Read Her House Divided (Beach Haven Book 1) for Free Online

one of the last of the original beach cottages on Lake Shore Drive."
    He nodded. Most of the others had been remodeled into modern showplaces or knocked down and replaced with vacation rental units, which was exactly the fate his ex-wife had planned for his grandmother's home.
    "So, what are we supposed to do today?" he asked.
    "Open the door, put on our best smiles, and prepare for the invasion, I guess."
    They soon discovered that their early-morning callers had made good use of their time, hanging a sign over the front porch railing and taping another to the wall near the courtyard entrance. Both signs were emblazoned with the words "Proud Member of Beach Haven Homes Tour!" in red, white and blue letters.
    “Wow, they really go all out for this, don’t they?”
    Tara chuckled.  “It’s one of their most successful fundraisers.  The only one that brings in more money is the Fall Ball in October.  It’s a formal event held at the Yacht club and the tickets are absolutely astronomical, so they really haul in the big bucks with that one.”
    Ethan stifled the tiny flash of jealousy at the thought of her attending a fancy ball with another man.  “Must be fun,” he muttered.
    “I wouldn’t know.  I’ve never gone to it.  I usually volunteer on the decorating committee, but I could never get my f-- I could never get anyone to go with me. I actually splurged on tickets for this year, but . . . well, I doubt I’ll go now.”
    The first visitors arrived then, and continued in a steady flow throughout the day. Ethan watched Tara play the part of the perfect hostess, greeting strangers and guiding them through the house.  She smiled and chatted easily with everyone, answering questions or deferring to him when she didn’t know the answer.  She was charming and vivacious in a way that he hadn’t seen her before.
    Most of the tourists were sincerely interested in the beautiful old cottage, and had plenty of questions about its history. Many of them, having met Bea in previous years, were quick to express their sympathies or share their memories of her. A few visitors were realtors and developers who had heard of her death and wanted to check out the property.
    Vultures , he thought.
    Tara had disappeared out onto the back patio with another group when he saw a familiar figure strolling through the door toward him. He stifled a groan.
    "What are you doing here, Jacqueline?" he asked.
    His ex-wife smiled and waved her map. "I bought a ticket, just like everyone else," she said smoothly. "It's such a good cause, don't you think?"
    "You've seen the inside before."
    "Ah, but I haven't seen it since you turned it into a little love nest." She wagged a finger in his face. "Really, Ethan, I'm a little embarrassed for you."
    "What are you talking about?"
    "I got an interesting phone call from Vernabelle Hyde this morning.  Very  interesting. I know you've always had such poor self-control, but I thought you'd last at least a few weeks before jumping into bed with the little gold digger. Tell me, did you make it all the way home from Ben's office on Friday, or did you stop for a quickie in the car on the way here?"
    "We're not—"
    "Oh, defending her honor already? How predictable. For God's sake, Ethan, don't tell me you've been taken in by her little victim act."
    "Don't you have nineteen other houses to look at?" Ethan took hold of her elbow and tried to guide her toward the door without calling any more attention to the conversation. People were starting to stare, and he wanted her out of his home. Now.
    Jacqueline laughed. She reached into her bag and pulled out two manila envelopes. "I'll leave you with some reading material,  Honey . This envelope has a list of the annual property taxes on your new home, along with an estimate of yearly maintenance costs for the next five years. When you and Tina manage to come up for air, you might want to put some thought into how you two sweethearts plan on paying for all of this