Love Under the Stars

CHAPTER ONE

WHITNEY

On a bright August day, Whitney Gilford sat on the sunning rock she and her two sisters had used since they were kids spending time at Lilac Lake in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. It was the best place she knew to gather her thoughts.

Too upset to sit still, she jumped to her feet, picked up a nearby stone, and threw it as hard as she could into the water, observing the spray of water it created with little satisfaction.

“Dammit, Zane! Why wouldn’t you let me help you? Or help yourself? You could’ve had such a wonderful life.” Her voice carried across the lake in angry waves, scaring several birds from their perches in trees sprinkled along the coastline.

Breathing hard, Whitney unclenched her fists and sank back onto the rock, letting tears of frustration and sorrow escape onto her cheeks. Then, angry again, she swiped them off. It was time to get to work, time to try to clean up his mess and make things right.

She knew on an intellectual level she wasn’t to blame for Zane’s death, but she’d gone into an emotional tailspin after hearing it. And then, when she found out he’d left her his house, his money, and everything he owned, she’d filled with remorse for not succeeding in getting him into rehab. Now, she was dealing with anger at his decision to end his life like that.

Almost a month ago, she’d received the shattering call telling her Zane Blanchard, her co-star on the television series, The Hopefuls, had died of a drug overdose. She and Zane had fallen in love soon after the series began four years ago, but it hadn’t lasted long. Even when drugs changed the nice guy Whitney loved into someone she detested, they’d tried for the sake of the series to pretend they were still together. But after repeated failures to get Zane into a rehabilitation center and the cruel changes in his behavior toward her, Whitney ended the relationship.

At one time, back when she and Zane were dating, they’d discussed different ways they could use some of their earnings for charity. Whitney knew exactly what to do with the inheritance Zane had given her. She’d set up a foundation to help children with mental health issues. Heaven knew, there were plenty of kids of all ages needing that kind of assistance.

She gazed out over the lake and listened to the water gently lapping at the edges of the rock, smothering it with soft kisses. She watched as ducks glided in the water nearby, and smelled the aroma of the evergreen trees that dotted the shoreline helping to soothe her soul.

Here at Lilac Lake, Whitney often relaxed on the patio of her rental house at night, sitting under the stars, staring at their glittering beauty, finding solace in the continuity of life.

“Hey, Whitney. I thought I might find you here,” said her sister, Dani, walking toward her across the front lawn of the cottage the three sisters owned and were renovating. At thirty, Dani was the middle sister and a talented architect. She had agreed to marry Brad Collister, one of the two brothers who owned a local company, Collister Construction, which the new owners of the Lilac Lake Inn had hired to do a complete renovation.

Whitney waved, and Dani joined her on top of the rock. “Now that the interior of the cottage is complete, minus furnishings, we’d better talk about attacking the attic. We’ve put it off until now, but we need to decide whether to leave it or take advantage of the workmen available to us to turn that into a unique living space.”

Genie Wittner, their grandmother, whom they lovingly called GG, had sold the Lilac Lake Inn to new owners, who’d agreed to leave the family cottage and three acres of the property out of the deal as long as the three sisters renovated and then used the cottage for at least six months of the year. If that didn’t happen, the new owners of the inn had an option to buy the cottage at a fair market price.

GG had done her best to keep the entire property in the family, but with her age and financial issues, this was the best solution for her to honor her father’s wishes. Now it was up to Whitney, Dani, and their younger sister, Taylor, to keep that promise.

The cottage they’d inherited had been left in poor condition. With her architectural expertise, Dani had agreed to supervise its renovation. Even with the attractive work already done on the house, there remained a major problem—the belief that the house was haunted.

Taylor, especially, was bothered by the presence of a spirit. Neither Whitney nor Dani could deny feeling something amiss inside the house. They, along with Taylor, had agreed to follow through on investigating what facts they could find about the ghost, whom townspeople thought was Mrs. Maynard, a woman who’d lived there twenty years ago.

“Let’s keep the attic as it is for the time being,” said Whitney, “but I’ll try to investigate and resolve the issue. We know only a little bit about Addie Maynard and her husband, but we know nothing about the box that held a wedding dress along with baby clothes. I believe it’s connected in some way to the mystery of the ghost.”

“Yes, and the envelope holding birth and death certificates for a baby named Isaac Thomas might play a part, too,” said Dani.

