Strangers on a Skein by Anne Canadeo

Author:Anne Canadeo [Canadeo, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781496732408
Google: 9S8YEAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2021-10-26T21:47:48.296546+00:00

Chapter 11

Maggie closed the shop an hour or so early, and headed to Lucy’s house, conveniently on the way to Hooper Farm. Lucy lived in an area of town called the Marshes, a patch of houses just a short walk from the town beach, and near a stretch of marshland and woods, most of it protected as a nature preserve. Despite the neighborhood’s proximity to the water it was not in the least exclusive.

The winding streets were lined with small houses that had once been summer cottages. Most had been extended and even knocked down to be replaced by grander homes that were usually too large for the postage stamp–sized properties.

The cottage Lucy lived in with her husband and dogs was relatively unchanged from its original modest design, with the exception of a funny-looking dormer that stuck out from the roofline like the lid on a cracker box.

Lucy’s aunt Claire had lived in the house most of her life. Unmarried and without children, she doted on Lucy and her older sister, Ellen, who had spent many of their childhood summers in Plum Harbor.

When the sisters inherited the house, years ago, they’d made a deal that Lucy could live there in exchange for a fair rent. As time passed and Lucy had married Matt, she’d arranged to buy her sister’s half of the deed, which suited everyone perfectly. The cottage was far too quaint and uncomfortable for Ellen’s taste, even as a summer place. She and her family lived in a mini mansion in Concord and preferred Nantucket or Martha’s Vineyard for their seaside vacations.

But Maggie had always thought it was a lovely little house and was even more charming since Lucy and Matt had painted, redecorated, and updated it to their own taste.

Maggie pulled into the driveway and lightly tapped the horn. Lucy appeared in the front window. She waved and disappeared. Matt was weeding the big, raised garden, planted smack-dab in the middle of the front lawn. Maggie wondered what the neighbors thought of that.

A dedicated gardener herself, she envied the mini rainforest with its thick greenery—ripening tomatoes on tall vines, and bell peppers and zucchini growing happily in the shade of towering sunflowers that were just starting to bloom.

“Who needs the farmers’ market with that garden?” Maggie called out to him.

He sat back on his heels and laughed, his dark eyes crinkling around the corners. His good looks reminded Maggie why her friend had fallen for him almost on sight.

“Good thing, too. I hear it’s downright dangerous down there these days.”

Lucy appeared, stopped to kiss his cheek, then held up her long cotton skirt as she ran to the car. Her dark blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she fanned her face with her hand as she jumped in the passenger seat. “I know AC is bad for the environment but it’s so hard to do without it.”

“I can stand just so much hot air blowing on me during a long drive. I won’t tell if you don’t.

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