Endless Love (Santa’s Secret Helpers #5) - Leeanna Morgan Page 0,2
sold, and people turned them into their permanent homes or vacation houses.
With more and more people moving to Sapphire Bay, the simple cottages were in hot demand.
Over the last two months, he’d spent countless hours remodeling the house into a lovely family home. With its soothing colors and beautiful kitchen, Shelley couldn’t wait to see what it looked like in six months’ time.
Next year, Steven wanted to extend his home toward the water. With the extra space, he’d create a beautiful master bedroom and bathroom, and have a more sheltered outdoor entertaining area.
John lifted a picnic basket off the back seat and stood beside her. “It doesn’t look as though anyone’s home.”
Shelley picked up the orange juice and closed the door. “They might have gone for a walk or they could be late home from work.” She knew her sister wouldn’t be too far away. Bailey was almost as neurotic about being on time as she was.
She walked up the garden path and placed the juice on the veranda. With a smile at John, she lifted the flower pot that was sitting on the right-hand side of the front door and took out a key.
John shook his head. “I can’t believe Steven leaves his spare key there. The Jones family is a bad influence on him.”
“This is Sapphire Bay, remember. We don’t have burglars in our small Montana town.”
“You should still be careful.”
Shelley sent him a cheeky salute. “Yes, sir. Why don’t we leave the food on the kitchen counter and walk down to the lake? Even if Bailey and Steven aren’t there, we can enjoy the fresh air while we’re waiting for them.”
John held open the front door while Shelley picked up the juice. “Sounds good. But if anyone calls the police and tells them someone is breaking into Steven’s house, I’m blaming you.”
“That’s okay. I’ll just say I’m with the local pastor.”
He sighed. “We’ll end up on the community Facebook page. Mabel will enjoy coming up with a scandalous headline.”
“I’ve never done anything scandalous in my life,” Shelley mused. “It sounds exciting.”
John’s eyes gleamed with laughter. “It could be, but I’m not sure you’d want Mabel knowing what we were doing.”
A truck horn tooted and they both turned toward the driveway.
Steven, Bailey, and Mila had arrived home.
“Sorry we’re late,” Bailey said as she walked toward them holding two bags of groceries. “I needed a few supplies from the general store. Have you been waiting long?”
“Only a few minutes,” Shelley said. “Don’t rush.”
Mila, Steven’s eight-year-old daughter, ran toward them and gave Shelley a big hug. “Did you see Dudley and Miss Monroe? They’ve found a new hiding place in my bedroom.”
“No,” Shelley said with a smile. “We didn’t see your kittens.”
“They’re in my closet,” Mila whispered. “But I’m real careful about not closing the doors in case they need to go potty.”
“That’s a good idea,” Shelley whispered back. “Are there other groceries in your dad’s truck?”
Mila looked at what her dad and Bailey were holding. “Nope. That’s it.”
“Come in and I’ll make everyone coffee,” Steven said.
John took one of the grocery bags off Bailey and followed everyone into the house. “I visited the old steamboat museum this afternoon. The last three tiny homes are looking great.”
Steven placed his groceries on the counter. He worked with the team of people who were building tiny homes inside a large, abandoned building on the outskirts of town. “The last houses are coming together faster than the others. How are the negotiations going on the contract for Polson?”
John was talking with another community group about building more tiny homes in Polson. If everything went to plan, it would give the construction team another twelve months of work. “It’s looking good. We’re negotiating the price and seeing if we can modify the plans. In the next week, we should know what they’ve decided to do.”
“Hopefully, it all works out.” Taking groceries out of the bags, Steven placed them in the pantry.
“What can we do to help?” John asked.
Bailey looked at her fiancé. “Actually, there’s something we want to help you with. Steven and I know how difficult it is to find a venue for anything, especially a wedding. If you don’t mind getting married on Valentine’s Day, you could get married with us at The Fairy Forest.”
The Fairy Forest was a wonderful venue for children’s parties, but could also cater for weddings and other events.
Shelley looked at John. Even though getting married in February would be wonderful, he was thinking the same thing as