The echo inside Trevor's house made Emily shudder. It felt so empty and unlived in. So devoid of humanness.
Wayne Erik drew up to Emily's side. "It's a beautiful place," he said. "Trevor kept it in great condition."
"It was his summer home for many years before he moved in full time," Emily explained. "That might account for the lack of wear and tear."
That and the fact that Trevor hadn't really had anyone in his life; no family or friends to visit him. He'd rattled around in that big house alone for years. Emily wondered whether her father lived a similar type of existence. Elderly and alone. Maybe he had neighbors who thought he'd been abandoned by his family, who worried about him getting lonely. The thought made her ache inside.
Daniel came up next to her and touched her elbow lightly. "Are you okay?" he asked softly.
Emily nodded. "I just get so sad when I come here," she explained.
Daniel scooped his arm around her shoulder. "I know. It's a good thing that we're transforming it. Although I know it doesn't always feel like we're doing the right thing by stripping Trevor from this place. But you did it with the inn, remember, and that was ultimately the best decision."
"You're right," Emily agreed.
They held hands as they walked through the house together with the architects, stopping periodically to study their plans and compare them with the real thing. The Erik brothers had drawn up several options for how to convert the house, depending on how many rooms Emily and Daniel decided on as guest bedrooms, how big they wanted the restaurant and open-plan kitchen area to be, and how much they were willing to spend. The cheapest option involved doing the least amount of work, keeping at many of the original internal walls in place as possible, but Emily was certain she wanted the entirety of the lower floor to be completely open plan, which was only a feature on the most expensive option. From a business plan point of view, they also had to factor in the increase of income from having more rooms to rent out, but Emily didn't want to just cram in as many as possible. The third floor of the inn already had dozens of smaller, cheaper rooms. Emily wanted this part of the inn to be luxurious, high end, something that would really dazzle visitors.
They stopped in the kitchen and looked over the three plans.
"I want this to be the lower floor," Emily explained, pointing at Wayne's creation for the kitchen and restaurant. "But this for the rooms." She pointed at Cain's third-floor plan with just three apartment-style rooms that could accommodate families with space for a living room and separate bathroom in each apartment. "I like how you've laid them out so that each one has an ocean view."
Daniel seemed to agree, though Emily noticed his focus was much more on the cost of things. It hadn't escaped his notice that she'd chosen the most expensive downstairs option and the least lucrative upstairs option.
"And what about the second floor?" Wayne Erik asked.
"I can't decide," Emily explained. More bedrooms as per Shane's design? Or more restaurant space as per Wayne's? "What if we were to replicate the third floor on the second?" she said. "A carbon copy?"
Daniel frowned. "But then there would only be six apartments in the whole house," he interjected.
"I know," Emily explained. "But think of it in terms of the revenue from the higher price of the apartments. Right now there's only one place for families to stay, which is the carriage house. But Bryony said there was so much demand coming in from families who want to spend the summer in Sunset Harbor. If we convert this into the family-friendly part of the inn it would be a great selling point. Plus, if we do it this way then every room can be advertised as having an ocean view! That would be an amazing selling point too."
"I can see what you're saying," Daniel said, not sounding even the slightest bit convinced. "But I can't help feeling like that's not the best use of the space."
"We'd only need to have six families each summer to get fully booked," Emily contested.
"We don't want to get fully booked from six families," Daniel countered. "If there's so much demand, why not double the amount of apartments? Income from twelve families is going to be better than just from six!"
Emily rubbed her forehead. She didn't just want to pack the inn to the brim. And more people traipsing in and out would mean hiring more staff to care for them. They would cause more damage and wear and tear that she'd need to account for. The costs would be eradicated through the amount of cleaning, reupholstering and towel washing alone!
"We can always go back to the drawing board," Wayne said. "Find a compromise that's somewhere between your two ideas."
"Like what?" Emily asked, not sure that there could be a compromise to satisfy both her desire to keep the inn feeling personal while making it as luxurious as possible with Daniel's wish for a more stable income.
"We could make six smaller apartments on the second floor," he said. "Then you can get a range of prices as well."
"But what about the ocean views?" Emily asked. She desperately wanted every room to look out over the gorgeous sea.
"We could try to design them so that as many as possible had a view. But it would be impossible for all of them to. Probably three. Four at the most."
Emily knew that it would make things a little more complicated when it came to the booking forms on the website, but Bryony would probably relish the challenge so that shouldn't be too much of an issue.
Wayne spoke again. "Why don't we create the new designs over the next few days and you can see what you think?"
