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Ted brushed a lock of hair away from her face. “Don’t worry. We’ll figure out a way to make this relationship of ours work. Even though we don’t have everything lined up for the future, we can’t stop moving forward.” He grinned. “I want you for my Mrs. Claus.”

She laughed. “I’d like that, too.”

“Good. Now let’s go to sleep.”

They spooned together, and then they slept.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

The next afternoon, Ted and Rick decided to leave around the same time. Rick took off first; then it was Ted’s turn to get ready. Knowing what she and Ted had shared during the past two days, Emmie found it hard to have Ted leave.

“Safe trip,” she said. “Send me directions to your house, and I’ll plan to take Friday off.”

“I’ll call you every night,” said Ted. “I like that I can discuss the day with you.”

“Me, too.” Emmie kissed him once more and stepped back to allow him to get into his truck. She stood in the driveway watching him drive away and knew how much she wanted their relationship to work.

She walked into the house, made herself a cup of tea, and sat at the kitchen table. Lauren was in her room taking a nap, giving Emmie a few moments of peace. It was a time of reflection, and she let her mind wander. One of the sticking points going forward was the loss of her home. Emmie had no idea what she’d do if that was the only solution.

Lauren walked into the kitchen. “Oddly enough, I couldn’t sleep. I’ll lie down later.”

“Help yourself to some tea,” said Emmie. “Clark’s asleep?”

“Yes. I just checked on him.” Lauren fixed her tea and sat down opposite Emmie. “Mom, I’m really delighted for you. I like Ted and see that the two of you together are great, but you’re acting very fast. You don’t have to live together right away.”

“I understand. That’s a reasonable thought. But after years of being alone, I want to be with him day and night. Ted feels the same way. I wish we could simply travel back and forth, seeing one another every week, but we want more than that.”

“You really think you love him enough to give up our house?” asked Lauren.

“It may not come to that, but if it does, I will need to be reasonable.” Emmie studied her. “I don’t want to leave the house, but the more I think about it, it seems only fair for Ted to be able to conveniently manage his businesses. His children are taking on more responsibility, but after getting to know Ted better, I don’t think he’ll want to be completely out of the loop.”

“Where would you live?” asked Lauren.

“I don’t know. I’m going to be with his family next weekend. I met them in Florida, but this will be a little different. His daughter, Cinda, was very close to her mother and feels a little threatened by me. It’ll be up to me to make things seem right.”

“Making a second life is not as easy as one thinks, is it?” said Lauren.

Emmie shook his head. “But both Ted and I want this.”

“Okay, let me know if there’s anything I can do to help the situation.” Lauren sighed. “What do you think Dad would say?”

“I think he’s played a part in this because I would never have met Ted if he hadn’t given me the chance to go to The Beach House Hotel. It’s a magical place in many ways.”

“I think he’d like Ted,” said Lauren. “It’s going to take me a while to get used to the idea, but you can count on Rick and me.”

“Thank you, darling. Now, we’ll have to see about the others.”

###

On Friday, Emmie made the trip to Skaneateles, arriving at the address Ted had provided in just under four hours.

As she pulled into the driveway, she stared at the two-story clapboard building painted a dark green with brown trim. A one-story wing was painted a light tan with the same brown trim on one side of the main house, and a two-story, green-painted wing sat on the other.

She parked in front of a three-car garage.

As she emerged from her car, she inhaled the fresh aroma of lake water and waved to Ted, coming out of the house.

“Ah, you made it. I hope it wasn’t too difficult,” he said, sweeping her into his arms. “Come inside, and I’ll give you a tour. Do you want anything to drink? Coffee? Tea? Water?”