by Olivia Miles
Gemma hadn’t been pleased that Ellie had tried to argue with her in front of their guests, but she had bigger problems to deal with. Besides, she understood. She saw the hurt in Ellie’s eyes every time that Simon spoke, and when he and his fiancée left at the end of the night, hand in hand.
“We don’t need to talk about it,” Gemma said. She gave her sister a reassuring smile. “And I’m happy you joined me. There’s no sense enjoying such a beautiful view alone.”
“No,” Ellie said a little sadly. “It’s probably my favorite thing about this house.”
“Same here,” Gemma said.
“Is Hope here?” Ellie asked.
Gemma shook her head. “She’s out with Evan and the girls. They left this morning, so I’m surprised they aren’t back yet.”
“I don’t think Hope was expecting him,” Ellie said. “She seemed more flustered than usual at dinner last night, and then they disappeared. Do you think…do you think it had anything to do with that man she brought to the party?”
Gemma sighed. She didn’t think it was her place to share what Hope had revealed, especially not with Evan being here.
“Hope’s a big girl. If anyone can figure out her life, it’s Hope.” After all, what chance was there for her if Hope’s life fell apart?
“Unlike me,” Ellie said, frowning at the table.
Gemma looked at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I mean, that my life is a mess. It always was. It still is. Dad was right about me.”
“Don’t say that,” Gemma said firmly. She leaned forward in her chair, stared at Ellie until she was forced to look up at her. “Look at all you’ve accomplished. You have your own art studio. You sell your paintings all over town.”
“I barely make any money. It’s just pocket change. I’m living off that trust. Without this house…”
Gemma grew quiet. “Is that why you’re so against selling it? You know you’d get a third of the sale price. You could go anywhere, and put down a deposit.”
Ellie shook her head. “It’s not about the money. It’s that…Well, you have your apartment in the city. Hope has her mansion in the suburbs. And I have…this. I don’t have anything else of my own other than the studio, and I’m barely keeping the lights on over there. You’re right that I let this house go. It’s old. Repairs are expensive, especially when materials have to come in from the mainland. But I’ve tried my best,” Ellie said, and suddenly her eyes teared up.
Gemma reached out and took her hand. “Of course you did. And this house is a third my responsibility too. Hope and I should have sent money for repairs. We just didn’t know…”
Ellie angrily brushed at a tear. “I didn’t want to tell you guys what was going on here. I just figured you’d think what Dad always does. That I’m irresponsible, that I make poor choices.”
“Don’t listen to what Dad says,” Gemma said, but she knew that this was easier said than done. “And if anyone makes poor choices, it’s me.”
“You? But you have a career, one that you are earning a living wage from. And you can always go back to advertising.”
“But I don’t want to,” Gemma said. “And I’m scared that will happen if I can’t make a success of my writing.”
Ellie cracked a smile. “We were warned…”
“You followed your heart, Ellie, and that is a very brave thing to do.”
“Oh, I followed my heart all right,” Ellie grumbled. “And now…Now I guess you could say that it’s broken.”
Gemma nodded. The expression on Ellie’s face at the party had been obvious to everyone there, even, she feared, Simon’s fiancée.
“You may not want to hear this, but I don’t think Simon was the right guy for you. He balanced you out, maybe, and you have good memories with him, but he didn’t want what you wanted, and you need to find someone who does.”
“Dad approved of Simon,” Ellie said a little begrudgingly.
“Maybe that’s why you liked him,” Gemma said, giving her a knowing grin. “Or maybe you liked that Simon was a little bit like Dad, in the conventional sense, only unlike Dad, he supported you.”
“Forget my comment about advertising. You could find a job as a therapist,” Ellie said ruefully, but she was smiling. “Maybe that’s true. I don’t know what made Simon so appealing. Maybe I’ll never know. I just know how I felt when I was with him.”
Gemma considered this. “I can’t make sense of my love life either. Or lack thereof.”
The sisters were quiet for a moment until Ellie said, “Dad probably wouldn’t approve of Leo.”
