Page 75 of Luna

As soon as the meal was over and Luna had helped with the dishes, Hunter appeared at her side.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked, giving her such a hopeful, earnest look, she couldn’t have refused to go even if it were the last thing she wanted to do, which it wasn’t.

“Yes. Just let me tell Ilsa or Tony where I’ll be.” Luna hurried away from him and found Tony showing one of the boys from the orphanage how to use a Kodak camera.

He glanced over at Luna and took a few steps in her direction. “Is something wrong?” he asked with worry in his expression.

“No. I told Hunter I’d help him sort through some boxes in his attic. He wants to get it all cleared out before the house is finished. I just wanted to let you know that’s where I’ll be. He’ll drive me home later.”

“That’s fine, Luna. Are you certain you feel well?”

A lump rose in her throat at how much Tony looked and sounded like her papa. “Yes, I’m certain, Tony. Thank you. I’ll see you and Ilsa later. I’m not sure what time, though.”

“That’s fine. I trust you, even if Hunter may be questionable.” He grinned. “Have fun.”

“Thanks.” Luna watched as he returned to helping the boy, who was about the same age as Laila, then hurried over to where Hunter waited at his automobile.

He helped her in and started it up, and soon, they were driving down the quiet road toward his property.

When he turned and drove up the lane, Luna looked around with interest. The overgrown grass and weeds had been mown, and the house looked different now with the new windows. The porch had been torn off, and a new one built in its place that extended around both sides of the house instead of just across the front. She could see the new addition taking shape at the back of the house. The shingles of the new roof looked so fresh and clean.

“Oh, it’s wonderful, Hunter. It will look magnificent when it’s all finished.”

He smiled, pleased by her words. “I think it will too.”

He parked and hurried around the auto to give her a hand, then led her up the new smooth steps of the porch, unlocked the door, and motioned for her to go inside.

The day was warm, so she removed her jacket and left it on the newel post of the stairs.

“Come on. You can see what they’ve accomplished since the last time you were here.” Hunter showed her the repairs that had been made to existing rooms, the bookshelves that had been added for the library, the laundry room with two deep sinks, the bathroom, and the housekeeper’s bedroom at the back of the house. The new additions were framed, and a roof covered them, but the inside walls were not yet complete. If it rained, though, workers could finish the job without worrying about the weather.

“They’re doing fine work, Hunter, and so quickly. You must be thrilled.”

“I am pretty pleased about it all.”

“Shall we get to work?” Luna asked, wanting to accomplish as much as she could since it would be her only afternoon to help in the attic, not to mention her last day with Hunter.

Thoughts of telling him goodbye made her want to cry, so she ignored them and followed him up to the attic. Luna unbuttoned her cuffs and rolled up her sleeves, then opened a box and got to work.

Hunter organized while she sorted. Papers that were of no use to him, like personal letters of the previous occupants of the house, went in one pile. Other papers, like deeds and titles, and even the original blueprints of the house, went into another pile.

Luna found boxes of photographs of people neither of them recognized and decided to put them in a pile to take to Nora Nash. She and J.B. had been in Pendleton for decades and would likely know who the photos belonged to.

A trunk Luna opened contained an entire set of gorgeous, gold-edged delicate china painted with sprigs of violets. If she could have sorted through hundreds of dish patterns, it was the one she would have chosen.

“Well, Luna Moona, those dishes certainly look like you.” Hunter picked up a dinner plate, brushed away the dust with his shirt sleeve, and held it up. “You should keep them.”

“I couldn’t.” But Luna wanted to. She wanted them to belong to her, to use them in this house, and create a lifetime of memories of special meals and family gatherings right there with Hunter.

“They are meant to be yours, Luna,” he insisted.

Disappointment rolled over her. “I don’t have anywhere to put them, Hunter.”

“Leave them here for now, but they belong to you.” He returned the plate to the trunk, closed the lid, and shoved it to the side near the stairs.

Luna found a trunk full of beautiful table linens, another full of sheets, and a third one filled with finely made blankets. “These will be beautiful in your home, Hunter. They just need a thorough cleaning. It’s a miracle that mice haven’t found a way into these chests.”

“They’ve probably been locked up tight for who knows how many years. I’ll haul all this stuff to the laundry in town when I have somewhere to put them.” He opened a small trunk and removed what appeared to be an ebony box.

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