Page 174 of Ewan

He flashes a grin.

“I asked the housekeeper to shop for us.”

I lift an eyebrow.

“Housekeeper?”

“Yes. This is one of my brothers’ homes.”

“Oh,” I murmur, unable to hide my surprise.

“Is it the same brother? Callan?”

“Nope,” he says, washing his hands in the sink, not offering his brother’s name.

“Have you been here before then?” I ask.

“Yes, I have. I spent some time here before he moved to Montana.”

“Interesting,” I say, moving my eyes around the place.

“What’s so interesting?” he asks. “What are you looking for?” he asks again.

“I want to make a cup of coffee.”

“The machine is over there,” he says, pointing to another pantry I haven’t noticed before.

“Nobody was using it, so he put it away,” he says, talking about the coffee machine.

“So this isn’t a rental house then?” I ask, setting the coffee machine on the counter, plugging it in, and turning it on.

“Everything is in the cupboard,” he says helpfully. “No,” he continues. “A lot of people rent out their homes on the island, and he was tempted to do that too, but he never got around to doing it. The good thing is, he renovated it before he moved out.”

I turn my back to him and focus on making a pot of freshly brewed coffee.

“What was so interesting?” he asks, and I flick my eyes over my shoulder.

“You were saying something before,” he reminds me.

I pull two mugs from the cupboard.

“Do you want some?” I ask.

“Okay,” he says, waiting for my answer.

I fill the mugs and place them down, weighing my words.

“My first thought was that this house had been occupied by a family at some point. So I came up with this story in my head, that the kids must be all grown up, and maybe the owner and his wife became empty nesters and moved someplace else.”

He pushes back one of the chairs at the table and takes a seat.

“What made you say that?” he asks, his voice serious, perhaps too serious.

I sit across form him and push his drink in front of him before curling my fingers around mine.

“It’s a beautiful place perfect for a family. The only thing missing is the family,” I say smiling, my grin unable to dissolve the thoughtful expression on his face.

“You’re off a little,” he says, emotionless. “But not that far from the truth.”

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