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Nancy suspected that Lauren was now so busy being careful, she’d lost the ability to know how to respond. According to Jenna, Lauren had been so adventurous there had been times when her youngest daughter had been nervous. What had happened to that woman?
Life had changed her, but change could happen in more than one direction.
If Lauren had been adventurous once, then she could be adventurous again.
“I’d love to see the website,” Nancy said, “as long as I’m not expected to understand technology. You know I can’t even get the printer to work.”
“That’s because it wasn’t connected to the Wi-Fi, Grams. I’ve fixed that. Hit Print now and you should be fine.” Mack tapped a few keys and then handed over her laptop. “What do you think?” Her tone was casual but Nancy could feel her granddaughter vibrating with anticipation and pride.
She sank onto the sofa that Lauren had reupholstered in pale blue stripes and balanced the laptop on her knees. What she saw took her breath away. There, across the top of the screen, was her beloved house. Flowers tumbled, pink and mauve, against the white clapboard. The words The Captain’s House were picked out in bold letters. “Oh, Mack—” Memories surged up, thickening in her throat. “Where did you find this photo?”
“It’s one of Mom’s, taken way back. It’s a good one, isn’t it? I fiddled with it in Photoshop.”
“There is a photo shop on the Vineyard?”
Mack grinned. “It’s a computer program. Lets you manipulate images. One of the boys in the Coding Club showed me a few tricks. I could superimpose your head on a unicorn if you like.”
Nancy laughed. “Maybe another day.” She turned back to the screen. The picture alone would be enough to attract interest. People would fall in love, as she had. The house stole your heart. How could anyone, looking at this, fail to understand why she’d found it so hard to let it go? “That sky is so blue. The colors are intense.”
Mack shrugged. “I added a couple of filters to make the colors pop a bit.”
“Clever. Lauren, would you look at this? The house looks just dreamy.”
Lauren leaned over her shoulder. “Oh, Mack! It’s like a postcard.” She leaned forward and tapped a key. “This is incredible. You did this?”
“Yes.” Mack gave a careless shrug that was supposed to say it was nothing, even though they all knew it was a very big something.
“Stunning.” Nancy added her praise to the pile already out there. “I’d rent it in a flash. These pictures are wonderful. You have a good eye. Oh, you’re a Stewart, no doubt about that.” Mack had artistic talent, too, she realized. In each generation it had manifested itself in different ways.
“I’m half Rhodes, Grams.”
“Yes.” Nancy looked at her and smiled. “Yes, you are, honey. Have you shown him this?”
“He helped me with it.” She eyed her mother cautiously. “He knows a bit about computers. I wanted his opinion.”
Nancy felt for Lauren. Whatever her own feelings for Scott, he hadn’t stuck by her daughter when she was pregnant.
If she’d known about that, would it have made a difference to the way she felt about him?
Maybe not. She’d been desperate enough the night of the hurricane to ask the devil himself for help. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t understand how difficult this whole situation must be for Lauren.
Nancy let her finger hover over the keyboard. “I want to click on the part that says Rooms. Will I delete the whole thing?”
Mack laughed. “No.”
Nancy clicked. “Seaspray?”
“I gave the rooms names. To make them more personal. But you can change them. Most sites just call the rooms ‘premium double’ or whatever, but that’s boring.”
“It is boring and I love Seaspray.” Nancy reached for her glasses and peered at the screen. “Oh, you’ve used naval terms. The Anchor Suite. That’s the master bedroom? What a smart idea. And you’ve managed to take photographs that make them look fabulous.”
“It wasn’t hard. The rooms look great since you’ve done them up, but that’s not surprising because Mom’s good at that.”
Nancy saw Lauren flush at the unexpected praise and warmth.
“Thank you, Mack.”
Nancy explored the rest of the website and handed the laptop back to her granddaughter. “This is excellent. I’m impressed.”
