“Nina!” Tate cut her off. “I know all of this. You don’t have to remind me.”
She calmed down. “Stacy and Kit have done a magnificent job of restoring the house and garden. Emma and I love the place! It’s so beautiful and peaceful. And everything Mom told us about is there. The barn, the pond, the chicken house. All of it. Remember the sour clover?”
“Of course,” Tate said softly. “I remember everything.”
“And Stacy did a great job of bringing Mom’s little house up to date.” Nina lowered her voice. “The old shower is there. Remember the story of the kids coming in from the pond and showering off outside?”
“And the tadpoles clinging to them,” Tate said. “I remember, and I promise that I’ll be there soon after you and Emma arrive. I bet the weather there is nicer than in Massachusetts.”
“No,” Nina said firmly. “You need to spend some time there by yourself.”
“Does that mean you filled a room full of tissues for all my tears?”
Nina didn’t laugh. “It won’t be that bad. I promise. Once you’re there, everything will be fine. You’ll see the source of all the old stories. And you’ll see what Stacy and I chose for the house. I’m sure you’ll love it.”
“Are there red flowers on the chair in the living room?”
“Of course,” Nina said. “I sent you a fabric sample, remember?”
“Yeah, I do. Maybe Jack can go with me.”
“That’s a fabulous idea! Jack is always cheerful and he’ll make you laugh. And Stacy stocked the house. She told me about going to a big warehouse store and filling the truck with supplies. There are paper towels, dishwashing detergent, and everything for the washer and dryer. You do remember how to use them, don’t you? You haven’t become such a big-deal movie star that you can no longer wash your own socks, have you?”
“I leave being a princess to Jack.”
“I dare you to say that to him.” Nina was beginning to sound relaxed.
“So how’s Emmie, my beautiful and divine little niece?” He knew that mentioning her would change the subject.
That conversation had been months ago and now he was here—and every bad thing he’d predicted was coming true. He was in a car in the garage of the huge old house and everything had gone wrong. First there’d been the pajama woman this morning, then finding that there was no food in the house, and Jack was saying he was going to leave.
And that was the good part of the day! This morning he went upstairs to read a script that his agent had sworn was different from his usual movies. “No more sulking, sullen heroes,” she’d said. “This is an action film.”
When he started to read it, Tate had been smiling. But the “action” consisted of driving a six-horse carriage down a rough road at midnight in pursuit of a young actress who had nothing more to recommend her than a giant, artificially produced bosom. He’d met the girl and she had the IQ of a rabbit.
When he’d finished the script, he tossed it across the room. It was time for lunch, his stomach was growling, and he was ready to call a helicopter service to come and get him. But first he had to get something to eat!
When he got to the garage, he saw that the pickup truck he’d bought was gone. Parked beside its spot was a new BMW, and the keys were on a hook by the door.
But the damned car wouldn’t start. He took a moment to think about how everything about this place had been a lie, then he picked up his cell and called his sister.
When Nina saw Tate’s name on the phone’s caller ID, she didn’t want to answer it. She knew all this was difficult for her big brother, but she also knew she wouldn’t help by babying him. When their mother died, Tate had taken her death very hard. Since he was nine, he’d helped support his mother and sister with his acting. And he’d always promised them that someday he’d make enough money to buy back Tattwell, the plantation that had been in their family for centuries.
But that hadn’t happened while their mother was alive. She never got to see Tate’s great success, and it was only after her death that he’d been able to buy the plantation.
After he bought the place, Nina and Emmie spent a lot of time there. Nina oversaw the restoration and Emmie explored the grounds. Nina hired a local interior designer, Stacy Hartman, to decorate the house as close as possible to what their mother had described to them. With Kit’s help—and his memories of the place—furniture, wallpaper, paint, light fixtures were all put back the way they had been when Ruth Tattington was a girl.