Page 9 of Second Chance in Charlevoix (Charlevoix Dreams #3)

Isabel

S urrounded by boxes on Sunday morning, Izzy wondered if she was doing the right thing.

Sunshine fell through her bedroom windows.

This room had been hers ever since she could remember.

The pink rosebud quilt and curtains were part of her childhood.

At the last minute she’d stripped the quilt from the bed and stuffed it into a big black bag to take with her.

First she'd asked Marlowe for permission since her older sister would be taking over the room.

“I have quilts packed away in my storage shed,” Marlowe had told her with a rueful smile. “I'll be glad to break out a few and bring them over to Sunnycrest.”

Asleep in the Pack and Play, Holly looked so sweet and innocent.

No one would know what a hellion she could be, and Izzy hoped she’d behave at the Malone house.

Izzy had told Skipper that she would call him when the baby woke up.

Thank goodness he'd offered to pick them up. At first she’d planned on only one or two boxes, but the more she thought about it, the more she packed.

Holly needed her runabout although Izzy almost didn't bring it because the baby was known to smash into things.

But maybe she'd grow out of that. She was standing up more every day, taking shaky steps with the help of furniture. And then there was the highchair, waiting in the hallway downstairs along with the bag of Holly’s food and her favorite dish.

Izzy had asked Aunt Cate if she could take the heavy porcelain bowl ringed with the alphabet.

The bowl had been in their family since Samantha was born, a gift from some distant relative.

Of course her aunt had told her to take it.

“Knock, knock.” Aunt Cate poked her head into the open doorway.

Even though it was Sunday morning, her aunt wore light makeup, including mascara and her signature red lipstick.

Since joining them in Charlevoix, she had tucked away her New York City wardrobe for dinners and other special occasions.

Today she wore a comfortable warm-up suit in a warm beige with a spring green silk top.

Putting a finger to her lips. Izzy waved her in with her other hand. Aunt Cate got the message. Her eyes swung over to the Pack and Play. Sitting down next to her on the bed, her aunt gave her a tight hug. “I'm going to miss you two.”

Her aunt had been so good to her, smoothing over all the rough spots since their parents had been killed in that accident. She’d helped Izzy in so many ways, not all of them known to her sisters. “I'm going to miss you too,” Izzy whispered back.

“But you're doing the right thing. I understand about all the upheaval. Better to be someplace else.” Aunt Cate sighed. “The drawings were wonderful but the reality, well, that’s much different.”

“Seth's been great,” Izzy said. “He’s done everything he could to make this work.” When they were choosing the architect to oversee the project, Seth had won out.

From the start Izzy and her aunt had favored the easy-going guy Aunt Cate described as “rough hewn.” Izzy and her sisters got a big kick out of that.

“Yes he’s been wonderful. But a renovation upsets the whole house. I don't think any of us quite realized how messy it would be.”

She studied her aunt’s face. “Are you regretting that we're doing this?” Izzy sure hoped not. After all Sam and Marlowe had both moved to Charlevoix and the focus of all their attention was this house. And Aunt Cate had left a successful law practice in New York.

Her aunt shook her head. “Not at all. Delighted to be here. And we’re going to love Sunnycrest even more after the updates are finished.”

At that point Holly murmured sleepily and rolled onto her back.

Smacking her lips together, she slowly opened her eyes and focused them on the bird mobile Aunt Cate had found in a local shop.

Then her eyes swung to Izzy. How she loved this feeling when her adopted baby girl connected with her. “Mama,” she said with a big smile.

“Hungry?” Izzy asked.

The baby nodded and flipped over onto her tummy. Lifting her from the crib, Izzy heard a truck pull up outside. Maybe Skipper had gotten tired of waiting for a call. He’d be glad to see they were almost ready.

The doorbell rang and she heard Marlowe greet Skipper. One hand on the railing while she held the baby, Izzy carefully made her way downstairs with Aunt Cate behind her.

“All set?” Wearing his green corduroy jacket, Skipper looked up and smiled.

“I think so. The boxes are all upstairs in the baby's room. I just have to feed Holly.”

