The Lake House (Evening Island Book 3) by Olivia Miles

Author:Olivia Miles [Miles, Olivia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rosewood Press
Published: 2022-06-20T18:30:00+00:00

15

ASHLEY

The front screen door banging shut roused Ashley from her slumber and she smiled as she rolled over to face the sunlight pouring through the part in the linen curtains. Another memory became clearer, one of her running into the house and back outside again, the screen door slamming behind her, her mother calling out to stop making so much noise.

That door—and the sound it made from her endless enthusiasm—were the sounds of summer. The sounds unique to that time in her life. To this house.

Pushing off the cotton quilt, she walked to the window, which didn’t have a view of the lake, but rather faced the backyard with its overflowing perennial beds which had admittedly been neglected in recent years. It wasn’t much used. The Taylors were the ones with the playhouse; the Morgans had a hammock. But all the Anderson girls craved was the front porch and that water that stretched out far before them.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Lisa was already hunched over the counter, a cup of coffee warming her two hands that clutched the mug as if it were something she wouldn’t part with easily.

“I’m afraid we’re all out of coffee,” she said when Ashley opened the cabinet that housed the mugs.

“Already?” Ashley felt her shoulders deflate. She considered herself a morning person, but a warm cup of coffee always got the day started a little easier. “Did Rachel go into town to get some?” she asked hopefully.

“She went for a run. You know how she loves to run.”

Ashley was ashamed to realize that she didn’t know that. She knew her middle sister was regimented, and more disciplined than she’d ever care to be, but as for Rachel’s daily routine, Ashley supposed that it was as foreign a concept to her as her own preferences might be to her sisters.

Lisa, looking repentant, held out her mug. “You’re welcome to a sip.”

Ashley had to laugh at the thought of that. “Thanks, but I think I’ll head into town and park myself at the café for a bit. Get some work in. If I don’t post fresh content every few days, my sponsors get twitchy.” She hesitated for a moment before leaving the room. “That is unless you need me around here all day?”

“No, go. You have other things to worry about in life than this old house,” Lisa said in that motherly, caring way that Ashley had always depended on from her.

But Lisa wasn’t her mother. She was her sister. And Ashley was no longer a child in search of someone to take care of her.

“And don’t you? Have other things to worry about than this old house, I mean?”

Lisa seemed to hesitate for a minute and then smiled brightly. “With Maisie away for a few weeks, not really. This house has my full attention. Besides, it keeps me busy, and…it’s sort of nice being back here.”

Ashley nodded slowly. “It is,” she said, and then left the room before she could dwell on it further. It was nice being back here.

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