A Brambleberry Summer Read online

  “When I mentioned I was thinking about moving out, I didn’t mean for you to go apartment hunting right away for me.”

  “I know. When you said that, I remembered Rosa had an empty apartment. As far as I’m concerned, you can stay on my family-room couch forever, but I thought a three-bedroom apartment would be better than a little camp trailer for a grown man and an active seven-year-old.”

  Wyatt could not disagree. In truth, he had made a few inquiries himself that day, and had discovered most of the available rental homes were unavailable all summer and those that were left were out of his price range.

  What else did he expect? Cannon Beach was a popular tourist destination. Some of the short-term rentals had been booked out years in advance.

  He did not mind living with his sister, brother-in-law and niece. He loved Carrie’s family and Logan did, as well. But as the battle with his insurance company dragged on about doing repairs to his bungalow, he had been feeling increasingly intrusive in their lives.

  Carrie was already helping him with his son. She didn’t need to have them taking up every available inch of her living space with their stuff.

  “The apartment at Brambleberry House is perfect! You can move in right now, it’s fully furnished and available all summer.”

  “Why? I would have thought Rosa would want to rent it out on a longer lease.”

  “The couple who have been living there are supposed to be coming back in a few months. I don’t think Rosa is very thrilled about having vacation renters in and out all summer.”

  “What makes you think having Logan and me downstairs would be better for her?”

  “She knows you two. You’re friends.”

  He was not sure he would go that far. Rosa hardly talked to him whenever they were at any kind of social event around town. He almost thought she went out of her way to avoid him, though he was not sure what he might have done to offend her.

  “She said it was fine and that you can move in anytime. Today, if you want to. Isn’t that wonderful?”

  Again, Wyatt wasn’t sure wonderful was the word he would use. This would only be a temporary resting place until the repairs were completed on their house.

  On the other hand, it would be better for Logan than Wyatt’s crazy camp-trailer idea. He couldn’t deny that.

  Poor kid. His world had been nothing but upheaval the past three years, though Wyatt had tried to do his best to give him a stable home life after Tori died.

  Wyatt had been working as a police officer in Seattle when his wife went into cardiac arrest from a congenital heart condition none of them had known about. Logan had been four.

  Numb with shock at losing his thirty-year-old, athletic, otherwise healthy wife, he had come home to Cannon Beach, where his sister lived, and taken a job with the local police department.

  He hadn’t known what else to do. His parents had wanted to help but both were busy professionals with demanding careers and little free time to devote to a grieving boy. Carrie had love and time in abundance, and she had urged him to move here, with a slower pace and fewer major crimes than the big city.

  The move had been good for both of them. Wyatt liked his job as a detective on the Cannon Beach police force. He was busy enough that he was never bored but he was also not totally overwhelmed.

  He worked on a couple of drug task forces and the SWAT team, which had only been called out a handful of times during his tenure here, all for domestic situations.

  The move had been even better for Logan. He loved spending time with his aunt, uncle and older cousin, Bella. He had a wide circle of friends and a budding interest in marine biology.

  Wyatt loved seeing his son thrive and knew Carrie and her family were a huge part of that. Logan spent as much time at her house as he did their own.

  During the past month, both of them had spent more than enough time with Carrie and her family, since they were living there.

  Another month and they could move back to his house, he hoped.

  Wyatt counted his blessings that his bungalow hadn’t been a complete loss. Fire crews had responded quickly and had been able to save most of the house except the kitchen, where the fire had started, probably from old, faulty wiring. The main living area had also been burned. Even so, all the rooms had suffered water and smoke damage.

  Dealing with the renovations was a tedious job, filled with paperwork, phone calls and aggravation, but Wyatt could definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel.

  “What do you think?” Carrie looked apprehensive but excited. “Don’t you think it’s a fabulous idea? Brambleberry House is so close, you can easily drop off Logan when you need me to watch him.”

  Location definitely was a plus. Carrie’s house and Rosa’s were only a few blocks apart. Brambleberry House was also positioned about halfway between his house and his sister’s, which would be convenient when he was overseeing the repairs.

  Wyatt knew there were many advantages to moving into an apartment at Brambleberry House. Wouldn’t it be good to have their own space again? Somewhere he could walk around in his underwear once in a while if he needed to grab a pair of jeans out of the dryer, without having to worry about his sister or his niece walking in on him?

  “It could work,” he said, not quite willing to jump a hundred percent behind the idea. “Are you sure Rosa is okay with it?”

  “Totally great.” Carrie gave a bright smile that somehow had a tinge of falseness to it. What wasn’t she telling him? Did Rosa Galvez really want to rent the apartment or had Carrie somehow manipulated her into doing it?

  He wouldn’t put it past his sister. She had a way of persuading people to her way of thinking.

  Wyatt’s cop instincts told him there was more to Rosa Galvez than one could see on the surface. She had secrets, but then most people did.

  The bottom line was, he was not interested in digging into her secrets. She could keep them.

  As long as she obeyed the law, he was not going to pry into her business. Rosa could have all the secrets she wanted. It was nothing to him.

