Not A Planned Affair

by Rebecca Thein

Genres: Women's Fiction; Contemporary Romance; Second Chance Romance; second chance; old house

Synopsis

Upon inheriting a mansion from the father she doesn't remember, Maggie Tild searches for answers to questions that have plagued her since childhood. What brought about her father's disappearance? Why did he leave his family behind? And why did he never return?

When her husband, Warren, stumbles upon a canister containing blueprints and photographs of the house and property, the mystery deepens. Will sorting through the clues heal Maggie's heart so she can finally lay the past to rest?

Release date: June 5, 2019

Publisher: Rebecca Thein

Print pages: 234

Sample

Prologue

 

Maggie Tild was waiting in the lobby at her hotel. She was wearing straight leg blue jeans pushed into cowboy boots with a plaid long sleeve blouse tied in front, revealing a dark brown leather belt with a rose shaped belt buckle. All she needed was a cowboy hat to complete the western look.         “Hi, I’m Shane, this is Candice.” He reached out and shook Maggie’s hand.

“Nice to finally meet you. I can’t wait to see this piece of land,” Maggie said, picking up her leather purse.

“Well, it’s not just land, as you could see in the photos, I sent you.”

“And I must thank you for sending them. I thought it was a run-down house that was not worth saving, but those pictures show it to be a beautiful home that needs a little TLC.”

“Wait until you see the inside,” Candice added, excited to get back into the house that she fell in love with.

“Why don’t you ride with us?” Shane offered, opening the truck’s door for both women.

They arrived at the property and drove through the entry gate. “There’s a long dirt drive before we get to a clearing. Then we have to walk to the house. Once all this growth is trimmed, it will be a beautiful drive up to the house. You’ll probably want to put down gravel or pave it.”

Maggie watched the encompassing foliage as it started to engulf the truck. “Shouldn’t we stop here and walk the rest of the way?”

“We’re almost to the clearing.” Shane proceeded to drive through the overgrowth, letting the branches hit the truck as they inched along. They finally broke through the canopy of plants into the open field.

“Wow, this horse corral is huge. In the picture, you just couldn’t see how large this area actually is,” Maggie said, opening the truck door and jumping out.

“Yes, I thought so too. The barn is just beyond those bushes.” He lifted Candice out of the truck. “I made a path to the barn the last time we were up here.”

Maggie was already heading to the path toward the barn before Shane could grab the flashlights.

“I think if you clean up this overgrowth, you’ll find the stables,” Shane called out, catching up with Maggie.

“Yes, I can see the structure peeking out,” Maggie agreed.

Candice was not far behind them and could hear the excitement in Maggie’s voice as she talked to Shane about the possibilities of renting out horse stalls in a large stable.

“I think that would be a great idea. The barn is large enough to house hay and all the equipment you would need,” Shane said, catching Maggie by the elbow as she stumbled over a tree root.

Maggie caught Shane’s eyes. “Thank you,” she said, with a glimmer of something that seemed like more than just gratitude.

Candice picked up her stride to catch up. Once she reached Shane, she latched onto his hand, giving it a possessive squeeze. He turned and shrugged his shoulders, knowing Candice saw the same look he noticed in Maggie’s eyes.

They reached the barn, and Shane swung the doors open. “Here,” he said, handing Maggie a flashlight.

Maggie walked in and shined the light around the empty barn. “This is perfect.” She moved deeper into the barn.

Shane stood with his arm around Candice’s waist, pulling her closer. “So, are you ready to go see the house?” he asked, as Maggie started to walk toward him.

“Yes,” she answered, brushing against him lightly as she passed.

Candice rolled her eyes at Shane as they followed Maggie out of the barn.

“There’s the path to the house.” Shane pointed toward it while closing the barn door.

Maggie took off in the direction of the path.

“Next time she does that I’m gonna stick my foot out and trip her,” Candice said, annoyed. “And you better not catch her this time.” Candice swatted his butt.

“Got it,” he said, well aware that she was kidding.

Candice was not surprised women were attracted to Shane. He was solid muscle with gorgeous shoulder-length black hair, and mesmerizing bedroom eyes the color of dark chocolate with golden highlights. If a woman did not take a second look, Candice would be surprised. Maggie, however, was shamelessly flirting and did not care that Candice was watching her. In fact, Maggie appeared to be enjoying the little game she was playing.

“We’ll catch up with you in a minute,” Shane yelled, as Maggie disappeared into the foliage.

He hauled Candice behind the truck out of view and devoured her mouth with a kiss so intense it left Candice weakened. “I don’t see anyone but you. She can flirt and throw herself at me, but there’s only you.”

“I love you,” Candice whispered breathlessly before she reached up and ran her hands through his silky hair.

“Let’s get this over with fast so we can head to the wine tasting,” Shane suggested, stepping away to retrieve the screwdriver from the truck.

They caught up with Maggie at the house. She was already on the porch, walking around to the back. “This place is huge,” she commented, looking around.

“Well, the inside is just as impressive,” Shane informed her, as he began to remove the screws from the plywood covering the back door.

“So, do you know people that can help me do the cleanup and renovation?” Maggie asked, moving closer to Shane.

“Yeah, I know landscapers and a few construction people,” he answered, pocketing the screws. “But I don’t do that type of work myself. I just dismantle and salvage what can be reused.”

“Well, then I guess I’ll hire you to take away some stuff I don’t want.” She smiled at him.

