Four Short Weeks Read online

  “That’s a fabulous idea. I’ll do that as soon as I have time, though it looks like I’ll be pretty busy with the wedding.”

  Talk turned back to the wedding with Sara grabbing her notebook and jotting notes as they sat and ate and made plans.

  Lillian had to give Noah credit, though, he didn’t look a bit overwhelmed by the growing list of to-dos and even offered to do many of them. Somehow, between Sara and Noah, and Charlotte and Robin, plus herself, they’d make this a magical wedding. She was sure of it.

  Pretty sure.

  It was still only four short weeks…

  Robin stopped by the kitchen to make sure everything was going well with dinner this evening. As manager of the inn, she needed to check on things like that. Or at least that was the excuse she was giving herself.

  Jay sat by the computer in the corner of the kitchen. He turned to her when she entered. “Hey, you didn’t tell me.” He looked at her accusingly.

  “Tell you what?”

  “That Noah and Sara have picked a wedding date.”

  “They have?” Robin walked over to Jay and peered over his shoulder at the computer screen.

  “Yes, I was looking at the calendar for next month to see what bigger events we have going to plan the food and order supplies…” He pointed at the screen. “See here? It says Sara and Noah’s wedding. Four weeks away.”

  “I—no, she wouldn’t do it that soon. We haven’t planned anything.”

  “I don’t know… that’s what the calendar says. Noah didn’t say a word to me, either.”

  Robin tugged out her cell phone to see if she’d missed any messages. Nope. She glanced at the time.

  Jay laughed. “You’re going off to find Sara, aren’t you?”

  “I am.” She nodded vigorously. “Why wouldn’t she have told Charlotte and me?”

  “I don’t know.” He shrugged. “But Sara, Noah, and Lil ate dinner here tonight. Maybe they just decided?”

  “Are they still here?”

  “No, they left.”

  “I’m going to head to The Nest and see if I can find her.” She tugged out her phone as she walked away and called Charlotte.

  “Char, you know anything about Sara setting a date for the wedding?”

  “No. She hasn’t said anything to me.”

  “According to the calendar at the inn, she’s picked one… and it’s in four weeks.”

  “No.” There was no missing the surprise in Charlotte’s voice.

  “I’m headed to The Nest right now to see what’s going on. Maybe it got added to the wrong month?” Maybe that was it? A simple little mistake like that? One wrong click and it was put on the wrong date? Maybe the wrong year?

  “I’m coming over, too. I’ll be right there.” Charlotte hung up.

  Robin hurried off to The Nest.

  Sara sat with her aunt out on the deck of The Nest. Noah had gone home, but she’d been restless with all the excitement and Aunt Lil had suggested they have a glass of wine out on the deck. The stars twinkled above them and a light breeze blew in from the sea. She sat and let the evening soothe her.

  They tried to talk about the inn or the weather or anything but the wedding so Sara could settle down. But eventually, all talk turned back to wedding plans. She guessed this was just the way it would be for the next few weeks.

  “Sara, there you are.”

  Sara and Lillian turned at the sound of Robin’s voice.

  “Hey, Robin.”

  “Don’t hey Robin me like you’re not hiding the biggest secret ever. You picked a wedding date and didn’t even tell Char and me?”

  “How did you…” Sara shook her head and laughed. “It’s on the inn’s calendar already. You saw it, didn’t you?”

  “Actually Jay saw it and pointed it out to me. But it’s on the calendar for four weeks from now.”

  “Yes, that’s right. And I was going to call you and Charlotte later tonight and tell you.” Sara sighed. “I should have talked to Jay, too. He’ll be busy with food prep for the wedding.”

  “I need a glass.” Robin disappeared into The Nest and returned with two glasses. “Char’s headed over, too.”

  “Of course she is.” Sara grinned. She’d expect nothing less from her friends than immediate questions and unwavering support.

  “We have lots to plan if we have a wedding to pull off in four weeks.” Robin poured herself a glass, then one for Charlotte, and sank into a chair beside them. “We can do it though. If this is what you want, we’ll make it happen.”

