Carly looked at the length of the line.

“We can go in the back door,” Gabi told her. “Steffie lets us.”

“That’s when you’re with Paige,” Carly pointed out.

“Yeah, mostly.”

“I don’t think those people who have been waiting out there in line would appreciate the two of us sneaking in the back door ahead of them.”

“Probably not.” Gabi thought for a moment. “But if you wait here, I can go in by myself and no one will notice.”

Before Carly could respond, Gabi was out of the car and yelling that she’d be right back.

Just as well, Carly thought. The last thing I feel like doing is going back into that heat.

She turned on the radio, searching for a station that was playing something she could sing along with, when her phone rang.

“Ellie, hi,” she said after glancing at the caller-ID screen.

“Hey, where are you?”

“Sitting in the municipal parking lot waiting for your sister to emerge from the back door of Scoop, ice cream in hand. The line stretches halfway to the marina, so she decided she’d use her friends-and-family pass to go in, get the goods, and slip back out before anyone notices that she cut the line.”

“She’s a slick one,” Ellie admitted. “But it’s better than waiting an hour for a ice cream cone that’ll take you less than five minutes to eat.”

“True.”

“The reason I’m calling … you mentioned you might want to take a look at the house that Sophie Enright was renting.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sitting outside of it right now, key in hand, if you want to come by.”

“Of course I do, but how did you manage that?”

“The job Cam had lined up this morning was to help Jason finish painting the apartment on the second floor of Sophie’s restaurant. They’re pretty much done, and since Sophie brought very little of her own furniture with her—she only had some pieces in the bedroom—she doesn’t have much to move other than her clothes and personal items. The lease is still in Jesse’s name, but he’ll sublet to you until it runs out in November. By then, you’ll most likely be back in New York, right?”

“That’s the plan, yes.”

“So come over now and take a look.”

“As soon as Gabi gets back, I will.”

Carly tapped her fingers impatiently on the steering wheel, wishing Gabi would hurry. Now that she knew she’d be in St. Dennis for at least a few months, she was eager to get into a place of her own, a place where she could work at night without being disturbed. She had to admit that were it not for work required to finish Carolina’s book and design the catalog for the exhibit, she’d love the bustle of life in Ellie and Cam’s house. But right now, with so much to be done in so little time, she needed the evening hours to read, and to write.

Finally, she saw Gabi’s head bobbing along between the cars in the lot. When she drew closer, Carly could see she was carrying only one dish of ice cream.

“What, you ate yours while you were on the way to the car?” Carly asked when Gabi opened the door.

“No, Steffie wanted me to work with Paige for a while this afternoon, so I’m going to stay.”

“Are you old enough to do that?” Carly reached for the bowl.

“I guess.” Gabi shrugged. “I’ve helped out before when they got real busy, and Paige does it all the time and she’s the same age as me.”

“Paige is Steffie’s niece, though, right?”

Gabi nodded. “It’ll be okay. I just have to let Ellie know.”

“I’m going to see her in two minutes. I’ll tell her.”

“Great. Thanks. And thanks for coming to tryouts with me.” Gabi blew her a kiss from the open door. “And for staying, even though you didn’t have to.”

“We’re even. Thanks for the ice cream. Now close the door before it melts.”

“It’s blueberry cobbler crunch. Steffie just made it this morning.” Gabi slammed the car door and waved, then ran back toward Scoop.

Carly took two spoonfuls of ice cream and all but sighed. It was cold and delicious and tasted of fresh blueberries, and if she hadn’t been in a hurry, she’d have finished it right then and there. But she was anxious to see the house, so she placed the ice cream container on the console and prayed it wouldn’t tip over.

The drive to Hudson Street took exactly four minutes, most of it spent at the light at the corner of Charles Street and Kelly’s Point Road due to the number of visitors to the town. But once she turned onto Cherry, it was a quick hop around the corner. An SUV sat in the driveway, the back hatch up, and Ellie’s car was parked on the street out front. Carly parked behind Ellie and went up to the side door, which stood open.

“Hello,” she called.

“Carly, in here,” Ellie called back.

The door led into a small room off the kitchen. Carly followed Ellie’s voice into the living room, which, like the rest of the rooms, was on the small side, but neatly furnished.

