“So did I,” Delia confided.
“Sis . . . may we call you Sis?” Grace asked, and Sis nodded. “Delia and I were just about to go into the dining room and have tea. Perhaps you’d like to join us.”
“Oh. Well, I . . . That is, yes, thank you.” Sis’s hand shot to her throat. “That is, if Jamie doesn’t mind.”
“Of course not. You go on. Enjoy yourself.” Jamie patted Sis on the back.
“I hate to just dump you.” Sis hesitated.
“Don’t worry about me.” Jamie smiled past Sis to Dan. “I think I can find something to do.”
“Well, if you’re sure.”
“I’m positive. Have a good time.” Jamie watched her aunt toddle off with Delia and Grace. She turned to Dan and said, “Sis is going to have a field day at her next book club meeting. I can hear her now. Girls, you’re not going to believe this—I had tea with Delia Enright. Yes, Delia Enright! There will be no living with her now.”
“I imagine they’ll be awhile.” Dan’s fingers smoothed Jamie’s hair back from her forehead. “Why don’t I show you to your room?”
“Why, thank you.” Jamie took his hand. “And on the way, I can tell you about some decisions I made while I was in Caryville.”
“Do I want to hear them now or later?” They walked across the lobby, hand in hand.
“Please don’t underestimate me. I can walk and talk at the same time.”
“Okay. Talk.”
“I’m selling the house in Princeton . . .”
“What?” To move to Caryville? He couldn’t bring himself to ask.
“And the house in Caryville,” she continued.
“Both places? Where are you planning on living?”
“Here. In St. Dennis.” She paused on the bottom step. “I thought I’d buy a house here. What do you think?”
“I think . . . I think that’s great. But why give up the other places that you love?”
“The Caryville house needs a new family, and I can visit my aunt any time I want, but I don’t have to maintain a house there. The house in Princeton, while beautiful, never felt like it was really mine. Most of the things I want in my home are in storage because they just don’t seem to fit that house. A decorator did that place,” she admitted. She looked into his eyes. “I’ve been thinking about what you said, how life is short and there are no guarantees, and you’re right. Things can change in a heartbeat. I realized that time I spent away from St. Dennis was time I spent away from you, and I don’t want to waste any of the time we might have together.”
Dan nodded. “I couldn’t agree more.”
“Then what are you waiting for, innkeeper?” She tugged his hand as she started up the steps. “Show me to my room.”
“It would be my pleasure.” He smiled and followed her up the steps, catching her on the landing and kissing her until her head was spinning. “You know we’re very hands-on here at the inn . . .”
Diary ~
As the bard said, all’s well that ends well, but oh Lord, it did take time for things to work their way out. There’s such a buzz in St. Dennis these days, one cannot walk—or, in my case, ride—more than five feet without hearing gossip of one sort or another. Once the truth about Jamie’s birth was made known, the gossips had a field day! Once that whole nonsense died down, speculation began: Everyone joined in the “Who’s her daddy?” game. I daresay there are only two people in St. Dennis who know for certain—that being Barbara, of course, and yours truly. Oh, some may think they know—and perhaps Barbara has confided to Jamie—but no one is confirming anything, so the sport goes on.
I am so pleased that Jamie decided to settle in St. Dennis. For one thing, the girl needs to know where her people came from and the part they played in building this town. Barbara has her child near for the first time—she is obviously delighted that Jamie has chosen to make her home here. And for purely selfish reasons, I, too, am delighted that Jamie is staying in St. Dennis, because my son has fallen in love with her, and is happy—really and truly happy—for the first time in eight years. I see Dan and Jamie together, and I know they will bring each other much joy in the years ahead. She is buying a house on Michaels Road, right around the corner from Dallas and Grant, and I sense the reason she bought such a large place was to eventually accommodate Dan and his children and whatever children they may have together. While I will miss them, frankly, it will be nice to have these rooms to myself for a change. Not that I would ever tell Dan, of course, but I’m older now and set in my ways, and I like a bit of quiet from time to time—hard to come by with two teenagers sharing your space.
And more happy news—Ford and Carly are being married next month here at the inn! The prime wedding times have all been booked forever, of course, so they opted for a Tuesday-night wedding. “We’ll keep it small,” they said.
“Ha!” I said. “Fat chance of that! This is St. Dennis.” The list of invitees grows daily. Mother, of course, knows best.
And Mother knows other things as well. Like who will be the next to wed, whose first child will be born next summer (a boy, by the way), and who will soon be coming into our world and bringing another sort of drama. But as always, my lips are sealed.
Grace
About the Author
Photo Credit: Nicole Leigh
MARIAH STEWART is the award-winning New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of numerous novels and several novellas and short stories. A native of Hightstown, New Jersey, she lives with her husband and two rambunctious rescue dogs amid the rolling hills of Chester County, Pennsylvania, where she savors country life, tends her gardens, and tries to avoid running the Amish buggies off the road with her SUV.
Visit her website at MariahStewart.com, and like her on Facebook at Facebook.com/AuthorMariahStewart.
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ISBN 978-1-4767-9257-6
ISBN 978-1-4767-9258-3 (ebook)
Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
About the Author