the floor, eager to get started. There was just something about knocking down a wall. “Easy enough.”
The three men worked for over an hour in relative silence until Sean’s cell phone rang. As he left the room to take the call, Tony and Mack leaned their tools against a wall and sat on the debris-covered floor.
“Seems like every time I pass your place Jessie is there.” Tony used the end of his t-shirt to wipe sweat from his face.
Mack remembered Tony’s comment about asking Jessie out himself. At the time, he’d guessed it was just another case of a woman temporarily catching his eye. Now, he wondered, though. While he considered Striker and Sean closer friends than Tony, he’d been friends with the guy for a long time and didn’t want any hard feeling between them. “She’s been over for dinner a few times.” He grabbed his water and downed half the bottle.