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She’d texted Tom to say she’d be back today, just toon that required her to be out of the house In a way she’d half expected him to be here when she arrived, but this was better

It gave her time to just be alone with the house To allow herself to feel whatever it was she felt about it Fear? No Even with the unexplained occurrences, there was no fear There was a sense of restlessness—no surprise there She usually felt like she had one foot out the door no matter where she lived She didn’t want to stay anywhere too long, or get too attached At least now she recognized why She’d had a chance to think about it during her trip hoet emotionally invested It wasn’t worth the heartbreak in the end when things went sideways, which they always did How many times had she heard promises that this was the last time they’d move, and how hout her life, the people she’d loved had left her in one way or another And each time that happened, they took a bit of her with them She couldn’t afford to lose too many pieces

The ti she’d had ever since leaving Halifax The city si—no one—keeping her there The whole ti up her apartment, she’d wanted to be back here in Jewell Cove Even with theto return To finish going through the boxes in the attic To clean out the rose garden and see the flowers blooain

This house—the one she’d resented when she’d first arrived, the sy to feel like a ho to do about that

She slid the key into the lock and opened the door

Tom and his crew had been busy

The floors were absolutely stunning The richly colored stain was varnished and shone like brand-new, leading into the drawing rooreat hall toward the library The furniture had all been cleaned and placed back in the roos were back fros so close to perfect Abby realized that she’d have hurry up and order new draperies for the s With everything being spruced up, the old ones looked shabby now

One of the tables from the library had been placed in the hall and on the top was a cordless phone sitting on its base There was a label on the handset with the number written on it If the phone was hooked up, Abby wondered if she now had Internet It would be great not to have to use her cell phone for everything or drive into town for Wi-Fi The data package charges for using her phone were so prohibitive Not that she had to worry about ht now, but it still seeard for dollars and cents and didn’t want to ever be that way, either Having lots of it didn’t mean she should be wasteful

She took a few h the rest of the downstairs The chandelier wasfrouy who can convert the light It’s going to be great!

S, she tucked the note in her pocket with the floral card and moved on The new pedestal sink had been installed in the downstairs half bath, the silver-and-gold faucet gleaht fixture Best of all was the ant swirl of what looked like distressed brass There was a sticky note on the mirror and she leaned closer If you don’t like it, it said, we can take it out

She wished she didn’t like it, but she did The old-fashioned elegance fit with the décor perfectly More than that, the little notes To her a tour They weren’t love notes, but they felt intimate Damn him Just when she was deter endearing

The kitchen was ain boxes and the cupboards had been uninstalled in preparation for the new ones On the fridge was another sticky: Sorry for all the mess It’ll be worth it Promise

She crossed the hall to the library, an inexplicable war her as she stood in the doorway, anxious to see if there was another note for her Maybe To but his presence was It was in everything he’d acco his little et that he’d been here, every day, wandering through her rooether If it was an apology, it was a daless words Tom backed it up with action It was hard to resist that

She sed against a lump in her throat It was odd She’d never felt closer to someone, and still so far away, too No matter how hard she’d tried, she couldn’t rid herself of the knowledge that Tom and Josh had been in love with the same woman Erin must have been some woman to inspire such devotion—such passion—in both men

Abby wondered what it would be like to have that sort of female power She couldn’t compete with that, even if she wanted to The cold truth was that no one had ever wanted her that ht for her because she hadn’t been worth fighting for