“It really might. I told you how I got her vibe, smelled her, when I snuck in the building when I was a teenager. And Beckett got that sense of her when they started work on the inn. He’d do walk-throughs at night when he lived over here, talk to her. He named her—that’s probably powerful, right? The naming.”

“And maybe more so because the name was basically the right one.”

“Which just goes to show you.”

“What?” Hope asked.

“Something woo-woo.” Avery wiggled her fingers at her ears as if that made her point. “Anyway, it—she—seemed to get stronger as they brought the place back.”

“Bringing it back helped her come back?”

“In a way, yeah. It’s her place, and it wasn’t happy. You know? It was sagging and dirty and neglected. Broken windows and rubble and piles of pigeon poop. That’s a kind of negative energy, don’t you think?”

“I’d give pigeon poop a big negative.”

“Then the Montgomerys brought it back, step-by-step. And they put a lot of care, even love, into that. It’s more than work.”

“And it shows.”

“And it feels,” Avery added. “You and Carolee do the same thing, every day. The care and love, and keeping it beautiful. Owen thinks Lizzy likes having it pretty again, and having people there. So do I. But maybe it’s got something to do with energy—positive, this time—too.”

Thoughtfully, Hope nodded. “The energy of the place, the people in it helping revitalize the energy of her spirit. It’s a theory.”

“And you’re there. Living there. She’s your ancestor,” Avery pointed out. “That’s got to be more energy.”

“And responsibility,” Hope added. “I feel that. She’s putting so much faith in me, Avery. I don’t want to let her down.”

“You definitely have to tell Owen, but I think you should talk to Ryder since she mentioned him. Maybe she’ll come back when he’s there with you, talk to both of you. Maybe, if it’s the two of you, a stronger vibe. I don’t know, it’s possible, and she’ll be able to tell you Billy’s whole name.”

“It’s worth a try. Take this for Owen.” She passed Avery the note. “I made another copy.”

“Naturally. They’re all doing shop work today on my bar and built-ins. You could run over, talk to them.”

“I can’t leave Carolee when we’re so busy.”

“I’ll go by on my way home. They’re planning on putting in some shop time tomorrow. I can let you know.”

“Tomorrow afternoon I could manage an hour or two. They work at their mother’s, right? In that big building that looks like another house.”