Chapter OneThe Cottage at Devon-by-the-Sea"I’ll take the attic,” said Tess, tearing up the third flight of stairs before Max even had a chance to fully understand the question.
“It’s a three-bedroom house,” Aunt Evie had said when they walked in the door, “four, if you count the attic. So, since your parents are coming in a few days, one of us has to take the attic . . . and I don’t think it’s going to be me.”
“It’s mine,” said Tess emphatically. She thought an attic bedroom was possibly a charming idea, a little scary but in a good way. It also occurred to her that her brother, Max, might be a little scared if he slept up there—even though he wouldn’t want to admit it—so she instantly claimed it.
Tess hesitated on the landing at the top of the stairs. She held her breath as she popped the door open, frightened it might be dusty, musty, or dotted with spiders, but the room was flooded with sunlight from a triangular window that looked out on to the sea. It was a small room—well, tiny, but blue-and-white striped wallpaper lined two of the walls, and the wall with the window was painted white so that it was almost cheerful.
There was a double bed covered with a down quilt and big white pillows. The ceiling sloped down a bit likea triangle toward the window, so she figured she had to be careful getting out of bed on the right side.
Note to self: remember to always get up on the left side of the bed so as not to bump your head.Tess could hear the sound of the ocean lapping softly against the shore. And even inside the air was fresh, a tiny bit salty and moist from the sea. It occurred to Tess that she was really going to like Devon-by-the-Sea on top of that strange thing that had already happened that she didn’t think she could tell Aunt Evie about.
Copyright © 2018 by Amy Ephron. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
