Page 39 of Sunrise

I try to focus on the house in front of me. Brynn went with a coastal vibe in her decorating with more punches of color. The downstairs layout is different in each house, but both have an open floor plan and decent-sized backyard.

After checking the upstairs room and finding the only thing wrong being the side tree, we lock up and head over to Mrs. Keller's house.

"Now she can be a joker," Lin tells me. "She had me believing she was a direct descendant of Helen Keller until I grew up and realized Keller was her husband's name, not hers."

I laugh because that would have gotten me growing up too. This woman is going to be a real character, and I can't wait.

As soon as we step up on the porch, Mrs. Keller is there with a tray of tea and cookies.

"Sit, sit," she says, and I follow Lin to the wicker couch at the side of the porch. We sit next to each other, and Mrs. Keller sits across from us in one of the two wicker chairs. She sets the tray on the coffee table in front of us.

Then she looks up and levels me with a gaze only a mother can master. One that says you are in trouble, and you better just accept your fate. Lin seems oblivious to the gaze as she pours our drinks and passes them out.

"So, boy, I hear you rented out the whole inn?" Mrs. Keller asks.

"Yes, ma'am," I say.

"Why?" she asks point-blank.

"Well, I got tired of the press in Hollywood. I can't take a shit without them reporting on what color it is." I level her with a look, and a moment later, she bursts out laughing.

"Don't I know it. We know a bit about press Lin, Brynn, and I," she says and looks at Lin.

"I told him a bit," Lin says, and Mrs. Keller nods.

"I wasn't sorry when I smashed that guy's camera. Not one bit." She huffs.

"Oh, this is a story I want to hear," I say and pick up a cookie. I take a bite, and it melts in my mouth.

"Chocolate chip pecan. My gran used to make these for me every summer. I haven't had one since she passed away," I say.

"They are my specialty. You come around more, you will get more cookies. Now, this boy was some reporter type. Claims he moved from Hollywood because his wife needed to be closer to her dad. He was in the tree in Lin's yard. We don't take too kindly to trespassers here, so I shot him with my BB gun. Scared him so bad he fell from the tree," she says.

"Then she stomped on his camera. Broke the lens and everything. The guy tried to file a police report, but since he was trespassing and, as the sheriff said, ‘exhibiting stalker behavior' that if he left the island and didn't step foot on it again, he wouldn't toss him in jail. The guy ran off so fast." Lin laughs.

"It wasn't too long after that the girls moved into the inns. It was safer for them, two girls living alone and all. They have security there day and night, and the staff helps watch over them. I miss them still, but it's better for them this way, plus come summertime, I get full use of the pool." She wiggles her eyebrows at me, and I laugh.

"Now what kind of stories do you want to know about a young Lin? I've been living here since she was born and would watch her and Brynn both as babies and even into their teen years. I have all the good stories."

"Oh, yeah? What was a young Lin like?" I ask Mrs. Keller but look at Lin, whose eyes are sparkling, and she's smiling.

"She was generally a good kid. Nice and helpful, but she has a slightly rebellious streak. You know she was a cheerleader in high school?" Mrs. Keller raises an eyebrow at me.

I look over at Lin and imagine her in a cheerleader outfit, and I have to shift a bit, reminding myself now is not a good time to get hard, even if Lin in a cheerleader uniform is every man's fantasy.

Mrs. Keller misses nothing and laughs.

"It was for six weeks, then the head cheerleader slept with Brynn's boyfriend at the time. I punched her in the face and got kicked off the team." Lin shrugs.

"That girl deserved it. Her parents tried to make their daughter seem like a victim, but the town knew the truth. They all left town as soon as she graduated. No one would buy from the mom's store, and no one wanted anything to do with them or that girl of theirs. You know I heard she is a pole dancer now? And not the good kind either." Mrs. Keller nods. "This one is loyal to those who are loyal to her. You best remember that." She points at Lin but levels her stare to me.

I look at Lin. I could already tell that about her, but hearing someone else say it reminds me how special she really is.

We talk for a bit more about some pranks Lin and Brynn would play on people in the neighborhood before Lin cuts us off.

"We have to go to that meeting with the mayor, Mrs. Keller," Lin says.

We stand, and they hug. Mrs. Keller whispers something in her ear I can't hear before she turns to me and hugs me too.

---