“Oh yeah. That’s beautiful. I love the colors.”

“Charlene painted that.”

“She did? Was she an artist?”

“Self taught, but like with her knitting. She was something special, that one.”

“I never knew I was adopted.”

“Yeah, Mia told me. That’s rough stuff.”

“If I had known even a year ago, I might have met her before she…”

Kate couldn’t believe she was opening up to this man. He was a stranger to her, really, but somehow that seemed to make it easier. Why was this bothering her so much? She didn’t even know the woman. How could she miss her so deeply and yet still feel angry toward her?

“Regrets are hard. But, here’s the silver lining as I see it. You have right now. You’re here, in the place she loved, with your sister. The smell of her perfume still floats around this place. Everything she touched is still here. Make that connection while you can. Why do you think I come here every year? It connects me to my Ellen, even though she’s up there in heaven. I know she’s also here.”

“Thanks, Dave. I really appreciate it.”

He smiled. “Well, I’d better get upstairs and take a nap before dinner later. Old men like me love their naps.”

She nodded as she watched him walk upstairs and disappear. Could she really make a connection with her mother by just being at the B&B? And did she even want to go down that road?

Mia stood there with the phone up to her ear, her eyes wide as her sister looked at her with concern on her face.

“What date are you looking for?” she asked the woman on the other end of the line. “End of July? Okay…” She looked at her schedule book and penciled something in. “Can I give you a call back later today after I do a little planning? Great. Thanks.”

She pressed the end button and stood there, frozen in place.

“What’s wrong?” Kate asked.

“I just got offered a huge wedding for the end of July.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

“Well, when I have literally no experience planning a wedding of this magnitude, yeah. But, the bigger deal is who it is.”

“Who is it?” Evie asked, a grin on her face.

“Someone famous.”

“What? Seriously? Who?” Evie pushed.

“Lana Blaze.”

Kate and Evie’s mouths dropped open.

“Oh my gosh! That’s amazing!” Evie said. Even Kate, at her age, knew how huge Lana Blaze was. She’d had one of the biggest pop albums of the year and was predicted to win several Grammys.

“How on Earth did Lana Blaze even find out about this place? I mean, no offense but it’s not exactly well known.”