Kaleidoscope Summer (Samantha's Story) (57 page)

“
I agree.
He’s officiating a meeting with the shop
owners.
”

She repositioned h
erself
—a
rock puts pressure on the bones after a while. “It’s good to be proactive.
I
’ll
watch for the flyer.
Now do I get to hea
r the real reason you’re
here
?”

“You are one persistent female.” I rea
ched down and threw a stick
.
Wolf
kicked up sand chasing it
. “I’m
ask
ing
Sam
to marry me. If you have a p
roblem with it—let’s talk
.” I settled my boot
s
in a
different position,
prepared
to stand my ground.

“No problem here. Are you sure she’s going to stay? I mean
,
here in
Serenity
?
”

“I
ntend
to find out. Unless you have a different opinion—I’d like to give her our
grandmother’s ring. Her sapph—
”

“
Grandmother Delatorre’s
s
apphire and diamond wedd
ing set
? The one
Grandpa
traded horses to have
custom designed for her?
Sam will love it.
But y
ou should see about having it reset.”
Her smile let me know she was sincere, although
her
voice held doubt, which I chose to ignore.

“
I
love you, s
is.
” I placed my arm on her shoulder
. “
I love
Sam
antha
, too
.”

“
She’s an amazing woman
—I hope she can look toward the future and leave the past behind, where it belongs.”

I
pushed myself off the rock, and
bent down and
pi
cked up a few smooth stones
and
shoved
them in my pocket.
Wolf
tried to
tempt me to run
through the water. “Ask your mom.” I t
ous
led his
damp
fur. “Catch you later.
”

A
n
ornery
smile lit
her face
.
“
I get another
chance in the church.
When the minister gets to the part,
‘
If anyone
can show just cause—
’
”
The mischief
in her eyes told me she had delighted hersel
f with one of her favorite past
imes
, carried over from childhood
—teasing her brother.

“F
un
ny.” I waved and trudged on through the sand
.

Through much persuasion,
Sam
had a
greed to a friendly dinner—I was
careful not to label it as a date.
First,
I made a detou
r, stopping at
the cemetery. After buying
flowers
f
ro
m the cart inside the gate,
I
followed the winding lane
to the upper level of the grounds.
I visited
my parent
s
’
plots
—were they together at l
ast?
I
moved to
the next plot, and placed a fragrant bouquet at the feet of the
marble
angel strumming
her
h
arp
.
I kissed my fingers and touched my grandmother’s name.
Sarah
Delatorre
, the grandmother who had nurtured and loved me.
I miss you
. I
recalled
her touch. H
er words
. Her smile, so much like Maggie’s.
I never knew her middle name if she had one, and never saw it
on
any documents after her de
ath—it had always just
been
simply
Sarah.
I pulled the velvet box
from my po
cket and opened it
,
s
taring
at the ring that had graced my
grandmother’s hand
for more than fifty years
.
You’d love
her
, Grandma
—this woman I’ve chosen to wear your ring.

Before I left,
I followed a tr
adition my
maternal
grandmother
had practiced. I pulled the
stones
from my pocket,
laid
one
on
each of the
graves of my parents and my grandparents. She’d taught me the stone
s
symbolized eternity,
memories that last forever
,
and a love that never dies.
A
love I envisioned
having with
Sam
.
But d
id
she
share the same vision?
I’d soon have the answer
.

Chapter
Forty-eight

I’m
blessed
with
an
unexpected treasure
, my sister, Audra.
My grandparents welcomed me i
n
to their lives
. Father
,
you’ve given a sign—n
ow
I need
the
strength to leave
Serenity
Cove. And Logan. H
ow do I leave
when
my heart will
remain with the one I love
?
~
Journal e
ntry

Audra had arranged to drop by with the
final papers to
complete the sale
of
the bookshop. If it were
possible
,
I’d sl
ow down time
. But
like a coin has two sides, I also
want
ed it finished and to be on my way. I tried
to tell
Logan
about my plans at dinner the
evening
before
—I couldn’t.
Goldie let me know Audra had
arrive
d.

“Good morning.” I walked to the front of the shop to greet her.

“It’s good to see you,
sis.”

Her term of endearment caught me off guard—
I was still
get
ting
used to the fact she was my sister.
“
Sis? I like it.”

She smiled as
her
eyes wa
ndered over the shop. “Jezz
ica
says you can use the apar
tment for as long as you need it
.”

“I appreciate it, but I don’t want to intrude.
Besides, I’m looking forward to
stay
ing
at the inn—I
’ve already booked a room.
”

I led the way up to the apartment and into the kitchen
. “Coffee or tea?”

“No, thanks.
I’m good.” She placed a pen
on the table and laid out the
escrow
papers. “Each page is marked where a si
gnature or initials are required
.”

Page by page
,
I completed the task.
“Now, business is out of the way.
” I handed the documents to her. “Let’s go into the front
room.” I needed time
to compose myself.
D
oing the right thing
shouldn’t be
so difficult.
I held all the pieces I sought—the pieces I’d been so convinced would turn my world right side up. Only
,
the picture they formed was
out of focus—
I felt more confused than ever.

I had
to tell her
.
“I’m leaving
Serenity
Cove.
You—
”

“Wait.
” She held up her hand
like a crossing guard
. “
You can’t leave.
W
e’re sisters. I want to
know you better.
What your favo
rite foods are, colors you love—I want to learn it all—e
verything about you.
” Her pouting
lips reminded me of
a child not getting her
way—and Audra se
emed accustom
ed
to being catered to
.

“We’ll visit each other
,
I promise. I want you to be a part of my life.”

“No.
I need you here
.
Because of you
,
I made amends with my father. All the thin
gs you said to me—I’
d been ready to disown him
. You
helped
me see the whole person
.”
She reached for my hand.

He did
n’t deserve a second chance with Audra—
but
she deserved
a father.
“
Serenity
Cove
isn’t my home—it never was. I only came here to settle Anne’s affairs.
” I released her hand. “You said you migh
t be interested in a few
pieces of
furniture
. If you select the pieces you want I’ll have them delivered to you.”

“
I—
”
She blinked back tears.

“You’re my sister.
Anything you want—it’s yours. The only thing I’m keeping i
s the bookcase with
Anne
’s book collection.”

“I need
yo
u to stay
. I can’t do
this right now
.”

I
retrieved my bag and pulled ou
t the photos I had shown
my
g
randmother
. “These are pictures of each piece
of furniture
—you take
them home and select the ones
you want.
” Downstairs
,
I grabbed
a flyer as we passed
Anne
’s desk. “
Jezz
ica
may
want t
o attend the town meeting
. The
new detective with
the police department will be speaking on crime and safety
issues.” I handed her the paper
.
The
same
sadness
reflected in Audra’s expression
shadowed my heart. I gazed into her eyes, azure to azure.
“I’ll never lose touch with you—I love having a sister
.”

“Me
,
too.” She
sur
prised me with a te
nder hug,
blot
ting
tears from her cheeks
as she left
.

My insides felt weighted as
I carri
ed empty boxes upstairs to pack
Anne’s
books. My
thoughts wande
red
to Log
an—
I needed the
courage to tell him I was leaving
.
I sent a text to
Dr. Ellie. S
he ans
wered right away, and was
available
for a session now.

Without bothering to change my clothes,
I snapped Goldie’s le
as
h in place and made the trek
to her
cottage.

My attention
drifted
as the dogs played.
Why could
n’t life be so simple
for us humans?
I quickly turned back to Dr. Ellie.