From Hope Lake, With Love: A Novella (Hopeless Romantics Book 4) Page 8

  But, oh, how you should be looking for it.

  You don’t have to be a great outdoors enthusiast, or a fan of antiquing. Maybe you’re just looking for a spot to escape that makes you feel at home the second you cross into town.

  The people are some of the kindest I have ever met. Hope Lake isn’t lacking for the rich, or the famous. It’s steeped in creative and hardworking people, and they want everyone to know just how much this town means to them.

  How much it now means to me.

  I fell in love enough to move across the country and start a new chapter of my life, both career and personal, and for all intents and purposes, I have Hope Lake to thank for it.

  So, I’m signing off of American Adventure.

  From Hope Lake, With Love,

  Camille

  Epilogue

  Five Years Later

  Emma

  “Cooper, it’s time to make the toast!” I told my husband as he held onto our squirming toddler, Carter. Our older son, Sebastian, was tickling his brother’s pudgy little feet as his father struggled to balance a toasting glass, and the chubby baby.

  “Yes, Madam Mayor,” Cooper said, smiling at me.

  Madam Mayor. It had been a little over a month since the election, but I still wasn’t used to the title. I wasn’t sure that I would ever be. Who would have thought after all my reservations about running for office myself, that I would do it, and win.

  Politics, one could say, were so deeply ingrained in both Cooper and I that our friends said it was inevitable that I tried my hand on a campaign for myself.

  Thankfully, I didn’t have to run against my husband, I’m not sure how that would have worked out for our marriage. Cooper had his sights set on higher office and when his second term as Mayor was over, he decided to take time off to spend with our children, but also began to put a team together to help him run for Congressman.

  When he won, cause let’s be honest, my husband would not lose, it would be a lot of strain on our growing family—the traveling to DC and the hours—but true to the fashion of the Hope Lake community, everyone rallied when we announced our plans.

  My parents, who spent the last few years traveling, planned on helping us raise the kids while we pursued higher levels of public service. It’s not as though we weren’t already busy, but this would present a whole new world for us.

  Cooper cleared his throat, and Anna, our three-year old daughter who was sitting beside him in her booster seat, laughed loudly. “Thank you, Anna for that lovely introduction.”

  “Family. Not friends, family and loved-ones, what would we do without you? We are blessed that you’re all with us here to celebrate the holiday season.”

  Our family, immediate and very-extended, sat together at the beautifully decorated table in our family home. Over the years, the table had grown from one, to two, to three spanning across the dining room and sitting room beside it. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

  To my right sat, Charlotte, Henry and Imogen Mercer, their daughter who was only two weeks older than our Anna. Across from them was Charlotte’s father, Andrew and an empty seat beside him in honor of Gigi.

  “Even those that we’ve lost are here with us today,” he said, his eyes sliding to the empty chair. “In the laughter of our children, and the joy in singing carols,” Cooper began, before pausing to swallow the lump of sorrow I knew had lodged in his throat over Gigi’s loss. Charlotte’s eyes teared as Henry took her hand comfortingly. We were all still mourning the loss of our beloved Gigi who had passed away just a day after celebrating her one-hundredth birthday in October.

  Just as she wanted, she made it to a hundred and passed peacefully in her sleep. The loss rippled through town and was felt so profoundly due to Gigi’s long-storied career and because she was well-loved by so many people.

  “Since it’s inception, Hope Lake has been about new beginnings, family, progress and welcoming to every person who finds themselves lost and looking for a new start.

  Hope Lake wasn’t short on newcomers. Though, at this point, the newer residents at the table had been here for years at this point.

  Camille and Max Reese sat beside Marjorie, Max’s mother who helped him run the B&B.

  Parker Powell and Nick Arthur were gazing at each other over the yule log that Parker baked for the holidays. True to Parker fashion, it wasn’t just the log, but also four different pies, a trifle, and three types of truffles.

  One thing that was common among all of them was that they were in search of something, and found it here, in Hope Lake.

  “My hope for all of you, is that whatever wish that you hold deep in your heart comes true this holiday season. Hope Lake isn’t short on magic, especially this time of year.”

  “Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and stay hopeful.”