Mia laughed. “There’s no crime around here. People trust each other.”

“Well, that’s scary,” Kate muttered.

“Mom…” Evie groaned. “Can you try to be positive about all of this?”

“You and I are going to have a talk later,” Kate whispered.

“Come on in,” Mia said, hanging her purse on a hook behind the check-in desk. “Your room will be number eight. Here’s the key. It’s upstairs on the left, just past the main bathroom.”

“We don’t have our own bathroom?”

Mia smiled. “No. Only one room has a private bath. It’s our suite, but the Rancourt’s are staying in it for their honeymoon. We don’t see them a lot, if you get my drift.”

“Ugh,” Kate said, rolling her eyes. “Come on, Evie. Let’s take our things upstairs.”

As Evie and Kate disappeared up the stairwell, Mia finally let out the breath she’d been holding for the last half hour. She really liked her niece so far, but that sister of hers had been a big letdown. It was like she was determined to be negative about everything.

Of course, Mia felt embarrassed about her outburst at Carl’s office too. She’d just lost it when Kate talked bad about her mother. But what would her mother tell her to do? Kill them with kindness. She’d said it all the time.

And, honestly, how would she feel in Kate’s shoes? Maybe angry. Maybe sad. Maybe negative. She tried, in her mind, to put herself in that position.

This whole situation was going to be dicey, and Mia hoped she hadn’t gotten in over her head.

Kate opened the door to their room and stepped inside, Evie following behind her.

“Wow,” she said, her mouth hanging open. “I feel like I just landed in the middle of Gone With The Wind.” The room was decorated right out of the Civil War time period, complete with thick, heavy drapes on the window and glass table lamps painted with flowers.

“This is so cool,” Evie said, grinning from ear to ear as she put her bag on the bed. She pulled out her phone and took a couple of pictures, including a selfie with the huge four poster bed in the background.

“What is going on with you?”

“What do you mean?” Evie said, innocently.

“Come on, Ev. I know you better than anyone in this world, and I know when you’re playing a game. I just don’t understand why.”

“I just want to get to know my aunt. Why can’t it just be that simple?”

Kate rolled her eyes. “Because nothing is ever that simple with you.”

“I really like Aunt Mia. Don’t you?”

Kate’s jaw clenched. “She tried to pummel me at the attorney’s office.”

Evie giggled. “She’s pretty fierce for such a little person. But, what did you expect her to do? You were pretty ugly about Grandma.”