Chapter 50: Mama Bear

“I have so many ideas for this place,” Jackie said, stirring artificial sweetener into her iced tea.

Shasta sipped hers just as it was, then set down her glass on the table between two deck chairs. The pair were taking a break, having spent the last hour inventorying bed linens for the various cabins. When Shasta had described her trip to the remote cabin and her adventure in bed-making, Jackie had laughed amiably.

“I can’t imagine what it was like to grow up here,” Shasta said. “It’s such a legacy for you and Blake. And now for Grant and Emma.”

Jackie smiled at her children who played at the shore end of the dock, using tiny fishing lines baited with oatmeal to try to catch minnows that swam in the shallow water. “I can’t compare, since it’s all I knew,” she began, “but I do know that for those few years I lived in the suburbs, I missed the peace and the quiet.”