Page 20 of The Birchwood House

Michelle smiled at her grandmother, her eyes glowing with a look that seemed to say, “You should keep writing.”

Elaine was about to say more when something gleaming inside the chest caught her attention. “Oh, look at this!” she saideagerly, lifting the object from the trunk. “This is a trophy that your grandfather won for his woodcarving. And here are some other trophies that our family members have won over the years. Coral Sands hosts a town fair every year, and there are all kinds of fun competitions. See, this one is for the best horseshoes, and this one is for preserved goods.”

Michelle leaned in closer, inspecting the trophies curiously. “Wow, eighteen ninety-eight.”

“Yes, some of the things in this chest are very old,” Elaine said. “And I think these trophies are some of the neatest historical objects we own. We’ll need to make sure they’re prominently displayed in the house, since they represent an important piece of the town’s history.”

They continued to rummage through the trunk, gently pulling items out one by one and lining them up along the floor.

“This is wonderful,” Michelle said. “We’ve already found so many cool things and I feel like we’ve only just scratched the surface of what’s in here.”

Elaine opened her mouth, about to reply, but at that moment there was a knock on the front door. The sound was faint, coming from all the way downstairs, but both Michelle and Elaine heard it clearly.

“I’m glad I invested in that brass door knocker,” Elaine said with a laugh as she stood up. “I’ll go see who’s at the door. And I hate to stop looking through this trunk with you, but I really should start heading toward the mechanic.”

“No worries,” Michelle said, standing up too. “I’ll stop looking through the trunk and wait until you can do it with me again. As much as I want to keep exploring in here, it’s important to me that we do this together. Besides,” she added, “I don’t think it would be nearly as much fun without you.”

Elaine squeezed her granddaughter’s hand, feeling a rush of happiness and gratitude. “You and your mother coming to stayhere has made me so happy. You and Audrey are making this house come to life again.”

Michelle’s eyes shone as she gave her grandmother a quick hug. “Sounds like this is exactly what all of us need, and that makes me so happy. Come on, let’s go get the door.”

The two of them went downstairs together and Elaine opened the door in a hurry, not wanting whoever had been knocking to have to wait any longer.

“Theo!” she said when she saw who was standing on the doorstep, her face lighting up with delight. “What are you doing here?”

The tall young mechanic grinned down at her, looking slightly roguish as usual. Elaine wondered if Theo Hartman would have given such a piratical impression if his dark hair wasn’t so messy, and if he didn’t usually have grease stains on his hands from his mechanical work. She had a feeling, however, that his swashbuckling energy would have accompanied him no matter how he dressed or did his hair. There was an impish gleam in his dark brown eyes that never seemed to go away.

Theo was just opening his mouth, about to respond to her question, when Michelle stepped up behind her grandmother. She took one quick look at Theo before blurting out, “You’ve got to me kidding me.”

Theo leaned against the doorframe, folding his arms across his lanky body. A sardonic grin broke across his face. “Well, well. If it isn’t Michelle Lowe.”

Michelle didn’t answer, but she made a sort of squirming motion as if she would have liked to challenge Theo to some kind of duel.

Elaine laughed as a flood of memories came rushing back to her. “That’s right, you’ve met before. I seem to recall the two of you getting on each other’s nerves when you were children.”

Michelle snorted. “I’m sure he got on everyone’s nerves back then. He was just plain obnoxious.”

Theo, instead of looking offended, grinned impishly. He seemed to be amused by her spunk. “Where were witty responses like this back when we were kids?”

Michelle wrinkled her nose, and Elaine decided it was time for her to step in to her granddaughter’s rescue. Michelle had been very shy as a child, and although Elaine liked Theo and knew he wasn’t a mean person, she didn’t think it was fair for him to be teasing Michelle about who she’d been twenty years ago.

“Michelle just took some time to come into her own,” Elaine said. “You’d better watch out, Theo. She doesn’t have any trouble speaking her mind now, and she’s quick to have ideas. I wouldn’t get on her bad side if I were you.” Elaine winked, hoping to lighten the mood.

“I certainly don’t have any trouble speaking my mind,” Michelle said, her eyes flashing. “And I’ve got plenty of thoughts about you, Theo Hartman, let me tell you.”

“I’d love to hear them.” Theo grinned. “It sounds like our verbal sparring would be a lot more exciting now than it was back then.”

Michelle rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe you grew up to become the town mechanic.”

“Why?” Theo’s voice was cheerful with amusement. “You expected me to become the next president of the United States, didn’t you?’

Michelle snorted. “No, I feel bad for all the poor citizens of Coral Sands who have to interact with you every day.”

Theo let out a hoot of amusement, but before he could reply, Elaine stepped in, deciding it was high time for her to separate the two young people, who seemed determined to sharpen their tongues on each other.

“Theo is a very good mechanic,” she said warmly. “He’s reliable and hard-working, and he charges fair prices. Everyone in town depends on him and his employees, and we couldn’t be happier with his services.”

“Why thank you, Elaine.” Theo gave her a friendly nod and a lopsided grin, and Elaine wondered how Michelle could stay angry with a man who had a smile that nice. “Speaking of me taking good care of my customers, I’m here to pick up your car if you’d like. I was in the area anyway so I thought I’d stop by and offer. How does that sound?”