Watching Shane was much more thrilling than the fairly dull history of a decades-old house. She sat there in silence, just watching… until his arm stopped, and he glanced her way!
Andie turned away quickly, embarrassed to have been caught staring at him. More like ogling, the voice in her head taunted. But… wait… had he winked at her?
“Something like that?”
Andie turned to find Emily looking at her expectantly, but for the life of her, she had no idea what Emily might be expecting.
“What? I’m sorry…” Andie dropped her gaze to the screen where Emily was pointing at a line of text that talked about how guests could sleep in the exact same room President Theodore Roosevelt had slept in. Oh right, the ad. “Yes, like that. Something specific to your place and its history. Something your guests can connect with and experience for themselves.”
“Darn. I don’t know if we have anything.” A frown pulled at her brow. “I mean, we do have the quilts, but that’s about it. Do you think it’s enough?”
Sally had come in and was chugging a glass of lemonade from the tray Emily had put out for them. Apparently she’d also been listening in on the conversation. “Sounds like you need a hook, and I know exactly what you can use.”
Andie and Emily both turned to stare at her in surprise. “You do?”
“Ayuh. Rumor has it there’s a secret passage in here. Used it back in the Underground Railroad days. It provided a secret escape exit into the attic. Folks could hide up there if anyone unfriendly came knockin’.”
“That’s just a rumor, Sally. My mother told me there definitely was no secret passage,” Emily said.
“If you say so.” Sally didn’t look convinced as she guzzled the rest of her lemonade. Tipping her now-empty glass in Emily’s direction, she continued. “I’m pretty sure back when I was a kid, someone I knew actually saw it.”
Emily and Andie exchanged a questioning glance.
“My mother has mentioned it, but I thought it might just be her faulty memory.” Andie hadn’t taken her seriously, of course. With her memory issues these days, nothing she said could be taken at face value.
“Now that I think about it,” Emily said, “Mom was overly adamant about it not being true. Maybe she was afraid we’d find it and get stuck in there or something? Of course, my brother and I were way too terrified to look for ourselves.”
“Maybe.” Andie shrugged. “You know, there is one way we might find out...”
Emily understood. “We need to talk to our moms.”
Andie nodded. “Exactly. And the best thing I can think of that might jog their memories is to bring them both right here to this house.”
Since Jane frequently brought their mother out to lunch and Emily took Sadie home on a regular basis, it was fairly easy to get Addie’s and Emily’s moms to leave Tall Pines without too much confusion.
Luckily, the two elderly ladies were in a friendly mood today, Andie thought, as she and Emily helped them get situated in Emily’s car.
“You sit right beside me,” Sadie told Emily, patting the seat next to her as Addie climbed into the car. “Mother has a pot roast ready for dinner.”
Andie’s eyes met Emily’s. Andie shrugged. Hopefully, Sadie would forget about the pot roast by the time they got home.
Shane was in the kitchen, washing out a paint brush, when they arrived. His eyes lit when he saw Addie. “Mrs. Miller! It’s so nice to see you.”
Andie shot him a look then bit her lip to keep from saying anything until her mother got her bearings. She might get confused and uncomfortable if she didn’t recognize Shane.
Addie squinted at Shane for a minute then brightened. “Shane Flannery? Is that really you? Oh, how lovely it is to see you!”
Addie motioned him forward for a generous hug, and Andie couldn’t help but remember how close the two of them had once been. Now that she thought about it, her mother had been quite angry Andie had broken things off with Shane.
Their eyes met over her mom’s head. Andie offered an apologetic smile—whether for the moment or for the past, she wasn’t sure. Shane dipped his head in acknowledgment.
“The kitchen looks different than it did this morning.” Sadie ran her hands along the Formica counter tops. She stopped, a frown wrinkling her brow. “Hey, where is the Mr. Coffee?”
“We got this new maker, remember?” Emily pointed to the brand-new Keurig.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been here. Things are different.” Addie looked around with a confused look on her face until her eyes fell on an old cupboard with antique dishes inside, and she smiled. “I always loved those mulberry dishes.”
“Do you remember a lot about the house, Mom?” Andie asked.