  “We don’t want a big wedding. Just close friends. Something simple.”

  Charlotte walked up the stairs to the deck. “Simple? I can do simple. I think. But I have all these great ideas. I’ve been thinking about them ever since you got engaged. Which was only a couple of days ago, by the way.” Charlotte swooped up the fourth glass of wine, took a sip, and sat beside Robin.

  “Char, I was going to call you later tonight.”

  “But we found out first. No secrets here on the island, that’s for sure.” Her friend leaned back in her chair and stretched out her long, tanned legs, kicking off her sandals. “We’re going to be busy, aren’t we?”

  “We need to make a list. A master list.” Robin jumped up. “Lil, do you have a pad of paper? And I need some light out here to write.”

  “There’s a pad of paper in the drawer in the desk and a couple of battery-operated lanterns just inside the door. That should be enough to write by.”

  “Let me get my list, too.” Sara got up to retrieve her notebook.

  “Okay, let’s write down everything that needs to be done, then we’ll split it up.” Robin sat with her pen poised over the pad of paper.

  “I’ll call about my wedding dress tomorrow,” Sara said.

  Robin scribbled a note.

  “We can see if Julie at The Sweet Shoppe will make the wedding cake. She makes wonderful cakes,” Lillian added.

  “I can do the decorations. I was thinking mason jars with fairy lights in them scattered around on the deck of the inn. And we’ll put flowers on the arbor. And bows on the back of the chairs. And—”

  “The lights sound pretty, but nothing too fancy, okay?” Sara interrupted Charlotte before she had the whole inn or maybe the whole island decorated for the wedding.

  Charlotte sighed. “Okay. Simple. Like I said, I can do simple. Probably.” She grinned. “This is going to be so fun.”

  “Noah and I will talk to Jay tomorrow about food. Aunt Lil, will you join us?”

  “Of course.” Lil nodded.

  “I’ve already done some browsing online for invitations.” Charlotte grinned again. “Couldn’t help myself. But I did find some that are simple but classic, and I think you’ll love them.”

  “We really just want small. A few friends.”

  “Good luck with that. You know how things go on the island… small events here have a way of growing.” Robin jotted another note.

  “Small. Promise me.” Sara eyed her friends.

  “Sure thing. Small.”

  But Sara didn’t miss the doubtful look in Robin’s eyes.

  Chapter 11

  The next morning Lillian and Sara sat at the kitchen table working on the wedding guest list. “And don’t forget Tally.” Lillian nodded toward the ever-growing guest list.

  “I have her and Julie and Susan.”

  “I’d like to have a few friends from The Yarn Society if that’s okay.”

  “Of course I want your friends here.”

  Lillian eyed the list. The growing list. “That’s Ruby and David, of course. And Dorothy and Mary.”

  Sara sighed. “I know that Noah is going to have a pretty good-sized list, too. It’s like he knows everyone in town. How am I going to have a simple wedding if it’s getting so big?”

  “Simple and big are not mutually exclusive. We’ll figure it out.” She got up to pour them more coffee but paused when she heard a knock. “Let me get that.”

&nbs
p; She went to answer the door. “Ruby, hi. Come in.”

  “I was out walking with Mischief. Mind if he comes in, too?”

  “Not at all.” She bent down to pet the pup. “Sara and I were just sitting down in the kitchen, working on wedding plans. Come join us.”

  She poured Ruby some coffee and they sat down.

  “I think I’ll go try and call the seamstress.” Sara got up. “I’ll be back.”

  “What’s all this?” Ruby pointed to the papers on the table.

  “That’s Sara’s wedding guest list. She’s decided to get married…” Lillian paused and shrugged. “In four weeks.”

  “That’s not long, but I’ve heard it can be done in that short of time.” Ruby smiled. “We did plan my wedding in just a month, and it turned out perfect.”

  “I’m sure we can make it happen. I just want it to be so special for Sara.”

