River's Song - The Inn at Shining Waters Series Read online

  "Did you rest well?" she asked Hazel as they sat down to breakfast. For Hazel's first breakfast, Anna had gone all out with eggs, bacon, and even sourdough pancakes (thanks to the starter Babette had left in her refrigerator yesterday).

  "Oh, my, yes. I don't know when I've slept so well. Certainly much better than I slept at the hotel. So quiet and peaceful. I have absolutely no complaints. Pearl's Oyster Shell is divine."

  "And you don't mind using the outhouse?"Anna asked with hesitation.

  Hazel chuckled as she poured syrup. "It's a very nice outhouse. It even smelled clean."

  Anna smiled. "I did give it a scrub down. And I honestly don't think my grandmother ever used it. Or if she did, it was rarely. And, of course, feel free to use the indoor bathroom anytime you like."

  "Thank you, but that won't be necessary. Now, tell me, why did your grandmother never use the outhouse?"

  "She had several places back in the woods that she preferred. It had been my mother's idea that she needed an outhouse. Naturally, Daddy didn't argue. We'd switched over to indoor plumbing by then, but there was still an outhouse for the store customers to use, the one out back. And Daddy didn't mind making one just for Grandma, but she always thought it was silly."

  "And bathing?" Hazel picked up a piece of bacon.

  Anna shrugged. "I honestly don't know. But anytime you want a shower or bath, please feel free to come to the house. In fact, if you'd be more comfortable staying in the house, there's plenty of room, as you can see."

  "No, I'm perfectly comfortable in the cabin. I'm afraid you'll have a hard time prying me out of there. You know how stubborn an oyster shell can be if it doesn't want to be opened."

  Anna laughed as she filled their coffee cups. "Well, Daddy did put on a wooden bolt to lock the door from inside, so I guess you can barricade yourself in there if you want to."

  Hazel stopped with her fork in midair. "You know, Anna, I think I heard a bear last night."

  "Not surprising. There are lots of black bears around." She buttered her pancakes. "I hope that won't worry you. My dad always said they were more afraid of us than we are of them. That is, unless you come between a mama and her babies. Then you need to watch out."

  "Yes, I know all about that. And having bears around does not bother me in the least. I thoroughly enjoy all forms of wildlife. In fact, I hope to see one before I get done here." She took a bite of eggs. "What a lovely, lovely breakfast, dear. But you better be careful."

  "Careful?"

  "You treat me too well and I will never want to leave this place." Hazel got a thoughtful look. "You know this location would be a wonderful spot for an inn. Have you ever considered that?"

  Anna felt a surprising rush of excitement run through her." An inn?"

  "Yes. I'm sure you'd have no problem finding customers. The east coast is full of little B and Bs."

  "What's that?"

  "Bed-and-breakfast." Hazel paused to sip her coffee. "An inn of sorts, where only the morning meal is served. However, out here, you might need to do more than just one meal. Perhaps you'd be a B and B and D. Let your guests fend for themselves for lunch."

  "But I'd only have the cabin,"Anna pointed out. "It would be a rather small inn."

  "Unless you rented rooms up here in the house as well. Or perhaps you'd make rooms in the lower level, where the store used to be. Or you could always have more little cabins built. Wouldn't that be lovely, come to think of it? A line of sweet little cabins, just like the Pearl's Oyster Shell, right along the river. I think I would become a very regular customer here." She forked a piece of pancake. "And I would tell all my friends."

  "That's a very interesting idea." Anna's mind was beginning to whirl now. "And it would be a way for me to bring in some income and be able to keep this place."

  "You were considering selling it?"

  Anna frowned. "I'd hate to sell it."

  "I should say so. But if you do consider, please, let me know. I wouldn't want to see something like this getting into the wrong hands."

  "Like some of the other places around here." Now Anna confessed her fears over the timber industry and what it was doing to the land and the river and the delicate estuaries. "So many of the birds I used to see around here . . . I have no idea where they've gone."

  "That is sad. But this unfortunate phase won't last forever."

  "I hope so. That's usually the way it goes. After the lumber people move on—and I suspect they will—it will be up to people like you to help the land and the river to heal again."

