Page 35 of There I Find Hope

The whole area just felt like home to him.

He had been disappointed there hadn’t been a house for sale in town. He loved the property he had made an offer on outside of Strawberry Sands, and the view of the lake from the bluff was amazing, but he loved the town. Loved being in it, loved the feeling he got as he sat on the front step of the bed-and-breakfast and enjoyed the view.

A thought came into his head as he sat there. Would Lena be interested in selling?

He almost snorted. There he was building a hotel and thinking about buying a bed-and-breakfast?

Sunday really seemed to enjoy working there, and she could have her candy shop in the bed-and-breakfast. That might help with sales.

Would he live there? What would happen to Lena?

He could just see Franklin rolling his eyes, because this was just the type of thing that Noah might do. He was always thinking outside the box, making things work that no one else had thought of, not afraid to try.

“Good morning!” Sunday opened the door and stepped out, sounding a little breathless. “Have you been waiting long?”

He rose, looking at her, fresh faced, with rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes. She still wore an apron over her T-shirt and jeans, and her pink painted toenails stuck out from her flip-flops.

“Nope. Busy morning?” he said, wanting to walk to her and put his arms around her but knowing they didn’t really have that kind of relationship. Not yet, anyway.

“Oh my goodness. Two families with small children; it was crazy. Usually we just have couples.” She laughed a little. “Those are probably the people who will stay at the hotel once it’s built.”

“Yeah.” He wanted to ask her about that. But first, “You’re looking really good today.”

“Thanks. I... I’m feeling a lot better.” She nodded her head, her eyes moving to the side like her thoughts were going inward, like she hadn’t thought to check on herself today yet. “I guess... I guess staying busy is the best way. Even though what I want to do is stay in bed.”

“I think sometimes we just need to give ourselves a little bit of time to stay in bed. To let the pain subside. But it looks to me like you’re doing a lot better now that you’re up and about.”

“I have to agree with you. I don’t think I could have been up those first few days especially, maybe the first week or two. But now... Now I know I feel better if I’m busy looking for things to do, and it always feels good to help Mom. I love working with her.”

“And why is that?” he asked, truly curious. It wasn’t often that people had great relationships with their parents. He never really did.

“I don’t know. She’s just...chill. She doesn’t get upset about stuff. And it doesn’t matter how early we have to get up, she’s always in a good mood. I guess maybe she taught me that. Because what’s the point in making everyone around you miserable? So you just make yourself smile and be happy.” She grinned. “Most of the time.” Her face clouded just a little as though she were remembering that maybe she couldn’t force herself to be happy after she’d lost her child. But her face brightened again, like she pushed those thoughts aside.

“Are you ready?” he asked, nodding toward the steps.

“I sure am! I’m looking forward to it.”

“Me too.” And he found that to be true. They stepped off the porch together. “I’ve not spent much time with animals, but I found myself thinking about how you helped deliver that foal. For some reason, my mind keeps going back to it over and over again, and it just makes me smile.”

It wasn’t the type of thing that he normally talked to people about, but maybe part of the reason that his mind kept going back to it was because of Sunday, and how much he enjoyed watching her, maybe having just a little part in what she was doing. That probably made him feel just as good as saving the foal.

“I was so scared we were going to lose it.” She sighed. “When Matt showed me what to do to feed it yesterday evening, it was so nice to see her up and healthy.” Her face fell. “I guess I didn’t tell you that he lost the mare.”

A shock went through Noah at the words. “No. I didn’t realize.”

“Yeah. I hated to bother you with bad news last night. Matt hadn’t told me either. I think he was afraid it would...”

“Set you back?” he asked gently, when her words trailed off and she didn’t try to continue to talk.

“Yeah. I guess. I hate that everyone feels like they need to treat me with kid gloves now. Like, you know I’m getting better. And I want people to see that. And not be afraid that if they look at me wrong, I’m going to spiral back down into some kind of deep depression and not be able to get out of bed for a week.”

“That’s because people care about you. They don’t want to see anything bad happen to you, so that’s why they’re being so careful.”

“I know. I do know that, and I appreciate it. I... I didn’t realize how many people cared about me until this happened.”

“Another good thing?” he asked, knowing that she’d been keeping track of all the good things that had come out of what had originally been only a tragedy to her.

“Yes. Another good thing. I see how people care and how they really want to help. How they’ll...do whatever they can to try to make you feel better.”

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