One Summerhill Day (The Summerhill Series Book 1) (6 page)

Until now.
This
was where she belonged. Uneven footsteps approached on the shoveled snow behind her, and she turned to see Ryan moving toward her, a concerned look on his face.

“Cait, are you alright?”

She wiped the tears from her cheeks and nodded. “Yes, Ryan. Oh, yes. This is the place. This is my home.”

“But you haven’t even looked inside yet. Wouldn’t you like to explore the house?”

“Yes, I would.” She pivoted around so she could look at the house from the front. The vinyl siding was grey and it had white shutters. There was a large wrap-around deck that overlooked the hundred feet of lake frontage and there were neighbors on both sides, but not too close.

“Do you like it, Ryan?” She grabbed his hands in hers, hoping he loved it as much as she did. For some reason, his opinion mattered.

“Yes. It’s beautiful, but it’s also the most expensive of the properties we’ve looked at. I think you need to examine it carefully and ask about the rental fee and the utilities. It does have the two car attached garage, which you don’t often see in cottages. It’ll definitely come in handy this winter.”

“Let’s go inside. Do you trust Tracy, though? I don’t like what she said before.”

“I do. It was a stupid thing to say, but I think she had good intentions.” He stared at his feet. “I’m used to it by now, Cait. It’s not a big deal and it happens all the time. But we can find another realtor if you’d prefer.”

“No, let’s take a look.”

Tracy gave them the tour of the interior. The kitchen had been redone with white cabinets, black granite countertops, and tile flooring that looked like weathered wood. It had both a table for eating and stools at the counter.

“The furniture is included, Tracy?” Caitlyn asked.

“Yes, it is. Part of the rental agreement and the purchase price.” Tracy smiled.

Most of the downstairs was a great room, with a lovely open area connecting the living room, which had a cathedral ceiling, and the kitchen—an area that seemed to encourage gatherings. A bathroom and laundry room branched off a hallway leading to the garage. The upper level had three bedrooms, with one bathroom off the master bedroom and one for the other two bedrooms. A small loft with a railing overlooked the living area.

The front of the house was almost entirely glass and overlooked the large deck.

Caitlyn turned to Tracy. “It’s perfect. I’ll take it.”

“Wonderful. I brought a copy of the rental agreement so you can look it over.” She fussed through her briefcase, pulling out a stack of papers.

“No, you said the house was for sale, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but it’s going for almost a million dollars. It has a sizeable lawn in back in addition to the one in the front, since this is one of the larger lots on the lake.”

“Well, could you please find out the exact amount so I could put an offer in? I’d like to buy it.”

Tracy and Ryan both gave her stunned looks, but she continued. “I don’t think I’ll find anything that suits me better than this. I don’t want a house that needs lots of updating. This is perfect.”

Tracy smiled. “All right, then. Let’s decide what you want to offer, and I’ll check with the local banks to see who will offer you the best rate for the mortgage. Then we’ll get the paperwork started. Where do you work?”

“Oh, I don’t have a job yet, but I’m a nurse, so I’m sure I’ll be able to find something. I’ve heard there are openings at the hospital.”

Ryan asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to think this through for a few days? You could get in touch with my aunt. She’s in Human Resources at the hospital. My dad would be happy to look over the property for you to see if it needs anything.”

“No, I don’t need to wait. This has public sewer and water, doesn’t it?”

“Yes,” Tracy answered. “You’re very close to town and there’s a huge Cutler’s supermarket nearby. But if you don’t have a job yet, you’ll have to wait to make the application. You’ll likely have to make a large down payment if you’re a nurse.”

Tracy and Ryan both stared at her, waiting for her response.

“Whatever you think will snag the property for me. I don’t want to pay asking price if I can get it for less, but I don’t want to lose it to another buyer either. And I won’t need a mortgage. I’ll be paying cash.”

