Page 41 of A Whisper of Summer Magic

“I worked late,” Sarah said. “I have two new patients that were born on Friday and Saturday morning, so I visited them at the hospital, met the families, and did an initial exam—healthy and gorgeous little girls.”

Did Meghan detect a note of longing in Sarah’s voice?

“And then I went to Grandma Millie’s—so strange, I think I’ll always think of the house as hers, even though I’ve brought a few things over so I can work on organizing when I’m not at work.”

“There’s no rush to get through everything,” Meghan said. “I said I’d help you sort through the paperwork and the estate.”

“I know, but you’re busy, and I’ve decided to stay there while I figure things out,” she said softly.

“Preparing for the open house this weekend has sucked up most of my time along with my new job, but really I will have time to help,” Meghan reiterated, realizing she needed to make more of an effort—no more putting it off hoping to avoid an emotional storm.

“I know. And you can help as much as you want. I’m just sorting right now—starting to get ideas. You and Jessica have a hobby that’s becoming a business. I’ve been looking for a hobby, and…”

“Don’t you love being a doctor?” Meghan interrupted.

“Love, love, love,” Sarah said. “But there’s so much history in Grandma Millie’s house. Dad thinks…”

“Probably that we should sell it to him, and he’ll turn the house into historical-looking condos. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We know how he thinks,” Meghan interrupted again. “What do you think?” She tried to calm herself as she checked the sugar.

Yup it was heated enough.

“I don’t know yet,” Sarah said honestly. “That’s why I like to go over to the house at night alone and walk through it. I have so many memories, and I feel like the house is talking to me. Whispering.”

“Like ghosts?”

“Nooooo.” Sarah sighed. “I feel like the house is… alive in a way with Maye energy—and I want to listen.”

“Huh.” Meghan didn’t know what to say about that. “Like you hear things?”

Sarah laughed a little. “Am I on the witness stand?”

“I’m not that type of a lawyer.”

“I just feel like the house wants me to… do something, and I want to honor that. We’ve preserved the Cramer farmhouse and are going back to the roots, so to speak, and since Grandma Millie put the house in trust to us, not Dad. I feel like we should do the same. Give ourselves time to… you know… figure out next steps.”

“Yes, definitely.” Meghan wasn’t sure what Sarah meant, but it wasn’t like she and her sisters had begun to talk about the house. They’d been too busy avoiding the discussion, and since Sarah was the executor with Meghan, they had begun the process of wrapping up the estate, and rolling over the trust, but no big decisions had been made. Making any final decisions would mean G. Millie was really gone.

“Why not use the jam you have over there?” Sarah nodded at the jars that Sarah had stacked in the hutch.

“Those are a different recipe. A heritage recipe,” Meghan said keeping it vague, but maybe she should tell Sarah. After all, she didn’t want Sarah handing out the jars to just anyone.

Sarah looked at her. “Heritage? You used theSouthern Love Spellsbook, didn’t you. That’s why you’re up before the sun making more jam.”

“Guilty. This is my second batch this morning. And I still have jam from yesterday. I just wanted extra so the farm store doesn’t run empty for the second day of the open house. Jessica’s already hounding me about the low stock.”

“She does nothing small or slow. You know that.” Sarah said, smiling.

The timer dinged for the first set of biscuits, and as Meghan took them out, Jackson and Storm walked into the kitchen. Whiskey followed Jackson, sniffing the air appreciatively, hilariously like the two men.

“Do you ever sleep?” Meghan demanded. “I thought you got off at seven this morning.”

“Slow night. Don’t worry. I showered.”

“Thanks for coming to help, Jackson,” Sarah said. “Can you grab one of those jars of jam over there and taste-test the first biscuits for breakfast?”

“No.” Meghan practically launched herself over the island.

Storm and Sarah laughed. Jackson, insouciantly grabbed a jar from the hutch, uncapped it and stuck a finger in.

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