Autumn Dreams Read Online Free PDF Page B

much would the old house cost to buy? How much to renovate? What would she do with it if given the chance? She bought books on restoring old houses; she read and studied how- to booklets from Home Depot; she figured costs and saved every penny. She designed cozy bedrooms and began haunting antique stores and estate sales, making careful purchases.
    But she told no one. She knew what the brothers would say after they picked themselves up off the floor where they’d fallen when weak with laughter. The idea of their baby sister having such a pipe dream was ludicrous. She knew her parents could never help her financially and might not even support her outrageous scheme. She might stand five ten in her stocking feet and weigh twenty-five to thirty pounds too much, but her family still saw her as a little girl to be humored and guided away from her own foolish whims.
    So secretly, especially on nights when grading one more essay would make her scream, Cass made plans.
    When she had unexpectedly acquired the great white elephant of a house, everyone held the same opinion about what she should do with it.
    Sell it.
    “You’ll make a bundle,” the brothers said. “The land is worth hundreds of thousands.”
    “Wow! What a killing you’re going to make,” her fellow teachers said. “That land is a gold mine.”
    They were right, of course. Every inch of land in a small island resort like Seaside had an incredibly high monetary value. But it wasn’t the land that held Cass’s imagination, nor the money itcould bring. It was the big, derelict house two blocks from the sea, the house that made her sing every time she remembered that, miracle of miracles, it was hers. So it became her SeaSong.
    “I’m keeping it,” she told everyone and moved in despite the gasps and groans and words of wisdom advising against such an action.
    “I’ve been praying about this for a long time, and it’s what I want to do. Why not? I’m single, strong, and motivated.”
    “You’re nuts.” No one except the brothers was impolite enough to actually say the words, but she knew what they all thought. She also didn’t care.
    Using the house and lot as collateral, she secured a sizeable loan and went to work. She hired men to put on a new roof, electricians to rewire the house and bring it up to code, and plumbers to modernize existing bathrooms and make new ones until each room had its own private facility. She met with a landscaper about making the most of the small corner lot, drawing up plans that she followed herself. She sanded woodwork and painted walls until her arms ached, prowled the entire state for furniture, and searched for and tried out countless recipes for what she hoped would become her signature gourmet breakfasts. And every night as she soaked out the stiffness in the Jacuzzi tub in the second floor turret room, she planned and dreamed. And prayed.
    Thank You, God. Thank You! Help me do this right
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    By the time the first summer arrived, the second- and third-floor turret rooms were repaired, repainted, and refurbished, their bathrooms renovated and fully modernized, and Cass rented them out. Because town laws and regulations prohibited building during the high tourist months—those who were the town’s lifeblood must not have their vacation rest disturbed by the pounding of hammers and the whir of saws—Cass could do nothing over the summer but learn the skills of an innkeeper. She found to her delight that she loved the very act of hospitality.
    “Welcome to SeaSong,” she’d greet each person. “I am so glad you’ve chosen to spend your vacation with us.”
    At first the use of the plural pronoun was strictly the royal we. She did everything herself, wearing herself to the bone, but she’d never been happier. When fall came and she didn’t return to teaching, she felt not a twinge of regret. She was too busy creatingthe best B&B in the state of New Jersey. Today, more than ten years later, her rooms were booked