It wasn’t often that anyone snuck up on Austin. As a sniper, he’d been trained to notice everything from a change in the wind, to the sound of a tree branch being crunched a hundred yards out. So the fact this woman had gotten the jump on him was evidence she either was a trained ninja, or the vision that had captivated him had been strong enough to override every one of his senses.
“Hi, you must be—”
“Karen,” the friendly woman interrupted as she sat the basket down with a loud thud and held out her hand. “Karen Carpenter, not the singer.”
“Karen, where’s the plunger?” A beast of a man stepped in behind Karen.
At six-foot-four and two-hundred-twenty pounds, Austin wasn’t used to feeling small around anyone, but this guy had a good four inches and at least a hundred pounds on him. The man looked like a real-life Paul Bunyan. He was even wearing a red plaid shirt.
“And this is my husband, Sylvester, not the cat.”
Austin couldn’t help but smile at Karen’s shtick. Playing along, he held out his hand to shake theirs. “Hi, I’m Austin, not the city. Stone, not the rock.”
Karen squealed and slapped her husband’s massive chest. “This is him!”
He knew from reading his grandparents’ will that they’d made provisions stating that, in case Austin was unable to come on as caretaker for the B&B, this couple, the Carpenters, would step in as caretakers for the property. They had visited Whisper Lake every year for their entire marriage during the Valentine’s Day Festival, and were now retired, so it was perfect.
Sylvester grimaced as he shook Austin’s hand. “Him? Are you famous or somethin’?”
“This is Cliff and Alma’s grandson.” Karen rolled her eyes at her husband.
“Oh, that him. Well, good to finally meet you son. You can call me Sly.”
“Nice to meet you, Sly.”
“I can’t believe you’re really here.” Karen threw her arms around him for a brief but tight hug. When she stepped back, she lifted her hands and cupped his face. “Well, just look at you. I feel like I know you. Cliff and Alma talked about you all the time. You were their pride and joy. Going off and fighting in the Marines. All those,” she lowered her voice as she whispered, “secret missions you went on. Well, they were just tickled pink at all your awards and accomplishments.”
Austin couldn’t imagine his Grandpa Cliff had ever been tickled pink a day in his life, but it was nice to hear they’d been proud of him.
“Well, let me show you around. We have a pretty full house. All the rooms upstairs are booked out for the week, you know, with it being the Beginning of Summer Festival and all. Sly and I are out in the carriage house, so that’s tight quarters. But we just had a last minute cancellation, and the King’s Lair and the Crown Jewel are vacant. You can take your pick.”
Each of the rooms had a royal theme, it worked with the castle that shared a property line with the B&B.
Sly grumbled about needing to check on the washer that was making funny noises and he headed down to the basement. Austin followed Karen as she walked through the house telling him about improvements they’d made and repairs that needed to be done. The plumbing and electrical both needed attention, and she let him know they’d probably need a new roof before the first rain of the season.
Austin tried to take it all in, but he was still reeling from being back here. When they reached the short hallway that held the two doors for the suites that shared a Jack and Jill bathroom, he paused. As a kid, Austin had always stayed out in the carriage house with his grandparents, but he’d always wanted to stay in the King’s Lair suite, which was the larger of the two rooms. It looked like he was going to get that chance.
“And that ends our tour.” Karen waved her hand like a spokesmodel on a game show. “Both the King and Jewel are all made up and ready, choose whichever one you like.”
“I’ll take King. Thanks. I’m gonna go grab my stuff.” Austin excused himself and, as he walked back through the kitchen to his truck, the same image of the mysterious brunette standing at the stove as her kids ran through the kitchen popped into his head.
He tried to ignore it, but it was there. How this woman had infiltrated his thoughts, he had no idea—but he did know he needed to get a grip. Maybe it was time to have some fun. He hadn’t been with anyone since he’d been back stateside, and it had been months before that since he’d been with Brielle.
Yeah, he was definitely overdue for some fun.