Page 25 of Waves of Reckoning (Echoes of Camano Island #1)
Chapter Twenty-Four
“W here do these go?” Nikki held up the stack of towels she’d just removed from the basket she’d brought upstairs to one of the guest rooms she was helping to prep for the arrival of new guests.
“They go on the second shelf to your left,” Kaylin responded, pointing at the custom built-in closet that took up at least half of the back wall in the room.
Complying, Nikki carefully organized the towels on the shelves before moving to put a pair of bathrobes on the shelf below it.
“Should I change the curtains?” she turned to ask the woman now, smoothing out the wrinkles from the cotton sheets she’d spread over the queen-sized pillowtop mattress and fluffing the feathered pillows.
“Oh no, Dorothy changed those only a day ago. What you can do, though, is open the windows and let in some of that fresh air,” Kaylyn advised.
Nikki walked across the multicolored woolen carpet covering most of the floor not housing a piece of furniture. Pushing aside the light beige curtains, she threw open the French windows with a welcomed sigh as the cool breeze burst into the room, bringing with it the slight saltiness of the sea.
“Thank you for agreeing to help me get these rooms ready, Nikki. With Dorothy being sick and all, I appreciate the help,” Kaylyn spoke with a smile of gratitude.
“I’m happy I could help. How is Dorothy by the way?” Nikki asked.
“She sounded a lot better than she did yesterday, but I told her not to come in until she is a hundred percent better,” Kaylyn replied.
“That’s wise,” Nikki agreed, returning to the basket to organize the rest of the linen in their respective places.
When she was finished, she stepped back to look at her handiwork before turning to take a better look at the room.
She liked the light flowery patterns on the walls and the light furnishings, accentuated by the row of cushion in the little nook at the far corner that gave the room a more endearing and homey feel to it.
Overall, she approved of the decor that was duplicated in most of the rooms.
“You know, when Trish bought this place, it was a little more than just a condemned building. It had a sturdy framework, but inside was a total disaster. You can say she had to start from scratch to get this place to where it is now,” Kaylyn informed her, her voice taking on a tone of respect and admiration as she talked about Trish.
Nikki approached the woman, her head bobbing slowly to indicate her interest in the rest of the story.
Kaylyn didn’t need any more invitation than that.
“She had to take out all of the carpets and get the floor surfaced with hardwood. A majority of the kitchen came from IKEA. The upstairs was just one big space, but when Trish finished, it ended up being three bedrooms in addition to the three on the ground floor.”
“She did a really good job,” Nikki marveled, looking around the room again.
Kaylyn turned to look at Nikki, her eyes softening as she continued to speak.
“Your sister sacrificed so much to make this place what it is because she wanted you to be proud of her and what she was able to accomplish. She wanted you to know and for you to see that she had taken charge of her life.”
Nikki’s eyes widened in surprise at the news. “I didn’t know she felt that way…that I wasn’t proud of her…she never said anything,” she responded softly, her voice filled with sadness and remorse.
Kaylyn reached out to rest a warm, comforting hand against her arm as she gave her a knowing smile.
“She tried to reach out to you on a number of occasions but each time she would get cold feet. She’s never stopped loving and respecting you, Nikki.
She was…she is proud that you are her sister, and your opinion matters to her a great deal,” the woman finished, her words echoing in Nikki’s ears with the potency of their impact.
She gave the woman a smile of gratitude. “Thanks for letting me know.”
Kaylyn returned her smile before letting her hand drop from her arm and getting the toiletries they’d brought up to place in the bathrooms. The two worked like that for the next half hour, freshening the unoccupied rooms as they continued with small talk.
Nikki left Kaylyn upstairs to go man the receptionist’s desk when Amy came barreling through the door. A smile that ran from ear to ear brightened her face as her eyes shone with delight.
“Someone’s happy,” Nikki surmised with a smile of her own as she stared back at her niece.
Amy held up a manila envelope in response.
“Is that what I think it is?” Nikki asked, her excitement level going up.
Amy’s head nodded vigorously. “I got into culinary school,” she beamed, waving the letter proudly.
“Oh my! That’s great. I knew you could do it,” Nikki replied, reaching for her niece and bringing her in for a tight hug. “Where?” she asked when they separated.
“Here, The Camano Island School of Culinary Arts,” Amy answered.
“Even better,” Nikki responded joyfully.
“Classes start in the fall so I have a little time to get my tools together,” Amy informed her.
“That’s good. In the meantime, you can continue going to Lot 28 to hone your skills, maybe pick up a few more hours if you’re up to it,” Nikki suggested.
“That’s what Paul said back at the restaurant.”
Amy’s response caught Nikki by surprise. “You saw Paul?”