“What are you two up to?” asked Taylor, joining them. The youngest at twenty-five, Taylor was a successful author who’d recently become engaged to her editor. With her dark hair and brown eyes, she was physically different from Whitney and Dani’s blonde looks, but she had the same Wittner family spirit, as GG liked to say.

“We were talking about the need to finish the attic,” said Dani.

Taylor held up her hand to stop her. “We have to take care of Mrs. Maynard first. But that’s not why I’m here. I heard something disturbing that I think you should know about, Whitney. Some fans on Instagram are blaming you for Zane’s death. One of them threatened to confront you and make you confess to ruining his life.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” said Dani, frowning.

Whitney held up her hand. “It’s just talk. Don’t let it concern you.” She didn’t want to go there because she still blamed herself for not preventing his tragic death.

“Yes, but with Dani spending time with Brad and me going back and forth to New York City, I’d feel better if we asked Nick to keep an eye on you.” Nick Woodruff was the police chief of Lilac Lake, and though people admired him for his dedication, there wasn’t a female under 80 who didn’t also admire his sexy looks. He’d been one of the summer gang of kids back when Whitney, Dani, and Taylor spent summers visiting GG. After an amicable divorce from Crystal, Nick showed no signs of being interested in anyone.

“I don’t think we have to go that far. People say hurtful and nasty things like that on social media all the time, but it’s only bravado,” said Whitney. “Zane’s drug habits are well-known.”

“Taylor may be right, though,” said Dani. “We’d feel better if Nick was aware of the situation.”

“Look, I don’t want him checking on me unless the situation escalates. I’ve tried to keep a low profile in Lilac Lake,” said Whitney. “After dealing with the details of Zane’s death, I’m finding my footing and don’t want people hovering over me.”

“I understand,” said Dani. “But at the first sign of trouble, I’m going to ask Nick for help.”

“Deal,” said Whitney. “In the meantime, I’ll do some investigation into our ghost. Dani, you said Addie Maynard married Milton in 1958 after his first wife died a year or so before. After Milton died in 1997, Addie took up GG’s offer to live at the cottage. That was almost twenty years ago.”

“Yes, she died in 2002,” said Dani.

“The house was empty for that time?” said Taylor. “Why would GG let the house go empty for so long?”

“I’m not sure she did,” said Dani. “Let’s ask her. I’ll call and see if we can join her for tea.” Their grandmother was now living at a nearby assisted living facility called The Woodlands, which Brad and Aaron Collister’s construction company had built with GG’s backing.

The women stretched out on the rock, basking in the sun, as they used to do when they were younger. Then as now, it was a soothing place to be.

Dani popped up. “Okay, I can’t stay any longer, but it was great to catch up with the two of you.”

Taylor got to her feet. “I’m taking a short break, but I need to get back to work. Being here gave me a new thought for a plot twist.”

Whitney waved to her sisters and lay back against the granite rock allowing her thoughts to drift. The last two years of growing conflict with Zane had taken a toll on her. She needed quiet time to heal.

###

That afternoon, Whitney joined her sisters in a visit to GG. Their grandmother had always been a huge emotional support to the three of them. Their mother, a valuable supporter of causes in Atlanta, Georgia, where she lived, wasn’t the warm person GG was. Maybe because her first marriage was to an alcoholic who died in an accident while driving drunk, and though their union had produced both Whitney and Dani, it had also been filled with a lot of heartache and self-doubt. Her second marriage was, thankfully, a happy one and had created Taylor.

As Whitney exited the car and headed inside to GG’s apartment at The Woodlands, her heart beat a little faster in anticipation of seeing her grandmother. GG had a way of always making things seem better, and Whitney needed that now.

When they entered GG’s apartment, they found her sitting in her favorite chair reading a book. She noticed them, and a wide smile softened the wrinkles on her face.

“There they are. My lovely girls,” she said, holding out her arms to them.

Whitney lined up to give her grandmother a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

“What are you reading?” asked Taylor.

“Something you might like. Breakfast at The Beach House Hotel,” said GG. She set the book down. “Now, let’s enjoy one another. After Dani’s call, I had lemonade and cookies delivered to the room. But first, tell me why you’re here. Dani mentioned my giving you some information.”

“Yes,” said Whitney. “I’m starting to do some investigation into the mysterious box we found in the garage at the cottage.”