Despite herself, Gemma laughed. “Probably not. But, it doesn’t matter anyway. Leo isn’t looking for a relationship.”
Ellie raised an eyebrow. “Are you?”
Gemma nodded slowly as she gathered her thoughts. “I didn’t think I was. I wasn’t sure I ever would be, after Sean. But meeting Leo made me realize that I can have feelings for someone again. And that’s…scary.”
“But what’s the alternative?” Ellie asked. “To never try at all? Although, that’s sort of what I’ve been doing all these years. Until Simon came back.”
“At least you can say that you tried. You followed your heart, Ellie. You did everything you set out to do.”
“You both did,” said a voice behind them.
Gemma turned to see Hope standing in the doorway, looking weary. “I didn’t realize you all were back.” Normally, the girls made their presence known.
“Just me,” Hope said, coming to join them. “I walked home, slipped in the back door. Evan’s still in town with the girls.”
“Everything okay?” Gemma asked.
Hope shrugged. “Yes. No. It’s like you said. You did everything you set out to do. Both of you. You always wanted to be a painter, and you are, Ellie. And you, Gemma, you were miserable at that advertising agency and you always wanted to be a writer, and look at you. Published. Under contract. You were able to quit that job you never liked.”
“Only because of Gran,” Gemma said, giving Ellie an apologetic smile. “She helped all of us out, Ellie. We’re all better off because of how much she supported us, then…and now.”
“She was a wonderful woman,” Ellie said as her eyes filled with tears.
Not wanting to go down a dark path, Gemma veered things back to steadier ground.
“Besides, I may have to find another job I don’t like if I don’t pull off this book in time,” she said.
“But you will, Gemma,” Hope said, with a smile. “I always knew you would. And I think deep down you knew it too.”
Gemma thought about that for a moment. It was true, she supposed, that even in her panic, and even in her sleepless nights, she knew that she would get the job done. She’d finish the book. She’d find a way. It was the one thing in her control when the rest of the world was not.
“But you got everything that you wanted,” Ellie said to Hope. “You always got good grades. You went to the best college. You married Evan, for Pete’s sake.”
A strange look came over Hope’s face. “I’m not saying I’m not grateful for everything I have, I…I never had dreams like the two of you did. I never wanted something, specifically. I guess that all I ever wanted was Dad’s approval.” She laughed softly, shaking her head. “Sounds pretty lame, doesn’t it?”
“That’s all I ever wanted,” Ellie said. “It still is.”
“What?” Hope looked at her with astonishment. “But you…Sorry, El, but you sort of rebelled.”
“I did what I wanted to do, yes, but I thought…” Ellie glanced at Gemma. “I thought that if Dad could accept Gemma’s career that I could find a way to make him accept mine too. Someday.”
Gemma shook her head sadly. “I think he would have, if things had been different. But our roles are already defined, aren’t they? I’m the smart one. Ellie is the—”
“Black sheep,” Ellie said, frowning. When Gemma and Hope didn’t react, she said, “Face it.
I am!”
Gemma couldn’t argue. She glanced at Hope. “And Hope is…”
“Perfect,” Hope said. “Even though I’m not. I was a perfect daughter. Perfect student. And I married the perfect guy. Now I’m just a mother. Not a perfect one.”
“Just a mother?” Gemma repeated. “Hope, you are a world-class mother. Look at you! You had a unicorn at their birthday party.”
Ellie’s eyes lit up with interest. “You did? I can’t believe I missed that.”
“Much like something Mom would have done,” Hope said. She shook her head. “You were right, Gemma. I am just like Mom.”
“No,” Gemma said, realizing her error. “Mom would have had a unicorn for show. You had it to make your girls happy. That’s the difference.”
“I do want my girls to be happy,” Hope said pleadingly, and Gemma reached out to squeeze her hand.
“Of course you do. And they are!”
“Do you think…?” Ellie chewed her lower lip. “Do you think that Dad ever cared if we were happy? Or was it all just about making him happy?”
