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I paused on pictures Lila had hung on the wall. Aiden had his arm around Marley. She was probably fourteen at the time, all elbows and knees, her legs scuffed up and dirty from running through the woods.
It was a good reminder that Aiden would always be between us.
“What are you looking at?” Marley asked as she came into the room.
I turned to find that she’d put on form-fitting sweatpants and a hoodie. Her hair was brushed and pulled back into a neat ponytail, the end of which curled over her shoulder. No matter what she was wearing, she was undeniably gorgeous. I gestured at the picture. “You and Aiden.”
She sighed. “Do you know that he came to me when he was thinking about enlisting and asked if I wanted him to stay? He felt bad about leaving me here.”
“What did you say?” I asked, curious to hear her response.
“I told him to go. That I’d be fine.” Her throat was thick with emotion.
“You told him what he needed to hear.”
“I didn’t want him worrying about me when he was deployed in dangerous areas. I hated not being able to reach him.”
Aiden had always looked out for her. He was the one who made sure she had food in the pantry, ate dinner each night, and did her homework. “He wouldn’t do anything reckless.”
Her eyes shone with unshed tears. “He’s all I’ve got now, you know?”
She said it with so much vulnerability in her voice that I couldn’t stop myself from reaching for her like I had a million times in the past. I drew her to me, and she buried her head in my chest. I breathed in the scent of her shampoo, enjoying the feel of her warm body pressed against mine. It was supposed to be a comforting gesture, but the rest of my body hadn’t gotten the memo. Everything inside me tightened with desire.
“Why didn’t you have a funeral for Lila? We would have come.”
Marley pulled away from me. “I didn’t want to deal with everyone in town coming to say nice things. I could barely hold myself together, and Aiden couldn’t get leave since it wasn’t his parents who’d died, just a grandparent. We can have a service when he comes home. Maybe I’ll be able to deal with it by then.”
She didn’t want to hold the funeral by herself. My heart went out to her. “You know we’re here for you, right? The Monroes have your back.”
She sighed. “Funerals are so final. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.”
“But you’re ready to sell this place?” I asked, wanting to understand her.
“When I’m sitting on my deck, overlooking the ocean, yeah, I want to sell this place and never look back. But now that I’m here, everything is coming back to me. All the emotions, memories, and feelings. Everything is wrapped up in this place. As much as I don’t want it to affect me, this place made me who I am today.”
I wanted to buy the property to prevent it from being developed, but also to add value to our farm. But I wasn’t sure I could buy it if it caused her pain. If I bought it, and she changed her mind, wanting it back, I’d give it to her in a heartbeat. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for her. Time and distance hadn’t changed anything. She was still the woman I’d never gotten over.
Three
Marley
“You want to overhaul this place?” Heath asked, his voice gruff as he moved toward the staircase.
“The realtor thinks that it will increase the value if I take the time to renovate it.”
“He’s right about that. Taking on a property like this with a house of this size in disrepair would not be attractive to most buyers. You could draw developers. Do you want it to be an inn, or should we renovate it so that it’s more attractive to single-family homeowners?”
I hadn’t even thought about the possibility of the land being developed. I just assumed anyone who bought the place would want the inn. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it being torn down and houses built in its place. “The realtor thought we should keep it as is. It could be used as an inn or a large house.”
“There are a lot of bedrooms, though, right?” Heath gestured for me to precede him up the stairs.
“A few are smaller, and an owner might want to use those as an office, a closet, or even a sitting room.” I didn’t feel great talking about another person living in this house. It was still hard to believe that Gram was gone. That I wouldn’t walk into the kitchen and see her sitting at the table, drinking her tea.
When we reached the landing, Heath asked, “Do you mind if I take measurements and a few notes?”
“That’s what you’re here for, right?” I asked him.
We walked down the hallway. “You could move laundry up here if you wanted.”
