Chapter 1

Scoop. Lift. Dump. Repeat.

After only five minutes of this, I had worked up a sweat and needed to peel off my fleece jacket. 

Scoop. Lift. Dump.

Scoop. Lift. Dump.

After another five minutes, it was clear I would regret volunteering for this job tomorrow. This stuff was heavy. My arms were already yelling at me.

Still, I continued lifting, dropping shovelfuls of snow over the side where they landed on the thawing lake with a solid wet thump. This was good for me. Not only the physical exertion of pushing and removing snow from the boathouse deck but also the emotional exertion of preparing the small boathouse apartment for someone else to stay in it. I was being a bit dramatic about this. I knew that. It’s just, this was the first place I’d ever lived by myself. I’d gone from my parents’ home to sharing a dorm room with my college roommate to an apartment with my then boyfriend. This apartment, approximately the length of a school bus and twice the width, was the place where I’d become independent. Emotionally, at least.

Once I’d completed my task, except for a couple stubborn stuck-on spots that would have to melt on their own, I leaned against the railing and took in the sight before me. The first warm day of the year in Whispering Pines was glorious. According to the calendar, and the even more reliable local Wiccan population, it wouldn’t officially be spring for three more days, but it sure didn’t look like winter to me. I breathed in the smell of wet sun-warmed pine and smiled. Across the vast forest that surrounded both the lake and the village, any snow left from the storm that hit two days ago was melting quickly, dripping like rain from the boughs. Little plip, plop, plip sounds came from everywhere as the drips formed small puddles on the ground. Any animals wandering through the woods today were in for a shower.

“Here you are.”

I turned to see my boyfriend and business partner, Tripp Bennett, cresting the stairs along the side of the boathouse. I pointed at the dozen or so fishing huts dotting the lake.

“Don’t you think the owners should pull those in now? Look at all the puddles forming on the surface.” As if backing me up, sunbeams glinted off a few. “Isn’t that a sign that it’s time?”

“The villagers know the lake pretty well. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“It’s been warm for March, though. If it was me, I’d haul them in.”

“What are you doing up here? Other than worrying about fishing shanties.”

“I came to help Holly clean the apartment.”

He took in my leaning against the railing stance and teased, “You appear to be doing a fine job.”

“She kicked me out.” I flexed my hands up and pressed them against the rail to stretch my tight forearms. “I shoveled the snow off the stairs and deck instead.”

Our housekeepers understood full well why Tripp and I had hired them to keep our bed-and-breakfast, Pine Time, clean and tidy. Tripp was constantly busy with food preparation or attending to our guests’ needs, and I was born without a tidying gene.

Tripp chuckled at me. “How are you feeling about renting out the apartment?”

The worst part, as it had been from the start, was not having this deck to sit on anymore. Tripp and I had spent countless nights out here taking in the sights, sounds, and smells of the lake and the towering pine trees. Not to mention wishing on the billions of stars above. Even over the winter months, the deck occasionally served as the perfect spot for soothing my wounds after a bad day. No more. People paying us for the privilege to stay in the apartment would probably object to the owner hanging out in their space.

I shrugged. “It’s time.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

Grabbing his arm, I pulled it tight around me like a security blanket and leaned against him. “You built us the most comfortable, coziest apartment imaginable. No place could be better.”

The most embarrassing part of my ridiculous attachment was that I hadn’t lived in the apartment since October. It had been sitting empty for five months.

“You still didn’t answer me.”

“It’s like ripping off a bandage. After the initial sting of seeing other people in it, I’ll be fine.” I pulled him to the side where we could see the grand white house across the yard. I pointed up at the top floor, which held our apartment. “I was thinking we should put a deck up there. We could take out a few windows and put in French doors off the living room. A small one big enough for a couple chairs, a little table, and maybe a grill. The only thing that’s missing with that apartment is a private place for us to sit outside at the end of the day and take in the lake and trees.”

Tripp frowned as he tried to envision what I was proposing. “I don’t think so. I mean, it could be done, pretty much anything can be done. It would really mess with the aesthetics of the house, though.” His head tilted to the side. An idea was forming. “What about a rooftop deck?”

The house’s roofline formed a pyramid shape, but instead of coming to a point at the top, it had a flat surface that was about sixteen feet square. A tingle started in my toes and traveled all the way up my body.

“That would be awesome,” I whispered. “Can we do it?”

