Harbour Lights

This time when she reached out to touch his cheek, she didn’t pull back. “Tell me why you’re in so much pain?”

He stared at her incredulously. “I lost my wife! How do you expect me to feel?”

“Oh, Kevin, I know grief when I see it, and that’s not what I’m seeing with you, not entirely, anyway.”

“You think you know what it’s like to grieve for someone?”

She didn’t even hesitate. “I grieved for you children every day of the past fifteen years.”

“Not the same. You could have had us back. All you needed to do was move home, or at least back to Chesapeake Shores. There’s nothing, nothing, I can do to get Georgia back.”

To his dismay he saw something in her eyes that scared him, an apparent understanding of every emotion that was in his heart.

“If you could wave a magic wand and bring her back, would you?”

“Of course,” he said at once, stunned that she’d even ask such a ridiculous question.

She waved off the quick response. “I don’t just mean having her safe and alive,” she amended. “Of course, all of us want that. I meant here, with you.”

He was slower to respond this time, though he once again insisted, “Of course.”

“Sweetheart, that tiny hesitation speaks volumes,” she said.

“What?” he demanded. “What did it say?” He honestly wanted to know, because for the life of him he couldn’t figure out all of the conflicting emotions rampaging through him on a daily basis.

“Think about it,” she said. “When you’ve figured out the answer, I think you’ll finally be ready to move on with your life.”

“If you know so much, you tell me,” he said. He barely kept himself from begging. He had a feeling she was right, that if he knew the answer, he could get beyond these endless days of living in a fog.

“It’s not up to me to put words in your mouth,” she said, then shrugged. “Could be I’ve got it wrong, anyway. But if you ever want to talk it through, I’m here to listen.”

Impatient, he snapped, “No, you’ll be back in New York. As usual.”

This time when he strode away, she didn’t even try to keep up with him. She let him go. Astonishingly, that hurt almost as badly as when she’d walked out on them.

Laurie arrived in town on Thursday to see Shanna’s shop and pronounced it amazing.

“I love the pale green color of the walls and all the white trim,” she said, as she stood in the doorway. “And the bright seaside pattern in the upholstery on the chairs looks fabulous. The whole store is warm and cozy and inviting. Not only is the mix of books and games perfect, but it smells like coffee and the tables and chairs in that area are charming. Who could resist coming here for a chat with a friend or a book club meeting? You are planning to start a book club, aren’t you?”

“Absolutely,” Shanna said. “I’m going to have a signup sheet at the opening. I love the idea of women getting together right here to talk about books.”

Laurie continued to walk slowly around the shop, surveying the room more closely. “There’s not another single thing you could do to make it better,” she said, then added with a grin, “So, let’s go book the inn for my wedding.”

Shanna regarded her friend with amusement. “What happened to coming to town to help me get ready for my grand opening?”

“You don’t need my help,” Laurie said blithely. “Frankly, I’m a little miffed about that, but since you don’t, we can focus on me. That’s always my favorite thing.”

“If I didn’t know you so well, I’d think you were a totally self-absorbed human being,” Shanna told her, even as she grabbed her purse and prepared to take Laurie to the inn for an inspection to see if it would meet her needs.

Fortunately, she’d anticipated exactly this scenario and had worked doubly hard to get ahead for the opening, so she could spend a few hours focused on the wedding.

“I’ve made an appointment with the owner,” Shanna told her. “We’ll walk around, look things over and have lunch, then meet with Jess.”

“You’re an angel,” Laurie said, giving her a hug. “I knew I could count on you. And once we’ve done this, you can count on me a hundred percent to do whatever you need me to do. I’ll even bake cookies, if that’s what you want.”

“Given your cooking skills, I think it’s probably a good thing that I’m having the food for the opening catered, by the inn, as a matter of fact. I’ll go over those details while we’re with Jess, too.”

“Then it won’t be all about me,” Laurie said with an exaggerated pout.

Shanna laughed. “Sorry, sweetie, you are not the center of the universe, at least not this week. When the time comes for your wedding, I promise you’ll get all of my attention.”

Laurie put on her seat belt, then managed to turn sideways and tuck a leg under her. “So, tell me about the men in this town.”

“Haven’t we had this conversation? Besides, you’re engaged. Other men should be the last thing on your mind.”

“Not for me. For you. And we haven’t discussed this since you’ve met someone,” Laurie said confidently.

Shanna regarded her with shock. “What makes you say that?”

“There’s a glow in your cheeks and a sparkle in your eyes. It wasn’t there when you left Philadelphia.”

“Maybe it’s there because I’ve been walking on the beach every morning. Or because I’m excited about opening the store day after tomorrow.”

“I like my reason better,” Laurie said, undaunted. “Who is he? What’s his name? How’d you meet?”

“Not talking about this,” Shanna said. “And here we are at the inn. Isn’t that fortunate timing?”

Laurie tried to stare her down, then relented. “These questions aren’t going away,” she warned. “I’m just hitting the pause button.”

“That’ll do for now,” Shanna said, relieved.

Of course, an hour later when Jess joined them in the dining room, it didn’t help that the first words out of her mouth were, “So, what’s going on with you and my brother?”

Laurie’s eyes lit up at once, even as Shanna groaned. Laurie turned to Jess.

“Shanna’s been seeing your brother?”

“No!” Shanna said emphatically. “Kevin has helped me out at the shop a couple of times. No big deal.”

Jess shook her head. “It’s a big deal to all of us. Kevin’s wife died in Iraq a little over a year ago,” she explained to Laurie. “Other than taking care of his son and dealing with family when he has to, he’s been pretty much isolating himself since then. Not that half the women in town haven’t tried to get his attention, but he’s been oblivious, at least until Shanna arrived on the scene.”

Shanna saw the precise moment when the full import of Jess’s words registered with Laurie. The excitement in her eyes dimmed. It was immediately replaced by concern.

“I see,” she murmured, turning to Shanna with a worried frown. It was evident that Jess’s words had doused her enthusiasm for this new relationship.

“Let’s talk about available dates for the wedding,” Shanna said pointedly. “I have a million last details to take care of at the store, so we don’t have much time.”

“Of course,” Jess said at once, opening her event planner.