Gemma looked at her sisters. She wanted to say that of course their happiness mattered, that they had been loved and cared for, and given opportunities for successful lives.
“I think,” she said carefully, “he thought he knew what was best for us. But I do think he knew what he wanted was different. He didn’t like coming here, but he knew we did. So he let us come.”
“Why do you think Dad never liked coming here?” Hope asked. It was something they’d never questioned, but now Gemma saw the situation differently. This house, it was so full of memories, it could soften even the hardest heart.
It had softened hers.
“I think it made him sad,” Gemma said. “Gran moved in full time when her husband died, and I think that was when Dad convinced himself that he hated it here. I think it just hurt too much.”
Hope locked Gemma’s gaze. “This place does have a way of stirring things up.”
“It stirred us up,” Ellie said, flicking them each a glance.
Gemma nodded sadly. “Where do we go from here?”
“I don’t know,” Hope said, “but I hope that whatever we all end up doing, we’ll be doing it for the right reasons.”
“From the heart,” Gemma said. “Even if it is sometimes the hardest path.”
“But it’s the only one worth taking,” Ellie said, sighing deeply. “I have to get back for my class tonight, but I need to get this out first. I think you’re right,” she said, a little breathlessly. There was fear in her eyes, but a determination that Gemma had always loved. “We should sell the house.”
Gemma set down her glass of lemonade and looked at Ellie for a moment. “And here I was thinking that we should keep it.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ellie
Ellie loved each part of the island for its own unique reason. There were the lighthouses at the north and south shores, standing tall and proud, a beacon over the lake waters. And the dock, with its boats and activity, and the promise of adventure. She loved Main Street, with its lamps and benches and the buckets of flowers that flanked each shop door. She loved the smell of fudge and waffle cones and the crowd that gathered outside Main Street Sweets to watch the taffy being pulled.
But most of all, she loved Sunset Cottage. Not because it was where she’d lived the past few years. Not because of the summers she had spent with Simon, or even her sisters.
She loved it because it was the one place in the world where she was free to be herself.
And that was why her decision to leave it didn’t come easily.
But once her decision had been made, she stuck to it. That was one thing she was sure of, one thing that she had lived by. She was true to herself. Even when it hurt.
Ellie closed the door to her studio with a sigh. She was lucky that the landlord had been willing to let her break the lease without a penalty since the month was drawing to a close, but then, this was Evening Island, and everyone here looked out for each other.
It was comforting, in many ways. Secure. But as much as she’d dared to follow her own path, she’d always stuck to the safe side of it. Until now.
There was an entire world out there. A world of oceans and mountains and tiny villages that were all waiting to be seen, and captured. And buoyed by her sisters, she was going to do just that.
“Heard you’re leaving!” a voice called out, and Ellie felt her shoulders droop. She’d only talked to the landlord this morning. She’d been hoping to see Edward today and tell him herself before the word travelled, but that didn’t mean it would be an easy conversation.
“Only temporarily,” she said, as he came to meet her.
“But you’re closing the studio?” Edward asked.
“I thought I needed a studio of my own to be a real artist,” she said, setting a hand on the door. “But the truth is that I only need one place on this island. Sunset Cottage.” She grinned, and he gave her a nod of approval.
“That’s a mighty fine house,” he said.
“It’s a wonderful place,” she agreed.
“So where are you headed?” he asked.
“Europe,” she said. Gemma had been the one to offer up that idea. Said that Ellie could use her honeymoon trip, put it to a better use. “I’ve always wanted to go.”
“Don’t stay away too long,” Edward said. “You know we’ll all miss you around here.”
The truth was that she didn’t know how long she would stay. The voucher was open-ended, and without the rent on this place, she had a little money in her pocket. But she did know that she would be back. Even if it was just for next summer.
Ellie leaned in and gave the older man a hug and only wrinkled her nose a little at the smell of fish coming off his clothes. She didn’t mind. Not really. It was the smell of the island. And she loved every inch of it. Even the not so pretty parts.
