“Speak for yourself. I can be a cream puff.”
“Marlowe, you are anything but a cream puff.” Her sister had always been the athletic one in their family. Over the holidays, she’d talked Sam into cross country skiing. Big mistake. Since Sam hadn't been on skis for years, it was no surprise when she injured her ankle. What would she have done without Marlowe? Her sister was the woman you wanted around when you had an emergency. Her ski-trail injury had also brought her back in contact with Josh McCall, an old boyfriend. But she wouldn’t think about him now. “Of the three of us, you are the most athletic. You have confidence plus.”
“Oh, I don't know. You should have seen me tonight, confronting Landon. Maybe I should have been more forceful.”
“You must have been exhausted.”
“Right, and disappointed. I thought I could trust the new agent who was helping me. But Landon got to her.”
Sam had never heard her sister sound so discouraged. “What did he have to say about that?”
“Talked around the issue. Made it sound as if the client had changed his mind.”
“Can’t you call the client?”
“He’s on his yacht in the Mediterranean.”
“The phone is a wonderful thing.”
“I want to think about this first. The two guys are friends. I should have been suspicious when Landon let me take on that listing. Still, he seemed okay with it. I had the open house all planned. But while I was in Charlevoix, they rescheduled it to New Year’s Day. Do you believe it? Apparently the event brought in a buyer.” Her sister’s dejection seeped through the phone.
“That is so unfair. Why would he do that? You’ve worked hard for that company.”
Marlowe didn’t say anything. Sam suspected there was more of a story there, and she’d hear it someday.
“I'm not sure what I'm going to do.”
“Give yourself time to think about it.” She couldn't imagine anyone getting the best of Marlowe.
“I have to be careful right now. I have several other properties I need to close on. The young woman who had just joined the company, the girl I’d been mentoring, is absolutely no help. I've got to cut ties with her since she's gone to Camp Landon.”
“Well, yes. If that’s how it is.”
“I’m afraid so. I don't want Jenna, that’s her name, to be feeding him any of my plans to leave the company. Have to keep everything on the low-down.”
“Understood. I guess we all need to keep this under wraps. My accounts don't need any more confusion in their lives either.” Sam thought of the days ahead. “I owe it to our clients to make my relocation seamless. Business as usual and I'll work that out.”
“Same on my part,” Marlowe said. “Here in Naples I've represented myself as a woman who's involved in this community. If they find out that I'm taking off for Michigan, I could lose a lot of credibility.”
“We could probably help each other out as we move ahead.” Pushing one foot out from under the afghan, Sam wiggled her toes. “I think I need a pedicure.”
“What?” Marlowe yelped. “What are you talking about? Why do you care about your feet? Oh, wait a minute.” Sam could hear the sly smile in her sister's voice. She’d seen it a million times when they were teenagers together.
“Now don't go jumping to any conclusions.” Sam knew where Marlowe was headed. She tucked her feet back under the afghan.
“I won't. But I keep thinking of a certain handsome doctor who took his time tending to your poor mangled ankle after that accident on the ski trail.”
This was so embarrassing. Her sister knew Sam too well. When they were in high school, those bonfires on the beach had been such fun. Josh McCall had been part of the charm. Now he was a widowed orthopedic surgeon in Charlevoix.
When she’d kicked off her boot so Josh could wrap her ankle at the ski hut, she’d felt embarrassed. Her toenails were trash. Having pretty bare feet with polished toes hadn’t been a big priority for her in recent years. When had Kurt last noticed them? She should have been into this pedicure thing long ago. But during Chicago’s snowy winters, she’d worn a lot of boots.
Where would she be next summer? Would she be in Charlevoix, digging her toes into the warm sand any chance she’d get? Toes in the sand. She tried to carry that image in her mind. Energized, she continued to plan with her sister until Marlowe grew silent. Then she finally said in a quiet voice, “I miss them tonight, Sam.”
“I know. Me too.” Sam knew what Marlowe was talking about. Aunt Cate, Izzy and the baby. They'd had such a wonderful time together. “Maybe we should schedule a Facetime call.”
“Great idea. I’ll try to check with them tomorrow to set a time.” Despite all their complaining, Marlowe and Sam ended the conversation on a happy note. Sam felt reassured, ready for her next steps.
But as she lay in her king-size bed with the winter wind whistling around the eaves, the empty rooms in the big house haunted her. Many of the pieces Kurt had taken, like the leather recliners, they’d chosen together. At least he hadn’t touched their china. Pulling together a new home would be fun. Counting her blessings, she finally fell asleep. But she woke up several times during the night. The house had creaks. A squeak here, a knocking there. Those had never bothered her before.
