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All she knew for sure was that she wasn’t prepared to share her bedroom with anyone. She had limits.

“Do you have any books in your house?” Elsie was staying close to Brooke. “In our house we have shelves and shelves of books. I packed lots but they’re still in the car, apart from one.”

Mabel thought of her library. She didn’t want to share it. It was her private space. Her sanctuary.

“I do have a few. If you’d tell me what you’d like, I can see if I have it.”

“Could I choose?”

“Elsie, you forgot to say please,” Brooke said as they followed Mabel out of the hallway to a winding staircase. “And we’ll think about books later. First, we need to settle in and help Mabel.”

“This staircase is beautiful.” Izzy stroked her hand over the rail as she glanced upwards. “That window is spectacular.” She paused for a moment, staring out the tall window at the bend of the stairs. “Look at that view.”

“The view is of a storm raging,” Jason said, easing his bag back onto his shoulder.

“Exactly. It’s wild, isn’t it? Look at the snowflakes. Did you know that no two snowflakes are the same?”

Jason frowned slightly, as if it wasn’t something that had occurred to him.

He jogged easily up the stairs and paused by the window. Then he eased the bag off his shoulder, opened it and removed a camera.

Mabel watched as he snapped several photos.

“Occasionally, I get a glimpse of snowy trees through the storm.” He changed the lens and then took several more photos. “Is that a forest?”

“Yes. The house is in a clearing with trees on three sides.”

“It’s a fairy tale house,” Elsie breathed, holding tightly to Brooke’s hand.

A fairy tale house. Hadn’t she said the same thing to Walter when she’d first seen it? A perfect house in which to raise a family and create memories together. They’d done that, although there were some memories she wished she could delete.

Mabel reached the top of the stairs and headed for a room that she hadn’t used for years.

“The beds aren’t made up, but that’s because I wasn’t expecting company. We can fix that. There’s a sofa and a window seat.” She waved her hand vaguely, wondering when the room had last been cleaned. It was a long time. She hoped they didn’t mind a little dust. “This is the largest room and it connects with a smaller twin next door, so probably best for your family, Brooke. I’m sure you’ll want to spend time together.”

“I want to spend time with you, too,” Elsie said to Mabel. “I like you.”

From the startled look Brooke exchanged with Matt, that heartfelt declaration surprised them as much as it surprised Mabel.

“Oh—well, that’s—” Mabel cleared her throat. “Thank you. I like you, too.”

It was true. She’d forgotten how entertaining young children could be. And Elsie was certainly entertaining. Something stirred to life deep in her brain. A part of her she hadn’t accessed for a long time.

Poppy climbed onto the bed and bounced a couple of times.

“You’re not supposed to bounce on beds,” Elsie said, “especially when the bed isn’t yours. Sorry.” She looked at Mabel. “It’s because she’s very young. I should probably sleep in this room rather than yours because I need to help with my sister. Sometimes she gets into trouble.”

“I’m no trouble at all,” Poppy protested, sliding off the bed and landing on the floor with a thump.

Mabel struggled to hide a smile. “I’m sure that’s true.” She gestured to another door. “That’s the bathroom, shared between the two bedrooms. If you use these rooms, you’ll have space and a little privacy.”

She had a feeling that privacy was going to be in short supply over the coming days.

At least her own bedroom had a lock.

Talking of which …

“My bedroom is up those stairs—” She gestured to the spiral staircase at the end of the corridor. “And then we have the same this way. Follow me.”