SOMEWHERE by the Sea

Warmth

Faith entered Stone House and Baxter picked up an oil lamp from a table beside the door and lit it. She followed him into the room, and from the light of the lamp, it was evident that a restoration project was in progress. There were a couple of saw horses, several stacks of boards, and two piles of river stones beside a massive fireplace along the back wall. The face of the fireplace was obviously being refurbished.

Faith watched Baxter grab a couple of logs from a bin on the hearth and set them atop the remains of a partially consumed one. He wadded some newspaper from a basket and retrieved a butane lighter from the mantle. After some coaxing the fire blazed brightly and Faith, with the blanket wrapped around her wet clothing, stepped to the hearth.

Baxter had not spoken since entering the house and neither had she. Was he angry because he'd had to venture into the storm to rescue her? He reached for a poker hanging from a large hook embedded in the mortar of the fireplace and she studied his profile that appeared chiseled from stone. She cleared her throat. "I'm really sorry for causing all this trouble. I had no idea the storm would happen so fast. I thought I had plenty of time to take a walk because the clouds were so far away." She hesitated. "I don't know what else to say except that I'm stupid and really sorry."

Baxter replaced the poker and turned to gaze at her. His expression had softened and he puffed a breath. "You're not the first person to get stuck in a storm. We should have warned you that the weather can turn treacherous. It's rare, but days like this sometimes happen during summer."

The fire was beginning to blaze and Faith closed her eyes, willing her body to stop shivering. When she opened them again, Baxter was still watching her. Another shiver shook her, but it wasn't from the cold. She moved her attention to the fire. "How long do storms like this usually last?"

"They can continue for days."

Her eyes widened.

Baxter unexpectedly smiled. "But the weather report said it should only last a few hours. I expect we won't be here long."

Faith turned her back to the fire and glanced around the room. "Are you the one restoring Stone House?"

Baxter also turned around. "Yes. The work is being done by a contractor friend of mine who lives in town. He's been restoring the place during his off hours for the past three months, and now that I'm here for the summer, I'll be helping him"

Faith glanced around the room at the flickering shadows caused by the light of the fire and the oil lamp. "I guess there's no electricity."

"No. We're using that generator to power our tools." He pointed to a large object in a corner obscured by the shadows. "We'll be installing solar panels after the home is restored."

"After it's finished will you be opening the house to the public?"

"No. This is a pet project of mine. Since I was a child I've wanted to restore this place, and because my job is sometimes stressful, it's become a top priority. I want somewhere to kick back and experience, to some extent, what my forefathers did. Perhaps someday I'll open the home to guests at the B & B, but not now. We allow guests to wander the peninsula, but after the refurbishing is complete, this area will be off limits because I'm moving here from the B & B."

"Sounds lonely." Immediately, Faith wished she hadn't spoken. Somehow the words seemed to be a judgment call on her part. Obviously, Baxter liked solitude and it was none of her business. Thankfully, he ignored her comment.

"Would you like a tour?"

"Yes. Very much." She adjusted the blanket and followed Baxter through an entry on the southern wall into the kitchen. As of yet, the room remained untouched and several cupboards had fallen to the ground. In one corner a fireplace smaller than the one in the other room had partially crumbled. Wooden countertops were decayed and the cast iron porcelain-enameled sink was pitted and chipped and hung precariously from its mooring. Along the western wall, which was the front of the house, a vintage coal and wood burning cook stove with the Great Majestic signet, was in better shape than anything else in the room. Faith walked to the antique and placed her hand on it. "This is magnificent and that brand is worth a fortune in the antiques' market. Are you planning to refurbish it?"

"Yes. Everything in the home that can be salvaged will be. Are you into antiques?"

"Not really. But I enjoy cooking and always wondered what baking on a stove such as that would be like."

"I expect the home will be finished around the end of summer, shortly before I return to California, and if you're still around, you're welcome to give the stove a go."

Surprised, she faced him. "Thank you." She hesitated before confiding, "I'm actually thinking about moving here. I'm...well...in a position to drastically change my life and..." Her voice trailed. "For years we...I've wanted to come here. You see, I have this coffee table book with photographs of wonderful small towns, and Somewhere was always my favorite." She turned back around and pretended to inspect the stove. Already she regretted having revealed so much about herself.

Baxter said softly, "I'll show you the rest of the house."

Thankful that he hadn't asked her questions about her background, they returned to the main room and one of two doors on the northern side of the cabin. It opened into a bedroom and he said, "The home has two bedrooms, the living area, and the kitchen. The outhouse was located about fifty feet behind the house, but that structure fell down years ago and the hole was filled in. The only modern improvements planned are a small bathroom with a shower at the rear of the kitchen, kitchen plumbing, and solar panels."

Faith asked, "Where does the water come from?"

"There's a well behind the house, but right now it's capped. I have an engineer and architect coming next week to inspect it and design plans for the bathroom addition and kitchen piping. I'm not completely modernizing the home, although I may do that someday. For the foreseeable future I'll be using solar power for the refrigerator and a few kitchen appliances, also the water pump, but the lighting will be from oil lamps. I'm installing a rainwater catchment system, too."

Faith followed him back to the living area that had quickly warmed and returned to the fire. In response to his admission about not completely modernizing the house, she said, "I don't blame you for not modernizing. I visited Hope Museum and felt immersed in its history. It must be wonderful knowing your roots and growing up in such a lovely town."

Baxter chuckled. "That's true, but it's also true that everyone knows everyone's business. And gossip travels fast, whether it's true or not."

Faith smiled up at him. "I'm becoming a regular at Mama Pink's Diner so I can't disagree on that point." Suddenly, she realized that the wind was no longer howling or the thunder roaring.

Baxter said, "Sounds like the storm is over." He walked to the front door and opened it to a shaft of sunlight that bathed the center of the room, and for an instant, Faith forgot her sorrow and imagined a lovely family scene inside Stone House.