Fresh Start at Hearts Hotel (Sweet Blossom Bay #1)

Chapter 1

LINDA

Linda Heart stood in the quiet living room of the Miami house she had called home for close to thirty-eight years and felt the gentle weight of every memory settle around her shoulders like a well-worn shawl.

The walls were bare now, the furniture gone, the laughter of family dinners and holiday mornings already softening into something tender and distant.

Linda still knew every significant spot in the house.

Like where Ethan had fallen and got his first set of stitches on his cheek.

Where her granddaughter had taken her first steps, and her grandson had slid down the stairs on a cot mattress with his father.

Now, only the faint scent of lemon polish lingered in the air, and the memories faded like ghostly images around her.

She let out a trembling breath, holding onto her emotions, and looked around the empty space one more time. Thirty-eight years of marriage, of raising her son Ethan, of building what she had truly believed would be their forever home. It was all ending today.

“Do they still have those bouncy castle things in the lake?” Jake asked, his eyes shining with excitement as his question drew her from her reverie.

Linda smiled warmly at him, glad for the distraction.

Her son, Ethan, who was now a doctor, and his wife, Olivia, who was also a doctor, had signed up to do a summer with Doctors Without Borders.

Linda had not even hesitated to offer to have her grandchildren for the summer.

She was glad to have the company and the distraction from the heart-wrenching time of leaving her house.

“What bouncy castles, sweetheart?” Linda asked him, frowning.

“The ones we used to jump on when we went to the cabin with you and Grandpa?” Jake explained enthusiastically. “You know, the ones they also have the mock water Olympic Games on during summer camp there?”

Linda smiled, the memory warming her from the inside.

“I’m sure they do, sweetheart.” Linda laughed at the memories of those crazy campsite games the owners held each summer to entertain their guests, as well as for the summer camp that was housed there.

“Although we haven’t been there for two years, I haven’t heard of any changes to the summer routine. ”

The lake cabin they had rented during summer vacations, since her son was a young boy, had always been the kids’ favorite place.

“I hope so,” Jake said. “This year, I’m just old enough to join the youngest category for the games.”

“Yeah, but you’re still a little short for your age, little brother,” his eleven-year-old sister, Sophia, teased him with a twinkle in her eye. “You won’t make the height restrictions.”

“Then you won’t be able to play any of the games either,” Jake pointed out smugly. “Because I’m nearly taller than you, shorty.”

“Gran…” Sophia hissed. She could dish out the teasing, but didn’t like receiving it. “Tell him not to pick on my height. It’s not my fault I’m short.”

“Oh, honey, you’re petite like your mother,” Linda told her reassuringly. “And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.”

“Except when you want to get on rides at the theme and water parks.” Jake smirked.

“Funny!” Sophia pulled a tongue at her brother. “I’d rather be a…”

“Smurf?” Jake continued.

“I’m honored to be a Smurf,” Sophia raised her chin. “Smurfette is gorgeous.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of Grumpy,” Jake said and laughed as she punched him on the arm. “Ow…” He rubbed the spot. “You’re also freakishly strong for a mouse.”

“Okay, you two, that’s enough,” Linda said with a sigh, shaking her head. “Go get whatever you have left in the kitchen, as we have to leave.”

“I don’t know why you sold the house, Gran,” Sophia said, her eyes darkening with emotion. “This is our happy place filled with so many of our baby memories.”

“Yeah, we love this house,” Jake agreed with his sister.

“Oh, my honeys, the house is just far too big for me now,” Linda said gently, the lump in her throat reemerging as she fought back the tears.

“We could come live with you,” Jake offered. “Mom and Dad are always working or globe-trotting with their medical expeditions.”

“I would love my babies living with me,” Linda admitted. “But your parents would miss you as you’re their favorite downtime.”

“You should come and live at our house then,” Sophia offered. “Not in the cabin alone in the woods.”

“We all know how that ended for Goldilocks,” Jake pointed out. He had never liked that story. It had always freaked him out.

“It’s just for the summer or until I find another place to live,” Linda reminded them and smiled. “Besides, I have the two of you, and then in a week or two’s time, your Great-Uncle Michael and your cousin Lily will be joining us.”

“It’s going to be weird without Grandpa,” Sophia told her. “It’s just not the same when we visit him now.”

“No, it’s not,” Jake agreed, shaking his head. “We don’t like the Wicked Witch.”

