The Lakeside Inn

Penny Terry loves her job as a property development manager in one of Seattle’s biggest construction companies. When tragedy strikes, she returns to Sapphire Bay to say goodbye to her grandmother and comfort her parents.

The last thing Penny or her sisters expect is to inherit the house her grandma called home. But there’s a catch—and it could change their lives forever.

Wyatt Johnson didn’t move to Sapphire Bay to be harassed by four females and a large Golden Labrador. But when the Terry sisters become his neighbors, any chance of completing his latest collection of paintings disappears under a blast of plaster dust and never-ending banging.

When Penny needs his help to solve an old family mystery, they’re drawn into a web of secrets unlike anything Sapphire Bay has ever seen.

Cold, unwelcome dread filled Penny Terry’s chest as she arrived at the hospital in Polson. Her sweet, adorable grandmother was dying. There were no drugs, no alternative therapies, nothing that could change what was going to happen. 

After a frantic call from her mom, Penny had caught a late flight into Kalispell, then driven to Polson. Flying into Montana was a bittersweet moment. She loved coming home, but knowing her grandma was so sick left her heart raw.

Gripping her jacket tighter, she looked around the entranceway of the hospital. Allan, her dad, rose from a black plastic chair. His smile of welcome was burdened with grief. 

Everyone in their family was close to her grandma. With her endless smiles, crazy sense of humor, and never-ending enthusiasm for life, she lit their darkest days with happiness and joy.

Rushing across the room, Penny threw herself into her dad’s open arms.

“It’s good to see you,” her dad said. “How was your flight?”

“It was okay. How’s Grandma?”

Tears filled her dad’s eyes. “She isn’t good, but she’s looking forward to seeing you.”

Taking a deep breath, Penny blinked back her own tears. “Can I visit her now?”

“Of course, you can. The palliative care unit doesn’t have any set visiting hours.” With their arms linked, they walked toward the elevators. “Betty’s more frail than the last time you saw her.”

Before Penny left Seattle, her mom, Mabel, had tried to prepare her for the changes that had happened over the last week. Her grandma couldn’t get out of bed anymore. She’d lost weight and the large doses of pain medication had caused other issues. 

But she was still alive. She was still the same woman who’d sung to Penny and her sisters as they’d danced around the kitchen. The same woman who told them stories of princesses and dragons as they’d sat around the fire. The same woman who’d looked after the roses in her garden as if they were her children.

The elevator doors opened and Penny stepped into the palliative care unit with her dad.

“Your grandma’s down here.” Allan pointed to a different corridor than the one they’d walked down a couple of weeks ago. “People who don’t have long to live are in this area,” he added softly.

Penny swallowed the lump in her throat. She’d always known her grandma would die someday. Now that the time was close, she couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing her again.

As if sensing her mounting distress, her dad wrapped his arm around her waist. “Betty has had a wonderful life. Hold that thought close to your heart when you see her.”

All she could do was nod.

As they walked down the corridor, she saw how much the hospital had tried to soften the clinical function of the ward. Carpet tiles replaced the usual vinyl flooring. They walked past small seating areas and colorful meeting rooms. There was also a small kitchen where people could make a cup of coffee and reheat food in a microwave. But nothing could disguise the antiseptic smell of the hospital; the reason everyone was here.

She glanced at two people walking toward them. The look they shared with her bonded them in grief. They understood. They were going through the same thing themselves.

“Here’s Grandma’s room.”

Penny’s heart pounded. The plain, gray door seemed so normal compared to what was going on behind it. “Were Diana, Katie, and Barbara able to catch earlier flights?” Her sisters were scattered like leaves across the country, each pursuing careers that were as different as their personalities. They’d all booked flights for this weekend but, with Grandma’s health deteriorating, their parents had asked them to come home earlier.

Her dad looked at his watch. “I can’t believe it’s after midnight. Diana’s flight arrives in seven hours, and Katie and Barbara will be here in the afternoon. Are you ready to see your grandma?”

Penny nodded and, with a trembling hand, she opened the door. 

Sitting upright in bed, her grandma’s frail, sunken body almost disappeared against the pale linens. But when she turned her head toward Penny, the light of her gentle, loving nature still shone from her eyes.

Penny had promised herself she wouldn’t cry in front of her grandma. So, instead of showing her how upset she was, she smiled and stepped toward the woman who made her life complete. “Hi, Grandma.”

“It’s so good to see you, honey. I’m sorry about all this fuss.”

A genuine smile pulled at the corner of Penny’s mouth. It was so like her grandma to put everyone else’s needs above her own. “I’m glad I’m here. How are you feeling?”

“A little tired.”

She gently hugged her grandma. Even though Penny knew her grandma had lost weight, she was still shocked by how little there was of her. “I should have brought a triple chocolate fudge brownie for you.”

“My favorite,” Betty whispered in Penny’s ear.

Her grandma’s raspy voice brought back memories of sitting around her kitchen table, talking nonstop as they enjoyed their marathon baking sessions. 

They were precious moments, and ones she’d always treasure. “Where did Mom go?”

“For a walk. She’s spent every waking hour in here since I arrived.” Betty licked her dry lips.

Reaching for the glass of water beside the bed, Penny held the end of the straw toward her grandma. “Would you like a sip of water?”

“That would be lovely.” After having a drink, Betty sighed. “Thank you. Tell me about the apartment building you’re working on. Is it finished?”

Six months ago, she’d shown her grandma the plans for a large, multi-story building. “It should be finished in five months. We’ve already sold half the apartments.”

“Your boss will be happy.”

“I hope so.” For the last three years, Penny had been working alongside the senior property development manager at Barclays, one of the largest construction companies in Seattle. With her colleague’s upcoming retirement, she’d applied for his job. 

Marketing and selling the apartments had been her primary focus even before the foundations were laid. If she sold the remaining apartments in the next few months, she’d have a much better chance of securing the promotion.

“Sit beside me,” Betty said slowly. “I have some things I need to tell you.”

Penny’s dad was sitting in a chair on the far side of the room. He stood and smiled at them. “I’ll grab a cup of coffee while you’re talking. Would either of you like one?”

“Not for me, Dad. I had something to drink on the way to the hospital.”

Betty shook her head. “Not for me, either.”

Allan turned his worried eyes toward Penny. “Call me if you need anything.”

“I will.” After her dad left, she pulled a chair close to the bed. She didn’t know what her grandma wanted to say, but there was an urgency in her voice that hadn’t been there before. “What did you want to tell me, Grandma?”

“I’m going to die soon, honey, and there are some things you need to know.”

She didn’t know whether it was her grandma’s matter-of-fact voice or her determined expression that worried her the most. 

Holding her grandma’s hand, she told herself not to be too dramatic. Their family didn’t have any secrets that were worth repeating. They were a normal family with a very normal life. 

Or so she’d always thought.