Page 9 of The Summer Guests

“And Zoe?”

“Where else?”

She went to the kitchen window and looked out at the pond. Yes, that’s exactly where their daughter was, laughing and chattering with another girl as they treaded water together, their wet heads gleaming in the morning light.

“Who’s that girl with her?” she asked.

“Someone she just met. Local, I think.”

“That’s wonderful. I’m glad she’s found a new friend here. I was worried she’d have no one to talk to.”

“There’s always Kit.”

She turned to look at him. “Seriously? That boy hardly said ‘boo’ to her last night. He spent the whole evening glued to Brooke.”

“You know how shy he is. Only child.”

“He’s almost seventeen. He should have grown out of it by now.” She paused. “Is there something else going on with him?”

Ethan reached for a fresh sheet of paper. “He was really sick as a baby, in and out of the hospital. It’s no surprise Brooke went a little overboard, protecting him. If there’s a problem, I think it might beher.” He looked up. “Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Hannah’s driving to Bar Harbor to do some shopping. She wondered if you’d like to go with her.”

“What are you going to do all day?”

He gestured to the pages on the table. “It’s going so well, I don’t want to stop now.”

“No, of course not. You stay here and write.” She turned to the window and looked at her daughter, so happily splashing in the pond with the other girl. Zoe had a new friend, and Ethan was writing again. Could she ask for a better start to the day?

“I’d like to see Bar Harbor,” she said. “I’ll give Hannah a call.”

Hannah Greene liked to talk. She talked all the way to Bar Harbor, talked over their lunch of crab cakes and salad, talked as they browsed through the souvenir shops on Main Street. Not that Susan minded all the chatter. Hannah, who had never married and lived alone, seemed delighted to share her wealth of anecdotes about the Conover boys.

“Oh, they were a pair, those two!” Hannah said as they drove back to Purity. “Colin, he’s the one who caused most of the trouble. Always getting into scrapes with the local boys, and then refusing to apologize. Colinneverapologizes for anything, because it’sneverhis fault. George had to pay more than a few visits to the other parents, just to smooth things over. But your Ethan, he was never in trouble. Always the quiet one. The daydreamer.”

Susan smiled. “He’s still the daydreamer. I think that’s why he ended up being a writer.”

“The thing is, I didn’t reallywantto babysit those boys, but Elizabeth talked me into it. Money was involved, of course.” Hannah winked. “Rather a lot, too, because I double-dipped. Elizabeth paid me, and so did my dad, just to get me out of the house. Grown-ups those days, they couldn’t be bothered with their kids. They’d just set us loose and go about their own lives. I was only eight years old, and the six of them would go off for cocktails every evening. Can you imagine?”

“Leaving you at home alone?”

“Well, I was right next door, but still. They always were a hard-drinking bunch. I suppose that’s whereIgot it from. And Colin. Wine at noon, highballs at five.” She looked at Susan. “Ethan never did, though. You married the sober one.”

“Was Arthur married then?”

“Arthur?” Hannah snorted. “No, he’s a confirmed bachelor. What woman would put up with him?”

“You said the six adults met for cocktails every evening. Who was the sixth person?”

“Oh, that was my father’s secretary.”

“He had a secretary here?”

“We were living here year round then, before Dad’s work got us transferred to Maryland. Ihatedleaving Maine, going to that school in Bethesda, where I didn’t know anyone. Every year, I couldn’t wait till August rolled around and we’d come back to the pond. It was like coming home again. And every year, those Conover boys would be taller and more handsome. Then Ethan went off to college, and I hardly saw him after that.” She looked at Susan. “I liked his novel, by the way. I read it right after it came out. I don’t think I ever told him.”

“You should definitely tell him. He’d be thrilled to hear it from you.”

“When is his second book coming out?” When Susan didn’t immediately answer, Hannah frowned at her. “Thereisa second one, isn’t there?”

“He’s been so busy, teaching at the college,” Susan finally said. “And you know how it is with second novels. There’s so much pressure, making it match up to the first.”

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