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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Will

When they arrived at the Gray Whale on Sunday morning, the parking lot was almost full. Tom directed him to park in the back, where the employees normally left their cars. The restaurant was busy as well. Will didn’t see any open tables, but shortly after they arrived, Dani walked over to them and handed a couple of tickets to Tom and said, “Follow me.”

Sure enough, there was a table for two in a corner, not too far from the breakfast buffet that had been set up in the middle of the dining room, allowing service on both sides of the long table.

“Thanks, Dani,” Tom said as she sat them.

“I’ll bring over a carafe of coffee for you in a minute,” she told them. “Do either of you want juice?” They both declined, and Dani moved toward the kitchen.

“So breakfast is on the Whale,” Tom said. “Hence the two tickets Dani gave me. Once we get coffee, we can go up and get some food.”

Will looked over the buffet offerings in awe. The assortment was incredible. Eggs, an omelet station, bacon, sausage, a variety of Danish, ham and turkey carving stations, fruit salad, pancakes and waffles along with fruit compotes and syrups. They both filled their plates and returned to their seats.

“I can’t believe how much food they have!” Will exclaimed, digging into his scrambled eggs. He also had some crisp bacon and a waffle topped with an apple, cinnamon, and pecan compote.

“Right? The restaurant doesn’t offer breakfast all that often, but when they do, they go all out.”

They ate their fill, both going back for seconds before calling it quits. “Whew, I’m stuffed,” Will said, wiping his mouth with his napkin. “That was excellent.”

Dani had checked on them a couple of times, and once they were finished, Tom got her attention, and she hurried over. “Need anything else, boys?”

“Just the check,” Tom said.

“Let me get the tip,” Will said after Dani had walked away, handing Tom some bills. “Is that enough?”

“Yeah. Thanks.” Tom placed the money, along with the two tickets for the complimentary Jingle Mingle Breakfast, in the check presenter on the table, and they left the Whale.

“Is it okay to leave my car here, or should I move it to the B and B?” Will asked.

“Probably best to move it so someone else can park. Then we can walk off some of these calories.”

Tom

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to be here?” Tom asked, his voice cracking slightly. After they’d walked around town for a while, Will had driven to the neighborhood where Finn’s mom lived and parked along the vehicle-lined street before making their way to Muriel Reynolds’ house.

“Of course!” Will assured him. “Clay and Finn invited me. It’s an open house, so there will be lots of people here. And I’ve met Finn’s mom, Muriel, a couple of times—she’s very nice. It’s fine.”

“Okay. Just don’t leave me alone,” Tom pleaded. “I’m not really great in a roomful of strangers.

Will took his hand. “Don’t worry, babe,” he said, using a term of endearment for the first time. “I’ve got you.”

Someone was just slipping out as they reached the door, so they entered without needing to knock or ring the doorbell. There were several people in the foyer, chatting and milling about.

“This way,” Will said, dragging him along. When they reached the far doorway, Tom saw Clay standing there.

“Hey, guys, glad you could make it,” Clay said, shaking their hands. “Follow me to the bar.”

They entered the next room, which turned out to be the dining room. A large table filled with platters of cold appetizers occupied the center of the room. A long table on the other side featured silver chafing dishes of hot food. Clay directed them to the back of the room, where a wall of windows overlooked a spacious yard. A full bar was set up there, complete with two bartenders taking care of guests. After they each got a beer, Tom saw Finn speaking with a striking older woman on the far side of the bar.

“Hi, guys,” Finn said when they sauntered over. “Mom, I’d like you to meet Will Hargrove and Tom Dawson,” he said to the woman. “Guys, this is my mom, Muriel Reynolds.”

“Very nice to meet you, Mrs. Reynolds,” Tom said. “Thank you for inviting us into your beautiful home.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Tom,” Muriel replied. “And please, call me Muriel.” Turning to Will, she said, “It’s nice to see you again, Will.”

“Thanks, Muriel. Nice to see you again as well.”

“Please excuse me. I have other guests to greet. Enjoy yourselves, gentlemen.” Muriel departed.

“Enjoying YuleFest?” Finn asked them.

“Yeah, it’s been fun,” Tom answered. “Did you get a chance to visit Hook’s Traveling Book Nook? Those women are great!”

“Yeah, Clay and I stopped by yesterday. We loved it,” Finn agreed.

Finn saw someone from the bank where he worked, so he and Clay excused themselves to chat with them. Tom and Will wandered around, ending up in the sunroom, where another smaller bar was set up along one wall. They were waiting in the short line to get another beer when an attractive man walked up to them, smiling.

“Hi, Will,” the man said, offering his hand.

“Hey, Mitch.” Turning to Tom, Will said, “Tom, this is Mitch Reynolds, Finn’s brother. Mitch, this is my boyfriend, Tom Dawson.”

“Nice to meet you, Tom,” Mitch said. “You’re just the guys I wanted to see.”

“Huh?” Will’s face scrunched up. “Why were you looking for us?”

“Clay told me you were looking for an apartment, Tom,” Mitch explained. “I might just have something for you.”

“Really? Where?”

“Above my shop.”

“Mitch owns the Cask and Larder, Tom,” Will explained. “Mitch, I didn’t realize there was an apartment up there.”

“Well, it hasn’t been used as one since I opened the shop,” Mitch told them. “I didn’t need it since I have a house a few streets over from here. When I bought the place, I focused on remodeling the shop so I could open it up. I originally had planned on fixing up the apartment so I could rent it out, but frankly, I just never got around to it.”

“But you want to rent it out now?” Tom asked.

“Well,” Mitch started, “to be honest, it needs some work. Nothing major, just a good cleaning and maybe a fresh coat of paint here and there. And it’s not very big. Part of the upstairs space is a storage area for the shop.”

“I don’t need a lot of space, and I’d be happy to clean it and even paint if I need to,” Tom said, his voice rising in pitch. “How much would the rent be?”

“Well, as I understand it, you’re a starving college student, and if you’re willing to clean it up yourself …” He named an amount, and Tom’s eyes practically bugged out.

“Really?” He was incredulous. “That’s all?”

“I look at it this way: it’s going unused at this point, and Clay pretty much thinks of Will as part of the family, which in turn makes you part of the family. So yeah, I’m willing to give you a break,” Mitch explained, smiling. “And you’re saving me from having to hire someone to clean the space, put ads in the paper and online, and interview prospective tenants. But before you agree to moving in, why don’t you take a look at it first? After all, you wanna make sure you like the place, right?”

“Okay, yeah, sure,” Tom agreed. “Can we do that this week? Since school’s out, I’m picking up more hours at the Whale, so I could easily stop by.”

“Sure. How about tomorrow morning? The shop opens at ten, but I’ll be there by nine to get things ready.”

“I can do that. I don’t have to be at the Whale until eleven tomorrow,” Tom said, enthusiasm clear in his voice. “Will, wanna come with me?”

“Sure,” Will agreed. “And if you do take the place, I’ll help you with the cleaning and painting.”

“I admit it’s been a while since I really looked in the place, but if memory serves, there may be a few pieces of furniture there too,” Mitch said. “I don’t know what condition the stuff might be in, but you’re welcome to whatever you find up there.”