Page 32 of A Vineyard for Two
‘Have you looked through what needs doing?’
‘Started. Thought I’d wait for you to get here to take notes.’
‘Are you implying I can’t get my hands dirty?’
‘I know you can. But we have to start somewhere. Let’s go,’ he said, not waiting for a response, he passed her and headed towards the front door.
Harper stood staring at the inn for a moment longer. It was more like a chateau standing wide and towering in between the gum trees and overgrown garden. The outside needed some tender love and care, and that was just the beginning. As long as the structure was sound, anything was possible. While snow was rare, it did occasionally fall, and she pictured the inn with the roof covered in white, while Christmas lights adorned the roof line - even if only for one night. Maybe hosting Christmas in July here wasn’t such a bad idea.
‘Are you coming or not?’
Brookes stood with the front door wide open, waiting for her.
‘Those roof tiles are going to need replacing.’
‘Add it to the list,’ he said. ‘We only have ten days to launch this place. We’ll compile everything that needs to be done and then prioritise the more important items and work our way down. It’s a lot of work, but I know we can get it done.’
As they made their way through the house, Harper wasn’t convinced. With each room they entered, there were items added to the list, from changing up the wallpaper to tearing up carpets, replacing bathroom tiles, and updating the plumbing in two bathrooms. The kitchen itself was outdated and required a refresh, and the living and dining area needed expanding if they were going to host a Christmas in July dinner in there. The idea of knocking out a wall only gave her heart palpitations. It might not even be possible if the wall was a supporting one.
‘I’ve organised for a structural engineer to come in later today to review the building itself. There is no point in touching anything cosmetically until he confirms that the structure is sound.’
‘Is there a chance of structural damage?’
‘Anything is possible. Hugh built this property over fifty years ago. That’s enough time for the natural wear and tear to take its toll.’
‘This is going to cost a fortune,’ Harper said, rubbing the back of her neck. Just on the list they had compiled in the past hour, she estimated tens of thousands of dollars in costs.
‘I’ve got some savings.’
‘And you’re willing to invest them in something so uncertain?’
‘All investment has risk, Harper. You know that better than most. Besides, whatever I put in here, I’m certain will return tenfold.’
His passion was admirable, but she wondered whether it was misaligned. Brookes had always been a dreamer. Getting excited, starting things and not always finishing them. It was one of those things that had irked her when they’d been an item. Maybe something had changed in him. Maybe he really was going to see this to the end. Ten days to do everything still seemed impossible.
By the time they had gone through the entire property, the list had grown exponentially, and she was hungry and in need of more caffeine.
‘You look like you need a coffee,’ Brookes said.
‘What makes you say that?’
‘You’re doing that thing with your hands, scrunching them up in a fist and stretching your fingers out. You used to do it all the time. Seems that hasn’t changed.’
He was observant and now that she thought about it; it was true. She did curl and uncurl her hand in a fist. Sometimes she fidgeted with her fingers when she needed a coffee.
‘I’ve plugged in the coffee machine and there’s a week's worth of fresh pods in the pantry,’ he said. ‘I knew you wouldn’t last the morning without a second caffeine fix by mid-morning.’
‘I’ll make the coffee while you go through the list and start itemising what we need to focus on first.’
He followed her into the kitchen, and she made the coffee. He sat on the barstool and scanned the list. Harper watched him. The concentrated look on his face reminded her of when she used to watch him make her coffee in the mornings. It was another life, and yet this moment was so familiar to her, it was almost too intimate. She looked away and shook the thought from her mind.
For the next week and a half, the focus had to remain on bringing the property to a suitable standard and launching Christmas in July. She couldn’t afford to allow her mind to wander to times past.
He handed her the coffee just as his phone rung. He looked at the screen, excused himself, and went outside.
Harper lifted the cup to her nose and took in the aroma. She stood, taking the coffee cup with her, and wandered through the living room before going upstairs where all the guest quarters were situated. There were six rooms in total. Four slept doubles, and two were family rooms that slept four comfortably but could potentially fit in six. Harper stopped at the first one. When they had gone through earlier, she recalled seeing the room fully furnished, with books in the bookcases and photo frames adorned the walls. It could have been Hugh’s room. Maybe there’d be a hint in there as to why he’d been so generous to her family and left them with all of his inheritance.
Running her fingertips along the furniture, she surveyed the room, stopping to gaze at the photo frames of random people. None of them were blood related, but all of them were Hugh’s family. There was one when Hugh was a few years younger, standing in the vineyard admiring the harvest and a bunch of ripe grapes in his hand; another photo saw him standing with two others she didn’t recognise. All three men were smiling and holding up glasses half-filled with red wine. She stopped to admire the one with Hugh at the head of a long table, at least a dozen people around him, toasting, cheering maybe, while the table was filled with gold and green decorations and platters of turkey and salads and fish. Looking closer at the picture, she noticed a familiar face sitting on the side of Hugh, looking at him admiringly. Georgia. The two of them went back a long time. Hugh’s wife had passed twenty years ago and he had never remarried. Now that she thought about it, her aunt had never married at all. She didn’t recall her dating anyone either. Maybe, at some point, they had been more than just friends. She’d have to remember to ask her aunt about it at some point.