The Lakeside Inn by Leeanna Morgan (ebooks children's books free .txt) 📗

had seemed like a nice person. He had a good career, a friendly family, and he seemed to genuinely love Diana. Everyone, including her sister, was shocked when they heard about his double life.

“At least you can make other plans now.”

“I wish it was that easy. Our house is being sold, I don’t have a job, and Derek took half of everything I own in our divorce settlement. It will take me years to get back on my feet.”

“And you think living here will help?”

Diana nodded and sat on a dusty chair. “This house is full of wonderful memories. Do you remember when Katie cleaned the chimney?”

It was hard to forget, especially when their granddad had spent the next two days getting the ash and soot out of the rug in the living room. “She wanted to make sure Santa could deliver his presents.”

“And what about the time you cut a hole in the back door?”

Penny sat beside her sister. “I thought putting in a cat door would be easy, but I didn’t realize how big Pickles had grown. What about the last time we went fishing with Granddad? Barbara was so excited when she caught a trout that she fell into the lake.”

“But she still kept it on the end of her line.” Diana’s sad smile brought tears to Penny’s eyes. “This house feels like home. It’s part of who we were and who we’ve become. I’m not ready to give it to someone else.”

“We might not have a choice.”

Diana frowned. “We always have a choice, starting right now.” She opened the cover on her cell phone. “If Mom doesn’t know where the key to the chest has gone, I’ll call Dad. He might have a pair of bolt cutters in his garage.”

While her sister was busy on the phone, Penny opened another set of drawers. Carefully, she pulled out a tiny baby bonnet and booties and smiled at the other hand knitting.

Diana was right about one thing. Their grandparents’ house was full of special memories. And after everything that had happened, she wasn’t sure if she was ready to say goodbye to them, either.

But before she could tell Diana if she was staying, she needed to call her boss. And she would, just as soon as the chest was open and they’d looked inside.

Within fifteen minutes of calling their mom, Mabel opened the attic door and smiled at Penny and Diana. “I should have given you the key the other day.”

“You didn’t need to rush over here, Mom. Diana and I could have found something else to do.”

“It was no bother. Besides, your dad is happy to look after the store while I’m here.” She pulled a silver key from her pocket and placed it inside the lock. “The last time I opened the chest was before your grandma went into the retirement village.”

With a satisfying click, the lock sprung open.

Penny leaned closer, eager to see what was inside. When she saw the carefully folded clothes placed between layers of tissue paper, she sighed.

Her mom chuckled. “You won’t find any gold or silver in here, but treasure comes in all shapes and sizes.” She handed Penny a cotton dress with a delicate lace collar. “Your great-grandmother made this dress for your grandma. The bobbins and pins that she used to make the lace are in the attic, too.”

Penny ran her fingers across the pretty dress. “It’s beautiful.”

“Your great-grandmother was a wonderful seamstress. After her husband died, she made clothes for the people of Polson. It was the only way she could survive.” She handed Diana a heavy brown jacket. “This was your great-grandfather’s. It’s one of the few things of his your grandma kept.”

Diana slowly unfolded the jacket and held it against her chest. “He must have been about my height, but twice as wide.”

Mabel touched the sleeve. “Your great-grandfather’s name was Patrick Kelly. He traveled from Ireland to begin a new life in Montana. Your grandma told me he was a boxer before he worked on the steamboats.”

“Have you checked the pockets?” Penny asked. “There might be a stray piece of paper or something that would tell us more about him.”

“That was the first thing I thought of, too,” Mabel said. “But the pockets are empty.”

While her sister draped the jacket over a chair, Penny took a handkerchief out of the chest. Embroidered in one corner were the initials PK. “What do you know about our great-grandfather, Mom?”

“From what your grandma said, he had a lot of big dreams, but struggled to make anything work. Everything I discovered is written in the notebook I left in the kitchen. I made a list of everything your grandma told me, then added the other information I found.”

“Did you ask the librarians at the Polson Public Library?”

“I did. They helped me photocopy the census records and land information from when your great-grandparents lived in Polson. They have a historical photograph collection, but most of the images don’t have captions. After a couple of days of searching, I found nothing.”

Their mom reached into the chest and handed Penny a leather journal. “If you want to understand your great-grandfather a little better, read this. It’s one of your great-grandmother’s diaries.”

“I should wear gloves. This is too precious to risk getting dirty.”

“I know what you can use.” Mabel hunted inside the chest. “Try these. They might fit.”

The cream, cotton gloves were incredibly delicate. Penny admired the row of pearl buttons, the fine lace along the top edge. “Did these belong to our great-grandmother?”

“I think they’re too old to belong to Margaret, your great-grandmother,” Mabel said as she pulled herself to her feet. “Most of the photos I’ve seen of gloves like this were worn in the 1890s. That would make them your great-great-grandmother’s or another woman’s from the same era.”

“They’re so small,” Diana said.

Penny carefully placed her hand inside a glove. Diana was right—they were far too small for her. “I’ll damage them if I pull them on. I’ll open the