“We’re trying to get to the bottom of the rumor about a ghost living at the cottage,” said Dani. “We know that Addie Maynard died outside the cottage in December 2002. Has the cottage remained empty ever since? We know you’d moved to the inn by then.”

“When we were here in the summers, it was unoccupied,” said Taylor.

“After Addie used the cottage, I allowed people in the community to house refugees there on a temporary basis, along with other people, mostly women in need of a safe space. But I was saving the cottage for you girls, so I never rented it out to a family on a permanent basis.” GG shook her head. “Then when taxes and other expenses of running the inn began to become unwieldy, I simply tried to keep things going while I decided what to do. After being caught in that financial scandal in Boston, I had no choice but to sell the inn, keeping the cottage for you girls to enjoy with your families in the years to come. Sadly, it was the best I could do to keep my father’s promise to hold onto the land.”

“We’re going to honor your wishes and keep the cottage in use,” said Whitney, taking hold of her grandmother’s hand and squeezing it.

“I know you will,” said GG. “That makes me very happy. I remember summer days when you girls visited. It was always such a pleasure, something I looked forward to all year.”

“What do you know about Addie’s daughter, Carolyn?” said Dani.

“I remember her as a pretty girl, a bit on the shy side,” said GG staring into space. “I don’t know what happened, but there was a painful rift between Carolyn and her mother, and she left town in the early fall of 2001. I never heard anything more about her, but others may have more knowledge than I.”

Taylor was busy writing down notes, but she looked up at GG and said, “There’s got to be a story behind it. We want to know what it is before we decide to work on the attic.”

“How is the cottage coming along?” asked GG.

“We’re getting ready to put the last few finishing touches on it. The outside needs to be painted,” said Dani. “Once that’s done, we’ll complete the landscaping around it. For the time being, we’re holding onto the funds we have before making any other decisions.”

“We can’t wait for you to see it. We’re having a celebration when it’s all done,” said Taylor.

“There are going to be some nice surprises for you,” said Whitney. She was in charge of decorating the house and was using some of the family portraits and photographs they’d recovered from the inn to decorate walls inside the cottage.

“How are things going for you here? Has JoEllen Daniels come into your room uninvited recently?” Dani’s nostrils flared with anger. “Brad’s trying to stay away from her, but she too frequently calls him to come fix this and that at the cabin she’s renting.”

“That woman is such bad news. When you think about her believing Brad would marry her to fulfill his dead wife’s wishes, it’s ludicrous,” grumped Taylor.

“It’s really a twisted belief,” said Whitney. “But she’s desperate to marry someone.”

“And in the meantime, she’s annoying,” said Dani. “I try not to say much about it to Brad because he gets so frustrated with her that I don’t want to add to it.”

Just then, there was a knock on the door. A tall, thin, blonde stuck her head inside. “Good afternoon, Ms. Wittner. I’m checking to make sure you’re all right. Is there anything I can do for you?” She looked everywhere but at GG.

“No, thank you, JoEllen,” said GG in a tone of dismissal no one could ignore.

“Okay, then, I’ll be on my way. I knew you had company and wanted to make sure.” JoEllen smiled at Dani.

After JoEllen left and closed the door behind her, Dani seethed. “JoEllen told Brad she’d be here in town to check up on him, and now she’s doing that to me too. It makes me furious.”

“It’s best to ignore her,” said GG. “You and Brad will be living out at The Meadows someday, and that will make it easier.”

Dani’s frown disappeared. “It will be nice, but it won’t happen for some time. Customers take precedence over us.” Dani and Brad had decided to build a house for themselves at the development.

“And how are you doing, Whitney?” GG asked, giving her a penetrating look.

“Better,” Whitney said. “But it’s going to take a long time to get over the anger and sadness I feel. I’m starting to work on structure and ideas for the foundation I’m setting up in Zane’s name. That helps.”

“Yes, keeping busy is wise,” said GG smiling at her.

Whitney’s heart filled with love for her grandmother. GG had been a comfort to four-year-old Whitney after her father died and before that when fighting was a constant in her parents’ home. Luckily, a couple of years later, her mother met a good man, married him, and gave birth to Taylor.

“You’re going to be fine,” GG said to Whitney, squeezing her hand.

Whitney gave her a weak smile. She wouldn’t worry GG by telling her about the crazy social media talk that she, herself, was the cause behind Zane’s death.