Confessions from the Quilting Circle - Maisey Yates Page 0,4
had always had their own special thing. Not that Lark thought he loved Hannah more. She just wasn’t shocked that he’d set the car aside for her.
“That smells good,” Hannah said. She grabbed a paper plate and served herself a large portion of salad, and a small wedge of pie, passing on the wine and taking a sparkling water the same as Lark.
Soon they were all sitting around the table, except Avery, who was standing, leaning against the kitchen counter, holding a glass of wine.
“Do you want to sit?”
Avery blinked. “Oh,” she said. “I just get so used to not having a chance to sit.”
But she didn’t move from her position.
“Avery says you have an idea?” Lark pointed that statement at Hannah.
“Oh,” Hannah said. “Yes. I do. Well, we’re doing a scaled back concert series this summer, and I wasn’t needed for the next three months.” Lark couldn’t read her sister’s emotions. She was laying it out matter-of-factly, but Lark had the sense she wasn’t all that happy to have three months off. “I’m clear until end of August.”
“You can just...leave for a few months?” Avery asked.
“I don’t even have a houseplant,” Hannah said. “Easily mobile by design, thanks.” Lark knew that sometimes the orchestra sent people to other orchestras on loan. Her sister had spent seasons in New York, London and Moscow.
On paper, she and Hannah were pretty similar. Creative professions, the chance to move around. But there was a tenacity and intensity to Hannah that had skipped Lark. Avery had it too. She just channeled it into school events.
But Hannah was an island. An island of isolated, locked down emotion. Whatever her sister really felt about things was tough to get a handle on. She might be outspoken, but that wasn’t the same as sharing feelings.
Hannah was allergic to feelings.
“I have the summer, free and clear. And I thought I could spend that time helping revamp everything here and... When it’s over we can turn this into a vacation rental.”
“It’s a great idea,” Avery said, using her school meeting voice. “Because none of us want to live here, right?”
“No,” Mary said. “I’m not antsy to move back into my childhood home.”
“David hates this house,” Avery said. “The last thing he wants to do is fuss with potentially faulty plumbing on a day-to-day basis. Old houses are charming and wonderful, but they can also be a pain in the butt. Hannah isn’t staying. Lark, I assume you’re going back to New Mexico.”
“I think it’s a good idea,” Lark said, bypassing the question she’d been asked. She was happy to linger over their plans for a moment, which would give her more space to address her own next. “A vacation rental. The house is famous. I think people will really enjoy staying here.” She took a deep breath. “I want to stay here. In town. Permanently.”
Avery and Hannah looked shocked. Her mother’s expression was smooth, except one divot on the right side of her mouth, which suggested pleasure.
“Have you ever been to a Craft Café?”
That earned her a couple more blank stares.
“They’re these cafés where you can come in and work on crafts. I think that’s pretty self-explanatory.”
“Does anyone do that?” Avery asked.
“Yes. They’re getting more popular in places, and I think it could work here. We get all the tourism in the summer, and the kinds of people who move here are... Well, they have a lot of leisure time on their hands. They’re either retired, or they have family money of some kind.”
“What about your illustrations?”
Her heart squeezed uncomfortably. “I... I’m taking a break from it. But I have the money to put into the place. I don’t need to use Gram’s. But we all own The Miner’s House and I am proposing that I use it for business. So, I need all of you to be on board with it.”
“I don’t have plans for it but...”
“Do you have a business plan?”
Her mom and Hannah spoke at the same time.
“I do have a business plan,” Lark said.
And she was thankful for her friend Rusty who had told her in no uncertain terms that “starting a crowdfunding campaign is not a business plan.”
Then had helped her make an actual business plan.
“And I know it’s going to take some time and money to rehab the place, but, if we’re working on the house here, I can easily get the same crew to go down the street and do some work there too. Two houses, one stone. Or one phone call.”