Mara tucked her feet underneath her, the first breaths of autumn prodding the porch swing into a lulling sway. Lenny curled on her lap, purring and content. Really, Mara should be inside putting the finishing touches on the bedrooms Lenora and Davis would occupy when they arrived in a few hours.
Or helping Jenessa with the breakfast dishes.
After staying at the Everwood off and on all summer, Jen had officially moved in a couple of weeks ago, seeking solace from the disarray of her parents’ house as she finally began readying it for sale. The process seemed to be dredging up painful memories, though she hadn’t entirely opened up to Mara about it.
There was more to Jenessa’s story than she’d ever shared. Mara was sure of it.
Same with Lucas. Though he, too, appeared to have found peace at the Everwood. He’d extended his stay through the summer while continuing to help his sister at the orchard. So far, he hadn’t mentioned returning to Mexico. Did that mean he was sticking around indefinitely?
If so, maybe he’d finally tell Jenessa how he felt. What a picture they’d make. Stylish, chatty Jen. Casual, quiet Luke.
“I knew you’d love the swing.”
Marshall appeared from around the porch corner. For all the guests who’d filled rooms over the summer, this was the man she kept wishing lived here up in his old room. Instead, he’d insisted on bunking in Sam’s spare bedroom ever since moving to Maple Valley.
But he spent plenty of time here, helping around the place whenever he wasn’t working at the police station.
He took the porch steps two at a time and crossed to the swing in long, easy strides. The knees of his jeans were grass-stained and the T-shirt underneath his open hoodie bore the evidence of how many times he’d wiped dirt-covered hands over his chest.
Over his forehead too. She licked her finger as he sat beside her and rubbed at the smudge just above his brow.
And when he smiled, she kept her palm against the warm, scratchy skin of his cheek. She traced his long dimple with the pad of her thumb. “Laney would’ve loved the swing too.”
“She would’ve.”
“And the purple door.”
“Mara, you can call that door purple as many times as you want, and I’ll still say it’s blue.”
She laughed and dropped her hand, settling against him as his arm went around her shoulder. “I’ve been terribly lazy this morning,” she said. “Here you’re getting all dirty planting trees and bushes and I don’t even know what all, and I’m just sitting here.”
“You’ve been working your tail off for months. I thought you were joking last spring when you said cleaning is your hobby. Now that I’ve seen it firsthand, all I can say is you deserve to be a little lazy now and then.”
“I wonder what Lenora’s going to think when she sees everything.”
“She’s going to think she left the Everwood in capable hands.”
Mara’s gaze drifted from the porch to the lawn, now dotted by scrawny trees that would one day produce bright blossoms in flamboyant shades of pink and violet. Oh, she couldn’t wait for spring.
Except that she could. Because autumn promised its own gorgeous show of color, and then would come winter—sparkling snow, Christmas—and through all of it, she had this beautiful house, friends who had become like family, a newfound faith, and a growing relationship with her father.
And she had Marshall. A man she knew and loved more with every day that passed.
“I had no idea you had such a green thumb, Marsh.”
“Don’t ever say that in front of Beth. She’s horribly jealous of it. Can’t keep a house plant alive to save her life.” He moved the swing with his feet. “Want to know something funny? I was working in the back yard just now and I kept looking at that wall where the hidden room juts out from the fireplace. I can’t get over how obvious it is. Anybody who really pays attention to the layout of the interior and compares it to the exterior could tell there’s more space there than you realize when you’re in the den. It looks even bigger from the outside.”
“I still wish we knew more about that room and why—”
She cut off at the sound of a car rumbling down the lane. It was too early for it to be Lenora and Davis. And they didn’t have any guests scheduled to show up today.
“Hey, that’s Sam.” Marshall stood and tugged Mara to her feet as Sam parked his car and bolted from the driver’s side. “Wonder why he’s got a duffel—”
“Hope you’ve got open rooms, Mara,” Sam half-growled as he marched to the porch and climbed the steps. “You’re gonna want to pack a bag too, Hawkins. I think I just gave away my house.”
“What?” Mara and Marshall said it simultaneously.
“Harper got evicted. She was going to take Mackenzie and move in with her parents. In Nebraska. Couldn’t let that happen.”
Marshall’s eyebrows lifted. “Uh, so they’re moving into your house?”
