“You didn’t ask for advice,” Will said, “but you and Bree need to talk about this and carve out some time for yourselves. There are a lot of adjustments with a new baby, and the two of you don’t want your relationship to get lost in the commotion.”
“I suppose,” Jake said, sipping his beer. He slid off the bar stool. “I should get home.” He hesitated, looking at Will. “Mack and I came over here for you. Is everything okay? Should I stick around?”
“I’ve got it covered,” Mack said.
“Yes, go home to your family,” Will told him.
Once Jake had gone, Mack stared after him worriedly. “Do you think they’re going to be okay?”
“Of course,” Will said.
“I mean, if those two can’t make it, after all they went through to get back together, who can?” Mack said.
“They’re going to be fine,” Will said emphatically.
Mack looked relieved by Will’s certainty. “Okay, then, let’s focus on you. Want to talk about whatever has you in such a lousy mood?”
“No,” Will said, sipping his beer, then looking at Mack. “How about you? Anything you need to talk about?”
Mack shook his head.
They drank their beers in companionable silence, glancing up at the TV over the bar occasionally to watch the sports channel.
“Susie’s ticked at me,” Mack said eventually.
“I don’t think so.”
Mack studied him with surprise. “What do you know?”
“Nothing you wouldn’t know if the two of you would just sit down and have an honest conversation for once.” He sighed heavily. “I spend my entire professional life trying to help people learn to communicate effectively, and not one of the people around me has the first clue about how to do that.”
Mack looked justifiably confused. “Are we still talking about me and Susie?”
“Yes, and Jake and Bree, and me and Jess. We’re all pitiful.”
Mack seized on his words. “Is there a you and Jess?”
“No, of course not,” Will said.
“But you just said—”
“Oh, don’t listen to me. I’m just frustrated and annoyed and irritable.”
“Women will do that to you,” Mack said, nodding wisely.
“Amen, brother.”
Mick was walking around the attic at the inn making notes and mumbling under his breath. Jess had taken a seat on top of a trunk, out of the way, and was watching him with barely contained excitement.
“Well?” she prodded eventually. “What do you think, Dad? Can it be done?”
“Of course it can be done,” he said. “When it comes to construction, I can pretty much turn this room into anything you want.”
“At what cost?”
He grinned at her. “That’s the question, isn’t it? You have a budget in mind?”
Jess shook her head. “Abby said to bring her the estimate and she’d see if we could find the money to do it.”
“Tearing out that wall over there, putting in the kind of windows you’re talking about, it could be expensive,” he cautioned. “How badly do you want that?”
“Really badly,” she admitted.
“I can do the job for you at cost, do most of the work myself, in fact. That’ll save you some more, but it’ll take longer. You in a rush?”
She shook her head. “We’d have all winter,” she said. “It would be nice to have it ready when the season kicks back in next spring, though.”
Mick nodded. “That shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Can you open up a fireplace?”
“I can,” he said. “You sure you want to break this into two separate rooms, though? It might be nicer if it were one big open space with a cozy seating area in front of the fireplace and a king-size bed facing the windows and that view of the bay and the town. What do you think? Otherwise it could start feeling cramped. Here, I’ll show you.”
He sketched out what he had in mind as Jess looked over his shoulder. “Of course, if you want the bedroom to have privacy, we could put the wall in.”
“No, you’re right,” Jess said, studying his drawing. “I should have figured you’d know exactly what to do. Everyone knows these houses in town were designed by the best architect in the world.”
“Maybe not the best,” Mick said, winking at her. “But I do have a feel for what people want in a place at the beach.”
“What you did for Connor and Heather at Driftwood Cottage was amazing,” Jess told him. “I couldn’t believe it was the same house.”
“Give Heather some of the credit for that,” Mick said. “I worked with her ideas. Same thing here. You gave me your ideas. I’m just refining them a bit.”
“Some of the ideas were Will’s,” she conceded.
Mick’s eyes lit up. “Is that so? He was over here?”
Jess nodded, aware that she’d opened an unfortunate can of worms. “The other day. He helped me clear a lot of the junk out of here.” Determined to change the subject, she asked, “Now what about the bathroom? Can you fit in a truly decadent soaker tub and a shower, maybe a double vanity?”
Mick looked momentarily disappointed by her deliberate evasiveness, then shrugged. “Is this a honeymoon suite? Or are you thinking of something more permanent, maybe a living space for you?”
“I’m not a hundred percent sure,” she admitted. “Initially I thought it ought to be a honeymoon suite, but Will mentioned it would be a great living space for me. I can’t help thinking about that. It would be wonderful to have a real space of my own and not just one of the rooms downstairs.”
Mick gave her a sly look. “You need that big tub and shower and two sinks just for you, or do you have someone in mind to share it with you?”
“Don’t go there,” she ordered. “If I’m doing it, it doesn’t hurt to think ahead. Who knows what will happen in the future? Hopefully, I won’t be alone for the rest of my life.”
“Of course you won’t,” her father said immediately. “This place won’t be big enough for a family,
