Summer on Mirror Lake by JoAnn Ross

Author:JoAnn Ross
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HQN Books
Published: 2022-04-28T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

GABE HAD LEFT the light on and was waiting out front as Chelsea pulled into the semicircular stone driveway.

Hannah roused as she cut the engine, but the soft snoring showed Hailey was out like a light. Assessing the situation, Gabe gently unfastened the buckles and lifted her from the booster seat and carried her into the house.

As Chelsea and Hannah followed behind, Hannah came to a sudden stop in the foyer that was as large as Chelsea’s entire apartment and stared up at the thirty-foot ceiling. The wrought iron wagon wheel chandelier appeared to be six feet across and had three tiers of lights.

“Wow,” she said to Gabe, “you must be really, really rich.”

“I’m only borrowing it from a friend for the summer.” Chelsea noted he evaded her comment about his wealth. “Come on in and I’ll get you and your sister settled.”

“They’ll need to eat,” Chelsea said. “At least Hannah.” She glanced over at Hailey, whom Gabe was holding over his shoulder. “Maybe we should let Hailey sleep.”

“We already had a frozen pizza before the S’mores. And she’s a superdeep sleeper. It would take a jet plane landing in here to wake her up,” Hannah advised. Then looked around the great room. “Though one would probably fit in here.”

“It was built for a big family,” Gabe answered. A bit defensively, Chelsea thought.

“Then why aren’t they living here?”

“It’s an uninteresting story for another day. Let me show you your room before we get you some supper. I’m guessing that you want to sleep in the same room as your sister. At least for tonight?”

“Duh.” As distressing as the second half of what had begun as a special evening had been, Chelsea almost laughed at the exaggerated eye roll. After years of what had to have been a chaotic existence, the girl had somehow managed to remain far more normal than a lot of kids would be.

They followed Gabriel up the stairs, and down a long hall lined with art depicting Northwestern scenes and Native people. Chelsea wondered if they’d been chosen by the tech mogul, perhaps from his personal collection, or, like the books in the library, bought by the crate load. What must it be like, she wondered, yet again, to have more money than you could possibly spend in a lifetime? She imagined many would think it freeing. While others might feel burdened by the responsibility. From the way he’d been able to take an entire summer away from work, she’d begun to wonder if perhaps Gabriel had found a sweet spot somewhere in between.

When he opened a door at the end of the hallway, Hannah audibly gasped. She was not alone, although Chelsea managed to keep her amazement inside.

It wasn’t merely a bedroom, but an entire suite with two single canopied beds covered in a pink-and-cream bedding that matched the wallpaper (which even covered the ceiling) and curtains held back with silk sashes edged with crystals. From the center of the ceiling hung a large chandelier with pink crystal butterflies cascading down from an antique white iron double frame.

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