Chapter One
My morning meditation was interrupted by my host, Amanda Carr, calling me downstairs for breakfast. I opened my eyes and sighed. I should have planned my morning better, but what could I do? It was her house, and I wasn’t turning down a made-to-order breakfast. I’d had no idea what I was in for when I first saw the listing for a room for rent in Castleton, Maine, in a refurbished farmhouse.
I got out of bed and went to finger-comb my hair in the mirror. It sat on top of my head in a tangle, but that was fine. I didn’t worry much about how my hair looked most of the time. I slid on a tank top with the logo I’d designed for my yoga company, Grounded Yoga, and slipped on some stretchy shorts before I went downstairs and said good morning not only to Amanda, but to her daughters, Ellie and Hollis, and my sister, Julia, who also happened to be living across the yard in the refurbished barn with her girlfriend. I hadn’t known when I’d first seen the listing that this was where Julia was staying, but once I’d figured it out, I’d known that it was meant to be.
“Good morning, McKenna,” Amanda said, wielding her spatula like a culinary pro. “What would you like to have?” She turned to the waffle iron and opened it, revealing a steaming waffle studded with fresh Maine blueberries. My mouth actually started watering.
“Waffles would be great,” I said. A moment later, Amanda handed me my cup of matcha. I’d told her the first day here I didn’t like coffee, so she’d initially offered me whatever tea she had on hand until I’d let it slip that I liked matcha, at which point she’d bought the powder and watched an online video about how to make it properly. Now I started every day with the perfect matcha latte with honey.
“Thank you,” I said, sitting at the end of the breakfast bar next to Julia. She looked tired, but I didn’t want to ask why.
She yawned and covered her mouth.
“Are you tired, my darling?” Amanda asked, addressing Julia. I’d begged her not to use any terms of endearments for me, but Julia hadn’t been able to escape.
“I’m good. Lucky decided running laps up and down the stairs for hours last night was a good idea,” she said, sipping her latte. Lucky was the cat that Julia and Hollis had found a few months ago that was in the ‘terrible twos’ stage of cathood.
“I’m sorry she kept waking you up,” Hollis said, kissing Julia on her temple and putting her arm around Julia. “You can take a nap when you get back from work.”
“Maybe I’ll just sneak into the nap room with the kids. No one will notice,” Julia said with an exhausted smile. She worked at Magic Castle Daycare in Castleton, and she adored her job. In my opinion, it sounded like a nightmare. Being responsible for a bunch of toddlers every day? No thank you.
Amanda set a beautiful waffle on my plate, and I covered it with butter and syrup. Amanda also handed me a plate of eggs and I let the conversation flow around me. Julia and Ellie both worked at Magic Castle, which was how they’d met. In fact, Ellie and her mom were the reason Julia and Hollis had gotten together in the first place.
“Crap, I need to go,” Ellie said, and Julia groaned, because it meant she had to go as well. Hollis and I were both self-employed, so we got to set our own schedules, which was one of the main reasons I’d had that career goal in the first place.
Ellie and Julia said goodbye, and then it was me and Hollis.
“Okay, I need to get my shit together,” Hollis said, munching on her last piece of bacon. “See you later, MK!” She flashed me a smile before heading out the back door with a bang. I winced as the door closed and then it was just me and Amanda.
“Take your time,” she said as she started cleaning up.
I finished my waffles and matcha and then realized it was time to film a yoga class for my social media page. One of the other reasons I’d chosen this place to stay was the beautiful porch where I could set up my mat to practice and have a beautiful setting. I told Amanda I was going out to film, and she said she’d steer clear. I grabbed my filming equipment, lighting, mat, and blocks and fiddled with my setup before turning on my equipment.
“Welcome to Grounded Yoga, I’m your teacher, McKenna, and today we have a twenty-minute class focused on hips. Let’s get started in Child’s Pose.” I lost myself in the poses and the teaching, and by the time I turned the camera off, I was covered in sweat. I headed inside to take a quick shower because I had a first meeting with a potential new client. In addition to teaching online classes, I also offered private yoga classes in client’s homes, and taught at any studio that would have me. Granted, there wasn’t a local studio in Castleton, but sunrise yoga at the beach had completely taken off and I was doing that three days a week all summer. I took any opportunity that I could get to teach, which was the only way I was able to pay the bills and make this work.
Amanda was in the backyard with her plants and I told her I was taking a shower.
“You don’t have to ask, dear,” she said, shading her eyes from the sun.
I just gave her a wave and headed upstairs. One of the main upsides of my room was that it also had an en suite bathroom. Not that I wouldn’t have shared with everyone else, but it was a nice bonus.
I washed my hair and put on a new pair of shorts with another logo tank. My entire wardrobe was athleisure and my siblings teased me about it all the time. I gave my hair a quick brush and slicked on some lip balm before sliding my feet into some sandals and grabbing my backpack. I wanted to make a good first impression.
I’d rented a car for my time here from a car share service, so I hopped in and turned on the air conditioning, double checking the directions. The house wasn’t that far away, which was nice. When Julia had started telling me about Castleton, I’d pictured it in my mind, but the reality was even better than I’d anticipated. You couldn’t beat the adorable downtown with all the little shops in a row, and the fact that the ocean was so close. Plus a beach? What more could you want?
The house I pulled up to was massive, which wasn’t a surprise. Usually the kind of people who asked for private yoga classes had money to spare. I was happy to charge more because the right people would pay for that time.
There were several other cars in the driveway, and I wondered what the situation was as I got out of the rental car and grabbed my bag to head up the steps to the front door. There was a wreath made of mussel shells hanging on the blue door. Pretty.
I knocked and someone I’d already met appeared.
“Hey, McKenna,” Natalie Johnson said.
“Oh, hey,” I said. “I thought I was meeting with Piper Patrick?”
Natalie stepped aside to let me in. “You are. I’m her assistant. She’ll be right down.” Natalie was one of Hollis’s friends, and I’d met her a few times this summer when Hollis had dragged me with her to meet and hang out with the other twenty-somethings in Castleton.
I stepped into the house and had to stop myself from saying “wow.” The place was like the ‘after’ of one of those before and after home improvement shows I couldn’t get enough of. It was decorated in whites and blues and greens, with lots of shells and watercolors and nautical touches. The space instantly made me feel at peace.