Liza didn’t answer. She met his glance and looked away.
“How about a muffin-for the road? They’re very good.”
She held out the basket, a peace offering. He smiled finally and took a muffin, then wrapped it in a napkin. “For the road, then.”
Jeff said good-bye to Claire and headed for the door.
Liza followed. “Good-bye, Jeff,” she said. “Drive safely.”
“Good-bye, Liza.” He turned and briefly hugged her. “I hope you find whatever it is you’re looking for,” he said, as he stepped away.
“I hope so, too,” Liza replied. Though she hadn’t until that moment realized she was searching for anything special in her life. She just knew what she didn’t want. But maybe that was the same thing, just viewed from a different angle.
She stepped out onto the porch. Jeff climbed into his car and drove away. She watched the car turn at the end of the drive, then disappear. An ordinary sight. Yet in this instance, it felt so final.
Liza stood on the porch, hugging her arms around her for warmth as she stared out at the ocean and the crystal clear sky.
Finding closure about her marriage and her disillusionment with her job had left a gaping hole in her life. Two focal points of her life had been wiped off the playing board. In the blink of an eye, it seemed.
Now there was just a big hole there. Like the one up in the roof. How would she fix it? What should she do?
It seemed like a huge disaster. But it had also opened a space where you could see the blue sky or the stars at night.
That was something to think about, too.
It was all in the way you looked at things, Liza realized. Out on this island, she seemed to be seeing everything from a very different perspective.
Chapter Eleven
LIZA leaned on the porch railing and took one last, lingering look at the water. She certainly wasn’t going to answer these huge life questions right now. For one thing, she had more practical matters to focus on-figuring out how to fix the roof, for starters. She knew very well that the huge storm last night was just the first of many. She had to get a solid roof on the inn before the next storm hit.
I guess I should ask Daniel what to do. Even if he can’t do the repair work, he probably knows a few carpenters or roofers who could.
Another opportunity to see him, she knew. But she wasn’t just trumping up a phony reason. There was, after all, a huge hole in the roof…
Liza caught herself and felt annoyed that she was giving the situation so much thought. Then she had to smile as Daniel’s truck came into view. As if her thoughts had summoned him.
The white pickup pulled into the drive and parked near the front door. Liza waited on the porch as Daniel got out of the truck and walked toward her. His wide smile and dark eyes made her pulse race, but she did her best to hide her reaction.
“So, you survived the storm, I see. The place is still standing,” Daniel greeted her.
“Just barely.” Liza pointed to the tree that had been struck by lightning. “That tree was hit, and a huge branch fell off and went right through our roof.”
“Wow… close call. You were lucky.”
“I guess we were.” Liza hadn’t thought of it that way before, but it was true. The house could have been hit by lightning and caught fire. Maybe a big hole was not so bad after all.
“How bad is it?” Daniel stepped closer, looking concerned.
Liza was suddenly having a hard time focusing on the damaged roof. All she could think about was being alone with him yesterday and how good that felt.
She forced her mind back to his question. “Well, the hole is sort of off to one side of the eave,” she answered. “And there’s this huge branch. I don’t know how we’ll ever move that, it’s so heavy. It’s hard to describe,” she said finally, glancing up at him.
“Let’s go up and take a look.” He met her gaze and briefly touched her shoulder, then followed her to the front door.
Something between them felt different this morning. Some ineffable… something. They had crossed some sort of line yesterday, a line of intimacy. Their relationship had moved into some new territory, one that was a strange, foreign land to her after being married for so long.
And she had made a final break with Jeff last night, even more final than their divorce-which left her free to see Daniel in a new way.
They headed into the house, and Liza led the way up the first staircase. “Do you work on roofs, too?” she asked him.
“I might be able to work on this one. Let’s just see what’s going on.”
They finally arrived in the dimly lit attic. Daniel surveyed the branch and hole from a few different angles. Then he looked over the surrounding beams and the fractured wood around the opening. “Hmm. That is a nasty hit.”
“So, what’s your prognosis, Doctor? Can this roof be saved?”
“I’ll give it my best shot-though the emergency surgery will delay the paint job.”
“Oh, right.” Liza hadn’t thought of that. They could probably find someone else to fix the roof while Daniel kept painting. But now that he had looked over the damage and said he could do it, she didn’t feel right taking the project away from him.
“Well, it can’t be helped, I guess. A hole in the house is a priority.”
“I’d tend to agree with that, especially with more rain in the forecast. You’re catching on to this renovation stuff pretty quickly.”
She knew he was teasing her now. “Thanks. I do watch those home shows from time to time.”
“I guessed that. Are you sure you really want to sell this place? I think you secretly enjoy it.”
She was secretly enjoying something about these repair issues, that was for sure.
She caught his eye for an instant, then looked away. A few cartons marked “Christmas” caught her eye, and Liza rushed over to move them to a dry spot.
“I didn’t see these last night. I hope the Christmas decorations didn’t get ruined,” she said over her shoulder. “Aunt Elizabeth had such beautiful ornaments and lights.”
“Here, let me help you.” Daniel stepped over and began moving the cartons with her. They worked together for a few minutes without speaking, yet Liza felt strangely connected to him, relaxed and easy in their partnership.
Finally, he stood up and brushed some dust off his hands. “Anything else you want to get out of the way?”
She stood up, too, and brushed a few stray strands of hair off her face. He reached down and helped her, smiling gently.
“Why do I always look like such a wreck when I see you?” she asked in a quiet, plaintive tone.
“I don’t know. But I have to tell you, I’ve rarely seen such an unattractive woman. It’s… alarming.” The way he was staring at her in the hazy light and the smile in his warm brown eyes suggested he was more charmed than alarmed.
He cupped her face in his hand and leaned down and kissed her. Liza closed her eyes, feeling herself melt. Her arms slipped around his waist as he pulled her closer. Liza wasn’t sure how long they stood there, how long the kiss lasted. She lost all track of time.
She heard someone coming up the stairs, and she quickly pulled away. What had come over her? What had come over him?
“Liza, are you up there?” Peter called, as he slowly climbed the narrow flight that led to the attic.
“Yes… I’m here with Daniel. We’re just looking at the damage,” she shouted back.
Sort of…
She glanced at Daniel. He looked as dazed as she felt. Which was some comfort. They shared a swift, secret smile. Then he put on his game face and walked toward the steps to greet Peter.
“So, what do you think? A total disaster, right?” Peter ran his hand through his hair. “What a thing to happen. What timing.” He looked over at Liza before Daniel could reply. “Fran Tulley just called. The Hardys wanted to come back today, but I had to tell her about the roof. She’s going to tell them and see what they want to do. She didn’t sound too optimistic.” Peter’s tone was glum. “She thinks they may be scared off.”