  So why, then, was he so apprehensive about moving into Brambleberry House?

  He did not have a rational reason to say no. It really did make sense to have their own place. It would be better for Logan, which was the only thing that mattered, really.

  It was only a month, maybe two at the most. Wyatt would survive his unease around her.

  “Are you sure the apartment is affordable?”

  “Absolutely. She told me how much she’s charging and you won’t find anything else nearly as nice in that price range. It’s well within your budget. And I forgot to mention, the apartment already has a dog door for Hank and a fenced area in the yard.”

  That would be another plus. Logan’s beagle mix was gregarious, energetic and usually adorable, but Carrie’s two ragdoll cats were not fans of the dog. They would be more than glad to have Hank out of their territory.

  “It sounds ideal,” he said, finally surrendering to the inevitable. “Thanks for looking into it for us.”

  “As I said, the apartment is ready immediately. You can stay there tonight, if you want.”

  He blinked. How had things progressed so quickly from him merely mentioning the night before that he was thinking about moving out to his sister handling all the details and basically shoving him out the door today?

  He could think of no good reason to wait and forced a smile. “Great. I’ll start packing everything up and we can head over as soon as Logan gets home from day camp.”

  Carrie’s face lit up. “You can at least wait for dinner. I imagine Rosa is probably working until six or seven, anyway.”

  “Right.”

  “I think you’re going to love it. Rosa is so nice and she has a new tenant, Jen Ryan, who has a little girl who is a bit younger than Logan. Rosa has a wonderful do
g, Fiona, who is more human than dog, if you ask me. I’m sure Hank will love her.”

  At the sound of his name, Wyatt’s beagle mix jumped up from the floor, grabbed a ball and plopped it at Wyatt’s feet. He picked it up and tossed it down the hall. Hank scrambled after it, much to the disdain of one of the ragdolls, who was sprawled out in a patch of sunlight.

  He had seen Rosa on the beach, walking a gorgeous Irish setter. They were hard to miss, the lovely woman and her elegant dog.

  Rosa was hard to miss anywhere. She was the sort of woman who drew attention, only in part because of her beautiful features and warm dark eyes.

  She exuded warmth and friendliness, at least with everyone else in town. With Wyatt, she seemed watchful and reserved.

  That didn’t matter, he supposed. She was kind enough to let him live in her apartment for the next month. He didn’t need her to be his best friend.

  Chapter Two

  Now that the deed was done, Rosa was having second, third and fourth thoughts about Wyatt Townsend moving in downstairs.

  Why had she ever thought this would work?

  That evening as she pulled weeds in the backyard after leaving the store, she had to fight all her instincts that were urging her to call up Carrie right now and tell her she had made a mistake. The apartment was no longer available.

  “There is no law against changing your mind, is there?” she asked out loud to Fiona, who was lying in the grass nearby, watching butterflies dance amid the climbing roses.

  The dog gave her a curious look then turned back to her business, leaving Rosa to sigh. She yanked harder at a stubborn weed that had driven deep roots into the ground.

  She would do nothing. She had given her word and could not back out now. Integrity, keeping her word, was important. She had learned that first from her own mother and then from her adopted parents.

  Lauren and Daniel Galvez were two of the most honorable people she knew. They would never think of reneging on a promise and she couldn’t, either.

  Yes, Wyatt made her extremely nervous. She did not want him moving in downstairs. But she had given her word to his sister. End of story.

  Because of that, she would be gracious and welcoming to him and to his sweet son.

  Thinking about Logan left her feeling a little bit better about the decision. He was a very adorable boy, with good manners and a ready smile.

  It was not the boy’s fault that Wyatt made her so nervous.

  She had almost talked herself into at least accepting the new status quo, when an SUV pulled up to the house a half hour later.

  Fiona lifted her head to sniff the air, then rose and hurried over to the vehicle to greet the newcomers.

  Rosa climbed to her feet a little more slowly, pulled off her gloves and swiped at her hair before she headed for the vehicle. She might be accepting of her new tenants, but summoning the same kind of enthusiasm her dog showed so readily would be a stretch.

  When Rosa reached the vehicle, Logan was opening the back door and jumping to the ground, his little dog close behind.

  Fiona barked a greeting, then leaned in to sniff the newcomer, tail wagging. The Townsends’ dog sniffed back, and a moment later, the two were circling each other with joy.

  At least Fiona was happy to have them here.

  “Hello, Logan,” Rosa said.

  “Hi.” The boy beamed at her, showing off a gap in his teeth that she found adorable.

  “Guess what?” he said. “We’re moving into your house! Dad says we can stay here until our house is done and I’ll have my own bedroom and won’t have to sleep in Aunt Carrie’s sewing room anymore.”

  “This is so wonderful, no?” She smiled down at him, trying not to pay any attention to his father walking around the vehicle, looking big and serious and intimidating.

  “What is the name of your dog?”

  “This is Hank. Don’t worry. He’s nice.”

  “I never doubted it for a minute,” she assured him. “Hello, Hank.”

  She reached down to pet the dog, who responded by rolling over to have his belly scratched. Rosa loved him immediately.