“Got it.” Hands on hips, Skipper stopped and sniffed. “You know, this place does smell like construction.” Even though Seth had sealed off the bedroom they were working on, the smell of wood, glue and everything else that builders used had permeated the other rooms

“Come on, Skipper. Let me show you the way,” Aunt Cate said, turning on the stairs.

Joining Sam and Marlowe in the kitchen, Izzy got out the baby food and sprinkled some teddy grahams in front of Holly. Then she filled her cup with milk. Holly was getting used to her sippy cup. And she loved crunching the teddy grams with the teeth that were cutting through.

“You're good with this, right? Marlowe gave her a piercing look. “Moving to the Malone house, I mean.”

Izzy could never pull one over on Marlowe. “Absolutely. All you have to do is give one sniff and you know why. I hate to leave you here.”

Marlowe and Sam exchanged a look. “Things are not going to get any better,” Sam said. “Apparently Seth has been talking to Aunt Cate about renovating the two remaining bedrooms at the same time.”

“You never told me that.” Forehead puckered, Marlowe turned toward Sam. She clearly was not happy with the news.

Two bedrooms under construction at the same time? Izzy tried to imagine how that new arrangement would work. “So where will you two sleep if they work on two bedrooms?”

“We can either bunk in Aunt Cate’s room on fold up beds or one of us can take the sofa in the living room.” Sam had clearly taken the lead on this. But Marlowe did not look pleased.

“Sam, I have to look decent every day when I go out to meet my clients,” Marlowe said. “You're working from home.”

“And my office has become the dining room,” Sam reminded her. “We can do this, can't we?”

Sucking in a deep breath, Marlowe nodded. “I suppose so.” But she sure didn't look happy about it. “Everything feels disorganized right now.”

Sam eased out a sigh. “Temporary. The chaos is temporary. Think of it as reaching the finish line sooner if we let the guys do more work at one time.”

By that time Skipper had finished bringing down all the boxes and bags. While Sam and Marlowe watched Holly eat her breakfast, Izzy dashed upstairs. She folded up the Pack and Play, and Skipper grabbed the runabout from the living room.

When she returned lugging the Pack and Play, her aunt looked as if she might cry.

Was Izzy doing the right thing? Her family loved having Holly around.

But they all understood that Izzy was doing this to keep the baby healthy.

They waited to leave until Holly finished eating.

After Izzy had wiped off her baby’s mouth, their goodbye was a crush of hugs and some tears.

“Just call me for anything.” Marlowe followed them outside.

“Absolutely,” Aunt Cate added, coming out onto the porch. “And if ever you need a babysitter, I can come to the house or the shop. Whatever you need.”

“You guys are the best.” Breaking away was so hard. Holly sensed the mood and started to cry until Izzy shushed her. Somehow the three of them made it down the steps and into the pickup truck. Marlowe was going to bring Izzy's Toyota over later with Sam's help.

They drove away. Izzy was glad that Skipper had his radio set to classic rock.

Somehow singing about “Walking on Sunshine” made everything better.

With the baby in her pumpkin seat between them, they made it over to Skipper’s house.

Later, she couldn’t even remember what they talked about during the short drive.

“How is your mother feeling about this?”

“Oh she's got everything under control,” Skipper said with a grin. “At least, she thinks she does. Mom’s going to sleep upstairs. You get the master bedroom on the first floor.”

“Oh no.” Izzy turned toward him. Skipper’s mom was having a hard time with the stairs. How would that work? “I don’t want to put her out.”

“Her house, her choice.” Skipper sent a look her way. “Having both of us upstairs didn’t sit well with her. She wants to make sure there won’t be any ‘hanky panky.’ Her words. I’ll help her up the stairs each night.”

“Hanky panky” made Izzy laugh. The words sounded so much like Skipper’s mother. “Did you tell her no way that was going to happen.”

“Let's let her imagination run wild. It will give her something to do. She actually got out some of Ainsley's old Cabbage Patch dolls for Holly.”

“How will your sister feel about that?”

“We'll just have to wait and see. Ainsley never comes home. She hasn’t played with those in a very long time.”

Men never did understand about a girl and her dolls.

As they rode along, Izzy thought of a book she’d read in High School. Tale of Two Cities was set during the French Revolution. People were taken to the guillotine in timbrels, carts that rumbled through the cobblestone streets while people along the road cheered.

Now, what made her think of that?