Chapter Six

Ryan grabbed a cup of coffee before he sat down at his desk. He loved his job. His family had tried to talk him into taking some time off after his injury, but he’d refused. He needed a reason to get up every day. Summerville PD had accepted him with his injury, though he knew that other departments would have rejected him. He suspected his status as an army vet, along with the fact that he’d grown up in Summerhill, had helped him get the job, but it was an instance of favoritism he was okay with accepting. Summerville PD only employed fifteen officers, and he got along with most of them. It was also mostly fun to work with his brother.

As if picking up on his thoughts, Jake sauntered by. “Paperwork, brother?”

“Yeah.” He sipped his coffee and turned on the computer.

“I’m hitting my cruiser unless you need help.”

“No. I’m fine.

Jake smirked. “C’mon, what are you working on?”

“Cait asked me to see if I can find out anything about her aunt in Buffalo.”

“Sounds like personal business to me.”

“She asked me at dinner before you all interfered. We weren’t involved at the time. She was asking for help from a police officer.” He typed on his keyboard, ignoring his brother.

“Did she find a place to rent?”

“No.”

“Well, I know a realtor who could help her. I know Tracy showed you around, but she doesn’t always have the best rentals. She focuses more on sales.”

“Cait is putting in an offer on a house—gray with white shutters on West Lake Road.”

“She’s buying? How does she expect to get a mortgage without a job? Or is she moving here?”

“Yes and yes.”

“What the hell? Answer me, fool. Stop talking in riddles.”

Ryan shoved away from his keyboard. “Yes, she’s buying the house. She’s paying cash, so she doesn’t need a mortgage, and yes, she’s moving here.”

“No shit. She’s loaded? Hell, I knew I should have gotten there first.”

Ryan smirked back at his brother, but then rolled his chair back up to his computer. “Go check on Summerhill. I’ll let you know if I need any help. It’s Monday morning. Sarge said I could work on this until noon since there isn’t much going on around here in the winter. Have fun.”

Jake left and muttered all the way down the hallway to the exit. “He always comes first. Born first, finds the girls first. What the hell?”

Ryan laughed at his brother’s ribbing and focused on his computer search.

Though he’d pretended it was no big deal to torture Jake, he couldn’t have been more shocked when Cait offered cash for the house. After Cait had made her arrangements with Tracy, he had brought her to the inn to meet his father. The house would be inspected, but his dad had volunteered to take a look at it with Cait and give her his own impressions of any work that needed to be done. He trusted his dad to be more thorough than an outsider hired by the homeowners. They were probably at the place even now.

After their trip to the inn, Ryan had taken her out to lunch at the Bistro at the end of the lake. There she’d explained…slightly. The only thing he had learned was that she had inherited quite a bit of money, which certainly put a different spin on her marriage. Perhaps Bruce Dalton was a jerk who had married her for her money. She was still quite secretive about her husband.

But he couldn’t blame her, since he had secrets of his own. He just wasn’t ready to discuss what had happened to him in the war yet. He had the type of wound that could end a relationship. He knew, because it had already happened to him twice. The girl he’d been dating before his accident had dumped him two weeks after he returned home. One other girl he had started dating had run for the hills as soon as she found out. That’s why he wasn’t about to tell Caitlyn until he had no choice. Even his dad had advised him to hold off. It wasn’t something that would be easy for a woman to handle. She needed to have a little commitment to him first.

Later that morning, Jake returned to the office.

“Need my help out there?” Ryan smirked without taking his eyes off his computer screen.

“Hell, yeah, dangerous day out there in January in Summerhill.” His brother tended to be a bit sarcastic, a quality Ryan had always appreciated about him. “Dead. The snowstorms are the only excitement.”

“We don’t need another storm.”

“No. What did you find out? Anything?”

“As a matter of fact, I did. Cait’s aunt was killed in a motor vehicle accident back in December. Bad weather, nothing suspicious. But Cait’s husband? Now there’s a character.”

