Blessings from Acorn Hill by Judy Baer

Author:Judy Baer [Baer, Judy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-8249-4944-0
Publisher: Guideposts
Published: 2011-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

The Way We Were

In memory of Ann Fox. And for Casey, Sarah, Erin,

Amber and Ashley Fox. She will be remembered.

Chapter One

Where do you think she is?” asked Louise Howard Smith from her seat on the porch of Grace Chapel Inn. She peered down Chapel Road, and then leaned back in her white wicker rocker. Picking up a frosted glass, she took a sip of icy lemonade. “It’s not like Alice to be late.”

“Something must have held her up at the hospital,” her sister Jane said. Jane crossed her khaki-clad legs and wiggled her toes, revealed by a pair of rubber flip-flops, admiring her freshly painted toenails. “Frankly, I’m enjoying the chance to put my feet up. I don’t mind having dinner a bit late.”

Louise nodded, her perfectly coiffed silver hair gleaming in the sun. Her blue eyes matched the sky blue of her blouse, which had a lace hankie peeking daintily from its pocket.

They gazed languidly at the quiet street, relishing their idleness. A peaceful hour on the porch during a summer afternoon was a luxury ever since they’d made their childhood home in Acorn Hill, Pennsylvania, into a popular bed-and-breakfast. Usually they would be engaged in the care of the inn’s guests.

“It’s been busy at the inn, hasn’t it?” Louise said, sighing. Grace Chapel Inn had been full nearly every day for the past several weeks. “I’m not complaining, mind you, but I am a little tired. Sometimes I don’t know how Alice does it, working at the hospital in Potterston and helping out here as well.”

“She loves it.” Jane gave her older sister a heavy-lidded glance. “You know she does. And I do too. Coming home to Acorn Hill to be with you and Alice at the inn is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I can hardly wait to introduce my friends to this wonderful place.”

Louise was about to respond when Alice’s car turned the corner and came up the driveway at an unusually fast clip.

“Who lit a fire under her?” Jane murmured.

Alice turned her small blue Toyota into the inn’s parking lot and stepped out, pushing the door closed behind her. Her red brown hair shone in the sunlight, and her brown eyes were aglow with excitement. Louise and Jane glanced at each other, then back at Alice.

Alice hurried to the porch and up the steps.

“Hi, dear. Pull up a chair and relax,” Jane said. She leaned forward and patted the padded rocker next to hers. “You look as though you’ve heard exciting news. Tell us what it is.”

“Exciting? Well, I’m not sure I’d say that … except in a medical sense, I suppose. In all my years of nursing, I’ve seen so little of this that it is, well …” Alice flushed and put her hands to her cheeks, “stimulating.”

“Maybe I should get you a glass of lemonade,” Jane suggested.

“That would be wonderful.” Alice fluttered a hand in front of her face. “It really is warm this afternoon.”

Jane glanced at Louise, who was smiling.

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