Chapter Thirty-Eight
Hope
They arrived in two huge black SUVs, stuffed to the gills with gear. The Sinclair brothers, Cooper, Knox, and Evers, and another man I hadn’t met when I was in Atlanta. Hawk Bristol. Griffen greeted them with a warmth that reminded me how distant he was from his own family. He might be surrounded by Sawyers, but these were his people.
The size of the Heartstone Manor project had nothing to do with the reason all three brothers had come to Sawyers Bend. They’d come because Griffen was part of their family and they wanted to see for themselves that he was okay. I already liked them after my trip to Atlanta. I loved them for that.
The group of them filled the front hall of Heartstone, making the room seem almost normal-sized.
Savannah met us there. “I’ve arranged to serve dinner in two shifts. The rest of the family is about to eat. There’ll be drinks and appetizers in the office for all of you, then dinner as soon as the first group has cleared out. I thought you’d prefer that.”
“That’s great, thanks, Savannah,” Griffen said.
With a satisfied smile, Savannah continued, “I have rooms for the four of you,” she nodded at the Sinclair brothers and Hawk, “but I understood you’d be bringing a team?”
“They’ll be here tomorrow,” Cooper said. “Six total.”
“We can put them up at the Inn, maybe, if we don’t have room,” I suggested.
Evers laughed. “In this place? Not have room?”
Savannah and her cleaning team had spared a few hours for the front hall, and while it wasn’t up to its former glory it no longer looked derelict and abandoned. She smiled. “You’d be surprised. Heartstone has plenty of rooms but not all of them are in decent condition. And speaking of—” She looked to Hawk. “Long-term, you’ll be in the gatehouse. I’m sure you saw it as you drove in. At the moment it’s not entirely habitable. It seems a family of mice made themselves at home and we’re working on getting rid of them.”
Griffen added, “Welcome to Heartstone. We have the space, acres of it. We don’t necessarily have working plumbing or anywhere to sleep in a lot of the bedrooms, but the roof doesn’t leak and we mostly have electricity. Savannah has been working on the more central rooms. Guest rooms haven’t been at the top of the list.”
“I think I can handle accommodations for six,” Savannah added, “but if I can’t, I’ll let you know by morning.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Cooper cut in. “We’re already going to soak Griffen for the security set-up. I don’t want to add lodgings to the bill. My team will take whatever you have for them.”
Savannah nodded. “Then, if you’ll follow me? You can leave your things in the hall. They’ll be delivered to your rooms by the time you finish with dinner.”
Knox settled his bag on his shoulder. “Will you carry them upstairs or is there a footman lurking around?”
Savannah only smiled. Evers picked his bag back up and gave her a charming grin. “Why don’t you show us where our rooms are? We’ll drop our own stuff off, then I’ll be ready for a drink and some food.”
“Hope and I will show you,” Griffen said. “Thanks, Savannah.”
Griffen led us up the main stairs. Cooper fell into step beside me. “It’s good to see you, Hope. You look great.”
I gave him a shy smile, feeling the heat of a flush on my cheeks. Cooper and Alice were tight, and I could guess he probably knew more of the details of our shopping trip than I’d like. It didn’t matter; he was a nice guy, and he was Griffen’s friend. “Thanks.”
“Alice wanted to come, but given what happened yesterday with Griff, I didn’t want Petra here, and Alice didn’t want to leave her behind, even with Lily. Alice made me promise to tell you that as soon as I feel like the house is safe, we’re coming back for a visit. All of us.”
“That’s good news. And I completely understand. It’s one thing for us to choose to take the risk of being here, another to bring Alice and Petra when we’re not sure it’s safe. But when you think we’re ready, I’d love to have all of you back.”
We followed Griffen down the hall to the left of the stairs. I hadn’t spent much time here since we moved in. Just a quick check with Savannah to see that most of the rooms were in various states of abandonment or disrepair. She’d managed to get the four best guest rooms cleaned and ready, but another six would be tough. If anyone could do it, it was Savannah.
Bags stowed, we all tromped back down the stairs and settled in the office. Savannah had trays of hors d’oeuvres on the coffee table by the couch, armchairs, and a fire burning merrily, chasing off the early spring chill. The small bar by the built-in bookcase was stocked and everyone but me fixed a drink. I hadn’t slept well the night before. If I had a drink it was possible I’d fall asleep in my soup.