Page 3 of Finding Forever

“Maybe.” Sherlock sprinted toward me with something dangling from his mouth. “I have to go. I’ll call you tonight.”

“Good luck with Riley.”

“I don’t need luck. I have a copy of the rental agreement and a screenshot of the original listing. If Riley has a problem with that, he can talk to the person who rented me the cottage.”

“I’m looking forward to hearing how that conversation turns out. Call me after seven o’clock.”

Sherlock dropped an old shoe on the ground.

I said goodbye to Alex, then studied the rotting shoe. An idea started to form in my mind. An idea that might just get my dead body across to Delaware.

I knelt beside Sherlock and rubbed his ears. “Have I told you what a brilliant dog you are?”

Sherlock’s big brown eyes seemed to laugh at me. At least someone was having a good day.

three

RILEY

As soon as I stacked my groceries in my truck, I pulled out my phone. Mom would know if someone was renting our cottage. The only problem was that she didn’t know I was in America.

It only took a few seconds for Kathleen Murphy to answer the phone. “Riley? Why aren’t there more digits in front of your number?”

The pounding in my head got worse. “Hi, Mom. I’m in Sunrise Bay.”

“In Colorado? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back to America? You could have stayed with me for a few days in Indianapolis.”

“It’s complicated.”

I heard her sharp intake of breath. “Calling me isn’t that complicated. I thought you were in Venice getting ready for your next exhibition?”

If I was stressed before calling Mom, I was worse now. “Someone broke into my apartment and stole two of my paintings.”

“That’s terrible. Were you hurt?”

“No. I was at the opening of a friend’s exhibition when it happened.”

Mom sighed. “Thank goodness for that. If you’d had to go to the hospital, it would have taken me forever to get there.”

There was no point reminding her that I’d been living in Europe for nine years. Until a month ago, nothing had happened. “I need to paint two new canvases for Lorenzo’s gallery. I thought coming to Sunrise Bay would give me a better chance of finishing them. But someone told me Grandma’s cottage has been rented.”

“Oh, dear. I didn’t know you were coming back. Eric’s a friend of a friend. He was desperate for somewhere to stay, so I let him rent the cottage. But he’s only using Grandma and Granddad’s rooms. Our side of the cottage is still empty.”

I leaned against the side of my truck. My grandparents’ cottage was originally a small two-bedroom home. When my parents divorced, my grandparents added another three bedrooms, a small living room, and a kitchen onto the cottage. I lived there with Mom until I went to college.

“Why didn’t you tell me you rented the cottage?”

“I tried calling you, but you were at the Art Expo in Milan,” she said quickly. “I spoke to your landlord. He said he’d tell you when you got back.”

I sighed. My landlord was a nice man, but he wasn’t the most reliable person on the planet. “He didn’t say anything.”

“Is there somewhere else you can stay?”

Finding a property with enough space to set up a studio wouldn’t be easy. “I’ll call a realtor and ask.” The traffic lights outside the general store turned red, and a line of trucks stopped. “When did Sunrise Bay become so popular?”

“About three years ago,” Mom replied. “It’s less busy during winter. If you need anything?—”

“I’m fine. I’ll go and see the man who rented the cottage. Did he know someone else might be living in the rest of the cottage?”

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