The little girl was adorable.
Allison gave her a second look. She seemed familiar. But Allison couldnât have met her before. The red wagon in the driveway had Connecticut plates.
She glanced back at the father. Definitely she hadnât seen him before. She would have remembered. He was slender and tall and moved with a natural grace that reminded her of John F Kennedy, from the old footage sheâd seen on TV.
She watched as he scooped up his daughter onto his shoulders, then paused to talk to the movers for a minute. Next, he went to the garage and pulled out the tricycle. Gently he set the girl onto the seat.
âGive it a try,â he urged her. And then his gaze met Allisonâs.
THE EMPTY SEATS in his station wagon haunted Gavin Gray as he drove up to the biggest house on the crescent. He stopped the car and gazed through the windshield at the classic Cape Cod colonial. The house looked a little tired. Welcome to the club. But it had good bones. Cindy Buchanan, his real-estate agent, beckoned to him from the door.
âYou have to see this one. Itâs a real family home.â
Cindy was a friendly, plump woman in her midfifties. Sheâd been showing Gavin houses all day, her patience never wavering. He was sure sheâd have felt terrible if she knew how much pain her cheerful words had just brought him.
A family home.
He turned around to face what was left of his familyâone little girl strapped into a booster chair in the middle of the backseat. âTory? Want to see another house?â
Predictably, his daughter offered no opinion, but she scrambled out willingly and held his hand as he led her up the sidewalk to the welcoming front porch.
âIt has a huge pie-shaped yard. And itâs the only house on this road that backs onto the lake.â Seeing his concerned frown in reaction to her comment, Cindy added quickly, âBut thereâs a fence, so itâs perfectly safe.â
He walked through the rooms, hardly noticing the details. But then he stopped cold at the sight of the view from the kitchen windows. It was fabulous.
On Golden Pond had been filmed at Squam Lake and the town had never forgotten its moment of cinematic glory. Gavin had seen signs on the main road guiding tourists to the actual sites used in the movie.
âThe house does need a little work.â Cindy ran a hand over a crack in the kitchen wall. âItâs changed owners several times in the past few years. You should have seen it when Old Man McLaughlin was still alive.â
He couldnât have heard that correctly. âDid you say McLaughlin?â
âThatâs right. It was just Adele and her daughter living here in the end. And when Marianne left homeâ¦â
He felt as if heâd been submerged in ice water. He couldnât breathe. Was his heart still beating? âMarianne McLaughlin used to live here?â
âYes. Do you know her?â
How many times had he asked himself that question? The ultimate answer being that he couldnât have. But he wasnât about to share that insight with Cindy Buchanan.
He looked around with sharpened interest, trying to picture the beautiful, remote woman in this place. âI used to, but I havenât seen her in about six years.â
His breathing returned to normal as he contemplated the significance of what heâd just learned. Could it possibly be this easy? âDo you know where Marianneâs living now?â
âAfraid not. She came back once, to bury her mother in the family plot. I havenât heard anything about her since then. But maybe someone in town has. How did you say you know her?â
He hadnât. And he wouldnât. âWe were friends.â
âQuite the beautiful girl.â
True enough. Where looks were concerned, Marianne could not be beat.
Tory came round the corner then, moving so quietly that Cindy didnât even notice her. His daughter had been wandering upstairs, checking out the bedrooms, but Gavin knew that if he asked her whether she liked what sheâd seen, Tory wouldnât have anything to say. Even when Samantha was alive sheâd been reluctant to express an opinion, relying on her twin to do it for her.
He decided to try anyway. âSo, what do you think?â
Cindy turned in time to see Tory shrug. The real-estate agentâs thin eyebrows rose in surprise. âSpeaking of the devil, your daughter looks remarkably likeâ¦â
âI think Iâve seen enough.â He wasnât interested in taking the conversation in that direction. Besides, he really had seen enough. The house was in need of work, but it was on a quiet street and the link to Marianne was a coincidence that couldnât be ignored.