Shane set the plywood against the wall and motioned for Maggie to enter. She looked around the kitchen. “This kitchen is big enough to run a catering company.”

“Yes, it would be perfect for that. This house would make a beautiful bed and breakfast. There are so many rooms, each could have a different theme.” Shane directed her to the large ballroom. “You could actually rent this room out for small receptions, special occasions, or maybe have Sunday brunches here. It would be very intimate, and the guests would love it.”

“I can see where you are going. That’s a great idea,” Maggie concurred.

“And you could have the check-in area here by the front door.” Shane offered as a suggestion on how to plan for a bed and breakfast inn.

They proceeded to the top floor. “I believe this was your father’s room. It feels like he’s still here,” Shane said, as a chill went through the air.

“This is surreal. I can’t believe all of this belonged to a man that was unknown to me, yet I feel so close to him in this room.” Maggie looked around, taking in the remnants of her father’s possessions.

“And through this door is the cupola.” Shane opened it so Maggie could step in and see the expansive view of the property.

“This is so cool.” Maggie turned in a circle so she could appreciate the expansive property.

Once they finished viewing the spacious house, Shane offered his opinion and advice on the easiest way to turn the house into a bed and breakfast. Candice remained quiet, listening to Shane’s overview of how to make the home a profitable business. His insights always intrigued her.

“There’s a pool out back and that small house I told you about. You’ll need a pool guy to come inspect the pool and do any repairs. That will be a perfect spot for guests of the inn to relax.”

“My granddaughters will love having a pool,” Maggie said.

“Yes, I’m sure they will,” Shane agreed. “How old are they?”

“Annie’s three and Janice is five.” Maggie smiled as she thought about her two darling grandbabies.

“You’ll want to put a locked enclosure around the pool,” Shane advised, always thinking about safety. Something he did not take for granted because of his sister’s need for supervision.

“I’m going to have to call my husband. He’s going to be so thrilled to have all this land. Maybe he’ll even learn to make wine. I did see grapevines on this property, right?”

“Yes, but I know nothing about winemaking, so you’ll have to do research on that.

“The last thing to show you is the cottage. It’s full of boxes and furniture. It might make a great home for your family.” Shane led the way to the small home.

“This is too cute. I’ll have to go through all those boxes, see if I can piece my father’s life together. It appears some are important, judging by the labels. My father and his mysteries,” Maggie said, trying to wedge herself through the narrow pathway between boxes to the back of the house.

“Did you know she was married?” Candice whispered to Shane.

“Nope.” Shane looked as surprised as Candice did.

Maggie came back toward the front of the house. “I think this place will be a great home for us. My husband has been out of work for a month, so I know this will be a wonderful way for us to start fresh. If I can get this house livable, then I can slowly get the other part of this land ready.”

“When I get back to my office, I’ll email you the names of some people that can get the roads cleared for you,” Shane offered.

“That would be great. Thank you.” Maggie lifted the lid of a box marked photos. She grabbed a few albums then replaced the cover.

“So, that pretty much does it for the tour of this property,” Shane said, closing the door to the house.

“This is going to be interesting. I was shocked to find out my dad had been alive all these years. Mom had no idea what happened to him. I can tell you; he broke her heart. She was so in love with him. She said he was different from anyone she’d ever met. I guess that is an understatement. He lived a very secretive life.” Maggie smiled as she looked at the mansion. “I can’t wait to bring my mom here. I bet she’ll want to run the bed and breakfast if we decide to convert the main house.”

Weaving through the pathway back to the truck, Maggie once again led the way. She was full of energy and seemed to be running on adrenaline.

Sitting in the truck on the way back to her hotel, Maggie started looking through the photo album. She slowly turned the pages, soaking in each face that smiled back at her. “This must be my father when he was young.” She showed Candice the picture. “He has the same eyes I do.”

“Yes, I can see the resemblance,” Candice responded after viewing the picture.

“Oh, and this is a photograph of him holding me.” Maggie stared at the picture while running her fingers over it.

Candice remembered from the story that he never met his daughter, but that was unmistakably not true. The pictures revealed he was proud and in awe of his little girl.

Shane pulled into the hotel parking lot, went around to the passenger side of the truck, and opened the door for Maggie. “So, I’ll email you the contacts that I think will be able to help you with the overall revitalization of the property.”

“Thank you.” Maggie gave him a hug. “I really appreciate everything you have done and are doing for my family.” Then she turned to Candice. “It was so nice meeting you. If I do decide to open a bed and breakfast, you two will have to be my first guests,” she said, smiling.

“That would be nice,” Candice said, realizing that perhaps Maggie was not flirting before. She was just a warm spirited person.

“Now I think I’ll get in my rental car and head back there to start looking through those boxes,” Maggie said as she turned toward her car.

“Well, here.” Shane handed her a flashlight and his screwdriver. “You might need these.”

“Thank you. I’ll be in touch.”

Shane got back in the truck. “Well, that was interesting.” He rested his arm on the back seat.

“Yes, it was.” Candice scooted closer to Shane, leaning her head on his shoulder. “I was surprised she is a grandmother. I mean, did you think she looked old enough to have grandchildren?”

Shane chuckled. “Nope. Children that age yes, but not grandchildren.”

“Maybe they’re step-grandchildren or something. I want to know what she’s drinkin’ to stay so young.”

“Guess it’s all in the attitude. Think young, stay young. Look at my grandmother, she’s the energizer bunny.”