Summer at Lakeside (Paperback)

Diana Terry’s life has been turned upside down by a bitter divorce. When her beautiful, eccentric grandmother dies, she’s devastated. Taking nothing but a battered suitcase and her canine buddy, Charlie, she leaves her old life behind to comfort her family and find a new kind of normal.

Ethan Preston is a former Navy SEAL and a counselor at the medical clinic in Sapphire Bay. For him, the best thing about living in the small Montana town is the way the community embraces people who come there seeking refuge, compassion, and support.

Meeting Diana has changed Ethan’s life. Her kindness and quiet strength makes what he has seen and done during his military career easier to bear. Before long, he begins to see a brighter future for both of them.

When a family heirloom disappears from The Lakeside Inn, a series of events is set in motion that tests Diana and Ethan’s growing relationship. Can Diana trust Ethan or will her past experiences overshadow what is in her heart?

Diana peeked around the curtains of her grandma’s house and sighed. At least eighty people were waiting in the front yard, ready to celebrate the opening of the newest Bed and Breakfast in Sapphire Bay. 

For the last few months, Diana and her three sisters had remodeled their grandparents’ home, turning it into The Lakeside Inn. Sitting on the shore of Flathead Lake and surrounded by some of the most stunning scenery in Montana, it was the perfect destination for anyone wanting a stress-free vacation.

“You can’t stand there forever,” her younger sister, Katie, told her. “Barbara gave us strict instructions to mix and mingle.”

“I’m not good with crowds.”

Katie rearranged the cushions on the sofa. “Just pretend everyone’s related to us. It’s not difficult—we know most of the people outside, anyway.”

It was easy for Katie. She’d moved to Los Angeles when she was barely out of high school. Dealing with large groups of people was an everyday occurrence for her, but not for Diana. 

“Oh, for goodness’ sake,” Katie huffed. “Come with me.” 

Grabbing hold of Diana’s hand, she pulled her toward the kitchen. “We’ll circle around the back and sneak in behind everyone else.”

“Did you see Charlie when you were outside?” Diana’s lovable, but slightly crazy Golden Labrador had abandoned her when their guests started arriving. 

“The last time I saw him, he was eating a sandwich Jack had given him.”

As well as being a bouncy, cuddly dog, he was a sucker for anything resembling food. “I’d better find him before he eats more than a sandwich.” She relaxed a little when she thought of Charlie, but it didn’t make her nerves completely disappear.

On their way through the kitchen, Diana smiled at her mom and dad.

“Thank goodness Katie found you,” Mabel said as she took a sheet of cookies out of the oven. “I thought you must have gotten lost. Has anyone seen Penny?”

Katie frowned. “She was in the attic when I last saw her. I thought she’d be outside by now.”

Allan, their dad, took a cookie off the baking sheet. “She could be there for a while. Wyatt’s in the attic with her.”

Mabel’s mouth dropped open. “When did he arrive back from Berlin?”

“About an hour ago.” Allan blew on the cookie. “This is hot.”

His wife swatted his arm with a dishtowel. “That’s what you get for helping yourself. I’ll have to go and see Wyatt and ask him how long he’s staying.”

Allan turned her toward the back door. “No, you won’t. Penny and Wyatt have some talking to do, and we need to go outside.”

“But—”

“Whatever you need to say can wait. Come on. There are plenty of people who want to ask you about The Lakeside Inn.”

Diana was grateful her dad was here. Their mom had a generous heart and loved each of her daughters dearly. But she also liked to know exactly what was going on in their lives.

When their parents were halfway across the room, Katie tapped her on the shoulder. “You don’t seem surprised that Wyatt’s here,” she whispered. “Did you know he was coming back to Sapphire Bay?”

“He called me last week. He wanted to make sure we were still having the opening of the Bed and Breakfast today.”

“And you didn’t say anything?”

“He asked me not to.” Diana looked around the kitchen. Apart from the sheet of cookies, everything was clean and tidy. “I can’t wait to welcome our first guests.”

“They’ll be here soon enough. In the meantime, we have lots of excited people waiting for us to officially open The Lakeside Inn. Let’s go.”

With no other option, Diana straightened her shoulders and followed Katie. 

Today was about new beginnings, new opportunities, and living a happy life.

* * *

Ethan looked at the crowd of people waiting outside The Lakeside Inn. Mabel had kept everyone up to date with the remodeling that was going on inside, but it was the discovery of a letter that could have been written by Abraham Lincoln that had caused the most excitement.

He still couldn’t believe that a dresser stored in the old steamboat museum had hidden such a treasure. No one, including the Terry family who owned the dresser, knew how the letter had ended up there. But, with the help of the Smithsonian Institute, they were doing everything they could to see if it was authentic.

“I didn’t think you’d be here today.”

Ethan looked over his shoulder at Theo, his friend and the owner of the only radio station in Sapphire Bay. “After reading Mabel’s Facebook posts, I had to see it for myself. Are you here to do an interview about the letter or the opening of the inn?”

“I wish I was interviewing someone about the letter. I’ve been trying to talk to Mabel, but she’s been too busy to see me. I’m hoping I can interview one of her daughters. Do you know where they are?”

Ethan looked across the front yard and pointed to their left. “There’s Mabel. I’ve only met two of her daughters, and I haven’t seen Penny or Barbara anywhere.”

“Katie and Diana, her other daughters, are walking around the side of the house toward Mabel. Katie has red hair and Diana’s wearing a bright blue scarf.”

Ethan shifted his gaze. Katie’s shoulder-length red hair was easy to see, but it was her sister who took his breath away. Diana’s curly blond hair caught the sunshine and turned it into a halo around her face. Even from this distance, she was stunning. But, unlike Katie, she looked worried as a group of people moved toward them.