Linda sighed again and shook her head. “Jake, my love, you can’t call your grandfather’s fiancée the Wicked Witch. Her name is Ursula.”

“Yeah,” Jake said with a nod. “The Wicked Witch. You know, like in The Little Mermaid.”

“I’m beginning to think you watch too much television,” Linda tutted. “Now go and get your things.” She glanced at her wristwatch. “We need to get going. I still want to stop at the store to pick up some food.”

“Are you going to get some of those frozen pizzas?” Jake’s eyes lit with enthusiasm.

“We’ll see,” Linda promised as he turned and dashed out of the living room, heading for the kitchen.

Sophia lingered, her eyes bright with concern.

“Gran, if you don’t want us to go to Grandpa’s wedding, you just say the word.” She watched Linda intently. “Dad said you’re not going, so we’ll come be with you instead that day.”

“Weren’t you invited, Gran?” Jake asked, frowning, rushing back from the kitchen with his stuff and his sisters. “That’s rude.”

“I was invited,” Linda assured her grandson. “I’m just going to be out of town with Maggie that week. I promised her I’d help with one of the dress shows in California.”

“Is that the same week?” Sophia’s eyes widened. “I wanted to go with you and Maggie.”

“I know,” Linda said. “Maggie has another two shows in California this year and has promised we’ll go with her on the next one.”

“Are you sure you don’t want us to go with you to this one?” Jake asked. “I really don’t like Ursula.” He shook his head, his eyes sparking with a flash of hurt and anger. “Grandpa has only just divorced you, and he’s already planning to get married again.”

“We’re sorry, Grandma,” Sophia told her, taking a step toward Linda and hugging her. “Just say the word, and we’ll boycott Grandpa.”

Linda smiled warmly at their loyalty. “Oh, no, don’t do that.” She told them gently. “Your grandfather loves you regardless of our relationship. Besides, we didn’t end on bad terms.”

“Then why did you end?” Jake blurted out the question before his sister could stop him, and she elbowed him in the ribs, making him grunt.

“We just grew apart,” Linda answered honestly. “It happens sometimes. As you get older, you change, and sometimes that means you start to like different things.”

“That’s sad, Gran,” Sophia said.

“Yeah, and not the best argument for someone to get married,” Jake pointed out.

“Just because it happened to your grandfather and me,” Linda explained, “doesn’t mean it happens to everyone.” She smiled encouragingly. “Your grandfather is a good man, and he loves both of you very much. I don’t want you to ever turn away from him because of me.”

She didn’t tell them about the secret gambling, the broken promises repeated over and over, or the way Richard Thompson, her now ex-husband of just over a year, had quietly drained the separate savings account they had both agreed to keep when they first married.

Linda bit back the anger that still burned in her gut.

She would never burden these two lovely children, or her son and his wife, with how much Richard’s wedding was actually costing her.

Because while she’d been paying off and cleaning up his debt, Richard was planning a splashy, lavish wedding at the end of summer.

To keep his new bride, who was ten years younger than him, happy with the kind of wedding that made headlines in their social circle.

While he was again getting credit from goodness knows where, Linda quietly packed up the last of her life in this house.

Because he was so much in debt, she’d had no option but to sell it because, as it turned out, somehow Richard’s debt had also become hers.

The thought of it still stung, but she refused to let her grandchildren see that hurt.

Linda’s phone rang, pulling her from her thoughts. She glanced at the screen, and her smile softened with genuine warmth. “It’s your father.” She looked up into their bright eyes.

“Hello, my love,” she answered on speaker.

“Hi, Mom,” Ethan’s warm, steady voice filled the room. “How’s the packing going?”

“Much faster with my two wonderful helpers,” Linda told him, watching Sophia and Jake beam with pride.

In the background, Olivia called out cheerfully, “How are my babies?”

“Hey, Mom! Hey, Dad!” the children chorused, crowding closer to the phone. “We’re missing you but are very happy at Gran’s.”

“We miss you two sweeties,” their mom and dad chorused back. “I hope you’re behaving for your grandmother?”

“Of course they are,” Linda assured her son and daughter-in-law. “My grandbabies are angels.”

They chatted easily about Ethan and Olivia’s current medical assignment with Doctors Without Borders. The kids excitedly told their parents about the upcoming trip to the cabin with Gran and how they hoped the bouncy castles would still be there. After a few minutes, Ethan came back on the line.