  "You think this is a phase?"Anna felt a small surge of hope.

  "To heal again—"Anna rolled those words around in her mind. "I like the sound of that."

  Hazel smiled. "I suspect you have a healer inside of you."

  "What do you mean?"

  She waved her hand over the cabin. "You took something that was ailing and in need of help . . . and you made it better. You, my dear, are a healer."

  Anna felt a rush of pride and wonder. "I hope that's true. I usually think of the river as having the power to heal me. I wish I could help it to heal too."

  "You will if you remain here."

  Suddenly Anna remembered what Henry had said about her mother fighting to keep the log barges off this part of the river, how having a business along with a working dock may have helped her cause. "But if I did as you said, if I made this place into an inn, I wonder how much money it would bring in. Would it be profitable enough to support me?" She knew she was thinking out loud now and, feeling embarrassed, she tried to brush it off. "Really, it's not your concern, Hazel. You've given me something to consider."

  "I don't see why you couldn't open up an inn, Anna. This land belongs to you. I assume it's paid for—unless there are liens or additional mortgages. Are there?"

  "No. The lawyer told me it's free and clear . . . and all mine.""In that case, I do hope you'll hold on to it, Anna. I think the land would serve you well—just as you would serve it. Speaking of innkeeping, we need to settle on the rent for the cabin."

  "Oh—"Anna waved her hand. "You're my guest here, Hazel. I don't want to be paid."

  "Nonsense!" Hazel frowned. "You're a businesswoman now. And I gave it some thought and I believe the cabin should be worth at least as much as the room I had at the hotel—"

  "But you don't even have a real bathroom."

  "No matter. It's a much nicer place. And then I'd add on to that the cost of three meals a day, that is if you plan to serve three meals—I don't want you to feel that—"

  "I'm used to cooking three meals a day. And I'd be fixing for myself anyway. Really, it's no trouble."

  "In that case, would you be willing to accept ten dollars a day?"

  "Oh, no, that's too much!"Anna was shocked.

  "You obviously don't go on vacation much."

  Anna laughed. "Vacation?"

  "I'll tell you what, how about if we agree on a weekly rate of $65. I will not settle on a penny less. Otherwise, I will not sleep well at night, Anna. And I would expect your dear grandmother to come back and haunt me for attempting to cheat her granddaughter."

  "But I—"

  "Please, Anna." She set down the box and stuck out her hand. "As my father would say, we're burning daylight here. Let's come to an agreement on this so that I can get to my work."

  Anna shook her hand. "OK . . . then I agree."

  "And I will write you a check for the first week in advance."

  Knowing it was useless to argue with this woman, Anna simply nodded. As Hazel left, Anna realized that Hazel's check, combined with the teapot savings, was more money than Anna had ever had in her possession before. For a brief time, she'd hoped to inherit a little something after Adam's death—just enough to get her and Lauren on their own, to break free of Eunice's iron grasp. And while some insurance money had gone into a college savings account set up for Lauren, there had been nothing left for Anna.

  At least that's what Eunice had claimed. She'd even shown he
r a stack of paperwork, after discovering Anna's plan to meet with the lawyer. But Eunice had gone to great trouble to lay it all out, showing Anna line after line of Adam's expenses in the final years of his life, as well as the expenses associated with Anna and Lauren. On top of that had been his funeral expenses. There was no denying that it appeared that anything Adam received from the government had been eaten away down to the last cent (and more, according to Eunice). "Just be thankful that I'm willing to keep a roof over your head," she had told Anna, "And that I can provide food and clothing for both you and Lauren and myself. All I ask in return is a bit of housekeeping. I'm sure you must agree that is more than fair." Naturally, Anna had to agree. What other choice did she have? By then, Lauren was accustomed to living in a large comfortable home, wearing the fanciest clothes, going around in the nicest cars, and having friends from the "best" families, not to mention the prestige of being part of an influential lumber family like the Gundersons.

  Hazel asked Anna to pass the butter, stirring Anna out of her private reveries. "You probably already knew that many of the coastal tribes, including yours I'd guess, were matriarchal societies."

