Walter grunted. “Last time I counted, you had five spare rooms.”
“I invited relatives from England.” Elizabeth transferred the cookies onto a cooling tray.
Walter glanced at the empty chairs around the table. “I don’t see any relatives from England.”
“I’m not sure what’s happening yet, but it didn’t seem fair to invite Brenna and then risk having to ask her to move. She needs somewhere permanent.”
“Permanent?” Walter’s gaze sharpened. His face was weathered and lined from a life spent outdoors, but he still had a full head of hair and looked at least a decade younger than his eighty years. “Exactly how long were you thinking she’d stay with Tyler?”
“I don’t know.” Elizabeth broke one of the cookies in half to check it. “At least until Christmas. Jess loves Christmas so much, and it will be good for Brenna to be part of that.”
“You’re throwing the two of them together, aren’t you?”
“I am doing no such thing.” Elizabeth nibbled a cookie. “But those two virtually grew up together, and Jess loves Brenna. It makes sense for her to move in with him.”
“I’m old, not stupid. You’re interfering.”
“You’re not old.” Alice reached across and patted his hand. “And I seem to remember you interfering plenty with Sean and Élise.”
“You’re imagining things.” But there was a gleam in Walter’s eyes. “All I did was point out what the rest of the world knew. Those two were both too stubborn to see what the rest of us saw.”
“It’s the same with Tyler. It’s obvious how Brenna feels about him.” Elizabeth picked up a bowl of icing, and Walter looked at her thoughtfully.
“But how does he feel about her? She’s not his usual type. Nothing like the others.”
“He wasn’t serious about the others. They were just part of that life he led. And I don’t remember fielding phone calls from any of those women when he was lying in the hospital with his career in ruins. Where were they then?” Elizabeth wiped her hands on her apron. “It was Brenna who sat by him. She was there night and day, and there was no getting her to leave. She was the one who coaxed him out of his bad temper when the rest of us were almost afraid to walk into that room. She’s been there for him through thick and thin.”
“And in all that time, nothing has ever happened. I remember the party in the summer. He didn’t even look at her. What they have is friendship, and it’s never going to be anything else.” Walter reached out to steal a cookie, and Alice rapped his knuckles.
“They’re for the Boathouse Café.”
“They won’t miss one, and I don’t want to give the guests what I haven’t tried myself.”
“You’ve eaten enough of those in your life, Walter O’Neil. Remember what the doctor said.”
“He said moderation.” He caught Alice’s eye. “One cookie is moderation, and I was shoveling snow all morning.”
“He cares about her.” Elizabeth dusted the cookies with icing sugar. “I sometimes think being here is slowly killing him, but he offered to coach the high school team because he knew she didn’t want to walk into that school again. He wouldn’t have done that for anyone else. It’s the most romantic thing I ever heard.”
Walter sighed. “That boy has been tearing after women since he hit puberty. I’ve never seen him show the slightest interest in Brenna that wasn’t to do with friendship.”
“He didn’t object when Kayla suggested she move in with him.”
“How could he? You were all squashing him like an ant under a log pile. Likely he’ll rebel, as he always does when you try and cage him.”
“No one is trying to cage him, Walter.”
“Maybe your plan will backfire. Maybe she’s not what he needs.”
“I think she’s exactly what he needs, and hopefully he’ll discover that himself.” Calm, Elizabeth poured the tea.
* * *
TYLER TOOK THE DOGS outside and waited, his breath clouding the freezing air.
He wasn’t in any hurry to go back inside knowing that Brenna was curled up in his den. She and Jess had picked a movie, and between the two of them they’d sentenced him to an evening of romance and sugar he was unlikely to survive without the support of a bottle of whiskey.
The choice didn’t surprise him.