  “This is Fiona. She is also very nice.”

  Logan grinned and petted Fiona’s long red coat.

  Wouldn’t it be lovely if she only had to deal with the boy and the dog? Unfortunately, the boy had a father. She had to say something to Wyatt, at least. Bracing herself, she lifted her attention from the two dogs and the boy, and faced the man who always looked as if he could see through her skin and bones into her heart, and was not convinced he liked what he saw.

  She drew in a deep breath and forced a smile. “Hello. Welcome to Brambleberry House.”

  He nodded, always so serious. “Thank you for allowing us to stay here until our house is repaired. It’s very kind of you.”

  She shrugged. “The apartment was empty. Houses are meant to be lived in. Brambleberry House in particular seems a little sad without people, especially children.”

  She immediately regretted her words, especially when Wyatt raised a skeptical eyebrow.

  “Your house seems sad.”

  Logan giggled. “Houses can’t be sad. They’re just houses.”

  She shrugged. “This is no ordinary house. I think you will find that after you have been here a few nights. Come. I will show you your apartment.”

  She did not wait for a response, but simply walked up the front steps and into the entryway.

  “There are three levels of the house with three apartments, one taking up each level. We share the foyer. We try to keep the outside door locked for the security of our residents. I will give you the code, as well as the key.”

  She was even more vigilant about that right now for Jen’s sake.

  Wyatt nodded. “Makes sense.”

  “Your apartment has a separate key. It is on the ground floor. I live on the top floor. If you have any questions or problems, you can find me there or at the store.”

  “My sister told me you have another new tenant on the second floor.”

  Rosa’s protective instincts flared. “This is true. Her name is Jen Ryan. She lives there with her daughter, Addie, who is six.”

  “I don’t believe I know her.”

  It was one thing for Wyatt to look at her with suspicion. She could not let him turn his police detective’s scrutiny toward Jen.

  “Jen and Addie only moved here a short time ago from Utah. She is a friend of mine from university.”

  “Ah. That must be why her name doesn’t ring a bell. What brought her to Cannon Beach?”

  Rosa’s hackles rose. Jen did not need all these questions. It would not do for Wyatt to become too curious. “She works for me. She was looking for a change and I needed someone to help me at the gift store.”

  He nodded. “Guess I haven’t been in for a while or I might have met her already.”

  He hadn’t been in ever, as far as she could remember. But then, Wyatt Townsend was not the sort to buy shell wind chimes or lighthouse-shaped knickknacks.

  “I can introduce you after I show you your apartment, if you would like.”

  “Sure.”

  Better to get their introduction out of the way. With luck, Wyatt could then forget about Jen.

  She would have to send a text to Jen to warn her before showing up at her door with a police detective.

  She had already told the other woman about the new tenant moving in. As she had expected, Jen had been both apprehensive and relieved, for a complex mix of reasons.

  “This house is big,” Logan exclaimed, looking up at the grand entry stairway, one of Rosa’s favorite parts of Brambleberry House.

  She smiled, in full agreement. “Yes. Each apartment has at least two bedrooms and two bathrooms. And each has a lovely view of the ocean.”

  She unlocked the first-flo
or apartment and swung open the door. Immediately, the sweet scent of freesia drifted through the air.

  It wasn’t unusual to smell flowers at random places in the house. She knew her aunt Anna and Sage Spencer believed the ghost of the previous owner still walked the halls.

  Abigail Dandridge had died a decade ago and left the house jointly to Anna and Sage. She had been dear friends to them and also had left Anna By-The-Wind, the gift shop in town that Rosa was a part owner of and now running.

  All the old-timers in town still remembered Abigail with fondness. Hardly a week went by when someone did not come into the shop with a memory of Abigail.

  Rosa wished she could have known her. She also wanted to be the sort of person whom people remembered with such fondness.

  She wasn’t sure she believed the stories that Abigail still lingered in the home she had loved and she was also quite certain a no-nonsense police officer like Wyatt Townsend would never believe a benevolent spirit drifted through the place.

  She couldn’t deny that scent of freesia, though, which had no logical explanation.

  Ignoring it for now, she let them inside the apartment.

  “This apartment is the largest in the house. It has three bedrooms and a very nice sunroom. The master bedroom and the kitchen face the ocean. The other two bedrooms each have a view of the garden.”

  “Oh, I like this place.” Logan ran into the sunroom, which had an entire wall made of glass.

  “That looks like a great place to read a book on a stormy afternoon.”

  “Yeah. Maybe you can read me more of The Hobbit,” Logan said.

  “Sure thing.”

  Wyatt smiled down at his son with a softness Rosa had not seen before. Instead of looking stern and foreboding, he looked younger and far more handsome.

  A little shiver of awareness blossomed in her stomach. She swallowed, taken completely off guard.

  No. No, no, no. She did not want to be attracted to this man. It was nothing personal against Wyatt Townsend. She wasn’t interested in romance at all. Okay, it was a little personal. She especially didn’t want to suddenly find herself attracted to a police detective who was trained to be suspicious of people.