  "Matriarchal—doesn't that mean mother or maternal?"

  "Yes. A matriarchal society is one where the women not only have equal rights to the men, but the line of heritage goes through the women. For instance, when property passed, it went from mother to daughter."

  "Really?"Anna warmed up Hazel's coffee for her.

  "I guess you could consider your family a matriarchal one as well. It sounds as if your grandmother passed this property to your mother and she passed it on to you. You, Anna Pearl, are part of a Siuslaw matriarchal society."

  Anna grinned as she picked up her coffee cup. "Well, to think of that."

  After breakfast, Anna showed Hazel the box of things her father had saved from Grandma's cabin after her death. "I'm not sure what all of these mean or if they're valuable, but feel free to take them back to the cabin to go through if you'd like."

  "Oh, my!" Hazel's face looked luminous. "I feel like a child on Christmas morning! Oh, my, oh, my!"

  "And if you learn more about these things, the uses or the origins, I'd enjoy knowing more about them myself."

  "And you shall, my dear. Do you mind if I take photos of them? I'll be very careful with them. And I'll make sure to mark all my photos as to the ownership of the actual artifacts. I can even give you copies if you like."

  "Yes, I'd appreciate that. Then if I decide to give anything to museums, I'll have something to remember them by."

  "Oh, I can't wait to get to work." Hazel wrapped her arms around the box as if it were a fragile infant.

  "Do you want me to carry it down for you?"

  "Oh, I'll be very careful with it, I promise. Don't worry; I'm used to handling valuable pieces. And I've even got some museum gloves with me."

  "Museum gloves?"

  "To ensure that oil or dirt from my hands doesn't harm anything."

  Anna had to laugh. "Well, I remember my grandmother's hands and, trust me, they were usually not terribly clean."

  "No matter. I will treat these pieces with great care—with the respect that is due to them."

  "And I'm still looking for the stories my father wrote down."

  "Oh, yes, I can't wait to see those."

  "We can be thankful my mother never threw much away. Although it does make it a challenge to find things now."

  "Well, I do appreciate all your efforts." Hazel's eyes lit up." And I almost forgot. I called up someone to give us a hand with the electricity and telephone. I figured you wouldn't know any more about these things than I do."

  "Thank you, Hazel." Anna felt worried now. Even though Hazel had offered to help with these expenses, she couldn't expect her to cover everything.

  "Now I see those little frown lines creeping onto on your forehead, dear. And I do not want you be concerned about the cost of these improvements. As I already told you, it's the least I can do for your hospitality. Besides, I'm the one who needs the benefits of these silly modern conveniences. Both my electric typewriter, which I must admit is a timesaver, and my recording machine require electricity to operate. And without those tools, I am greatly challenged. To have access to a telephone is probably not an absolute necessity, but I would appreciate being able to reach the university library should I need anything sent out here."

  Anna sighed. "All right, I won't worry about that anymore."

  "Thank you."

  "But I will go look for those stories."

  "Perfect."

  It was close to noon by the time Anna unearthed two of her father's notebooks containing Grandma's stories. Stuck in the middle of a box of old store ledgers, they would've been easy to overlook and possibly dump. She was thankful that hadn't happened. She peeked into the first one, trying to make sense of the odd spelling. But since she'd promised to have lunch served by one, she knew there wasn't time to decipher the words. So she just dusted the black notebook covers and set them on the table by the door. She couldn't wait to see Hazel's face when she saw they'd been found.

  Anna was just stirring up some tuna salad when she saw Henry's boat coming to the dock again. Perhaps he had mail for her, although that would be surprising. But before she could get down there to see, a man jumped out of the boat and onto the dock, and Henry took off. Unsure as to who this tall stranger walking down her dock might be, she felt a little uneasy. Certainly, he didn't think the store was open. Henry would've told him that much.

  "Hello?" she called out with hesitation. "Can I help you?"