  Ruby reached over and touched her hand. “It will be. I’m sure it will.”

  Sara came back into the kitchen and it was clear from her crestfallen look that the call hadn’t gone well. She sank into her chair. “She can’t do it. She has a project she’s finishing up this week, then she’s headed to visit her mother in Montana for three weeks. What am I going to do? I really want to wear Mom’s dress. Or something made from it. Do you think I should postpone the wedding? Noah will be so disappointed.”

  “Sara… if I’m not intruding… could I see the dress?” Ruby asked.

  Sara got up and retrieved the dress. Ruby looked it over carefully. “It’s beautiful.”

  “It is. And… well… I want to wear it for my wedding. Maybe change out the style a bit. But—” Sara sighed. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “I could help you with that,” Ruby offered.

  Sara’s eyes lit up. “You could?”

  “I used to design all my clothes when I was younger. I sewed constantly.” Ruby looked at the dress again. “We could take off the long sleeves, or at least make them short, cap sleeves. And shorten the dress length a bit. Change the neckline. Here, give me a piece of that paper.”

  Lillian watched as Ruby sketched a dress on the paper. It was similar to Leah’s dress, but a bit simpler and more suited for Florida’s climate.

  “I love that.” Sara clapped her hands.

  “I can do this for you.” Ruby looked at them expectantly.

  “Are you sure?” Lillian asked. “It looks like a big job.”

  “I’d love to do it.”

  “Then, yes. I’d love for you to fix the dress for me.” Sara’s eyes glistened with tears. “It will mean so much to me to wear my mother’s dress.”

  “Then it’s decided.” Ruby nodded. “So, how about you bring the dress to my house later today? I’ll take your measurements and I’ll do a better drawing. Then I’ll get started.”

  “Perfect.” Sara let out a long sigh. “Now I hope everything else falls into place like this did.” She rose. “I’m going to go call Noah. I’ll see you this afternoon, Ruby. And again, thank you so much.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Sara walked away and Lillian turned to Ruby. “You’re certainly a godsend for this dress. Wearing it means the world to Sara… and to me, too. It will make it seem like Leah is at the wedding in a way.”

  “I’m happy to do it.” Ruby’s eyes sparkled. “I’m actually excited about it. I’ve been meaning to get out my sewing machine again and try my hand at designing a few things. This will be a great start. I’ve missed doing this. When I was raising the boys, the most sewing I did was fixing rips and sewing on patches.”

  Lillian smiled. One thing on the list checked off. A million more things to do.

  Lillian walked into the kitchen at the inn, humming under her breath. “Good morning, Jay.”

  “Morning, Lil. You’re in a good mood considering the month you have ahead of you.” Jay grinned.

  “So, you heard about Sara’s wedding.” Lillian walked over to where Jay was cooking an order of eggs on the grill.

  “I did.”

  “Sara and I would like to meet with you today and we’ll discuss the food.”

  “Whenever you want.” Jay nodded.

  “And did you see Gary this morning? Did he come for breakfast? I want to check with him and see how things are going on Magnolia House.”

  “I don’t think he did.”

  “Maybe I’ll grab a couple of your cinnamon rolls and bring them over to him.”

  Jay nodded toward the tray of delicious-looking cinnamon rolls dripping with vanilla icing. The tantalizing aroma of yeast and cinnamon taunted her. Maybe she’d just take a few more of them and join Gary.

  She boxed up the rolls and headed to Magnolia House, deciding to walk up the beach to it. When she got to the house, she was met with a surprise. Gary had dismantled the old deck, and a stack of the old boards rested on the sand. He had new posts placed in the corners of where the deck would be and other scattered support posts in place.

  He looked up at her and smiled as she approached. The man did have a warm, friendly smile. His eyes lit up with his smiles, and faint wrinkles crinkled the corners of his eyes. “Good morning.”

  “Morning. You’ve been busy.” She nodded at the missing deck and smiled. “And Jay said you didn’t come over for breakfast, so I brought you some cinnamon rolls.”

