Then that had been abandoned decades ago. As far as she could tell, the latest upgrades had been adding bathrooms to all the bedrooms back in the seventies.
Today, she was going to finish installing the solar panels on the roof and take the lodge completely off grid. Then she could hook up appliances and cook with something other than the pellet stove.
Her cooking skills would never be legendary, but she hadn’t starved and her bread was now almost consistently edible. Her stomach grumbled again and Tansy picked up the pace.
Bursting into the cleared area around the lodge always made her happy. Seeing it covered in the light layer of snow made it look like a fairy tale. Lots of windows, huge deck facing the lake.
It already felt like home, even if the three-story building was too big for one person.
In the old kitchen, Tansy grabbed a tomato from her hydroponic garden and sliced some of the bread. She added some cheese she’d picked up at the last market in the nearby town of Phail.
She couldn’t believe no one in that family line had ever changed their surname or the name of the town. At the very least, they could have added back the original Mac in front of it. Family feud or no family feud, no one deserved to be named Phail their entire life.
And she’d always thought having to spell out Cheveyo to people was a pain.
Tansy decided to eat on her favorite dock. The bright sunshine and scent of spring budding through the snow was an impossible combination to resist.
She headed to the end of the longest dock. Once upon a time it had been where float planes had docked, bringing in fishermen for a weekend away.
The wood was rotting or completely missing in places, but Tansy knew the safe pattern for walking to the end. Once there, she cleared a space with her feet and then sat down to enjoy her sandwich.
Blue and grey jays called out in the woods. She’d spotted a robin the other day and more birds were returning from their migrations. Spring would be in full bloom soon.
Tansy spun on her butt to study the lodge. What plans would she implement during the spring and summer?
Her friend Aisling would be up in a couple of months. She was finishing restoring an old Victorian house down in North Carolina.
Aisling had blocked off months for the restoration of the lodge. And maybe even the ancient sawmill that sat on the southern edge of the property near the road.
Tansy knew the sawmill had been part of the lure for Aisling. She not only loved restoring old buildings, but she built furniture from reclaimed wood.
It didn’t appear any of the owners of the lodge or sawmill over the years had thrown out a single thing. Every space was packed with barrels and crates and boxes. The mill had stacks of lumber and furniture as well.
As a huge fan of reusing rather than starting from scratch, Tansy approved of the amount of stuff filling the buildings on the property. She’d even built a stable scaffolding from things she’d found in the basement and garage.
A yawn caught her off guard, and Tansy stood to stretch. She wasn’t going to waste time sleeping when the solar panels were waiting to be installed.
Knowing she’d need her brain and body to be centered if she was working on the roof, Tansy started moving through her Tai Chi routines.
The dock was roomy and stable enough for those, but she wouldn’t do any of her other martial arts training out here.
As she settled into the routine, her thoughts drifted to Sam, as they always did.
Sam had arrived at the Rivera’s foster home a few days before Joe and Tansy.
A quiet boy with steady eyes that shielded his thoughts, he’d taught her to use Tai Chi to help her cope with the overwhelming emotions following her parents’ deaths.
The Tai Chi lessons had expanded to other martial arts over the years.
Everything about the lessons had helped Tansy. The focus on form and control, the routine and the flow. The empowerment and strength made her feel as if she wasn’t going to crack open and melt away.
But mostly, she’d enjoyed the time with Sam. Her crush had grown over time instead of diminishing.
He’d been a boy who’d looked to protect those smaller or weaker than himself.
It was no surprise he was a top agent for the FBI, working to search for missing and kidnapped kids. One of the most difficult jobs Tansy could imagine.
Letting her thoughts settle with the routine, Tansy wondered how he was coping with whatever case he was involved with. She’d been too involved with recovering from Pond Scum’s betrayals.