“She’s married?” Jake was as surprised as Ryan had been.

“Yeah, married for two years, getting divorced, though she didn’t say why.” Ryan didn’t know why he had opted to check out Bruce Dalton, but he had. He thought it was pretty unusual when a marriage ended that quickly. His curiosity won out, and he was glad he had searched.

“Why did you call him a character?” Jake asked, his arms folded across his chest.

“Quite a gambler, apparently. Owes some money around Philly and online.”

“Really. Maybe you better keep a closer eye on your woman.”

“She’s not my woman.”

“Good. What’s her number? I’ll see if she’s busy tonight. A hot woman with money. My dream girl.” Jake leaned against an empty desk.

“Like hell. And you can wipe that shit-eating grin off your face.” Ryan kept his eyes on his computer, not wanting to give Jake the satisfaction of thinking he riled him.

“I thought so. Hey, I hope it goes well for you. She seems like a nice girl.”

Ryan lifted his eyes to stare at his brother, and the look in Jake’s eyes made him realize this was a rare instance of him being serious. “Thanks. We’ll see how it goes. She’s meeting the realtor there today and bringing her stuff with her. She’s going to pay rent until the deal closes.”

“Where did her money come from? Husband or family? No, let me guess. Her family, which is why she was married to an asshole who was trying to gamble her money away.”

“Something like that. Her father was killed in Iraq, but his family owned a big steel company a while ago in Buffalo.”

“This could be interesting. Did her aunt have a lot of money? Was she sister to Caitlyn’s father? Any reason to question her death?”

“I’m not sure whether she had any money, but her accident seems to be normal enough. But I left my name with Buffalo PD and informed them Cait was her next of kin. If anything out of the ordinary shows up, they’ll call. They said they’d keep me informed. Though I think Buffalo PD must have screwed up somewhere. How could they not have notified her aunt’s next of kin? Things aren’t adding up.”

Jake shook his head, “Too bad. I can get really mad at my family sometimes, but at least we have one. No other relatives?”

“Not based on what she’s told me.” Ryan leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms in thought. “Did you check out the driver of the car that took off from the scene of Cait’s accident?”

“Yeah, it was a rental car.”

“Did you follow up to see who the driver was?”

“Nah, I figured he was long gone. Sarge said to let it go. Given how bad the storm was that night, he said he’s not going to charge anyone. Even the jerk that ran from the scene.” He walked into the other room to grab a can of soda. When he returned, he asked, “Why? What are you thinking?”

“You know I don’t believe in coincidences.”

“Yeah.”

“Storm or not, don’t you think it’s a little strange that a wealthy heiress like Caitlyn was in a car accident three months after her one surviving relative was killed in an MVA?”

“Shit.” Jake sat down at his desk. “I’ll see what I can find out about the guy who was driving the rental.”

“Thanks.” Ryan got up and headed out the door. “Let me know what you find.”

“You stopping at the inn tonight?”

“No.”

“Why not? Caitlyn?”

“No, going to Erin’s.” The door slammed behind him.

***

Caitlyn followed Ryan’s father into the main entrance of the Summerville Memorial Hospital. After examining the house by the lake, which he’d given his stamp of approval, he’d suggested bringing her here to meet with his sister, Ellen, who was now the Nurse Recruiter after working at the hospital for several years. An old feeling of comfort and safety crept over her as she walked through the door. Though she had no financial need to work, she loved being a nurse. All hospitals smelled the same, though some were cleaner than others. The entrance to the small two-hundred-bed hospital was inviting, low voices chatting at the information desk. Mr. Ramsay returned with a name tag for her and slapped his own on his jacket.

“Well, you’ve got yourself a lovely house, Caitlyn. Hopefully, we can find you a job in Summerhill to your liking.”

“Thanks so much for helping me with the cottage, Mr. Ramsay.”