  She continued walking toward him. He didn't seem dangerous. In fact, he was rather good looking. Tall and broadshouldered. Wearing a blue-plaid shirt, tan corduroys, and sturdy walking shoes, he might be a fisherman, although he had no gear or anything besides a jacket slung over his arm. On his head was a brown felt hat. As she got closer, she could see a ruffle of brown hair, the same shade as the hat, under the rim. But it was his eyes that gave her pause—a surprisingly intense shade of blue. The color reminded her of the Siuslaw River on a clear autumn day.

  "I'm Clark," he called back, as if that should explain everything.

  12

  Still wondering why this gentleman was standing on her dock and looking all around him as if he were trying to figure out the same thing, she decided to introduce herself.

  "I'm Anna Gunderson," she said cautiously. "This is my dock and my property." She felt worried. The lawyer had assured her this was her property, and had promised to send the paperwork. But what if something was wrong—what if there really was some sort of lien or something that could take it from her? Perhaps that was why this stranger was here now. This thought alone made her feel slightly sick.

  His brow creased. "Gunderson, you say? I was supposed to be dropped off at the Larsons'. Is that around somewhere nearby?"

  "This is the Larson place. I am Anna Larson. Gunderson is my married name." She waited, almost afraid to breathe. What did he want?

  "Oh." He nodded. "I see. And I'm Clark Richards. I'm here to take a look around the place."

  She frowned. "May I ask why?"

  "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you knew I was coming. I'm here to get an idea of what you might need in order to get connected to power and telephone."

  "Oh, yes." Relief washed over her. "You're the man Hazel mentioned."

  He made a lopsided grin. "Right. Hazel."

  "My goodness, you got here quickly."

  "Well, she called me several days ago, when she was still at the hotel." He removed his hat and rubbed his forehead, revealing slightly messy hair, but it seemed thick for his age.Her guess, based on graying temples, was that he was older than her. "I understand she's staying here now." He glanced over to what used to be the store. "Is this a hotel?"

  "Not yet . . . but it might be someday," she said wistfully.

  "So do you mind if I just poke around, get the lay of the land, and figure out what will be needed before we ge
t the utility guys out here? That will save everyone time and money."

  "That sounds good to me. I was just fixing lunch. Would you like to join us?"

  "I'd appreciate that. If it's no problem."

  "No problem at all." She pointed to the stairs up to the house. "It's up there. I told Hazel to come up about one."

  "Where is Hazel anyway?" he asked with a curious grin.

  Anna pointed over to the cabin. "It's rustic, but she seems to like it."

  "I think I'll go over and say hello."

  Anna just nodded, then hurried on back to the house to be sure there was enough lunch for three people. As she opened another can of tuna, she wondered how Hazel had met this Clark person and what he normally did when he wasn't helping in this capacity. She also wondered if he was from Florence and if so, was he a newcomer, since the name Richards was unfamiliar. She was just getting lunch on the table when she heard their voices. The way they were talking sounded like they were old friends.

  "Hello in the house," Hazel called. "Are we too early for lunch?"

  "Not at all. Come on in." Anna set a pitcher of lemonade on the table. "Make yourselves comfortable."

  "Oh, my!" Hazel exclaimed as she picked up a notebook." Are these what I think they are, Anna?"

  "Yes, I found them."

  "Oh, Clark, Anna's father actually wrote down stories from her grandmother—and these are the actual books. I'm so tickled, I can hardly stand it."

  "You've probably noticed by now that my mother is given to enthusiasm," Clark said to Anna.

  "Your mother?"Anna stared at him, then at Hazel. They looked nothing alike.

  "Oh, didn't I mention that?" Hazel asked absently, her eyes fixed on the first page of the open journal. "Yes, Clark is my son . . . has been for quite some time."

  He laughed. "My whole life, as a matter of fact." Now he gently removed the book from his mother's hands. "I'm sure that will wait, Mom. Remember your manners. It seems that Mrs. Gunderson has fixed—"

  "Please, call me Anna."

  He smiled as he pulled out a chair for his mother and then one for Anna as well. Surprised at his courtesy, she sat down. Then she realized she hadn't put everything on the table yet. Embarrassed, she stood. "Go ahead and sit down," she told him. "I forgot something."