She’d learned a few days ago that Jeb’s heir planned to sell his lakeside cabin, and George had asked her if she was interested in buying it. It was extremely rare for inholding parcels to come on the market, and when they did, the park tried to purchase them if possible. Jeb, however, had specifically stated in his will that the property was not to be sold to any government agency. Audrey had no idea if such a directive could be upheld, but there was no reason to believe his niece wouldn’t follow it.

A lakeside cabin on Lake Olympus would be out of her price range, but Xavier said he had savings and wanted to think about it. The idea of owning a cabin as old as the lodge had a certain appeal, but it still seemed wild to consider it.

At last, she reached the lakeside, and instead of turning right at the fork and going straight to the Baldwins’ cabin, she took a left and went all the way to the end of the road to take a look at Jeb’s property.

She got out of her vehicle and approached the cabin, noting again all the “NO TRESPASSING” signs and feeling like she was doing something wrong here, even though Jeb was gone and the niece who inherited knew people would be viewing the property.

She circled the cabin to the lakefront side and climbed up the porch steps to look out at the water.

It was sunny and chilly, with patches of blue sky amid white and gray clouds. The calm water offered a near-mirror reflection of green tree-covered hillside with blue sky and clouds. An upside-down vision of the world.

It was serene and achingly beautiful, and she knew exactly why Jeb had loved his small sanctuary on the water so much.

She pulled out her phone and snapped a photo of the water and hillside, then texted it to Xavier.

He responded almost immediately.

Xavier: Beautiful. Where are you?

Audrey: On Jeb’s porch.

Xavier: Wish I was there with you. You okay?

Audrey: I think so. It was weird driving here, but I felt like I needed to do it alone. I’m going to have to return to my job at some point.

Xavier: I get that. You returning the camping gear to the Baldwins?

Audrey: Yeah. Then I’m going to record the damage to the site. Get it over with so I can enjoy my leave when you get home.

Xavier: On that note… They released me early, and I’m on Highway 101 right now. I was heading to your place to surprise you. I’ll keep going. Meet me at the gate?

She felt a thrill at knowing he was back on the peninsula and was disappointed she wasn’t home to greet him properly. The last time he’d shown up at her door unannounced had been rather spectacular.