Theo frowned. “I’d better talk to them before they get ambushed by other people. Remember to give me a call. You haven’t been to my place for dinner in a while.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow.” Ethan watched Diana push a stray lock of hair off her face and glance at her parents. A look that could only be described as panic crossed her face. 

Instead of standing here, watching her feel more uncomfortable by the second, he decided to do something about it. 

“Theo! Wait.”

His friend turned around. “What did I forget?”

“Nothing. I’m coming with you.”

“Sounds good. If anyone mentions being interviewed tell them it’s a great idea.”

Ethan looked across the yard. The number of people surrounding Diana and Katie had grown. “We’d better hurry. You aren’t the only person who wants to talk to them.”

Theo muttered something under his breath and walked faster.

That suited Ethan. He’d never been anyone’s knight in shining armor, but he did know what it felt like to have the world closing in around you. And right now, Diana looked as though she could do with an excuse to move away from everyone.

* * *

Diana stood half a step behind Katie as more guests approached them.

“Just smile and let me do the talking,” Katie whispered. “You’ll be fine.”

Diana hoped so. It wouldn’t have been so difficult if she’d visited Sapphire Bay more often. But while she was married, she’d stayed in Cincinnati most of the time. Looking back, it was obvious that the farther away she was from her family, the more control her husband had of her life. But she was young and in love, and she thought the sun, moon, and stars shone from Derek’s eyes.

Katie waved to someone she recognized. The tall, blond man smiled and moved toward them. “That’s Theo,” her sister explained. “He opened a radio station in Sapphire Bay six months ago. He called Mom last week, asking if he could interview her about the letter we found.”

Diana couldn’t remember their mom telling them about a radio interview, so she assumed it hadn’t happened. Not that it surprised her. They’d all been busy finishing the remodeling of her grandma’s house.

Diana’s gaze moved to the man beside Theo. If he worked at the radio station, he was the complete opposite of any reporter she’d ever met. He was tall, dark-haired, and solid. But it was his eyes that stunned her. They reminded her of a summer sky; clear blue with flecks of silver that twinkled in the sunlight. 

He smiled and some of Diana’s worries disappeared.

“Hi, Theo,” Katie said in her usual bubbly voice. “I wondered if you’d be here.”

“I couldn’t miss the opening ceremony. Congratulations.”

“Thanks. It took a lot of work to get to this point, but we did it. Did you interview Mom?”

“She’s been too busy to speak to me. Can I interview you about the letter?”

“As long as you ask me easy questions, I’m all yours. Have you met my sister, Diana?” 

Theo held out his hand. “I’ve seen you around town, but we haven’t been formally introduced. I’m Theo Olson.”

Diana stepped forward and shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Theo turned to the man beside him. “This is my friend, Ethan. He’s a counselor at the medical clinic in town.”

That surprised Diana. He looked more like a professional athlete or a soldier. “Hi, Ethan.”

“Hi. You must be looking forward to opening The Lakeside Inn?”

She nodded and tried to relax. “We are. Over the last couple of months, we’ve painted and redecorated most of the rooms. It’ll be interesting to hear what everyone thinks of the changes.” Talking to Ethan hadn’t been too hard. It helped that his broad shoulders blocked most of the people from her line of vision. 

“From the photos Mabel posted on the Facebook page, it looks as though you’ve done an amazing job.”

“It was a lovely house to start with. We just added a few finishing touches.” 

Katie smiled at Ethan. “Including knocking out walls and rewiring half the house. Once we’re open, Diana will look after our guests and coordinate all their activities.”

Theo took a notebook out of his back pocket. “And what will you do, Katie?”

“I’ll prepare everyone’s breakfast as well as making extra meals if our guests want to eat at the inn. We have five bedrooms and a honeymoon suite for people to book.”

“Can I ask about the letter you found?”

“You can,” Katie said. “But there isn’t a lot to say. The Smithsonian Institute’s still running tests to see if Abraham Lincoln wrote it.”

Barbara rushed up to Diana. “Thank goodness I found you. Has anyone seen Penny?”

Ethan looked over Barbara’s shoulder. “She’s coming toward us with Wyatt.”

“Wyatt’s here? How did that happen?”

Mabel joined them and looked at her watch. “We can ask him later. If we don’t open the inn soon, all the food will be ruined.”

Barbara consulted her clipboard before searching the crowd. “All we need is Pastor John.” And then, with a relieved sigh, she looked back at her family. “John’s already waiting for us. Is everyone ready?”

Diana looked anxiously around the yard. Before they opened the inn, she really needed to find Charlie. 

“Is everything all right?” Ethan asked.

“I can’t see Charlie, my Golden Labrador.”

Barbara wrapped her hand around Diana’s arm. “He’ll be okay. We can look for him later.”

“But I need to find—”

“It’s okay,” Ethan said. “I’ll look for him while you go with your family.”

“Are you sure? You didn’t come here to—”

“I’m positive.”

She breathed a sigh of relief, then pulled a bag of treats out of her pocket. “Thanks. Charlie loves food. If you give him a couple of these, he’ll follow you anywhere.” 

Her heart pounded when she saw the gentle smile on Ethan’s face. She had no idea why she was so attracted to a man she’d only just met. The stress of the day must be addling her brain. “I’ll meet you on the front veranda after the speeches have finished.”

Barbara tugged on Diana’s arm. “Come on. It’s almost time to start.”

Diana didn’t want to leave without telling Ethan about Charlie. “My dog has a red collar. If he won’t follow you, tell him you’re taking him to the—”

“Mom and Dad are waiting.” Barbara pushed her forward. 

With an apologetic look at Ethan, Diana walked through the crowd. She just hoped Charlie hadn’t chased another bird into the lake. Otherwise, they’d have a smelly, wet dog to clean while a lot of people wandered through their house.