Emily looked at Daniel for an opinion. He just gave a little shrug. She turned back to Wayne.
"We may as well try some new designs," she said.
"Sure," Wayne replied. "The rest of the work we can get started on right away, though."
"When do you think we'll be able to get all the work done by?" Daniel asked.
Wayne Erik looked down at the plans spread on the table and pondered. "Considering we're going to redraw this floor," he said, pointing at the second floor, "we're probably looking at Labor Day for the whole thing to be complete."
"That soon?" Emily asked, surprised. She'd been expecting years of work.
"Yes, for this place," Wayne explained. "For the spa over at the inn it may take a little longer as you'll need different constructors in there. Pool specialists and the like."
Emily had quite forgotten about Chantelle's spa plan to transform the empty old swimming pool. She realized then that they hadn't yet looked at the brothers' options for converting that place
"Can we look over those designs now?" Emily asked.
"Of course," Wayne said.
"We should fetch Chantelle," Emily said to Daniel. "It was her idea, she should be involved."
They left Trevor's house and collected Chantelle from the inn. Then they all went into the dark, unused outhouse that stood on the inn's grounds. It was cold inside, despite the warm weather, dark and filled with shadows. Emily was glad for the sensation of Chantelle's warm hand in hers, and drew comfort from it.
The brothers produced their plans for Emily, Chantelle, and Daniel to consider. The most impressive (and, once again, the most expensive) was to convert the space into a part indoor and part outdoor spa, overlooking the ocean. The barn area in that specific design would have two floors, a spiral staircase connecting the two, and the top floor containing an infinity pool with views of the oceans.
"I can't resist the staircase," Emily said. She'd wanted one ever since she'd set eyes on the yacht club's.
Daniel grew animated then. "We could design it. The team at Jack Cooper's, I mean. We've done spiral staircases before and it would help keep costs down. In fact"-he looked again at the plans and Wayne's lightly scribbled notes-"we could do this paneling work here as well. The changing area doors. The reception desk."
He looked excited by the prospect and Emily was glad to see that glint in his eye once more. He'd seemed so stressed recently it was good to just see him enthusiastic again.
"And if we hire Jack Cooper's for the woodwork then I'll be onsite, closer to home," he added. "I can project manage the whole thing."
"I like the sound of that," Emily said, thinking of the baby and how much more relaxed she felt knowing Daniel was close by as opposed to the other side of town. Not that she was anticipating going into labor anytime soon!
Chantelle nodded her agreement. "It would make it even more special to know you'd made some of it yourself," she said.
With the decision made, they bade farewell to the architects from Erik & Sons and went back to the inn. As they crossed the lawn, Emily was happy listening to Chantelle and Daniel's merry chatter and all their grand ideas. But as they went, Emily couldn't help notice the disparity between how excited Daniel seemed about the renovation work in comparison to how stressed and muted he seemed about the baby.
When they reached the inn, Emily was so wrapped up in her thoughts she'd become completely distracted. Her main focus in life at the moment was the baby; it was the main source of her excitement, the thing that she thought of last thing at night and first thing in the morning. But she felt like that wasn't the case for Daniel. He seemed more enthusiastic about making a wooden spiral staircase!
"I think I'm going to head upstairs for a rest," Emily said, wanting to excuse herself and take some time to sit with her thoughts alone.
She went up to her room and sat on her vanity stool, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Why was Daniel behaving this way? Amy had acted a hundred times more enthusiastic when she'd told her. Amy had wanted to instantly run out and buy things for the nursery, but Daniel hadn't even mentioned all the things they would need for the baby. Even if he went into his practical, logical, sensible mode and started researching strollers and car seats that would be better than the overwhelmed and slightly stressed state he seemed to be in.
As she mulled on her thoughts, Emily realized then that the only people other than immediate family who even knew about the baby were Amy and Harry. She'd told a friend but hadn't yet told the person she wanted to the most, the person whose reaction would be the best of all: her dad.
She rummaged in her drawer for some paper and pen. Knowing full well that her father had next to no connection to the internet, and only a pay phone in the village which would be difficult to coordinate, she knew that writing to him would be the quickest way to get him the news. Plus, there was something extra special about writing an old-school letter. He could keep it and cherish it for years to come. Holding onto scraps of paper was one of her father's great pleasures, after all.
She began to write.
Dear Dad,
I miss you so much! The house just isn't the same without you. Coming home after the honeymoon was bittersweet because I knew that you wouldn't be here. I hope we can fly out to England to see you this summer as you suggested. I know Chantelle would love that. She's pining for her Papa Roy!