“Yeah, he was there today going over the menu with the head chef, and then he had lunch with Aaron,” Amy explained.
“Sarah’s fiancé?” she asked.
Amy nodded.
“Okay…and you told him about your acceptance letter?”
“Yeah, I told him. Is that a problem?” Amy asked, her brows furrowed in concern.
“No. No. That’s okay. I’m really glad he’s in your corner,” Nikki replied with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.
She didn’t know why she felt so put out by her niece sharing the news with Paul before her, but it felt different from the way she’d felt all the other times when it felt like Amy related more to him than she did to her.
Her thoughts flashed to his apology a few days ago and him expressing that he cherished her as a friend.
Again, she couldn’t quite figure out why she had been disappointed by his declaration.
She didn’t even want to examine it, fearing she wouldn’t like the answer.
“Amy, sweetheart, how are you?” Kaylyn, who’d just walked down the stairs, greeted the young woman.
“I got into culinary school,” Amy informed her, waving the envelope.
“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Kaylyn expressed, bringing Amy into a tight hug as she congratulated her.
“Let me get in on this action,” Nikki said, opening her arms wide enough to cover the two women in her own embrace. They all bubbled with laughter and joy at the great news.
The day before the fundraising
“Could you check on the cupcakes, please?” Amy called out to her aunt as she flitted around the kitchen. They were baking in preparation for the fundraiser.
Nikki walked over to the oven and gingerly lowered the door to check on the cupcakes like Amy asked.
“They look okay. They’ll definitely be ready the second the timer goes off,” she informed her niece as she straightened up.
The whole kitchen had been transformed into a bakery.
There wasn’t a surface that didn’t have trays of cookies, brownies, cupcakes, and pies.
The sweet smell of the freshly baked confections filled the whole house with their savory scent.
“Great,” Amy replied, relaxing as she creamed the sugar and butter to make the icing she would use to decorate the cupcakes.
Nikki smiled as she watched her niece. She would make an excellent pastry chef. “I'm going by the restaurant to see how they’re doing.”
“Okay,” Amy replied.
Nikki walked out of the kitchen and headed for the front door.
She breathed out a sigh of satisfaction when the cool night air washed over her warm skin.
It had been exceptionally hot working in the kitchen with Amy but very much worth it.
Amy was in her element, doing what she loved, and Nikki was proud of her.
It was just a pity she had to go through all the trauma she had to arrive at this moment.
Brushing the troublesome thought away, she made her way down the porch steps and walked along the walkway lit by the diffused light from the solar lamps lining both sides.
She went past the inn and then turned at the wooden arrow pointing at the restaurant.
She pushed the glass door open to enter the restaurant.
It had been closed early so that the workers who'd volunteered to stay back and help prepare the food for the event the next day had enough time to do so.
"Good evening, ladies," Nikki greeted the two waitstaff in the main dining area, removing the tablecloths from the tables and wiping them down.
"Good evening, Miss Nikki," they greeted back with smiles of their own. "Chef Ryan and the others are in the kitchen," one of them informed her.
"Thank you, and keep up the good work," she threw back at them as she headed for the kitchen. The women beamed with pride.
Like back at the house, there was a flurry of activities—the chef and his team mixing, chopping, stirring, and tasting the food they were preparing.
Upon seeing her, Chef Ryan, who'd been talking to one of the cooks, came walking over to her and smiled.
"Everything looks and smells great," Nikki said in greeting. "Thank you so much for doing this, Ryan. I appreciate it, and I know Trish will appreciate it too," she spoke in a hopeful tone.
"Are you kidding me? We're all happy to do this. We've all been wondering what we can do to help. We love Trish. She's family to all of us. Plus, this fundraiser is a great way to honor her, and we're all on board with it," Ryan said with a reassuring smile.
Nikki smiled gratefully. Trish really had a dream team to work with. The way they all loved and respected her spoke to the good heart she knew Trish had all along. After going over the menu for the event, Nikki took her leave and headed for the main house.
Just as she opened the front door and was about to step inside, the headlights of a car easing into the driveway caught her attention.
She recognized that it was Paul’s car, and her heartbeat multiplied.
He stepped out of the vehicle wearing a V-neck T-shirt and cargo shorts and looking unnaturally handsome with his tousled dark brown hair and a few strands falling over his forehead. Her heart rate skyrocketed.
Nikki couldn’t fight the bright smile that took over her face or the knowledge that her cheeks were probably flushed as she watched him ascend the two steps leading up the porch.
The butterflies in her stomach wreaked havoc.
Familiar emotions stirred within her as the faintest spent of his aftershave infiltrated her nostrils.
In that instant with his smiling face inching closer to her, Nikki was finally able to admit she had feelings for Paul Thompson; feelings that probably never left her all these years.