She gave one last look around her lovely, light-filled studio, with the view of the harbor and the sound of the waves lapping at the rocks along the shore. “I hope whoever ends up taking this space puts it to good use.”
“I’ll see to it that they do.” Edward was a man of his word.
“See you when I get back?” she asked.
“I’ll be here,” he said, and she grinned at that, because she knew that he would. And it was nice to have something to count on. Like Sunset Cottage.
Next she walked into town, past the shops that sold her paintings, stopping to admire the setup in Hill Street Gallery. The owner had placed a little sign next to her bright and cheerful watercolor: “Local artist Ellie Morgan.”
Artist. She’d never called herself that, not really. Never allowed herself an official title. She’d always given a description of her job instead. “I paint,” she’d say, or “I do watercolors.” But seeing this sign, here on display, with her name, made her realize that she was an artist. That she was exactly what she’d set out to be.
She carried on her way, finally stopping at Lakeview Gifts. She pushed through the door, glanced at Jewel who gave her a beady stare, and then walked over to the counter, where Naomi was wrapping up a figurine of a lighthouse for a young couple.
“Tell me the rumors aren’t true,” Naomi pleaded as soon as the door closed behind the tourists.
Ellie had to laugh. “News sure does travel fast around here. How’d you hear?”
“Your landlord told Darcy that your studio was up for rent! Did you really close it down?”
“I did,” Ellie said, and then, seeing the dismay in her friend’s face, said, “I don’t need a studio to make me an artist. I can paint from Sunset Cottage. I can paint anywhere. And I can still offer my classes. That house is so big, it needs a bigger purpose.”
Naomi’s grin was rueful. “I like the sound of that.”
“But I am going away for a while. There’s more out there that I want to capture. And I could use a break from the island for a bit,” she said, thinking of Simon
, and his fiancée, and the wedding that was lurking around the corner. She’d run into him again someday, she was sure, but by then, with any luck, she would have moved on, rather than stayed behind, waiting. “I’m not leaving until the end of the week,” she said.
“And I’m heading to Blue Harbor tomorrow to help my sister with her new baby,” Naomi said with a frown. “I figured this was the last week I could get away before the summer season is in full swing. But you will be back?”
“Soon,” Ellie said.
“Promise?” Naomi asked, and Ellie had to grin at that.
“I always keep my promises.”
With a heavy heart, she leaned in and gave her friend a long hug, telling herself that this wasn’t a good-bye. It was just a so-long for now.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and turned as the door opened and another customer walked in, bright-eyed and eager, probably their first time on the island.
“Welcome to Lakeview Gifts!” Naomi called out with a smile. She held up her hand, giving Ellie a heartfelt wave.
“Hello!” the customer called out before Naomi could stop her, and at once, Jewel cocked his head with interest.
Ellie locked eyes with Naomi, and even though this might usually elicit an exasperated sigh, or sometimes, actual tears, Naomi burst out laughing, and Ellie did too. And she smiled the whole walk home, the sound of Jewel’s squawking still fresh in her ears.
***
Ellie made one more stop at the studio before returning home. As much as she called Sunset Cottage her home, she’d really kept it as Gran’s home, leaving so much of it as it had been, almost afraid to change it. Slowly, over time, she’d replaced some of Gran’s heavy-framed oil paintings with her colors, but only with her absolute favorites. All except for one.
Now, she picked up the painting that she’d brought from the studio, her favorite, the one that showed Main Street in the snow, all soft and grey with hints of green and blue.
Few people had the pleasure of seeing this island as it was in this painting. And she had. And she would, again. Because she’d be back.
She hung it on the wall opposite her bed, took one last, long look at it, and walked out into the hall. The house was lighter now, and not just because of the watercolor paintings of the island, but because of the improvements that Hope had made, replacing the heavy throw pillows with pops of blue and green, opening the blinds to let all the light in, adding bouquets of fresh flowers in every room, even the ones she picked from the bushes that were starting to bloom, and the kitchen, where, other than the porch, all of them seemed to gather at least a few times a day.
