If Jessica were here, the lock would be picked by now, but something gave her pause. These were Dove’s secrets, her private thoughts. Would she want Sarah to read them? Leaving something so personal lying around seemed awfully trusting. Then again, now people used social media as their diary, so there was no real privacy anymore.

She ran a finger over the initials D. L., then she carried the book to the old mahogany desk near the window and placed it in a drawer before picking up her upgrades list and continuing on her mission through the inn, the old journal lingering in the back of her mind.

…

Using his discarded T-shirt, tucked into the top of his jeans, Wes wiped his forehead the next morning. It was just a little past eight a.m., but already the blazing summer sun in the cloudless sky beat down on him. It was going to be a scorcher. Perched on a ladder, haphazardly propped against Mrs. Granier’s old oak tree on her lawn, Wes hung her latest bird feeder. Next to the seventeen other bird feeders in the tree.

All of which he’d hung for her.

He wasn’t at all fooled into believing Mrs. Granier was an avid bird-watcher. He knew she chased squirrels out of these wooden, multicolored painted boxes more often than not. Her request for his assistance always oddly enough coincided with her weekly breakfast book club.

Right now, six little old ladies sat sipping their tea, watching him work.

He descended the ladder and, folding it, he carried it under one arm toward the storage shed. He waved to them as he passed. “How’s the book?” he asked with a chuckle, nodding to the Oprah’s book pick, sitting untouched on the table in front of them. The same one as last time.

Mrs. Granier flushed slightly. “Oh, you know, lots of hype…” She waved a hand.

He put the ladder away and climbed the deck. “Well, enjoy your new bird feeder.”

She reached for her wallet, but he stopped her. “It was my pleasure, Mrs. Granier.” He took her hand and kissed it quickly. The older woman looked like she might faint, and the gaping mouths around the table had him hiding a grin. “Ladies, nice to see you all again. Until the next bird feeder,” he said with a wink as he headed back to his truck.