This is what Summer Beach had been missing since the library closed.
“I should get back to the inn,” he said, eager to find Ivy. “Good coffee, Mitch. Thanks.”
Bennett considered possibilities as he walked. Since Summer Beach couldn’t afford a library right now, a bookmobile might serve residents until it could. With some community support, it might work. It could be the first step, a bridge until they could rebuild.
He picked up his pace, energized by the idea of having a constructive conversation with Ivy about the library instead of another tense standoff. He’d told her he couldn’t manufacture funds in the budget.
Yet, a bookmobile could work in the interim. Historically, many small towns provided such services while raising funds through donations, taxes, grants, or bonds to support building a library.
Of course, Ivy had been right all along. The community needed this.
10
While Reed worked on a cabinet hinge frozen by time, Ivy stepped back. “I want to see what’s behind this wall.”
“No problem.” Reed pried another section loose and inspected the framing behind it. “This entire section is a false wall. Non-load bearing and not uncommon. In building, we add them to create storage or give a finished look to big-screen televisions.”
Ivy paused as Shelly continued peeling off the drywall. “TVs didn’t even exist when this house was built.”
“That’s hard to imagine,” Shelly said. “Did they have phones?”
“We’ve found the old wiring,” Reed said. “Anyone who built a home of this size at that time had telephones.”
“Maybe they hid bars of gold in here,” Shelly said, laughing.
A peculiar sensation struck Ivy. “This time, you might be on to something.” Her heart raced with anticipation as the wall crumbled away, revealing more cabinetry.
Reed winced as Shelly attacked the wall with enthusiasm rather than technique. “Careful, you might?—”
A chunk of drywall crashed to the floor, sending up clouds of debris. They turned away, shielding their faces.
“Oops.” When the dust settled, Shelly grinned, not looking remotely apologetic. “At least we can see more now.”
“Hang on. You should use these.” Reed handed them painter’s masks from his tool kit. Ivy saw a smile tugging at his lips. “You two are worse than my demolition crew. There’s a method to?—”
“Finding hidden treasures,” Shelly finished for him, wedging her borrowed screwdriver into a seam. “And we’re experts at that.”
This time, Reed nodded. “Experts at making messes, like my dad says.”
Poppy laughed, nodding in agreement. “He warned you.” She stopped the recording to join in.
Reed chuckled as his sister and aunts dismantled the wall with gleeful abandon. All he could do was help them.
They worked in a flurry of dust and laughter, tearing away decades of debris to reveal the entire expanse of built-in cabinetry. The cabinets stretched nearly the entire wall length. The impressive built-in unit featured numerous compartments of various sizes.
“Just like old times,” Shelly said, brushing dust from her hair. “Remember when we uncovered the entry to the lower level?”
“That was the beginning of it all.” Ivy stepped back to survey their work. The cabinet doors were now exposed. “Reed, let’s pry these open.”
He nodded, already applying the lubricant to the hinges and working a putty knife along a door edge. “Stand back. No telling what’s inside.”
Shelly shuddered. “Like mice?”
“We don’t have mice,” Ivy said pointedly.
Reed winked at them. “Maybe because they live in here.” With a crack, the first cabinet door creaked open. “Aunt Ivy, take a look.”
With a tentative step, she peered into the cabinet and sighed.