My reason for writing to you is actually two-fold. I'm not just writing to tell you how much I miss having you around, but because I also have some exciting news. Daniel and I have recently discovered that I'm pregnant! Can you believe it? You're going to be a granddad! The due date has been set for early December.
Of course I would prefer to have been able to tell you my news in person but I thought this would be the best way to get the news to you. Plus you can frame this letter or add it to your hoards of paper, which I know you're fond of doing!
I look forward to getting your return letter. Or, even better, you could invest in a cell phone and then we could FaceTime! Video calls, Dad, can you believe it? It's like we're living in the future!
All my love, always, forever,
Emily Jane xx
She read the letter again, hoping Roy would appreciate her slightly cheeky tone and not be offended by it, then folded it up and put it in an envelope.
Just then, Emily heard a knock on the door. She turned to see Chantelle poking her head around.
"What's wrong, Mommy?" she asked. "You've been up here for ages."
Emily gestured for her to enter and the little girl walked inside, padding across the rug with soft footsteps. When she reached Emily she folded into her open arms.
"Nothing's wrong," Emily told the little girl. "I just wanted to write a letter to Papa Roy to tell him about the baby." She held up the now sealed envelope. "Would you like to come and mail this with me?"
Chantelle nodded her agreement. Emily handed her the envelope, which she clutched in her hand, then they left Emily's room together. They went downstairs and out the front door, then headed along the lane slowly toward the mailbox, hand in hand. Emily noticed that Chantelle was awfully quiet as they went. Usually the child never stopped talking, but she hadn't uttered a word since they'd left the B&B.
"Are you okay, love?" Emily asked, giving her hand a little squeeze.
Chantelle looked up at her sadly, her other hand tightly clutching the envelope. "I miss Papa Roy," she said.
"I do too," Emily replied wistfully.
"Doesn't Papa Roy have a phone we can call him on?" Chantelle asked. "We could do a FaceTime call?"
Emily laughed and tapped the envelope. "I asked him the very same thing in that letter," she said. But despite her attempt to lighten the mood, she couldn't help but share in Chantelle's disappointment. Getting a cell phone was the last thing she could imagine her father doing.
"He did say he might get a phone," Chantelle said. "Remember?"
Emily did. Just before they'd left for Martha's Vineyard. She'd been wishing him goodbye, something she hadn't had the chance to do since the age of fifteen, and he'd joked that he might get a phone to keep in better contact. At the time she'd felt filled with hope. Not that he'd get a phone but that he would remain in regular contact. Sadly, it didn't seem to be panning out that way. If he couldn't stay in letter touch, what chance was there of him breaking with the habit of a lifetime and getting a phone!
"I'm going to pray that he does get one," Chantelle said affirmatively. "And that we get to FaceTime each other."
Emily nodded, hiding the grief that was creeping up inside of her. "I think that's a very good idea," she told the child.
Chantelle closed her eyes and Emily watched, her heart swelling, as the girl's lips moved in silent prayer. Then she opened her eyes and grinned. "Amen."
They reached the mailbox and Emily helped Chantelle put the letter inside. As they headed back to the house, Emily heard an incoming text message on her cell. She instantly thought of her father. Perhaps Chantelle's prayer had been answered already!
But when she pulled her phone out of her pocket she was surprised to see that the name on the screen was Roman Westbrook.
Emily felt a jolt of shock. She didn't want to act star-struck around Roman at all. He'd made it very clear how important his privacy was, how much he appreciated being respected in Sunset Harbor. It was among his reasons for wanting to stay in contact with Emily and the rest of the family after checking out. But she also couldn't quite get her head around the fact that Roman Westbrook, famous singer, mega superstar, was a contact in her phone!
She opened the message and read it in her head, then exclaimed aloud.
"What is it?" Chantelle asked quizzically.
"Roman's bought his house," Emily said to Chantelle. "The one in Sunset Harbor."
"Cool," Chantelle said. "Does that mean we can do a welcome party? Take him a gift basket?"
Chantelle loved making up packages for the neighbors. She'd created several care packages for Trevor when he'd still been alive.
"He wants us to come over for a dinner party," Emily told the child.
Chantelle looked excited and clapped her hands. "When? When?"
"Today!" Emily exclaimed. "Quick, go and put on a nice dress and wash your face. I'll get Daddy!"
They hurried back to the inn, both as excited as each other that they would be spending the evening with none other than Roman Westbrook.