“And we’re moving out.” Sam yanked open the front door and stomped inside.
Mara turned to Marshall with a grin she couldn’t hide. “I have so many questions. You should go pry some answers from him, Detective Hawkins.”
“I don’t think he’s in the mood. And why are you smiling so big?”
“Because now our whole little friend-family is under one roof. This is what I’ve wanted all summer. We can have meals together and watch movies and make brunch on Saturdays.”
“Don’t we already do all that?”
“But it’ll be even better now. I’ve been saying all along you should stay here.”
Marshall’s answering smile held a playful reprimand. “And I told you, it wouldn’t be smart to stay under the same roof at night. Not when I find it hard enough to keep my hands off you during the day.”
“Well, who ever said I wanted you to keep your hands—”
“Mara!”
He was adorable when he was exasperated.
“Come on. Let’s get gruff old Sam a room and you too. Don’t worry, between him and Jen and Luke and two other guests, not to mention Lenora and Davis, I think we’re set as far as chaperones go.”
She started to turn away but he grasped her hand. “Or there’s another option.”
“You’re not sleeping in the garden shed, Marsh.”
He pulled her close. “The thing is, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”
The sudden husky edge to his voice added to the swirl of intent in his gray eyes. A gasp stuck in her throat and even the breeze stilled.
“I’ve been trying to figure out when and how and even just now when I was working out back, I was thinking about it . . . and now with Sam showing up, maybe it’s a sign and—”
“Wait a second.” Oh, she couldn’t believe she was doing this. Interrupting him. But the lightning strike of realization was too much to ignore. “You said when you were out back, the room jutting out behind the fireplace seemed even bigger than from the inside.”
“Um. Yes. But—”
She turned and towed him by hand into the house. Voices floated from overhead, and the floorboards creaked in all the familiar places.
“Mara, seriously, I was just about to—”
“I’m sorry, but I have to know if I’m right.”
“Right about what?”
They reached the den, and she let go of Marshall’s hand, hurrying to the fireplace. She caught a glimpse of the mantel and her favorite framed photo in the whole house. Not a photo at all, really. But that wrinkled magazine ad—the one Marshall used to carry with him. His daughter’s dream house and a reminder of all the love this wonderful man had to offer.
But first, she just had to know.
She ducked under the fireplace and found the handle to the hatch. In seconds, both she and Marshall were straightening in the dark room. Without wasting a moment, she knocked on one wall. It sounded solid.
“What are we doing, Mara?”
Another knock on another wall. Not the sound she’d hoped for.
One more possibility. One more knock.
She squealed. “Did you hear that?”
“Yeah.” He stepped up beside her, a hint of wonder in his voice. “It sounded hollow.”
“Do you think…”
“Only one way to find out.” He pulled a pocketknife from his jeans and opened the blade. He jabbed it into the wall then grinned down at Mara. “Just flimsy drywall.”
He cut a hole, then stuck his hand in and with a grunt, tore away a jagged chunk of the wall.
“That just reminded me of when you pulled the cellar door off its hinges your first night here.”
“Impressed you with my strength, did I?”
Her laughter filled the air around them as she helped him pull away more of the drywall. She lifted her cell phone to shine light into the hidden room’s even more hidden space.
The painting.
She shrieked again, throwing her arms around Marshall’s waist from the side and dropping her phone in the process. “Oh my goodness. We found it. We found the painting. We—”
He cut her off with a celebratory kiss. “You found it, you little genius. All I did was cut a hole in the wall.”
“With your impressive strength.”
“I think it’s safe to say you’ll never have to worry about money again, Mara.” He pulled her closer. “That is, unless you don’t technically own it. Does it belong to Lenora? Or does it come with the house? If it’s yours, think of what you could do with the money if you sell it. You could replace the furnace. You could get that crack in the foundation fixed. You could—”
Now she was the one to interrupt him with a kiss. One filled with so much joy there could never be a house big enough to hold it, no matter how many rooms, hidden or otherwise. “You were going to ask me something.”
“That I was, Mara Bristol.” He touched his forehead to hers and though she couldn’t see his dimples in the dark, she knew they were there. “And I don’t think I can wait any longer.”
“Good.” Because she couldn’t wait to give her answer.
THE END
