The Cottage on Rose Lane by Hope Ramsay

Author:Hope Ramsay
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2018-12-03T16:00:00+00:00

The Sunday school building, clearly built in the twentieth century, sat behind the church and had none of the main sanctuary’s charm or history. But it had plenty of space for the fellowship hour.

Jenna had blown off this social gathering last week because of Patsy’s absence. But today she strolled into the room, ready to be treated as a tourist or an outsider. But that didn’t happen.

Karen, one of the volunteers on Monday and also a member of the Piece Makers, intercepted her at the door with a welcoming smile and directed her to the coffee and doughnuts.

As she headed in that direction, Jenna was greeted again and again by people who had been at the vicarage on Monday as well as a few others who stopped to introduce themselves and thank her for her help.

Wow. She’d earned some good karma helping to paint the vicarage, in addition to possibly losing her heart to Jude St. Pierre. It didn’t take long before she found herself face-to-face with the woman she’d come to see this morning.

“You’re a foul-weather painter,” Patsy said as she approached, a surprisingly welcome smile on her face. “Once the sun came out, you disappeared.”

“I guess I am,” Jenna said, her face heating. “I’m sorry. I should have—”

Patsy waved her hand in dismissal. “Honey, you’re here to enjoy the sun and the beach, not to help paint the vicarage.” Her gaze narrowed. “You are here as a tourist, aren’t you?”

“I told you. I’m not working for any developer.”

“Yes, you did. But you are a mystery, Jenna Fairchild. You helped paint the vicarage, and everyone wants to know why. And you’ve been seen twice now at town hall meetings.”

“I helped because I was bored,” she said, “and the paperback I was reading didn’t hold my interest. And I told you before, I’m interested in history.”

“Well, I guess those are reasons. Kind of flimsy though.”

Jenna sipped her coffee before speaking again. “The thing is, I’ve been so busy this last year, it’s hard to stay still.”

“I heard from Louella Pender that you went on a tour around the world or something.”

Jenna realized her aunt was deeply connected to everything that happened in Magnolia Harbor. What Jenna said to one person would get repeated over and over again until it reached Patsy. Jude would keep her secret, but she needed to be careful.

Jenna gave Patsy her best smile. “I suppose I did go around the world, technically speaking. But mostly I went off in search of myself.”

Patsy’s blue eyes widened. “Really?”

Jenna nodded. “Yes. I started in China, spent time in India, and came back by way of Australia and South America. But I spent most of my time in China and India. I spent months learning more about the Eightfold Way. I also walked all the way up Mount Emei.”

“What’s that?”

She took a moment to describe the temple at the top of one of China’s four sacred Buddhist mountains. And then she hurried on to talk about the months she’d spent in Mumbai at the ashram.

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