Free Hearts Awakening by Delia Parr Page A

island. “My home . . . our home is here, as you must have guessed, just inside a stand of woods that borders the river’s edge. The Grants live here,” he said, making a larger X at the opposite end of the island. “The homestead there is the original homestead my father-in-law built when he settled here with his first wife.”
    “That would have been Abigail, I believe, right?” she asked.
    When he narrowed his gaze, she moistened her lips. “I found the family cemetery this morning when I was trying to find my way to the landing.”
    He nodded. “The cemetery is here,” he said, planting another X near the western shore, close to their home, before he drew three lines running from north to south. “These are the dirt roadways connecting our home to the Grant homestead, with the orchards in-between. There’s a different variety of apple planted in each section, but I can explain why later, assuming you’re interested. The island isn’t very wide, and I suspect you’ll be able to find your way around it fairly quickly.”
    “Is it all that safe, or should I worry about ending up face-to-face with another raccoon or a wild critter of some sort?”
    “It’s safe enough,” he insisted, reluctant to frighten her yet with stories of the one or two predators he had seen on the island since he had first moved here. “My father-in-law actually lived at the original homestead with his first and second wives, although he never had any children with them. He didn’t build the second house until after he married his third wife, Emily, and learned a good year or so later that he was finally going to be a father. Rebecca was born when he was sixty-two. His wife, I believe, was only twenty-nine. Unfortunately, she died a few years later.”
    “How sad for them all,” Ellie whispered.
    Reminded of how his life seemed to mimic his father-in-law’s at times, he drew in a long breath, anxious to finish the map as well as his explanation. “As I was saying, my father-in-law was passionate about his orchards, but he was even more devoted to being a father, and he had enough money to indulge himself on both accounts. He hired Michael Grant to come live on the island with his family and run the farm and paid him handsomely, in addition to allowing him to keep whatever profits he might make from the farm.”
    “That seems quite generous,” she noted.
    “It was, which might explain why the Grants have stayed here for nearly twenty-five years or so. But in return, they provided my father-in-law and his family with whatever they needed, and I saw no reason to change the arrangement after my father-in-law’s death. Michael still keeps our smokehouse filled and the root cellar stocked, and his wife, Alice, along with their daughter, sees that we have all the milk, butter, and eggs we need.”
    “Then I was right. This is a most unusual place.”
    “I trust you’ll have no problem adjusting.”
    She actually grinned. “To less work? No, not at all. I’ll make good use of the extra time I’ll have by spending it with the boys. After I give the entire house a thorough cleaning,” she added. “Would you have any objections if I tried weeding and replanting the herb garden? There are a few herbs I might be able to harvest before the first frost, assuming I have the time to—”
    “It’s your garden. The island is your home now, too. You can do whatever you like here, as long as Daniel and Ethan remain your first priority. But remember: You can’t ever leave this island alone, or take the boys with you, under any circumstances. Any,” he insisted.
    Judging by how quickly she dropped her gaze, he had probably spoken too harshly to her, but experience had been more than harsh to him, too.
    “Pappy?”
    He looked up and saw Daniel standing next to Ethan in the front of the buckboard. “It’s about time you two woke up,” he said, helping Ellie back into the wagon. “There’s still enough left of the day for me to