“I’ll climb up there and check it out. We’d need to install a trap door and ladder, but that should be an easy enough conversion.”

“I like easy.”

He placed a kiss on my temple. “Which is why you like me.”

From the middle of the sundeck, we heard someone clearing their throat and turned to see Holly grinning at us. “You two are so sappy.”

“You mean in love,” I corrected, and Tripp nodded in agreement.

She rolled her eyes. “Wait until you’ve got a toddler running around.”

Holly was the twenty-two-year-old mother of a high-energy toddler named Ash. We hadn’t had much business over the winter, but whenever she came to clean, she told us how grateful she was for a little time to herself. She was also the reason we paid our housekeepers by the room. Holly took twice as long to clean a room than our other helper, Arden, but didn’t seem to be in it for the money. In fact, she claimed almost everything she earned went to pay her sitter.

“It’s not that I don’t love Ash,” she insisted once. “I adore my little man. But everyone should have time to themselves now and then.”

“Kids aren’t on the radar,” I told her now and shivered at the thought. Tripp stiffened slightly and removed his arm from my shoulders. We were not on the same page when it came to children. Then again, we’d only been dating for six months. And it hadn’t even been a year since we’d met. To ease his mind and my sudden pinch of guilt, I added, “Not yet, anyway.”

“I’ll go see if Arden needs help in the house.” Holly pulled the apartment door shut and gave it a firm tug. “You’ll need me the rest of this week?”

“Yes, we’re booked solid,” Tripp acknowledged. “We’re taking overflow from The Inn, which is why we have to open the boathouse.”

“Is everything working properly in there?” I asked. We turned off the water over the winter so there’d be no worry of burst pipes and left the heat on the lowest possible setting.

“The water sputtered at first,” Holly confirmed, “but it’s good now. The heater is heating. Lights are illuminating.”

“You and Arden decide on your schedule for the week,” Tripp instructed. “The house and rooms will need touching up each morning. Full cleanings once everyone has left. We should also plan a spring cleaning soon.”

This perked her up. More time to herself. “I’ll talk to Arden.”

Holly headed for the stairs and let out a little screech when she got there. A second later, Meeka appeared at the top.

“You’re soaking wet,” Tripp scolded the Westie. She turned away as though ashamed, but her tail was still wagging. “Found some puddles to play in, hey?”

“Great,” I groaned. “Now she needs a bath.” I shook a finger at her. “The last thing we need is the smell of wet dog stinking up the clean house.”

Tripp chuckled at her. “I actually came up here for a reason. I’m going over to Sundry to pick up a ton of food. Good thing they were prepared for this weekend. I sure wasn’t ready for a full house.”

“At least we had a little notice.”

As in twenty-four hours. Laurel called yesterday, wondering if we could take eight guests because The Inn was at capacity. I told her we had four rooms and the apartment available so some would have to share. She confirmed that wouldn’t be a problem, so we took them all. Then we scrambled to put together a menu and clear a path through the snow-covered yard from the B&B to the boathouse.

“Want to come with me?” Tripp asked.

“Sure. Food is the last item on our to-do list.”

“And you want to stay busy.”

“Well, yeah. I’ll pace the house and drive Arden and Holly nuts otherwise.”

“Do you know when they’re supposed to get here?”

“Rosalyn called earlier. They’re running late.”

He took my hand and led me down the stairs. “What does late mean?”

“I’m not sure. They’d originally planned on three. So maybe five?”

“Let’s go shopping and after we put all the food away, I’ll take you out for an early dinner. Triple G?”

It was the equivalent of a verbal pat on the head to keep me calm. A welcome one, though. It had been months since we’d seen each other, and I’d been mentally preparing for their visit for weeks. Still, I tossed and turned last night. Sometimes guests showing up later than originally planned was a relief. It created a little breathing room so the host could make sure everything was ready for them. This time, it only meant my nerves would be on edge longer.

“Dinner out sounds fine.” Even I could hear the tension in my voice. I gestured at Meeka who was running laps around the backyard. “Let me dry her off and we can go.”

Tripp gave me a sad smile. “Everything will be fine, babe.”

I laughed. “You’ve only talked with her on the phone. You haven’t had to deal with my mother face to face.”

“This is the chance you’ve been waiting for. Right? You’ll finally get to resolve the issues between you.”

“That’s the plan.” Problem was, trying to stick to a plan around here was like trying to predict the exact location of a terrorist attack. Not that I was comparing my mother to a terrorist. Exactly.