The thought of the kitchen beckoned, and she moved quickly from the dining area straight into the kitchen just by crossing a hallway.
A massive expanse of white cabinetry hung on two entire sides of the room, with a long working island in the center. The countertops were white granite with swirls of gray, highlighted by a black-and-silver backsplash. She found a pantry the size of her little kitchen back home and a door leading down into a huge basement. The commercial stove and adjoining convection oven and grill were complemented by a massive side-by-side refrigerator-freezer. After a little more poking into what she thought was another refrigerator, she quickly realized it was a commercial-size cooler. Mack obviously had no reason for keeping it full, but it held an assortment of cold drinks and fresh produce. She imagined a holiday’s worth of baking lining the shelves and did a happy dance as she moved through a generously sized utility room with a large washer and dryer to the bathroom beyond, pleased by all she was seeing.
The only thing left to see on the first floor was the living room, so she returned to the two-story foyer and circled the spiral staircase, opening the floor-to-ceiling double doors behind it, only to find the room that felt most like home.
Despite its massive size, the overstuffed furniture looked inviting. There was a fireplace at the end of the room, and French doors on the wall to her right that exited onto a large covered verandah. She could see the entire scope of the grounds behind the house as well as a ten-foot-high privacy fence made of huge chunks of gray stone. Except for the big-screen TV and the up-to-date technology elsewhere in the house, the place was straight out of the late nineteenth century. She couldn’t believe this would be home for the rest of her life.
She walked back into the foyer just as Mack came down the stairs carrying a garment bag and a small duffel.
“So what do you think?” he asked, as he hung the garment bag over the stairs and pulled her into his arms.
“This doesn’t feel real. It’s so elegant and so comfortably inviting that I keep thinking I’m going to wake up and find out it was just a dream.”
“No dream, just me making dreams come true. I always loved this era of architecture. It was a job bringing this house up to a contemporary level of comfort without ruining the aesthetic of it.”
“I love it, I love your taste in decorating and I love you.”
“Good,” he said. He kissed her soundly. “Now let me show you where the real loving happens.”
“You mean the bedrooms,” Lissa said.
He just smiled and pointed to a door on the east wall.
“The elevator,” he said.
Her steps were hurried as she followed him, and when he opened the door, she was immediately enchanted with the decor of the elevator car.
“It’s all mirrors,” she said.
“With silver-plated handrails,” he added, pointing to the panel. “Up and down buttons. You can’t get lost.”
And up they went. The door opened to reveal a hallway, and a few steps farther along was the master bedroom. Mack opened the door and then walked her in.
Lissa’s eyes widened as she saw the elaborately carved polished-wood headboard. The dark burgundy bedspread and the burgundy-and-gold draperies at the windows added to the feeling of a bygone era. There was a wide-screen TV on the wall opposite the bed, a separate dressing area with two large walk-in closets and, beyond, a very elegant en suite bath.
Lissa walked around examining everything, listening to him talk about how he’d found the antiques and how they tied in with the decor, and she realized how many blanks she needed to fill in with this man compared to the young man he’d been.
“Are those cherubs on the headboard?” she asked as she moved closer.
“For fertility, I was told.”
“Said the most eligible bachelor in town,” she said, unaware she’d spoken out loud.
Mack suddenly sensed her insecurity.
“You’re the first woman who’s been in this bedroom, Melissa. I did all my entertaining downstairs.”
She turned and walked into his arms and buried her face against his chest.
“You don’t have to explain. You don’t have to say anything. Thanks to my mother, our allegiance to each other ended ten years ago. What happened between then and now doesn’t matter to me except that you’ve become an amazing person because of it.”
He tilted her chin until he could see her face, then looked beyond the bruises and the swollen lip to the woman he loved.
“All the time I was working on the house, people kept asking me who the woman was who would hold court here. I never could answer because every time I closed my eyes and imagined a woman at my side, I always saw your face. When my shoulder is well, I’m going to carry you across the threshold to seal the deal, but, Melissa, my love, for all intents and purposes, welcome home.”
They sealed the moment with a long, heartfelt kiss that made the massive bed that much more inviting, but that was for later, when they could both move without pain.
* * *
Lissa was overwhelmed and bubbling with excitement as they finally started home with a bag of burgers and fries between them and two cold drinks in the cup holders in the console.
They ate as they went, looking forward to their future, but at the same time still cognizant of the memorial service to get through before that future could officially begin.
Lissa needed to check in with her principal, and as soon as they got back to Mystic, she asked Mack to drop her off at the elementary school.
When he pulled up to the curb, she patted his knee. “I’ll call you as soon as I’m through, and you can pick me up, okay?”
“Absolutely,” he said. “I need to drop by the church. I got a text from Pastor Farley while I was gathering up my clothes. He said the ladies at the church want to serve desserts and coffee after the memorial service. He said it won’t take any planning on my part, just an okay. What do you think?”
“I think it’s the perfect way to end the service. You and your dad’s friends all coming together is a good thing, and you know how he loved his sweets.”
Mack pushed a tumble of curls back off her forehead with the tip of his finger, smiling absently at the way the curls wound back around it, ensnaring his finger just as she had his heart.
“He sure did like his sweets, and you’re right. It’s a thoughtful thing they’ve offered to do. I’ll give him the green light when I get there. You call when you’re ready and I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Yes, all right,” she said. Then she eased across the seat and quickly kissed him. “For good luck,” she said softly, and then she was out the door.
He waited, watching until she was all the way inside the building before he left.
* * *
Lissa sniffed the air as she walked in the front door. There was something about the scent of a schoolhouse that was unmistakable. It had to do with lots of children, huge amounts of food cooking in a cafeteria and books—books that had been handled by generations of little hands. She felt at home here, and yet she was torn by what was happening in her life. She wanted so badly to make a home with Mack and live the life they’d meant to have, raise the babies they were meant to raise and just be. But there was this business of a contract to fulfill and half a year of school yet to teach. Either she stayed here to teach and saw Mack only on weekends, or she moved into the house in Summerton straightaway and drove almost an hour to work and an hour home every day.
But like Mack said, they would figure it out, and right now she needed to let Mr. Wilson know that she still hadn’t been cleared for work.
She walked into the office and was greeted by the secretary’s squeals of surprise and joy at seeing her back. There was a teacher there who had to have a hug, which brought the principal out of his office to see what all the fuss was about.
When Wilson saw Melissa’s face, he tried without success to hide his dismay.
“Melissa! Good Lord. Are you all right to be up and about?”
She smiled. “For short stints, yes.”
He nodded, pleased that she seemed to be in good spirits. “What a nice surprise to see you walking around. Is there anything you need?”
“Yes. Do you have time to talk with me a bit?” she asked.
“Of course I do. Come in, come in,” he said, leading the way back into his office.
Lissa sat down, folded her hands in her lap and then got right to the point.
“As you know, my stalker problem is over. What you don’t know is that I’m getting married soon and moving to Summerton, or living here through the week and going there on weekends. We haven’t worked that part out yet, but I want you to know I fully intend to honor my contract and finish out the year.”
Wilson had a knack for hearing more than what was being said. “Congratulations! As for coming back to work, I have no doubt of your sense of professional responsibility.”
Lissa nodded. “Thank you, but you should know that while I am up and moving around some, I haven’t been released to come back to work yet. I hope that’s not a problem.”
“Not at all. In fact, the woman we hired as your substitute is doing a great job. It seems this job came along at the perfect time for her. She’s recently divorced and the mother of two young ones. They’ve been living with her mother, but she said it’s causing a bit of tension, and the sooner she can save up to get her own place, the better.”