Chapter 18: A New Life Down South

After the divorce, I went south and opened a bed-and-breakfast in a small town.

It was a place where everybody waved from their front porch and nobody cared who your family was. The streets were lined with oak trees, Spanish moss hanging low, and the scent of honeysuckle drifting through the air. The B&B was an old Victorian with creaky floors and a wraparound porch—nothing fancy, but it was mine.

The town is warm in winter and cool in summer, and the people are simple and kind.

Neighbors brought casseroles when I moved in, and the hardware store owner fixed my leaky faucet for free. I learned to appreciate slow Sunday mornings, sweet tea on the porch, and the comfort of a place that didn’t expect anything from me.

Being with them, my mood gradually improved.

The kindness of strangers was the antidote I never knew I needed. With each passing day, the scars from my old life faded a little more.

In less than a year, my little house’s reputation spread, and business was no longer as bleak as before.

Word got around—"Tessa’s place is where you go to heal." Guests left thank-you notes tucked under their pillows, and my weekends filled with laughter and music.