world away from everything and everyone else.
“It did help,” she said when she’d found her voice, and not just because she had finally really gotten out of the house or that Leo had given her the best advice she could have received about her book.
It helped make her think that maybe, just maybe, Hope was right, and that she could find love with someone else after all.
Chapter Seventeen
Hope
It had been nearly two weeks since Hope had decided to come to the island, and with each passing day, she felt more detached from her life back in Chicago. Truth be told, she wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about that.
Today, though, she didn’t need to think about it. It was Friday, and she had a meeting—an actual meeting!—at Darcy’s house out in Forest Bluff. It was one of the prettiest parts of the island, on the West Shore, far from town, with a row of houses tucked behind a towering, thick hedge.
The house she was visiting had been in the Ritter family for generations. It had been built at the turn of the twentieth century, back when it became fashionable for people to build summer “cottages” on the island. Eventually, these turned into year-round residences when the owners retired, as Sunset Cottage had for her own grandparents. Now, the Ritter house was owned by Darcy, who was in her seventies by now and hadn’t changed anything since she’d first taken over the estate.
Hope knew Darcy, of course, though she’d never been inside the house before. Darcy’s children were older than her by at least ten years, and they hadn’t played together on the Morgans’ annual summer visits.
Still, Hope knew the neighborhood well. It was at the north end of the forest, off a path that she and her sisters used to like to ride their bikes. They loved spying through hedge openings onto well-manicured lawns, large homes, and a sweeping view of Lake Huron.
“I never thought I’d reach the point of selling this place,” Darcy said sadly after she’d welcomed Hope inside.
Hope pushed back the thought that her own Gran would have said the same thing if she knew that Gemma was wanting to list it, too.
“It’s a beautiful property,” Hope said. And it was. It had potential. It just needed a little help. And she was here to offer that.
Hope still marveled at that. Her, hired to help another woman beautify her home!
“I thought my grandkids would want to visit,” she explained when Hope stepped through the front door, still reveling in the odd sense of freedom she felt not to be maneuvering the awkward stroller or having to bribe the twins to behave while she had a few precious moments of adult conversation. The girls were with Ellie, who had kindly taken them to the studio for a few hours to give them a painting lesson. Hope didn’t even want to think how that would go, and she hoped that Ellie had locked up all of her best work beforehand. “But they all want to go to Florida instead.”
Darcy tossed up her hands with a sigh and shook her head as she led Hope through the house.
“I have quite a bit of experience with historic renovations,” Hope explained as she inspected a bathroom, which was dark and dated. She was certain that the plumbing would all be needed to be brought up to code. “My own house is more than a hundred years old. We spent over a year renovating it.” It was so exciting then, to plan the details, to prepare for their future, to feel like she and Evan were a real team. They were building their dream house, the foundation of their life together.
The life she had walked away from.
Heaviness settled over her chest. It was a feeling she couldn’t quite identify, but one she’d experienced daily since coming here—one she was probably too busy to notice back at home. Yearning, she supposed, for that feeling of hope she’d once had, when everything still felt possible, not set in stone, or planned out for her.
Darcy led her up the stairs, which were covered in an unfortunate black runner that made the house feel so much darker than it needed to be. Yes, Hope preferred a light and airy style, but here on the island, that was almost a requirement.
“We could exchange this for something in the blue family?” she ventured, motioning to the carpet. “Navy if you want to keep things practical?”
“I don’t have much reason