“Doubtful,” Cadence replied. “He said something about being in the neighborhood.”
“Maybe he’s your secret admirer,” Tessa added. “He was awfully interested in the lilies.”
Sophie tried to hide her groan, but it came out anyway, causing both her sisters to laugh. Jeffery was a nice man, and attractive as far as many of the available women in town were concerned. But he was a far cry from her type. “I don’t want a secret admirer,” she said. “I’m not going to date anyone until Caroline goes off to college. Maybe not even then.”
“That’s noble and all,” Tessa said. “But also really stupid.” She shuffled from the counter by the stove to the sink below Ed’s window. Automatically, Sophie looked for the moose. He roamed a large area, and only stopped by for goodies on occasion. But she found she was rather fond of him after he saved her from a black bear. She wanted to reward him.
“Gee, thanks,” said Sophie.
“I told her she was allowed to date,” Cadence said.
“Now you’re both ganging up on me. Unbelievable.”
Cadence gave her a wink. “We love you, sis.”
“Order’s up on table six,” Tessa announced, nodding at Cadence.
“Got it.”
“I’ll be right back.” Sophie dashed down the hall and slipped into her lodge room. She wished she could stow away for an hour’s nap. Despite being tired last night, she didnotsleep well at all.
With one very deep breath released, Sophie marched back to the kitchen—in shoes—and took the prepared food tray outside to the patio before either of her sisters could say any more about her dating life, or lack thereof.
She carefully set down each plate for one of their guests, George. He and his wife were on a fiftieth anniversary trip to Alaska. She couldn’t recall his last name, but she recognized him by his T-shirt. Every day he wore a different Vietnam veteran one. Usually he dined with his wife, but today he was alone. “Hey, George. Got your blueberry pancakes for you. What kind of syrup did you want?”
“The maple—notthe sugar-free one.” He gave Sophie a wink. “My wife’s in town doing some shopping, so I can splurge a little.”
“You got it.”
What would it be like to be with the same person forfiftyyears, Sophie wondered as she retrieved the requested syrup. As much as she wanted to protect Caroline and was convinced her own heart would never properly heal from its damage, she couldn’t deny that she yearned for . . . more. For someone.
She shook away the thought before it caused too much trouble.Get in line.
Sophie’s day flew by quickly. Only in the quiet moments she had to catch her breath did she think about the bounced check and what it meant. Last night she was certain she’d have to turn down the rental. This morning, she woke up with a yearning to make it work.Somehow.
She’d been stalling Jolene Davies on her answer. Though she very much wanted the little house, and could certainly cover the rent and utilities with her lodge earnings and restaurant tips, Sophie didn’t know how she’d furnish it without putting a massive amount on credit. Starting out a new adventure with a boatload of debt was where she drew the line.
“Did you open it yet?” Cadence asked that afternoon as Sophie brought in the last of the dishes from the now-closed restaurant.
“Open what?”
“Your package.”
“I’m not expecting anything. Unless the decoration company realized their mistake and sent merealmoose.” But that wouldn’t matter anymore. She and Cadence found enough extra moose-themed items throughout the lodge to make Caroline’s party successful.
“It’s much too small for that. Here.” Cadence handed her a padded envelope.
For a beat, Sophie thought it might possibly contain a check. Maybe Blake had finally tired of his lawyers hounding him and sent a replacement. It would be like him to let her sweat it out.
But it wasn’t a check that dropped onto the table.
“Headphones?” Tessa stretched her neck over Sophie’s shoulder. “Oh! For your race?”
Sophie turned them over, stunned. These weren’t just any headphones. They were expensive ones with Bluetooth capability. Her current set was dying. More often than not, the bass went out in the middle of a song or the lyrics grew so faint she couldn’t make them out. She’d just been hoping they’d get her through the race. She didn’t run well without music. She tried it last week and ran terribly.
“Those are fancy,” Cadence pointed out. “When did you order them?”
“I didn’t.”