“No problem. The house is sound with lots of land for a cottage on a lake. The plumbing has been updated along with the electrical system. I think you’ve chosen well. It has a lot of character, too. Are you ready to meet my sister?”

Caitlyn nodded. “A little nervous, but ready.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine. The hospital is always looking for good nurses like you. I’ll show you to Ellen’s office.”

He led the way down the hall, talking about the hospital the whole way, his pride in the place obvious.

“I hope you like it here. I know you’re moving here from a much bigger city, so if this hospital is too small for you, we aren’t far from Rochester, especially with the expressway and the thruway. But I prefer smaller hospitals. Mallory loves her job here. They’re very good to her.”

“They treated me well on my visit.” Caitlyn smiled at Ryan’s dad. She could see where Ryan got his good looks. His dad was handsome, very tall, and broad shouldered, though his hair was much darker than his son’s with shocks of gray peppered through it.

“I feel terrible that you arrived in Summerhill in such an awful way, but you sure did find one of the nicest houses on the lake. It isn’t one of the larger places, but the rooms are all decently sized. If you have family that likes to visit…oh, sorry. I think Ryan mentioned you don’t have any family nearby. Forgive me, I’m just an old man who likes to run his mouth. Anyway, I’d be glad to see you find a place here at the hospital. I’m on the Board of Directors, so I have a special interest in Memorial.”

“What drew you to that position, Mr. Ramsay?”

“Ryan, call me Ryan. But that’s probably confusing for you. What do you call my son?”

“Ryan.”

“Okay, then Mr. Ramsay is fine. I used to be an anesthesiologist up until a few years ago. I retired from practicing, but I still teach occasionally at the University of Rochester, and I like to keep my hands in the medical world.” He held the elevator door open for her as they headed for the bottom floor.

“My apologies.” She couldn’t help but blush. “I should be addressing you as Dr. Ramsay.”

“Mr. Ramsay is fine, since you aren’t my patient.”

Caitlyn didn’t know many doctors who would have answered her that way, so she decided to change her form of address, whether he’d requested it or not. It was a matter of respect, which he deserved all the more because he was humble. “Did you practice here?” Caitlyn asked as he pushed the button for the basement.

“For many years. I was part of a corporation of physicians, so I also worked at Rochester General Hospital and occasionally at the University of Rochester’s Medical Center, though we called it Strong Memorial Hospital. This place is SMH too, so it gets confusing sometimes. I love working with students at the U. of R. med school.

“But now my new family keeps me plenty busy, especially since it’s so large. Lorraine and I have been blessed in many ways. I enjoy all the Grant and Ramsay kids. They’re each special in their own way.” He gave her a serious look. “Though Ryan is my first and will always be special. Don’t tell anyone I said that.” Dr. Ramsay smiled.

They headed down the hallway and he stopped in front of an office door. “Here we are.” He stood back as he pushed the door open and gestured for her to enter the room.

“Ellen, I have a new nurse for you.” After the introductions, Caitlyn sat and Ellen ushered her brother to the door. He turned around before he left. “Caitlyn, lovely seeing you this morning. I have other places to go, but please stop at our house any time.”

A short time later, Caitlyn followed Ellen Ramsay into the Emergency Room. After spending an hour discussing the hospital, the various units, and where Caitlyn would fit best, Ellen had offered to take her on a small tour of the facility. The last unit was the emergency room, where Caitlyn was most interested in working.

Summerville Memorial Hospital was much smaller than the hospital she’d worked at in Philadelphia, but it reminded her of a small facility she’d loved working in during one of her clinical rotations at Niagara University, where she had received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing. Ellen introduced her to the charge nurse, Mary Decamp, and to the Nurse Manager, Susan White. After the tour, she was interviewed by Susan White and one of the floor nurses.

When she was satisfied with Caitlyn’s answers, Susan said, “Well, if you’re interested and we confirm your license and experience, we would be pleased to welcome you as a member of our staff. When can you start?”