Lois Richer - His Winter Rose

Piper gulped. What ribs could be worth this?

“Don’t answer that. Harold fancies himself a matchmaker. You give him the least bit of information and he’ll go hunting up a beau for you.” Ida poked Jason’s leg. “You read those test results?

“What tests? I go to the boat show in Toronto for two days and you’ve got people doing tests?”

“I do my job,” the older woman sniffed. “Public health said we had to have a water check. I got it done. No problem there.”

“Good.”

Ida stood and peeked under the barbecue lid, adjusted the heat.

“Ribs need a few more minutes,” she explained. She wiped her hands on a towel hanging on the front of the barbecue. “Water’s okay, but we do have a problem with some of the campsite facilities. He’s going to let you know.”

“Fine.” Jason switched subjects, but he didn’t meet her stare. “Piper thought someone was working up on Lookout Point. Know anything about that, Ida?”

“Nope. But the telephone people visit it in the spring and the fall. Could be them.” She turned to Piper. “What was Serenity Bay like when you used to come here?”

“Pretty much the same. Maybe there were a few more people but then I was mostly here in the summer. In the winter Gran and Papa went to Florida but only after we celebrated Christmas together at Cathcart House.” She didn’t want to talk about the past. “About the summer people—do you know the kind of radius you’re drawing from?”

“We’ve done some surveys.” Ida prattled on about the city dwellers who came north to get away.

“Would you be able to get me a list with addresses? I’d like to get an idea of our current market.”

“Sure.” Ida shrugged as if it wasn’t important. “I’m in Tuesday.”

“Do you always take Mondays off?”

“Unless there’s something pressing. The town hasn’t got enough money for full-time office staff in the winter.” Ida plunked down on one of the patio chairs. “I’ll start working full-time after Easter.”

“Is there any new industry in the area?” she asked, looking for something to hang her plans on. “There used to be a sawmill—”

“It’s been closed for years.” Harold pulled out a map. “I heard that years ago some folks found a nice vein of copper up past the mill road—about there,” he said, pointing. “Purest ever seen, according to the stories. Shone in the sun as if it had been molded into those rocks forever. People used to stop by, take little pieces of it. Few years of that and it was gone, too.” He shrugged. “But it brought the place a minute or two of fame.”

While he’d been speaking, Ida had hurried away. She now returned with a platter and scooped the ribs off the barbecue onto it and handed it to Harold.

“Time to eat,” she announced.

Piper followed Ida to the dining room, where a long buffet table, six chairs and a huge black table were set.

“Piper, you sit there. Jason can sit across from you and Harold and I will hold down the ends. Good. Now, grace, Harold.”

Harold gave thanks, then picked up one of the plates stacked in front of him and began to load it with ribs, creamy mashed potatoes and bright green peas.

“Oh, my!” Piper gaped when he placed it in front of her. “It looks delicious, but it’s way too much. Perhaps you can make me a smaller plate.”

“Nonsense! You get started on Ida’s ribs, you won’t stop.”

Piper looked at Jason while searching her brain for some way to make them understand that she would never be able to eat what she’d been served. But Jason was busy eyeing his own heaping plate and spared her only a quick grin as he picked up a rib.

“Try them first,” he advised, then bit into the succulent meat.

Since everyone else had begun to eat, Piper followed their lead. She picked up the smallest piece between two fingers and nibbled at the end. The spices hit her tongue like those candy Pop Rocks she and her friends used to buy for a quarter and leave on their tongues while the flavors fizzled and hissed.

Only better. Much, much better.

Silence reigned as the four of them enjoyed their meals. Piper waited until Ida had coaxed everyone into seconds before she asked her, “Have you noticed anyone looking around the town recently?”

“Oh, we get Looky Lou’s all the time. Never amounts to a thing. Funny fellow with big glasses was in the office when Jason was away. Biggest brown eyes I ever saw. Wanted to know about the beach. It’s sand. What more could I say?” She croaked a laugh at her own joke.

So Wainwright Inc. had sent someone to check things out. It was strange Dylan was doing on-site research these days.

Piper realized Jason’s blue eyes were on her. A smear of sauce dotted his cheek.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

“Not really. I just wondered if a corporation was already interested. I didn’t see a hotel in town—”

“Exactly what I’ve been telling the council,” Jason exclaimed. “The no-tell motel is hardly the kind of place we want to showcase, though it’s clean enough. But Bart doesn’t think there’s any point in painting or modernizing the place, especially since business has been so slow. If he heard he’d have some competition, I imagine he’d sink some cash into his outfit pronto.”

“So nobody’s talked to you about building a hotel?” Piper had hoped for nonchalance but knew it hadn’t quite come off when Jason’s curious stare stayed on her. He couldn’t know why she was asking, could he?

“To me personally? No.” He turned toward the older woman. “Ida, you didn’t get the name of this man, did you?”

Ida set down her fork, her forehead wrinkled.

“He gave one. I just don’t remember what it was. Young fellow, really friendly. I might have written it down. I’ll check on Tuesday.” Her scrutiny shifted to Piper, grew more intense. “Why are you so interested in this guy?” she asked.

“If he was scouting locations, I’d like to talk to him,” she ad-libbed. “Maybe the town can dangle a carrot that would encourage someone to build.”

“We don’t have much to dangle,” Ida mumbled, her face skeptical. She forgot the subject they’d been discussing, until later when Piper was drying dishes beside her.

“You know who was here snooping around don’t you?”

“I could guess. I have a few feelers out with friends who suggested a company but I’ll have to do more checking.” She kept her attention on the glass she was drying.

“He kept asking about bylaws to do with the beach. You think someone wants to put a hotel right on it—like in Hawaii?” Ida swished the suds down the drain, then hung her dishcloth over the sink. “That might not be a bad idea.”

Piper set down the last dry dish, searching for a way to express her concern.

“It could work, with a lot of input from the town council. But we don’t want such a beautiful beach to be ruined.”

“By pollution, you mean?” Ida shrugged. “I’m sure the government has lots of laws to control that sort of thing.”

“Not just pollution. The wholesome atmosphere of the town has to be protected if we want to attract families. We don’t want a bar near little kids playing in the sand.”

“Goes without saying.” Apparently her explanation satisfied Ida, who then busied herself filling the coffee decanter with water. “Stays light longer now. Would you like to join us outside and watch the stars come out?”

“They are beautiful, but don’t make any coffee for me. Thanks, Ida. I have to be going. I sailed over and I need to get back before dark.”

“Harold and I probably shouldn’t be drinking coffee before bed, anyway. Harold always dreams.” Ida pulled open the fridge and took out a jug of red juice. “Can I interest you in some cranberry juice? Made it myself.”