Page 7 of Lakehouse Mistletoe
Helen shook her head. “Oh, I don’t think you have to worry about me leaving. I am looking for a fresh start.”
Rebecca glanced at her hand. “You are single?”
Helen took another sip. “Divorced.”
Rebecca’s face dropped. “Oh, I’m sorry. I know first-hand how hard divorce is.”
Helen frowned. “You seem very young to be divorced.”
Kacey shrugged at her friend. “Her ex-husband was having an affair with her sister, and they married.”
Helen felt her eyes grow big. “I’m … so sorry.”
Rebecca snorted. “Believe me, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. He was not the man I thought he was.”
Those words rang true to Helen.
Helen leaned forward. “Do you still talk to your sister?”
Rebecca shook her head. “Oh no. I’ve blocked her on everything. She’s the type that thinks the whole world revolves around her. I found a lot of peace after cutting her out of my life.”
Helen sat up a little straighter. “You did? But wasn’t it hard? I mean, thinking you know someone and then everything you knew about them was a lie?”
Rebecca studied her for a bit and then smiled. “Yes. But it was during the pain I found myself growing into a different person. A more confident person.”
Helen smiled. “Yes, well you are so young. You have your whole life ahead of you.” Unlike me.
Rebecca studied her for a second. “Helen, I know we just met, and I don’t know you. But I’d like to say something.”
Helen nodded. “Of course.”
Rebecca studied her. “I don’t know what your husband put you through,” —Helen glanced down, embarrassed by her own situation in life— “but I can tell you this. Your life is going to be better without him. Just keep reminding yourself of that. And then one day there is going to be this feeling, like a weight has been lifted and the fog has cleared. That’s the day you’ll start living the life you were always meant to live.”
Kacey smiled. “Rebecca is right.”
Helen felt her spirits lift. “Thank you for that. I hope you are right. In the meantime, I promise that my personal life won’t affect my work.” She glanced at the box of donuts.” I was wondering what the breakfast menu usually consists of.”
Kacey lost her smile. “We wanted a full breakfast. But, as we said, our last caretaker didn’t get up on time, let alone cook.”
Helen arched her brow. “How long did she work here?”
Rebecca shook her head. “She lasted two weeks. She promised she would do better but never improved.” She reached into her large bag and pulled out a binder. “Do you like to cook, Helen?”
She smiled. “Yes, I love cooking. I also do a lot of baking during the holidays, including homemade cookies as gifts for the neighbors.”
Rebecca shoved the binder across the table to her. “That’s great. As you can tell, we have renovated most of the house. There is one bedroom that still needs some work. Nothing too big—just painting—and some retiling of the bathroom floor. We wanted to have all five bedrooms ready before we opened but we needed to start pulling in money for the mortgage, so we currently rent out four. “
Kacey glanced at her phone. “I’ll talk to Malcolm today to see if he can get to the tile this week. With Christmas approaching I want to have all rooms available before then. I would love a full house on Christmas.”
Helen studied the binder. “I noticed how pretty the porch is. Do you plan to decorate it for Christmas as well?”
Rebecca nodded. ‘The day after Thanksgiving I’ll have Carolina come decorate. It may take her longer since Bernice is on vacation.”
Helen cocked her head. “Is Carolina a professional decorator?”
Rebecca shook her head and took a sip of coffee. “Oh no. Carolina works for Bernice at the nursery. She helps decorate people’s front doors and porches for the holidays. We put an order in for lights, poinsettias, and cedar garland.”
Helen smiled. “It would look lovely to have a Christmas tree at the end of the porch, with all its lights and colorful balls.”
