The Mural Painter

Mark's first vacation to Vermont after Anne's death was at a camp on the lake that he had reserved the previous year. It would help him reconnect with family, old friends and if he got lucky, he might rekindle an old romance from his high school days. As he rode the Ferry across the lake, Mark was trying to be optimistic about how the week would progress.
At the same time, Sam was hoping that this house painting job would help with her meager finances. Summer was almost gone and after the apple picking season, work would be pretty scarce in the Champlain Islands throughout the winter. Sam has a traumatic history of her own, one that has held her to remain in her hometown and left her questioning everyone and everything she once believed. She had lived hand to mouth for the past two years and thought it would take a miracle to get through even the next six months.
Meeting Mark as he petted the cat on the steps of the house she was painting was strange enough, but when he offered a free meal to anywhere she wanted to go, she was very skeptical. While he certainly didn't look like a knight in shining armor, she also hoped he was not a deranged serial killer either. She quickly determined his offer was too good to pass up. Even a little miracle would be welcome these days.