“I’ll be out of here in a few minutes.” Sophie Enright poked her head out from a door at the end of a hallway. “I’m on my last load. I think …”

“Take your time,” Carly told her.

“It’s cute, right?” Ellie whispered.

“So cute.” Carly looked around. “She’s not taking the furniture in the living room?”

Ellie shook her head. “Whatever is still here belongs to Jesse, who doesn’t need it and doesn’t know what to do with it. He took the few pieces he wanted when he and Brooke got married and he moved in with her. The stuff from Sophie’s bedroom has already been moved out, but the living room and the dining room stuff stays. Oh, and there’s nothing in the kitchen. That all belonged to Sophie and she’s taken it, so you will need some dishes and pots and flatware and all that stuff.”

Carly walked from the living room through the small dining room that had space only for a trestle table, two chairs, and a bench. Perfect for spreading out her work, she thought as she passed into the kitchen. There was a big window in the middle of the back wall, from which she could see the yard, which was enclosed by a picket fence. There was a brick patio off the back door and several flower beds in which perennials fought weeds for growing space. There were hedges of something thick and green, and clumps of some flowering thing here and there.

“It’s perfect,” Carly told Ellie when she heard her enter the kitchen.

“You haven’t seen the bedrooms or the bathroom,” Ellie reminded her.

“They’re fine, I’m sure.”

“You’re really anxious to move, aren’t you?” Ellie laughed.

“No, it isn’t that … well, yes, in a way, it is,” Carly admitted. “I just can’t wait to spread out all those notes and start putting the book together. I can leave everything—notes, photos, journals—on the table in order and not have to put it all away every night.”

“I totally understand.”

Sophie came into the room carrying two large tote bags, a garment bag over one arm.

“I think I have it all,” she told them. “If you find anything that looks like it might be mine, just put it aside and drop it off at the restaurant or the law office when you get the chance.”

“Thanks for letting me come in and look around,” Carly told her.

“Hey, it’s yours if you want it.” Sophie started for the door, and the garment bag slipped. Ellie caught it.

“I’ll take it out for you,” Ellie told Sophie. To Carly, she said, “I’ll be back in a few. I have some things in my car to drive over to the apartment for Sophie.”

“Take your time,” Carly told her. “I’ll be here.”

“Give Jesse a call when you make up your mind. Or you can stop in at the law office on Monday morning …” Sophie’s voice trailed away.

“I’ve made up my mind,” Carly called to her, but she heard the side door open, then close, heard the engines of the two vehicles start up, then fade as both Ellie and Sophie drove off.

Suddenly the house was very quiet. Carly’s footfalls echoed in the hall as she checked out the downstairs bedrooms. There were two, with a small bathroom between. The bedroom in the back was the larger but had windows on two sides and overlooked the backyard.

She took the steps to the second floor, where there were two more bedrooms and another bath. She could use one as an office, the other for storage.

This will be fine, Carly thought as she went back downstairs. Better than fine. She could buy a bed and a dresser and a small kitchen set from that furniture place out on the highway—the one that had a sign promising next-day delivery—and be completely moved in before the end of the week, assuming that Jesse agreed to sublet to her, and it appeared that he already had. She poked her head into the bathroom, and found it, too, to be satisfactory. The tiles were pale yellow and very 1990s, but the sink and vanity top appeared relatively new.

She could see herself in this house, she thought as she walked back through all the rooms, could see her papers on the dining room table and could see herself cooking in the kitchen and eating at a small table near the back door, and waking up every morning in that back bedroom.

She went out into the yard and looked around. She could pick up a small table and a few chairs, maybe a lounge, for the patio, so she could sit out here on mornings when it wasn’t too hot, and drink her coffee before heading over to the carriage house. She walked across the yard to the flower bed that grew along the back fence, recalling how her mother had enjoyed gardening in the yard of the house she grew up in. Roberta had prided herself on her roses and her irises, had babied her annuals and doted on her peonies. There didn’t look to be much in these beds, other than the tall weeds, a few rosebushes, and some Shasta daisies. Carly wondered if it was too late to toss some seeds into the soil and see if she could get any annuals to grow. She could call her mother and ask for her suggestions.