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Chapter One
Early- danced in wispy tendrils outside the bayof the breakfast nook, inia landscape reseainst the cherryframe, Kinley Carmichael sipped cinnaray sunrise fraer sister, Bonnie, would see that lovely spring view and sigh, thinking of fairy tales and romatic Kinley saw an excellent photo-op for the Bride Mountain Inn website In fact,she’d head out early with her ca purposes, ai for quiet relaxation in pristine, natural surroundings…just the ambiance the inn aimed to provide
She alh she’d predicted sounded from behind her “Isn’t it beautiful?” Bonn
ie asked in little more than a whisper, her tone al here just over two years, I never get tired of seeing that view first thing in the ”
“That vieouldgoing out in thewith my camera to try to capture it”
Bonnie gave her a teasingly chiding look “You can’t capture ic, Kinley”
“I can try,” she answered cheerily “And then I’ll do e and sell it”
Bonnie’s second sigh was ned than romanticized With her blond hair, blue eyes and flawless skin, she looked a bit like a porcelain doll and had the perfect, petite figure to match She wore her favored unifor to her vaguely old-world appeal Her delicate appearance and openly sentimental nature led some people to think she wasBehind that sweet face was a sharp s could attest to Though she was the youngest, it holly due to Bonnie’s determination and insistence that the three of theether
As close as they were, the two sisters had always been very different in nature Even their choice of clothing illustrated those dissiht fondly In contrast to Bonnie’s soft, floaty garray-and-white shell and a pearl-gray three-quarter-sleeve cardigan suitable for the cool springas if she were always expecting an i, and Kinley supposed that was accurate enough But her tailored style suited her just fine
Peering out theagain, Bonnie nodded toward a particularly foggy patch in the garden, near the tall, graceful fountain “Look at the way the fog swirls just there, almost as if it’s alive Do you think if you set your camera on a tripod and used a very slow lens speed, you’d catch a peek of the bride hiding in the mist?”
Kinley glanced autouests had overheard her sister’s fanciful speculation “Don’t even joke about that You kno I feel about that old legend being connected to the inn”
“You have no whimsy, Kinley”
“So you keep saying” Thebeen a sore spot between the the past hundred years or so, there had been a few reported sightings on Bride Mountain of a ghostly woaged couples An old local story speculated that those ere lucky enough to spot the bride were ested that reviving the legend could be a char services they offered at Bride Mountain Inn Kinley and their cynical older brother, Logan, had firmly vetoed that idea, both wary of the clientele ould potentially be attracted to their inn by a ghost story
Bonnie shrugged “You can believe what you want I still like to think that Uncle Leo and Aunt Helen really did see the bride on the night he proposed to her in the garden”
Kinley shook her head indulgently “Uncle Leo just loved seeing your reaction to that story every time he told it to you You were always his favorite,” she added without resentment
Bonnie had fallen in love with the inn as a child when their reat-uncle Leo Finley, the second-generation owner of the place Kinley had been eleven years old, Logan twelve and Bonnie only eight when Leo’s beloved wife, their great-aunt Helen, had died following a brief illness Afterward, Leo had closed the bed-and-breakfast, having lost the heart to keep it open, though he hadn’t been willing to sell it, either He’d lived alone in the for basicthe place run down a bit as both he and the building had grown older When he’d died two and a half years ago, he’d left it all equally to his only surviving farown children
Bonnie had drea the inn, and had even e as preparation She had begged, cajoled and bullied her older siblings into joining her in this undertaking when the property becaan had been at crossroads in their lives at that time, they had allowed themselves to be persuaded
Still the compulsive overachiever she’d always been, Kinley was as determined as her sister to make a success of the venture For her, the inn was a test of her competence, her business acurees, and a way to boost her confidence that had been bruised in a painful divorce A fresh start, a new challenge, a new life For Logan, it was just a job, a way to pay the bills and still be his own boss For Bonnie, it was simply what made her happy
Opening one of the two large ovens in the top-of-the-line kitchen, Bonnie drew out a delicious-se dishes last night and had only needed to pop the She would serve the in the second oven Yogurt and cold cereals were also available upon request Bonnie loved spoiling their guests