minutes, Skye knew it was a go. “While you get your shoes on, I’ll tell Ryker we’re going to scale his fence so he doesn’t call the police on us.”
“How would he even know?”
“His fences have motion sensors on them. Motion sets off the video camera and sends the footage to Ryker’s security company.”
Okay, there was a lot more to Ryker Faulkner than Skye could fathom. “Let’s go,” she said, slipping on her shoes.
The fence-hopping wasn’t graceful and she’d gotten a text from Ryker with the thumbs down emoji. However, just thinking of Ryker sending a text with an emoji had Skye and Tinsley cracking up.
Skye took in the large backyard, the big detached garage, the swimming pool, and the outdoor living space. It rivaled a home in the Hamptons except it oozed Southern charm.
A sweet older lady came out the back door and waited for them. Tinsley took the lead and made the introductions. When Skye shook Mrs. Cramble’s hand, she didn’t let go right away. “Thank you for being so kind to Mitzy. She’s my sister and her daughter-in-law, Karen, is a viper. You made her feel so good by just talking to her at knitting club.”
“Your sister is very kind. Why aren’t you in knitting club?”
“I’m in needlepoint club. I could never get the hang of knitting. Now, Tinsley said you wanted to see the house. Are you thinking of moving here?”
“I am, but it’s a secret.”
“Of course, dear. I’ve seen your hashtag all over social media. You poor girl. To be hunted like that?” Mrs. Cramble shook her head in disgust, but then perked up. “I hear you’re staying with Trent Faulkner. He’s such a nice young man. He’s made several pieces for me. Do you think he’d be moving here with you?”
“I don’t know, Mrs. Cramble. I sure hope so,” Skye admitted and as soon as she said it she saw her life with him in it. She saw him in the garage working on his furniture and their kids fishing off the dock. The more Mrs. Cramble led her around the house, the more she knew it was meant to be. It had room for everything. It was big, historic, and yet homey.
“This sits on twelve acres. There’re two docks. One straight down there that you can see from the house and another farther down. The second one has a boathouse and boat ramp on it. So, what do you think?” Mrs. Cramble asked after they ended the tour.
“It’s beautiful. I’d like to talk to Trent. Even if I wanted to buy it right this second, I have to wait until this mess is cleared up. Would that be a problem?”
“Not at all. I wasn’t going to put it on the market until springtime. Just let me know. It’s been a pleasure to meet you. I know all the girls are looking forward to seeing you at knitting club this week.”
“I’m looking forward to it too. Thank you for the tour. It’s a lovely house.”
“So, what are you going to do?” Tinsley asked as they crawled back over the fence and into Ryker’s property.
“It feels right.”
Tinsley nodded as if she understood and maybe she did. That was the thing about Shadows Landing. As long as someone didn’t bless her heart in a bad way, it meant they understood her. There was no preening or fawning just because she was a celebrity because it was, well, home.
19
Olivia Townsend rode the elevator of her law firm’s building in New York City down to the lobby. She’d been working on her arguments for Skye’s court date in two days. Nothing was a sure thing, but breaking this contract was as close as you could get to a sure thing. It made her mad that people like Jim Hexter took advantage of young women like this. It was more than likely that he took advantage of all his young clients who were desperate to break into the movie industry.
The doors to the elevator slid open and her high heels clicked as she walked across the marble floor. It was rush hour and she was surprised to see a free town car. She lifted her hand and the driver who was taking a smoke break looked up and nodded. He ground out his cigarette and opened the back door. “Where to?”
Olivia rattled off the address of the firm’s apartment where she was staying and leaned back to relax. She put in her headphones and turned on her audiobook. Time