He could even wrap his arms around her without the little flitter of fear crossing over her eyes. Noah had taken to Ethan and treated him like a favorite uncle and he hoped that soon they’d be able to get even closer. Pearl had slipped into the role of grandma like she was born to it. Did he really want to upset all of that so he could drag up the past and what might or might not have been his fault?
Chapter Fifteen
The next couple of weeks flew by as Ethan and the team brought the job to a close. He’d gotten closer to Noah and ended most days with him if even for only a few minutes checking out the job’s progress. He found the quiet times with Mari over a coffee gave him so much insight about the last ten years of her life. She’d opened up about her job, the career she’d built, and what it had meant to give it all up to come back and honor Rake’s last wishes.
He fell for her more each day. Her easygoing nature still shone through. Even when put on the spot, Mari managed to deflect any negativity and put her best foot forward. He’d felt proud when another wedding had been booked and inquiries increased. The interest in the old hotel as a venue made him think his brother was cleverer than Ethan imagined.
And now the job was done. How was he going to cope tomorrow when he headed off to another site? Mari wouldn’t be there to offer him coffee or a ready smile to brighten his day. He was going to have to stop in regularly and see them. He wouldn’t be able to go without his feel-good fix every morning and afternoon when Noah bounced down the stairs and greeted him.
The biggest question now was, where to from here for the three of them?
Ethan tossed the last tool bag in the back of his truck and turned back to the hotel. The men had already left and gone back to the yard but he wanted to clean up more before he called Mari down to go over the job. It’d turned out to be a beautiful room, just as he’d imagined. Now the two ballrooms were merged into one with the rotten ceilings rebuilt with new beams, he could breathe a sigh of relief.
Mari had been upset about the extra work but pragmatic as well. With such an old building, it was impossible to tell how much needed to be done until they were into it and she understood that. But now it was finished, she’d be able to decorate it like the photos she’d shown him. Make it bride-worthy and finally announce to the world she was open for business.
Rake had done well setting her up before he died. His brother always did have a sense of right and wrong even when he hid his sensitive side beneath his tough exterior. Pity he hadn’t thought to reach out to his family before it was too late. Ethan would have loved a chance to catch up and try to make amends for whatever he’d done that earned him the silent treatment.
“Ethan, you’re finished.” Her breathless voice echoed in the ballroom as she hurried in. Mari stood looking up at the ceiling, a joyful smile on her lips. “It’s perfect. Just like I imagined.” She wrapped her arms around her waist and closed her eyes. Her feet jiggled and she screwed up her face. An excited “yes” burst from her lips before she started laughing.
“So glad you’re pleased.” He watched her with amusement, the depressing thoughts of a moment ago brushed to the back of his mind. He’d kept her out of the room the last week insisting she’d appreciate the finished product better that way. It seemed he was right to surprise her.
“Oh, you have no idea.” She wiped a finger under her eyes, brushing away the hint of a tear. “I was so scared this wouldn’t come together.”
“Why?”
She gave him a quick glance and jammed her hands in her jeans pockets. “Because as much as your brother thought I could do it, I wasn’t entirely convinced I had it in me to go for something this big and involved.”
“But you had a good business in LA. Why should that change just because you moved back here?”
She pulled a face. “I don’t know but it did. Here, I was judged for what happened. You know with my mother and everything. I’m pretty sure Jeff wasn’t the only person that thought I’d trashed your house that night. The running away thing. In LA, nobody knew me. Rake didn’t let the media get wind of me or Noah. He was very careful to keep his professional and personal life totally separate.” She smiled somewhat sadly. “It was our deal when we found ourselves together. He’d look after me and I’d give him the normality he wanted. He had huge plans even back then.”
“And you just fell in with it, no questions asked?” He tried to keep his voice casual so she wouldn’t think he was judging her.
“Yes, I did. I trusted him. It wasn’t hard for me after all I’d been through. I wanted to be loved and cherished. I wanted a home where I didn’t have to watch everything I did or said in case it was taken away from me. I’d had enough of that with my mother and then your father continued her type of behavior. I couldn’t settle when I was younger but he made that possible for me.”
“I tried to be there for you. So did Mom.”
“I know you did, and you have no idea how much that meant to me.” She reached for his hand. “But in the end, they won and I had to go. But back to Rake and me and what we had.
