“What happened to Sadie Thompson?” Andie looked concerned.
“Nothing yet. But I heard that the family is having trouble coming up with the fee.”
“Huh. The daughter does seem a bit... unreasonable.”
“Really? You know her?”
“No. I peeked into Sadie’s room, you know, because Mom keeps talking about her, and she started up a conversation. Her daughter came by and practically kicked me out.”
“Really? Maybe she’s under a lot of stress about paying the fees. If you ask me, she should sell that old place. Sadie lived there by herself for decades, and now it’s empty and falling apart.” Jane looked around the foyer. Tides wasn’t in the best condition either. She’d considered selling for a brief second, but Tides had been in her family for generations, and besides, she’d promised her mother she would never sell. Maybe Sadie’s daughter felt the same.
“Yeah, I suppose. We’re lucky that things are picking up for us. The weddings were a great idea, and everyone seems to love Cooper.” Andie bent down to pet the dog, who had been lying near the door.
“Who wouldn’t?”
“Plus having Cooper means that Mike comes around often.” Andie looked at Jane out of the corner of her eye, and Jane’s cheeks heated.
“I hope he doesn’t want Cooper back when he gets a place here.”
“I’m sure he won’t do anything that you wouldn’t like.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”
Andie frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, nothing. It’s just that we really don’t know each other, and everything is so new. I don’t want to make any assumptions,” Jane said. Somehow voicing her concerns made her feel a lot better.
“I understand. I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Speaking of which, what’s going on with Maxi? I gave her some advice earlier, and I hope I didn’t do the wrong thing.”
“You did?”
“Yeah.” Andie grimaced. “She confided in me that she thought her husband was cheating and she was going to move into the cottage, and I told her it was the right thing to do. I hope that I said the right thing.”
“Well, I think you did, given the circumstances, but it turns out James wasn’t cheating.” Jane told Andie about the misunderstanding and how they were helping James so he could get Maxi back.
“Oh gosh, if I had known, I wouldn’t have encouraged her,” Andie said.
Jane laid her hand on Andie’s arm. “It’s okay. We thought he was cheating too.”
“Oh good. I’m glad he wasn’t cheating. Is she going back to him?”
“Let’s hope. Right now I think she’s tasting her freedom and doesn’t want to go back to their old relationship.”
“That makes sense.” Andie looked thoughtful. Jane wanted to ask if something was on her mind, but her sense that Andie wasn’t ready to tell her was proven correct when Andie plucked the car keys off the desk. “Okay then, if you don’t need me here, I have something I need to do before I visit Mom at Tall Pines.”
Andie took a detour on the way to Tall Pines. As she drove, she thought about what Jane had said about Maxi finding her way and not wanting to go back to her old life. Andie was experiencing something similar.
She was excited for the visit, not just to see her mother but also because Mae was bringing her figurines in for Andie to evaluate. For some reason, the idea of helping these folks was very appealing.
But the mention of Sadie Thompson’s house had piqued her interest. She remembered the house that sat high up on a cliff from when she was a kid. Back then it hadn’t been run-down, or if it had, she hadn’t noticed. She’d been into other things, like Shane Flannery. But the history of the house was appealing, and she wanted to know more. She wanted to go inside and see the old family treasures. Maybe she could help Sadie Thompson like she was helping Mae and Gloria?
She tried to replace the thoughts of Shane that were stuck in her head with thoughts of the old house, but Shane stuck around. Remembering him as they were back in the day. He’d been cute back then, but he’d gotten even more appealing as he’d aged. Not for the first time, Andie wondered if she’d made a mistake back then in dumping him after his proposal and running off to college. It hadn’t been because she didn’t love him. It had been because she was afraid. Afraid that he’d never come back from the Navy. Afraid that she’d never make anything of herself if she stayed in Lobster Bay.
Oh well, it was water under the bridge now. Shane hadn’t expressed an interest in her. He didn’t seem mad. He actually didn’t even give any indication that he remembered how close they’d been. That was decades ago, and he’d been married and had kids and even a grandkid now. How could she expect him to remember their teen relationship?
Rounding a corner, the Thompson house came into view. Sitting on a cliff, it looked out at the ocean like a widow awaiting a sea captain’s return. It was much as Andie remembered, except it did need a good paint job. A shutter hung askew on one of the upper-floor windows, and Andie imagined it banging against the house in a strong wind. The windows were dark, the grounds overgrown. The house screamed of empty silence.
What would happen to it? Surely Sadie’s daughter, Emily, wouldn’t just let it rot there? She must not have the money to fix it up. Maybe she was waiting for Sadie to die and she could use insurance money. Andie would love to ask, but judging by the way Emily had acted when she’d found Andie in her mother’s room, the woman wasn’t going to be easy to make friends with.
