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"I kneould" His in-laould be fine, and so would he and Lori Next year and thirty years down the road, he would love Lori as much as Leonard loved Kate

Thirty-Six

Late on Wednesday afternoon, Will Jefferson and his sister met in the foyer at Stanford Suites Luckily a unit had become available, and over the weekend they’d moved Charlotte and Ben into their new apart which furniture to take So many pieces were part of their fao to do so with all this dead relatives’ furniture I have et rid of it," Charlotte had moaned

In the end, they fit what they could into the small apartment and what didn’t fit was doled out to him, Olivia and Justine, with a few pieces held back for James That appeared to satisfy Charlotte All she wanted was to know that those antique sofas and chairs and cabinets would be loved and treasured the way they’d once been They wouldn’t have the same sentimental value for hiood portion of what hadn’t been allocated was stored in his basement It could stay there indefinitely as far as Will was concerned Being single and without children, he hadn’t accumulated a lot of possessions, other than basic furniture, a TV and so on

"You talked to Moht so far"

"And Ben?"

"Hile Crest was a sinatures and a check The house was in good shape, especially with the new kitchen Will was happy to return to his childhood ho his mother and Ben He’d co his childhood, and noas back With this htness, of completion He’d been away from Cedar Cove for most of his adult life, had faltered and failed He’d disappointed hiiven him a fresh start, a new perspective, a chance to become the man he’d alanted to be

Miranda’s decision to rent his sht Will frowned slightly He had a real love-hate relationship with his assistant She was an asset to the gallery and he’d coe of art and of the community Half the tiht of hi to throw hih, he’d kissed her, too And enjoyed it

Miranda Sullivan wasn’t like any of the wo Shirley… In fact, she was their opposite That confused hih he tried not to think about it Sos; soether practically every day, it was understandable that they’d grown comfortable with each other They’d developed a ," Olivia co about Miranda"

"She’s still taking the apartment, isn’t she?"

"So she said"

Her sister eyed him warily "Then why the frown?"

"No real reason," he said, dis the question Actually, he’d prefer not to discuss Miranda It was hard enough to analyze his own feelings about her, let alone explain them to anyone else

As soon as Charlotte and Ben walked out of the elevator, their lad you’re both here"

"We arranged this earlier, Mom," Olivia reht Will’s eye Charlotte would continue to suffer ist was in January Then they’d know the extent of her , could be done

"But I was talking about the singing There’ll be home-baked cookies and old-fashioned wassail"

"We have the papers for you to sign, too," Olivia said "For the sale of the house"

"Yes, yes, I know, but does that need to be done right away?"

"I’d like to get everything in order It won’t take long, I promise" Olivia had her briefcase; fortunately, as a lawyer, she was qualified to handle the paperwork

Charlotte looked at Ben "I don’t want to be late for the singing"

"Your mother has a lovely voice," Ben told them, as if they weren’t aware of theirhim to sleep, and it was a roup’s asked me to join them," Charlotte said, obviously pleased by the invitation "We sing at special events, like this Christht here in the con the necessary papers, which they did in Charlotte and Ben’s apartment When they’d finished, Olivia handed hi day for you?" she asked on their way out the door an hour later They’d stayed for cookies and part of the singing but left during the break Olivia needed to get ho And Will was eager to start shifting sos over to the house He wasn’t especially happy to bethat He’d be out of the apartallery was officially closed when Will returned, although Miranda was in the office, going through soo with Charlotte and Ben?" she asked, looking up froot a few cookies out of the deal and listened to sorinned "Lucky you"

"Hoas the afternoon?"

"Pretty good Better than we expected"

"Excellent" Then, before he could change his o to dinner?"

She scowled at the question "You…and ht a house I’m in the mood to celebrate"

"And Shirley’s married"