  “I got busy early this morning and just didn’t make time to eat.”

  “Got time to take a break now? They’re still warm. Or they were when I left the kitchen.”

  “Sounds excellent. We’ll have to go around to the side to get inside until I get this deck finished.”

  She followed him around the house and inside to the kitchen, noticing he’d replaced the old light fixture and the sink had a new faucet instead of the old banged-up one.

  He washed his hands at the sink and popped open the box she handed him. “Will you join me?”

  She laughed. “I was hoping you’d ask me. They smell so wonderful. Jay makes the best cinnamon rolls.”

  Gary grabbed some plates and a couple cups of coffee and they sat down at the table after he cleared some papers away.

  “Oh, these are good.” Gary nodded after he tried the delicious treat.

  “Told you. Jay is one of the best hires I’ve ever made. Well, and Robin. It’s wonderful to have Robin help me run the inn.” And so far, she was pleased with hiring Gary, too. He’d done more in these few days than Vince had done in weeks on end. She was glad she’d fired Vince, though she’d heard rumors he was bad-mouthing her around town, but she mainly ignored the gossip.

  “I’m sure hiring Robin does help. It must be a lot of work running the inn.”

  “It is, but I love it.” She shrugged.

  “I worked on the plumbing in the upstairs bathroom last night. Couldn’t sleep and figured it wouldn’t make noise for your neighbors like when I’m out hammering on something.”

  “Or tearing down the old deck?”

  “Or that.” He smiled. “I’m hoping to use a lot of the old wood. Save you some money. Plus, it has character. I should have it replaced in a few days.”

  “You’re really going quick on all of this.”

  “Should have everything finished in a few weeks or so. Hope that timeline is okay with you.”

  “It’s perfect. Maybe it will be finished in time for Sara’s wedding. I’m sure we could use it for guests then. I’m trying to set some rooms aside at the inn for wedding guests, too. Though Sara says she wants a small wedding. I’m not sure how small it actually will be.”

  A confused look crossed Gary’s face. “I thought your niece just got engaged.”

  “She did. But now she and Noah have decided to get married in four weeks.”

  Gary’s eyebrow raised. “That will make for a busy month, won’t it?”

  “It will. But I’m okay with that.”

  “I’ll make sure to have Magnolia House done by then, so plan on having it available for guests.”

&nbs
p; “That would be wonderful.” She smiled at him. “Oh, and I’ll send Charlotte over to pick paint colors for the walls. She has such a good eye for that. George and Ida left some of these wonderful pieces of furniture, but we’ll need more. I’ll put Charlotte on that, too. She’s helped with picking out paint and furniture for a couple remodels of the cottages.”

  “Sounds good. I’m a great painter, but not so great on picking out colors that work well together.” He took another big bite of the cinnamon roll, then wiped his mouth, grinning. “Really good.”

  She smiled at his enthusiasm. Though, she’d finished almost half of her own cinnamon roll already too. It was good.

  “So, have you figured out who wrote the journal?”

  “No, not yet. But Noah had a good idea to try the historical society. I have a few clues from the journal. I’ll see what I can find.” She’d hoped to have time to read more of it last night, but it had been late when Robin and Charlotte finally left. She’d try to make time tonight to read more, then find time to get to the historical society. You know, along with all the plans for the wedding.

  But she felt confident now that she’d done the right thing in hiring Gary, so there was that.

  Gary jumped up from the table suddenly. “Oh, hey there, pup.”

  She turned to where Gary was looking out the screen door. A scraggly looking dirty-brown and white-ish dog sat on the other side of the screen.

  “I got you some food, bud.” Gary went to a cabinet, poured some food in a bowl and filled another bowl with water. Lillian got up to open the screen door for him, and the dog backed away a safe distance, eyeing them.

  “I’ll just put this down for you and we’ll go back inside, okay, bud? Then why don’t you eat this all up? You look like you could use a few good meals.” He kept his tone low and soothing.