Fifteen minutes later, Zoe was snoring in the guest bed in Penny’s room, Dana, who insisted on helping around the house, was cleaning and putting away the evening’s dishes, and Penny and Susan watched as Reggie drove Erasmus, Ellen, and Katie away in Susan’s van.
“Are you sure about this?” Penny, excited as she was to see Susan reopening her business, couldn’t help but voice her lingering concerns. “You just met the guy.”
Susan took a long moment to consider the question.
“He’s a strange one, all right, but he had the money on hand to buy up that whole block and begin rebuilding. Without him, it would have been bulldozed and sold off lot by lot. He said he wanted to preserve the main street charm.” Susan sat on the porch swing, setting it gently rocking, and motioned for Penny to join h
